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Business Wire
27-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Revenue Lifecycles Require Effective Software, Models, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Companies modernizing revenue management to enable new business models can choose from a growing number of applications and integrated platforms designed to reduce errors, automate processes and ultimately increase revenue over time, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). Enterprises need advanced pricing and revenue models to stay competitive, and traditional systems will not support innovation. Modern revenue management platforms ensure that urgent business model changes are not held back by outdated technologies. Share The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Revenue Lifecycle Management, produced by ISG Software Research, provide the rankings and ratings of 42 software providers and their products to support revenue process needs, including configure price quote (CPQ), contract lifecycle management (CLM), revenue recognition, billing and the platforms to support these activities. The research finds that enterprises benefit from unified software platforms as they migrate from reliance on one-time sales to efficiently managed approaches that generate continuous revenue. Revenue lifecycle management platforms move beyond the outdated linear quote-to-cash process, combining processes previously carried out by separate tools. Aligning all systems allows for consistent sales and revenue engagement over time. 'Enterprises in every industry need to adopt more advanced pricing and revenue models to stay competitive, and traditional systems will not support rapid change and innovation,' said Stephen Hurrell, director at ISG Software Research. 'Modern revenue management platforms ensure that urgent business model changes are not held back by outdated processes or technologies.' A true revenue lifecycle management system performs tasks ranging from guiding sellers and account teams as they create and get approval for a quote to embedding the quote's terms in a contract, triggering order fulfillment and generating billing schedules, the research shows. Such platforms not only manage digital documents but digitize and store all important terms in those documents. Key information persists in a data store, removing the need for one team to pass data to the next, so errors are minimized. Digitized billing schedules allow companies to automate actions such as outreach for subscription renewals at the appropriate time. A unified platform and data model provides easier data access for telling a more comprehensive story about effective revenue lifecycle management, the reports say. It lets companies analyze all parts of the process to gain insights into customers, products and processes, empowering them to improve customer experience and encourage more sustained engagement. Though the application of AI to revenue management is relatively immature, platforms prepared to deliver long-term value already have well-articulated and documented approaches to the use of AI. Despite these benefits, ISG expects more than half of enterprises to still be using manual processes to integrate quotes and contracts through 2026, potentially causing billing and delivery errors and poor customer experience. New revenue lifecycle management platforms offer improvements to all major components used in the process, the reports say. These include CPQ software that lets prospective buyers have a live, on-demand interaction rather than a slow exchange of emails, CLM tools that standardize contract terms to streamline processing and billing systems that can use historical data to accurately apply volume-based or usage-based pricing. For its 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Revenue Lifecycle Management, ISG evaluated software providers across six platform categories — Revenue Lifecycle Management; Revenue Lifecycle Platforms; Revenue Recognition; Contract Lifecycle Management; Configure, Price, Quote; and Billing — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 42 providers were assessed: Aptitude, Aria Systems, BillingPlatform, Certinia, Chargebee, Conga, ContractPodAi, DealHub, Docusign, Epicor, Experlogix, FastSpring, GleanQuote, Gotransverse, Icertis, Ironclad, LawVu, LinkSquares, Malbek, Maxio, NetSuite, Oracle, PandaDoc, Paperless Parts, Pricefx, PROS, Recurly, RecVue, Sage, Salesforce, SAP, Sirion, SOFTRAX, SpotDraft, Stripe, Tacton, Vendavo, Workday, Zilliant, Zoho and Zuora ISG Software Research rates software providers in seven evaluation categories. Five are related to product experience: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are related to customer assurance: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named as Overall Leaders. The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Revenue Lifecycle Management were the following: Revenue Lifecycle Management: Conga earned the highest overall rating, followed by Oracle and BillingPlatform, who were also overall leaders and rated exemplary. Conga was named a Leader in seven evaluation categories, Oracle in six categories and BillingPlatform in five. Salesforce, Zoho and Zuora also were rated Exemplary. SAP was rated Innovative. Revenue Lifecycle Platforms: Conga received the highest overall rating, followed by BillingPlatform and Oracle, who were also overall leaders and rated exemplary. Conga was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories and BillingPlatform and Oracle in five. Salesforce, Zoho and Zuora also were rated Exemplary. SAP was rated Innovative. Revenue Recognition: BillingPlatform was the highest-rated provider, followed by Oracle and Zuora, who were overall leaders and rated exemplary. Oracle was designated a Leader in six evaluation categories, BillingPlatform in five and Zuora in three. Aria Systems, Conga, NetSuite, Sage, Stripe and Zoho also were rated Exemplary. SAP was rated Innovative. Contract Lifecycle Management: The overall leaders were Conga in first place, followed by Docusign and Zoho. All three were rated exemplary. Conga was designated a Leader in seven categories, Docusign in five and Zoho in two. Ironclad and Sirion also were rated Exemplary. Icertis was rated Innovative. Configure, Price, Quote: Conga was the highest-rated provider, followed by Oracle and PROS, who were also overall leaders and rated exemplary. Conga was designated a Leader in seven performance categories, Oracle in six and PROS in two. Epicor, Salesforce, Zoho and Zuora also were rated Exemplary. SAP was rated Innovative. Billing: BillingPlatform earned the highest overall rating, followed by Oracle and Zuora, who were also overall leaders and rated exemplary. BillingPlatform and Oracle were designated as Leaders in five performance categories each, while Zuora was a Leader in three performance categories. Aria Systems, Certinia, Conga, Salesforce, Stripe and Zoho were rated Exemplary. Gotransverse and SAP were rated Innovative. 'Managing revenue lifecycles is important for good customer experience, but it is complicated by underlying software that is too fragmented or specialized to work across sales, operations, revenue and finance teams,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'Whether companies are looking for one supplier or a series of applications, these insights guide enterprises to determine what software is the best fit to modernize and reduce the operational costs of revenue lifecycle management.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Revenue Lifecycle Management are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments. It provides the industry's most comprehensive review of all viable software options, comparing their strengths to give enterprises insight to make critical selection decisions. Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Revenue Lifecycle Management and read executive summaries of each of the six reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit for more information and to sign up for free community membership. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
Business Wire
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
AI Poised to Transform Supply Chain Planning, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI is quickly ushering in a new era of supply chain planning, motivating enterprises to consider the best available strategy and software to gain a competitive advantage with the technology, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). Supply chain challenges remain the same, but the tools for addressing them are changing. The emergence of AI will mark a turning point in how companies build intelligent, efficient supply chains. It will separate the winners from the also-rans. The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Supply Chain Planning, a new portfolio of reports by ISG Software Research, provides the rankings and ratings of 22 software providers and their products to support supply chain planning. The research finds that AI and generative AI will have profound effects on both large and midsize enterprises, including retailers, that adopt them for supply chain planning over the next decade. Companies with even moderately long and complex supply chains must decide how and when to apply AI and GenAI to their planning processes. Selecting the right provider will be a key part of the transition. 'Supply chain challenges remain the same, but the tools for addressing them are changing,' said Robert Kugel, executive director, Business Research, ISG Software Research. 'The emergence of AI will mark a turning point in how companies build intelligent, efficient supply chains. It will separate the winners from the also-rans.' Supply chain planning software helps enterprises maintain resilient operations in several ways, the report says. By improving the accuracy of demand forecasts, often with advanced algorithms and machine learning, it enables retailers and other companies to anticipate customer needs and improve order fulfillment. It can also identify potential risks and disruptions in the supply chain and simulate various scenarios to help companies plan for contingencies. Real-time data and insights help enterprises make informed decisions faster, and improved collaboration keeps organizations aligned across functions and geographies. AI and GenAI have the potential to expand these benefits, substantially reducing the cost and human effort that goes into supply chain operations, ISG says. These technologies can help companies quickly juggle diverse supply and demand objectives and constraints, enabling continuous supply chain planning through even better cross-functional collaboration. Ultimately, AI advances should lead to event-driven analysis and suggestions that trigger actions, allowing enterprises to stay ahead of emerging developments. Similarly, AI and GenAI are beginning to improve enterprise efficiency and agility through sales and operations planning software. This technology is an outgrowth of supply chain planning with a broader scope. It provides a unified approach to balancing strategic financial plans against sales, production, inventory and customer or channel lead times. As with supply chain planning, AI advancements point to the software's eventual ability to provide event-driven analysis and suggestions. Most enterprises will integrate AI into their supply chain and sales and operations software gradually, starting with relatively low-risk initiatives, the report says. As with other AI adoption efforts, companies can start by preparing their data environments for the requirements of AI. Investments in data capture, orchestration and management lay a foundation for faster analysis and reporting. For its 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Supply Chain Planning, ISG evaluated software providers across four platform categories — Supply Chain Planning, Midsize Supply Chain Planning, Retail Supply Chain Planning and Sales and Operations Planning — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 22 providers were assessed: Anaplan, Blue Ridge, Blue Yonder, Board, Dassault Systems, e2open, FuturMaster, ICRON, Infor, John Galt Solutions, Kinaxis, Logility, Manhattan Associates, o9 Solutions, OMP, Oracle, Pigment, QAD, RELEX, SAP, Slimstock and ToolsGroup. ISG Software Research rates software providers on seven evaluation categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are customer experience-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named as Overall Leaders. The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Supply Chain Planning were the following: Supply Chain Planning: Anaplan earned the highest overall rating, followed closely by Kinaxis and Oracle. Anaplan was designated a Leader in six categories, with Oracle and Kinaxis named as Leaders in four. In addition to those providers, Board, Dassault Systems, e2open, o9 Solutions and SAP were also rated Exemplary. Blue Yonder, Infor, John Galt Solutions, Logility, Manhattan Associates, OMP and RELEX were rated Innovative. Midsize Supply Chain Planning: Infor was the highest-rated provider, followed by OMP and e2open. Infor was designated a Leader in five categories, e2open in three, and OMP in two. In addition to the top three providers, John Galt Solutions, Logility and Pigment were rated Exemplary. ToolsGroup was rated Innovative. Retail Supply Chain Planning: Anaplan was the highest-rated provider, followed by Oracle and SAP. Anaplan was designated a Leader in six categories, Oracle in five categories and SAP in two. In addition to those providers, Board, e2open and o9 Solutions were rated Exemplary. Blue Yonder, Infor, John Galt Solutions, Logility, Manhattan Associates and RELEX were rated Innovative. Sales and Operations Planning: Anaplan achieved the highest overall rating, followed closely by Kinaxis and Oracle. Anaplan was designated a Leader in six categories, while Oracle and Kinaxis were named Leaders in four categories each. In addition to those providers, Board, Dassault Systems, e2open, o9 Solutions, Pigment and SAP also were rated Exemplary. Blue Yonder, Infor, John Galt Solutions, Logility, Manhattan Associates, OMP and RELEX were rated Innovative. 'To craft effective strategies for meeting their emerging supply chain needs, enterprises need detailed evaluations of software providers that compare the strengths of their products,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'ISG research and expertise in supply chain and sales and operations planning software gives organizations insights to make sound decisions about how to move forward.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Supply Chain Planning are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments. Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Supply Chain Planning and read executive summaries of each of the four reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit for more information and to sign up for free community membership. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
Business Wire
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Software Suites, AI Reshaping Customer Experience, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The increasing integration of applications for managing customer experience (CX) is changing how enterprises monitor, understand and improve interactions and relationships with their customers, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). New ISG research says most companies view CX as essential, but use a wide range of strategies and tools to operate, analyze and improve it. By 2027, most CXM suites will include components that combine analytics, AI and customer data integration. Share The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management, produced by ISG Software Research, provide rankings and ratings of 29 software providers and their products for governing and optimizing customer experience across all channels. The research finds that most companies view CX as essential, but they use a wide range of different strategies and tools to operate, analyze and improve it. Traditionally, customer relationship management (CRM) and contact center processes have been dispersed across organizations. In recent years, enterprises are starting to take a more centralized approach to CX using customer experience management (CXM) software, which combines applications on a common platform so organizations can view and control customer activity across departments, the reports say. Software providers are making this possible by synthesizing functions, packaging together previously separate systems for managing interactions and influencing customer behavior. A key benefit of combining CX software into a single platform is consistency and continuity around data collection and metrics, ISG says. This allows enterprises to transcend the separate metrics used by each department, achieving a more holistic view. 'By 2027, we expect most CXM suites, by default, will include components that combine analytics, AI and customer data integration,' said Keith Dawson, director of research, customer experience, ISG Software Research. 'This will make them increasingly essential to providing great customer experience.' CXM software is evolving rapidly, so each suite has different strengths depending on its components and on the traditional expertise of the provider, the reports say. Providers of contact center, CRM and marketing software have been assembling CXM suites. The platforms include tools for functions that may include customer data, contact center interaction handling, knowledge management and customer journey management (CJM). ISG expects providers to fill out their suites over time, converging on five core functional areas that every CXM suite should include: interaction handling, resource management, workflow automation, insights and analysis and CJM. Interaction handling includes both traditional call-center voice interactions and digital customer contact channels. CJM turns the passive act of responding to service calls into a deliberate effort to optimize customer experiences and relationships, the reports say. By mapping the customer journey or lifecycle, enterprises may identify moments of influence when they can generate more business or turn customers into advocates. CJM includes software for personalizing interactions and managing proactive sales and marketing efforts. Enterprises should evaluate CXM suites based on how they manage and measure customer behavior, whether they can give senior management a useful overview of the customer base and how easily they can be expanded into software segments related to other departments and processes, ISG says. For its 2025 Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management, ISG evaluated software providers across three platform categories — Customer Experience Management, Customer Journey Management and Knowledge Management — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 29 providers were assessed: Adobe, Braze, CSG, CallMiner, eGain, Emplifi, Exotel, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Insider, Medallia, Microsoft, MoEngage, Netcore, Nextiva, NICE, Oracle, Qualtrics, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, SugarCRM, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho. ISG Software Research ranks software providers on seven performance categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are customer assurance-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each performance category are named Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named Overall Leaders. The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management were the following: Customer Experience Management: Salesforce earned the highest overall rating, followed by Verint and NICE. Salesforce was designated a Leader in four categories, NICE in six categories and Verint in two categories. Adobe, Emplifi, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Microsoft, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. Netcore, SAS and SugarCRM were rated Innovative. Customer Journey Management: Salesforce was rated highest overall, followed by Oracle and Verint. Salesforce was named a Leader in four categories and Verint in one category. Adobe, Emplifi, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Microsoft, NICE, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. Netcore, SAS and SugarCRM were rated Innovative. Knowledge Management: Verint earned the highest overall rating. Salesforce was second highest, followed closely by ServiceNow. Of the top three providers, Verint was designated a Leader in two categories, Salesforce in four and ServiceNow in six. Adobe, Emplifi, Genesys, NICE, Oracle, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative. 'CXM suites are evolving into platforms of great utility and variety,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'The integration they provide will be increasingly important to enterprises navigating rapidly changing needs to engage and satisfy customers. This research guides enterprises to more accurately assess and select the software that meets their specific needs with the subject matter experts that can advise with experience and best practices.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management are the distillation of a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments. Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management and read executive summaries of each of the three reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit for more information and to sign up for free community membership. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI Helps Fuel Rush to Real-Time Data Platforms, ISG Says
Enterprises seek platforms to process, analyze streams of data for improved decision-making, customer experiences, new research says STAMFORD, Conn., May 30, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--By 2027, more than three-quarters of enterprises will be able to process events and streaming data in real time, making them more responsive to customer needs and other requirements, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Real-Time Data, produced by ISG Software Research, provide rankings and ratings of over 25 software providers and their products for supporting the architectural shifts required for data to support AI for operations. The research finds that companies are seeking the ability to process and analyze data in real time to enable applications that deliver AI-driven personalization and recommendations. While most organizations have long relied on batch data processing, which was necessary when computing power was more limited, they are now looking for a new approach that supports the full benefits of AI. Real-time machine learning on operational data delivers instant, relevant information for faster decision-making. "Real-time data processing lets enterprises operate at the speed of business, acting on events as they happen," said Matt Aslett, director of research, ISG Software Research, and lead author of the reports. "As consumers seek AI-driven interactive applications, companies need information architectures that include streaming data and event processing." Until recently, real-time data processing was limited to industries with extreme high-performance requirements, such as financial services and telecommunications. Only 22 percent of enterprises analyze data in real time today, ISG says. However, the core concepts and technologies are proven, mature and readily available. The new ISG research finds that the top software providers have matured to deliver nearly 80 percent of the overall product and customer experience required to support enterprise needs. Real-time data processing begins with an event, which may be any change of state, such as a sensor identifying a new temperature reading, the reports say. With effective application integration, sensors, devices and applications can share messages about events as they occur, increasingly via application programming interfaces. Real-time data systems ingest, filter and aggregate data about events through stream processing. This forms the basis of stream analytics, which analyzes event data using SQL queries, machine learning or inferencing based on generative AI models. Mainstream enterprises are now pursuing real-time data processing to support interactive applications, and the proliferation of products in this field has helped lower the cost and technical barriers to developing new real-time applications, ISG says. Advanced data streaming platforms now enable organizations to combine data from multiple sources into a single stream. This requires stateful stream processing that retains the context of previously processed events and guarantees that messages are processed even if there are system failures or performance issues. Streaming data analytics platforms offer both traditional chart-based views of data and geospatial visualizations, which are critical for real-time analysis of IoT data. An enterprise-wide real-time data strategy requires an event-driven architecture that includes the full range of these functions, ISG says. Success with streaming data also depends on holistic management and governance of data both in motion and at rest. As enterprises consider their current and future data architecture needs, they should consider both real-time technologies and traditional batch data platforms so they can view all data in motion and at rest. For its 2025 Buyers Guides for Real-Time Data, ISG evaluated, rated and ranked 25 software providers across five platform categories – Real-Time Data, Application Integration, Messaging & Event Processing, Streaming Analytics and Streaming Data – and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 42 providers were assessed: AWS, Actian, Adeptia, Aiven, Alibaba Cloud, Altair, Boomi, Broadcom, Celigo, Cleo, Cloud Software Group, Cloudera, Confluent, Cumulocity, Databricks, Frends, Google Cloud, GridGain, Hazelcast, Huawei Cloud, IBM, Informatica, Jitterbit, Kurrent, Materialize, Microsoft, MongoDB, Oracle, Palantir, Qlik, Qubole, Redpanda, Safe Software, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, SnapLogic, Solace, Striim, Tencent Cloud, and Workato. ISG Software Research rates software providers on seven performance categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability, and adaptability. Two are customer assurance-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each performance category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named as Overall Leaders. The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides for Real-Time Data were the following: Real-Time Data: AWS earned the highest overall rating, followed closely by Google Cloud and Microsoft. AWS was designated a Leader in one category, Google Cloud in three categories and Microsoft in two. Confluent, Cloudera, Databricks, IBM, Informatica, Oracle and Solace were rated Exemplary. Alibaba Cloud, Cloud Software Group, Huawei Cloud and Redpanda were rated Innovative. Application Integration: Oracle topped the list, followed by Informatica and SAP. Oracle and Informatica were designated Leaders in five categories each, with SAP a Leader in two. AWS, Boomi, Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Snaplogic and Solace were rated Exemplary, and Adeptia was rated Innovative. Messaging & Event Processing: Google Cloud earned the highest overall rating and was designated a Leader in three categories. AWS and Solace followed and were Leaders in two categories each. IBM and Microsoft were also rated Exemplary. Alibaba Cloud, Cloudera, Confluent and Redpanda were rated Innovative. Streaming Analytics: Databricks earned the top rating, followed by Oracle and Microsoft. Oracle was designated a Leader in all six categories, Databricks in five and Microsoft in two. AWS, Confluent and Google Cloud were rated Exemplary, while Cloud Software Group, Cumulocity, Huawei Cloud, Palantir and SAS were rated Innovative. Streaming Data: Databricks earned the highest overall rating and was designated a Leader in four categories. AWS was second-highest overall, followed closely by Microsoft, which was named a Leader in two categories. Cloudera, Confluent, Google Cloud, Informatica, IBM and MongoDB were rated Exemplary. Alibaba Cloud, Cloud Software Group, Cumulocity, Huawei Cloud, Palantir, Redpanda, SAS and Striim were rated Innovative. "To remain competitive, enterprises constantly need to analyze more data and act on it in real time, which requires the right real-time architecture and enterprise software," said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. "This new provider research provides the industry's first-ever intelligence and insights on the portfolio of software options to meet enterprise needs." The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Real-Time Data are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments. Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Real-Time Data and read executive summaries of each of the five reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit for more information and to sign up for free community membership. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments. View source version on Contacts Press Contacts: Laura Hupprich, ISG+1 203 517 Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG+1 978 518 4520isg@
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI Becoming Essential to HCM, ISG Says
Two-thirds of enterprises will need AI-enabled HCM software by 2027 as employee expectations change, data's potential expands, new research finds STAMFORD, Conn., March 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI is becoming a core requirement for human capital management (HCM) and employee engagement, with two-thirds of enterprises expected to need AI-enabled capabilities in their HCM systems by 2027, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). The ISG Buyers Guides™ for HCM, produced by ISG Software Research, find the biggest driver of change in talent management and HR management system (HRMS) software is the growing use of AI and machine learning (ML) in these systems. Once focused on administrative functions, HCM has become a strategic asset over the past decade and is now central to developing and engaging a workforce to be more productive. "Businesses expect HCM technology to improve workforce agility, decision-making and alignment with enterprise goals, all of which AI can help to achieve," said Matthew Brown, HCM research director, ISG Software Research. "Software providers are integrating AI into all aspects of HCM, enabling more strategic use of resources and giving employees a more consumer-like experience." AI is the basis of new employee workflows and engagement, embedded analytics and personalized self-service, the research finds. These advances are transforming how organizations make strategic HR decisions. For example, predictive analytics allows leaders to anticipate and address talent shortages before they affect operations. Instead of relying solely on historical workforce data, companies can use AI to identify critical roles, assess internal readiness for them and decide whether to fill the roles through training or external hiring. Enterprises upgrading their HCM software face a choice between consolidating disparate systems in all-in-one suites or integrating best-of-breed solutions, ISG says. While the former offers seamless integration across all HR functions, the latter may provide better capabilities for specific HR processes like payroll or workforce management, ISG notes. A unified approach to HCM simplifies HR operations and employee data and eliminates silos and streamlines processes across an organization. Talent suites, meanwhile, support the entire talent lifecycle—including recruiting, learning, performance and talent planning—and providers are now adding AI-driven features such as skills matching and personalized learning. When assessing or selecting software, companies often consider scalability and the level of embedded AI-driven automation. Organizations must carefully evaluate their unique needs and their HR and workforce objectives to choose the right applications and HCM platform, ISG says. One of the most significant shifts in the market is the growing demand for configurable platforms that allow for customization and integration of third-party applications and services. Companies that invest in AI-enabled HCM will gain the ability to guide actions and unify decision-making for engaging and retaining employees, maximizing the value of talent and aligning workforce strategies with business goals, ISG says. To maintain that edge, they need to not only utilize the right software but continuously evolve their HCM strategies. For its 2025 ISG Buyers Guides™ for HCM, ISG evaluated software providers across four categories—HCM Platforms, HCM Suites, Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS) and Talent Suites—and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 19 providers were assessed: ADP, BambooHR, Cegid, Darwinbox, Dayforce, HiBob, Infor, isolved, Oracle, PageUp, Paycom, Paycor, Paylocity, Rippling, SAP, UKG, Unit4, Workday and Zoho. ISG Software Research rates software providers in seven evaluation categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are customer experience-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three of each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each software category, those with the most Leader rankings are named as Overall Leaders. The 2025 ISG Buyers Guides™ for HCM named the following Overall Leaders: HCM Suites: In this evaluation, the most comprehensive as it covers both HCM platform and HRMS capabilities, Oracle was named a Leader in all seven categories, and ADP a Leader in six. UKG came in third with Leader designations in three categories. Dayforce, HiBob, SAP and Workday were rated Exemplary. HCM Platforms: Oracle topped the list, being designated a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, and ADP followed closely, with Leader designations in six categories. UKG was Exemplary and designated a Leader in four categories. Dayforce, HiBob, SAP and Workday were rated Exemplary. Two providers rated as Innovative were Darwinbox and Rippling. HRMS: Oracle was named a Leader in all seven HRMS evaluation categories. ADP again came in a close second, ranking as a Leader in six categories. UKG was named a Leader in four categories. Dayforce, HiBob, SAP and Workday were rated Exemplary. Talent Suites: Oracle and ADP were designated as Leaders in seven and six evaluation categories, respectively, and there was a three-way tie for third place among SAP, UKG and Workday, which were designated Leaders in two evaluation categories each. Cornerstone, Dayforce, HiBob, SAP and Workday were rated Exemplary. "Software providers will be adding AI, both GenAI and Agentic AI, within applications to simplify and deliver a more consumer-grade user experience over the next few years," said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. "Given these advances, choosing the right HCM software provider has never been more important to the future of an organization. Our ISG Buyers Guides offer the most comprehensive research across all HCM software categories to enable enterprises to make decisions with confidence." The ISG Buyers Guides™ for HCM are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT investments to reach maximum set of outcomes. Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for HCM and read or listen to executive summaries of each of the four reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit for more information and to sign up for free community membership. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments. View source version on Contacts Press Contacts: Will Thoretz, ISG+1 203 517 Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG+1 978 518 4520isg@ Sign in to access your portfolio
