Cloud automation company ServiceNow Inc. today updated its workflow platform with new mobile capabilities that make it easier for employees to perform a wide range of work-related tasks on the go.

ServiceNow’s Now Platform is used to streamline company workflows across a range of separate information technology systems, integrating them in a single platform.

The centerpiece of the Now Platform New York release is a new application called Now Mobile. Essentially a mobile version of the Now Platform for Android and iOS devices, the app can be used by employees to accomplish tasks such as ordering equipment, approving requests, finding colleagues and asking for help.

ServiceNow said the ability to accomplish these kinds of tasks on the go is increasingly in demand, citing research that found half of all employees expect their employers to provide “mobile optimized tools” to make their lives easier. But at the same time, those employees don’t want to be overwhelmed with a lot of separate apps for each specific task.

“In today’s enterprise environment, we are bogged down by app overload – numerous apps that help with separate work-related tasks,” ServiceNow Chief Product Officer CJ Desai said in a statement. “The power of the Now Platform removes friction from everyday work related tasks and makes it’s easier to get work done on-the-go.”

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said ServiceNow’s focus on improving employee productivity through its mobile apps was encouraging as this is key to helping organizations move faster and become more agile.

“ServiceNow understands that this requires new and better platforms that enable simplification of the user application landscape through fewer apps.” Mueller said.

Further aiming to simplify life for employees, the company has updated its virtual agent with natural language understanding capabilities. Now, employees can interact with the Now Platform via a virtual agent using “simple human terms” to find answers to their questions, order new items and ask for help.

Also making its debut is a mobile onboarding application for new employees. This app helps to streamline all of the to-dos for new hires at a company, such as signing nondisclosure agreements, requesting devices from information technology departments, providing their bank details to get paid and so forth.

ServiceNow said the new Now Platform is generally available in the U.S. starting today. The new applications can be downloaded from Google Play and the iOS app store.

Image: ServiceNow/Facebook