Henry Ford Health System Modernizes Software Asset Management to Reduce Audit Risk

At Henry Ford Health System, innovation is not a side initiative. It is foundational to how care is delivered, operations are run, and risk is managed. As one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers and one of metro Detroit’s largest employers, the organization operates at a scale where operational inefficiencies quickly become enterprise risks. 

As regulatory pressure increased and technology environments grew more complex, Henry Ford Health System recognized an opportunity to unlock more value from a platform they already trusted.

Software Asset Management had the potential to reduce audit burden, improve compliance confidence, and free teams to focus on what mattered most: improving patient care.  

The Challenge: When Manual Asset Management Becomes a Compliance Risk 

Henry Ford Health System had been a long-time ServiceNow customer and understood the platform’s ability to simplify complex workflows. However, Software Asset Management capabilities were underutilized, leaving critical processes fragmented and manual. 

Several challenges surfaced clearly: 

• Audit preparation required up to six months of labor-intensive planning 

• Software assets were tracked manually in spreadsheets, consuming hundreds of staff hours 

• Approval workflows were slow and required unnecessary executive involvement 

• Limited visibility into licensing and ownership increased compliance risk 
• Outsourced IT operations amplified the inefficiencies of outdated processes 

The organization was spending valuable time preparing for audits rather than reducing audit exposure itself. 

The Solution: Unlocking the Full Value of ServiceNow Software Asset Management 

Recognizing that effective IT management directly supports patient outcomes, CoreX partnered with Henry Ford Health System to modernize Software Asset Management using ServiceNow. 

Within weeks, the team identified high-impact areas where automation and governance could deliver immediate value. The focus was not on adding new tools, but on fully activating the capabilities already available within ServiceNow. Key improvements included: 

• End-to-end lifecycle management for software licenses, hardware assets, and cloud resources 

• Automated software reclamation to reassign, revoke, and optimize licenses 

• Identification and removal of unauthorized software through blacklisting controls 

• Integration of Software Asset Management with the CMDB to establish trusted ownership and data relationships 
• Automated approval workflows that reduced friction and eliminated unnecessary escalation 

The result was a governed, auditable system that replaced spreadsheets with visibility and confidence. 

The Results: Faster Audits, Lower Costs, and Stronger Compliance 

With Software Asset Management fully operational, Henry Ford Health System dramatically reduced the effort required to prepare for audits. The organization estimates audit preparation time was reduced by 50-75 percent, freeing teams from months of manual work. 

Additional outcomes included: 

• Increased efficiency through automated approvals and workflows 

• Improved CMDB accuracy, enabling teams to clearly see asset ownership, location, and responsibility 

• Significant cost savings by eliminating license overlap and optimizing software usage 

• Reduced compliance risk through automated reclamation and blacklisting 

• Greater confidence in meeting federal regulatory requirements 
• Faster decision-making enabled by reliable, normalized asset data 

By automating low-value work, teams were able to redirect their focus toward innovation and operational improvement. 

The Transformation: From Audit Preparation to Audit Readiness 

Henry Ford Health System’s Software Asset Management transformation shifted the organization from reactive audit preparation to proactive audit readiness. By leveraging ServiceNow as a governed system of record and action, the organization reduced risk, lowered costs, and strengthened operational resilience. 

What was once a manual, spreadsheet-driven process is now a scalable, automated capability that supports compliance, financial stewardship, and the broader mission of improving lives through healthcare innovation.