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Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
AI Revolutionizing How Enterprises Collaborate, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprises are integrating more AI features into collaboration and communications systems for more effective teamwork and customer engagement, making strategic technology choices to enhance their future competitiveness, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). AI is not just modernizing but transforming how enterprises collaborate and communicate. This research provides the fundamentals for preparing to use conversational AI, including AI agents, for collaboration inside and outside an enterprise. Share The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Collaborative AI and Communication, produced by ISG Software Research, provides the rankings and ratings of over 50 software providers and their products to support effective employee, partner and customer interactions. The research finds that many companies are embracing features powered by GenAI and agentic AI as they build systems to unify geographically dispersed workforces and engage more closely with customers. 'AI is not just modernizing but transforming how enterprises collaborate and communicate. The technology expands the boundaries of what is possible so companies can significantly increase workforce productivity,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'This research provides the fundamentals for preparing to use conversational AI, including AI agents, for collaboration inside and outside an enterprise.' AI is helping organizations meet the communication and collaboration challenges posed by hybrid work, data protection regulations and changing customer experience demands, the research finds. With edge computing capabilities and conversational and agentic AI, collaboration software is quickly evolving to deliver more automation and intelligence. Enterprises are seeking scalable platforms that maintain high performance, ensure compliance and provide balanced participation between in-person and remote attendees. Despite advancements in collaborative AI suites and platforms, many organizations still use fragmented communication technologies, the research finds. For effective collaboration across multiple locations, enterprises need more integrated and intelligent tools. ISG predicts that through 2027, one-fifth of enterprises will use agentic AI with communications and collaboration software to guide employees through workflows. AI is also rapidly improving communication platforms, often called communication platform as a service (CPaaS), the foundational layer for interacting with customers. As consumers expect more interactive experiences, these platforms have begun to include advanced AI that goes beyond basic chatbots, including AI meeting assistants that can perform real-time language translation, the research finds. Conversational AI tools enabled by GenAI are revolutionizing question-and-answer interactions, ISG finds. Conversational AI can guide workers and customers toward information that is not otherwise easily accessible. ISG predicts that by 2028, automated systems will keep two-thirds of customer interactions within self-service by using improvements in conversational AI and knowledge retrieval. The research also finds that AI agents are playing a growing role in these increasingly complex functions. Agents are evolving from components based on simple rule-based logic to multi-agent systems that can perform a wide range of tasks, including orchestrating actions across enterprise systems. By 2028, software providers will blend agentic AI with collaboration and communications software to offer digital assistants that increase productivity, ISG predicts. For its 2025 Buyers Guides for Collaborative AI and Communication, ISG evaluated software providers across six platform categories — AI Agents, Collaborative AI Platforms and Suites, Collaborative AI Suites, Conversational AI for CX, Conversational AI for Workforce and Communication Platforms — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 52 providers were assessed: [24] 8x8, Appian, Automation Anywhere, Avaya, AWS, Bandwidth, Bird, Cisco, Dialpad, Fractal, Genesys, Google, GoTo, Gupshup, HCLSoftware, IBM, Infobip, IntelePeer, LivePerson, Microsoft, Mitel, Newgen, NiCE, OpenText, Oracle, Pega, RingCentral, Route Mobile, Salesforce, Sangoma, SAP, ServiceNow, Sinch, Sprinklr, SS&C Blue Prism, Syniverse, Tanla, Talkdesk, Tata Communications, Tencent Cloud, Twilio, UiPath, Verint, Vonage, Zendesk, Zenvia, Zoho and Zoom. 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 Collaborative AI and Communication were the following: AI Agents: Oracle was the top Overall Leader, followed by ServiceNow and Salesforce. Oracle was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories, ServiceNow in six, and Salesforce in two. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Appian, Automation Anywhere, AWS, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Pega, SAP, UiPath, Verint, and Zendesk. SS&C Blue Prism was rated Innovative. Collaborative AI Platforms and Suites: Microsoft was the top Overall Leader, followed by Zoom and RingCentral. Microsoft was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories and Zoom and RingCentral in four categories each. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Zoho. Cisco was rated Innovative. Collaborative AI Suites: Microsoft was the top Overall Leader, followed by Google and Zoom. Microsoft was designated a Leader in five evaluation categories and Google and Zoom in three categories each. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Dialpad, RingCentral, Salesforce, and Zoho. 8x8, Avaya, and Cisco were rated Innovative. Conversational AI for CX: NiCE was the top Overall Leader, followed by ServiceNow and Salesforce. NiCE was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories, ServiceNow in six, and Salesforce in two. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Dialpad, Genesys, Google, Infobip, LivePerson, Pega, RingCentral, Sinch, Sprinkler, Talkdesk, Twilio, Verint, Zendesk, and Zoom. 8x8, Cisco, Tencent Cloud, and Vonage were rated Innovative. Conversational AI for Workforce: Oracle was the top Overall Leader, followed by ServiceNow and Microsoft. ServiceNow was designated a Leader in six evaluation categories, Oracle in five, and Microsoft in two. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with AWS, Google, RingCentral, Salesforce, Zendesk, and Zoom. Appian and Pega were rated Innovative. Communication Platforms: Infobip was the top Overall Leader, followed by Twilio and Zoom. Infobip was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories and Twilio and Zoom in two categories each. All three overall leaders were rated Exemplary, along with 8x8, Microsoft, Oracle, RingCentral, Sinch and Tencent Cloud. Bandwidth, Bird, Cisco, CM, and Vonage were rated Innovative. 'Enterprises have the opportunity to significantly increase productivity and improve customer interactions through AI-powered enhancements to communication and collaboration software,' said Robert Kugel, executive director, Business Research, ISG Software Research. 'This research provides insights into important AI advancements, helping organizations understand, assess and select software providers to build and execute an effective AI strategy.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Collaborative AI and Communication 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 Collaborative AI and Communication 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
08-08-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Data Platforms Gearing up to Enable AI Revolution, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Agentic and generative AI are introducing new enterprise requirements for management and use of data, and leading software providers are meeting the moment with innovative hybrid data platforms, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III). Enterprises have become dependent on data platforms for business analysis and operations. As AI expands and transforms enterprise uses of data, platforms are rapidly evolving to support the inferencing capabilities of intelligent operational applications. Share The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Data Platforms, produced by ISG Software Research, provide the rankings and ratings of 38 software providers and their products to support data storage, processing, analysis and presentation. The research finds that the traditional distinction between analytic and operational data platforms is blurring as more business applications use real-time, AI-powered analytic processing for functions such as personalization, real-time predictions and contextually relevant recommendations. To enable intelligent applications driven by GenAI and machine learning, providers are delivering data platform capabilities to support hybrid operational and analytic workloads. 'Enterprises have become totally dependent on data platforms for business analysis and operations,' said Matt Aslett, director of research, Analytics, Data & AI, for ISG Software Research. 'As AI expands and transforms enterprise uses of data, platforms are rapidly evolving to support the inferencing capabilities of intelligent operational applications.' Most companies use a variety of data platforms to support a range of application requirements. Increasingly, they deploy data platforms on cloud infrastructure or consume their functionality as managed services, seeking to increase agility, the research finds. When choosing a data platform, the fundamental question companies have considered is whether it will be used for workloads that are operational (used to run the business) or analytic (used to analyze the business). Operational data platforms support functions such as finance, sales, human capital management and customer experience, while analytic platforms serve workloads such as business intelligence, decision support and data science. Different data platform architectures have evolved to maximize query performance for each category of workload. However, ISG predicts that through 2027, data platform providers will prioritize the development of hybrid operational and analytic functionality to fulfill new application requirements created by GenAI. Providers will deliver a combination of these types of functionality with either one or a set of data platform products. These moves will address market demand: By 2027, ISG expects two-thirds of enterprises to adopt new operational database products to meet the AI requirements of intelligent applications. As hybrid capabilities become available in operational data platforms, enterprises will still need separate analytic data platforms for business intelligence and data science projects, the research finds. There is also a growing need for these platforms to support the development, training and tuning of ML and GenAI models. For its 2025 Buyers Guides for Data Platforms, ISG evaluated software providers across three platform categories — Data Platforms, Analytic Data Platforms and Operational Data Platforms — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 38 providers were assessed: Actian, Aerospike, Aiven, Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Broadcom, Cloudera, Cockroach Labs, Couchbase, Databricks, Dremio, EDB, Google Cloud, Huawei Cloud, IBM, IBM DataStax, Incorta, InterSystems, KX, MariaDB, Microsoft, MongoDB, Neo4j, OpenText, Oracle, Percona, PingCAP, Progress Software, Redis, Salesforce, SAP, SingleStore, Snowflake, Starburst, Tencent Cloud, Teradata, VAST Data and Yugabyte. 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 Data Platforms were the following: Data Platforms: Oracle was the top Overall Leader, followed by InterSystems and Google Cloud. Oracle was designated a Leader in six evaluation categories, InterSystems in four and Google Cloud in three. The three top Overall Leaders all were rated Exemplary, along with Actian, AWS, Cloudera, Couchbase, IBM, Microsoft and SAP. Alibaba Cloud, Broadcom and Progress Software were rated Innovative. Analytic Data Platforms: Databricks was the top Overall Leader, followed by Oracle and Google Cloud. Databricks was designated a Leader in seven evaluation categories, Oracle in six and Google Cloud in three. The three top Overall Leaders all were rated Exemplary, along with Actian, AWS, Cloudera, Couchbase, IBM, InterSystems, Microsoft, SAP, Snowflake and Teradata. Broadcom, OpenText and Progress Software were rated Innovative. Operational Data Platforms: Oracle was the top Overall Leader, followed by InterSystems and Google Cloud. Oracle was designated a Leader in six evaluation categories, InterSystems in four and Google Cloud in three. The three top Overall Leaders all were rated Exemplary, along with Actian, AWS, Cloudera, Couchbase, IBM, Microsoft, MongoDB, SAP and Yugabyte. Alibaba Cloud, Broadcom and Progress Software were rated Innovative. 'Enterprises need modern data platforms to support the diverse set of needs for operations and decision-making, and the direct set of requirements for AI,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'This research found shifts in which software providers are evolving to support the pressing data needs for AI and operations and in what those providers are doing. It helps guide enterprises in assessing existing software and selecting the software provider that can best meet their unique requirements now and in the future.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Data Platforms are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored or 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 Data Platforms 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.
Associated Press
03-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Workforce Management Meets Work Challenges, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 3, 2025-- Enterprises are transforming workforce management with software that uses AI and automation to address labor challenges and opportunities, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group ( ISG ) (Nasdaq: III ). The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Workforce Management (WFM), produced by ISG Software Research, provide the rankings and ratings of 23 software providers and their products to support the management of workforces in general enterprises and specific industries. The research finds that recent innovations in WFM software coincide with a still-tight labor market and ongoing disruptions related to remote and hybrid work. Many companies are seizing this moment to change their software roadmaps and practices around WFM, seeking new tools that meet evolving employee and administrative expectations. 'Enterprises want software that brings more types of data to bear and delivers insights for workforce decisions, and providers are starting to deliver them,' said Matthew Brown, human capital management research director, ISG Software Research. 'Advances in AI, GenAI and real-time analytics make WFM software more powerful and easier for workers to use through self-service tools.' WFM software ensures the right people are working at the right times, a complex task affected by budget considerations, availability of skills, employee preferences and other factors, the research finds. The core functions found in basic WFM platforms include the ability to schedule shifts, capture time worked, track absences and forecast demand. WFM suites layer advanced capabilities such as skills-based optimization and real-time cost simulation on top of these basics. Newly emerging WFM features address four pressing requirements of employers and employees, ISG finds. Companies need to know the potential cost and compliance risks of a given worker roster before it is locked in. If core staffing falls short, they need flexibility to bring in resources from agencies and gig marketplaces. To meet specific requirements for each shift, companies need to make practical staffing decisions based on specific skills rather than job titles. In addition, workers expect the ability to choose shifts and resolve HR questions through a consumer-style chat interface. The new baseline for WFM software calls for increased self-service and smarter labor schedules, the research finds. Enterprises have embraced tools including forecasting engines that ingest live signals such as IoT telemetry rather than use historical averages to predict need. Companies expect smarter and AI-driven workforce systems that understand their needs for skills and worker availability and that hide the complexity of APIs and platforms — without the need for customization. Focused, in-depth research includes details about how three key industries are using advanced WFM software. For example, manufacturers are combining AI-based workforce schedules with real-time data about machine health to ensure they only assign workers when lines need them. Healthcare providers incorporate electronic medical records and work rules into software to more precisely predict staffing needs, and retailers use data such as weather reports and foot-traffic patterns captured by computer vision to adjust rosters in minutes. For its 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Workforce Management, ISG evaluated software providers across five platform categories — Workforce Management Basics, Workforce Management Suites, Workforce Management Healthcare, Workforce Management Manufacturing and Workforce Management Retail — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 23 providers were assessed: ADP, ADP WorkForce Software, Dayforce, ATOSS, Blue Yonder, Dayforce, Deltek, Infor, isolved, OneAdvanced, Oracle, Paychex, Paychex Paycor, Paycom, Paylocity, Quinyx, Relicon, Rippling, SAP, TCP Software, UKG, Workday and Zebra. 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 Workforce Management were the following: Workforce Management Basics: Oracle was the highest-rated provider overall, followed by ADP and UKG. Oracle was designated a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, ADP in six and UKG in two. In addition to the three overall leaders, ADP WorkForce Software, Blue Yonder, Dayforce, Deltek, Infor, isolved, Quinyx, Rippling, SAP, Workday and Zebra also were rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative. Workforce Management Suites: Oracle earned the highest overall rating, followed by ADP and UKG. Oracle was named a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, ADP in six and UKG in two. In addition to these providers, ADP WorkForce Software, Dayforce, Deltek, Quinyx, SAP and Workday also were rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative. Workforce Management Healthcare: Oracle received the highest overall rating, with ADP taking second place and UKG taking third. Oracle was designated a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, ADP in six and UKG in two. In addition to the top three overall providers, ADP WorkForce Software also was rated Exemplary. Dayforce, Infor, Quinyx, SAP and Workday were rated Innovative. Workforce Management Manufacturing: Oracle earned the highest overall rating, followed by ADP and UKG. Oracle was named a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, ADP in six and UKG in two. In addition to these providers, ADP WorkForce Software, Dayforce, Deltek, Infor, SAP and Workday also were rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative. Workforce Management Retail: Oracle was the highest-rated provider overall, followed by ADP and UKG. Oracle was designated a Leader in all seven evaluation categories, ADP in six and UKG in two. In addition to the top three overall providers, ADP WorkForce Software, Dayforce, Infor, SAP and Workday also were rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative. 'Workforce management software is essential for a wide range of businesses that rely on hourly workers. It has become increasingly flexible in self-service scheduling and pay options for workers,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'The research provides new opportunities for organizations to assess their existing providers for WFM and determine those best prepared to lead in the new AI software-driven economy.' The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Workforce 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 Workforce Management 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 CONTACT: Press Contacts: Laura Hupprich, ISG +1 203 517 3132 [email protected] Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG +1 978 518 4520 [email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CONNECTICUT INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CONSULTING DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LABOR SECURITY SOFTWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT HUMAN RESOURCES ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION SOURCE: Information Services Group, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 07/03/2025 09:00 AM/DISC: 07/03/2025 09:01 AM
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.
Korea Herald
25-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Actian Embeds Data Contracts, Governance by Design into Development Workflows to Increase Data Reliability
Actian's "data contract first" principle enables full visibility and control over distributed data assets, from creation to consumption ROUND ROCK, Texas, June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Actian, the data division of HCLSoftware, today announced Actian Data Intelligence Platform enhancements that enable enterprises to transform how they make distributed data trustworthy and reliable at the source before consumption, creating a solid foundation for AI implementations. The new capabilities automate data products and integrate data contracts to foster greater trust in data, ensuring accuracy and reliability to accelerate AI and data-driven initiatives. Actian's "data contract first" approach embeds governance by design early in the data lifecycle using shift-left principles via data contracts and automated processes. This ensures data products, which are created by individual domains, are well-documented and easy to use with quality guarantees from the start. As enterprises embrace distributed data architectures, the need for data product approaches becomes critical. ISG Software Research predicts that "by 2027, more than 6 in 10 enterprises will adopt technologies to facilitate the delivery of data as a product."¹ "As enterprises embrace data products to enable self-service analytics, they require robust data quality and governance," said Matt Aslett, Director of Research, Analytics and Data at ISG Software Research. "By incorporating these controls directly into data pipelines, the Actian Data Intelligence Platform is designed to enable enterprises to scale to data democratization safely." To address this need, the Actian Data Intelligence Platform embeds data contracts directly into development workflows to define clear expectations, enforce compliance automatically, and catch quality issues at the source before they propagate downstream. The result is more reliable AI outcomes, faster time-to-insight, reduced compliance risk, and lower operational costs. To facilitate data discovery, individual domains publish their tailored data products into the enterprise data marketplace in the Actian Data Intelligence Platform. Dedicated APIs automatically register and update data products within existing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, reducing manual efforts and ensuring data catalogs stay current. "The challenge of decentralized environments isn't just managing data across domains – it's ensuring quality and governance at scale," said Emma McGrattan, CTO at Actian. "Making high-quality, well-documented data products easily accessible with the Actian Data Intelligence Platform improves data democratization and enables a data-sharing culture, while our data contract first approach ensures reliable data from source to consumption." The platform supports decentralized data ownership, breaking down silos to improve collaboration and democratize data across business and IT users. With streamlined data discovery and consumption, business users can quickly find, understand, and use the exact data they need. The platform's federated knowledge graph-powered search engine delivers context-aware results while maintaining enterprise-wide compliance. Access request workflows provide centralized, transparent approval processes with clear audit trails. To further enhance data accessibility, Ask AI, Actian's new AI-powered natural language query capability allows users to search using everyday language to ask questions, with relevant results ranked by the organization's glossary. This capability eliminates technical barriers and accelerates self-service analytics across the organization. The new capabilities work across federated metamodels while delivering complete data lineage visibility. When combined with Actian Data Observability, organizations can ensure data products conform to established data contracts. By enriching well-defined data assets with context, quality metrics, lineage, and usage insights, organizations can better leverage data for AI and other use cases. The new data contract and data product features are available immediately in the Actian Data Intelligence Platform. The Ask AI capability is in private preview. For more information about the new features and others now available, review the " Data Contracts, AI Search, and More: Actian's Spring '25 Product Launch" blog. About Actian Actian empowers enterprises to confidently manage and govern data at scale. Actian data management and data intelligence solutions help streamline complex data environments and accelerate the delivery of AI-ready data. Designed to be flexible, Actian solutions integrate seamlessly and perform reliably across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments. Learn more about Actian, the data division of HCLSoftware, at
