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Workday Customer Blues: Their Evolution from Market Disruptor to Market Dominator

Where we were: Enter the Disruptor Workday's journey to becoming the market leader in the human capital management (HCM) space is a story of innovation, strategic partnerships, and capitalizing on market shifts. Founded in 2005 by former PeopleSoft executives, Workday entered a market dominated by the old guard, established players like SAP and Oracle. However, Workday differentiated itself by offering a cloud-based solution, a modern user interface, and a focus on user experience, which really resonated with both HR professionals and executives. Workday's growth was further fueled by its strategic partnerships. In 2010, it formed a key ...

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Docusign Fiscal Year End: Your Agreements & Analysis

Andrea Alterman
Jan. 26,2023 | Docusign

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Docusign went public in 2018. Financial Notes: DocuSign experienced tremendous growth due to the work-at-home environment – demand has slowed. YoY stock was trading in January of 2022 at $144/share – one year later it’s trading at $56/share or 62% drop In June 2022, their Q1 2023 earnings, missed expectations and stock dropped 24% Also in June, CEO Dan Springer departed with Chairman Maggie Wilderotter assuming interim role September 2022 – named Allan Thygesen ex-Google Executive as new CEO End of September cut 9% of workforce as part of restructuring plan December 2022, their ...

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Is There a Crack in the Rock that is Workday?

Andrea Alterman
Dec. 28,2022 | HCM Workday

Workday has become ‘the rock’ of the HCM market and has been for some time. Like so many others, Workday started out as the small innovator and market disruptor and has become the standard by which HCM software is measured. They deservedly earned this moniker as they continued (for the most part) their spirit of rapid innovation coupled with operating stability that their customers could rely on. IF Workday said they were going to deliver, they usually did. You might say they have gained in certain circles the same moniker that IBM once held (but no longer) in their heyday which was ‘No one ever got fired for hiring IBM’. But we have to ask ...

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State of the HCM Market: Where’s the Money Going?

The HCM market continues to be a growth category in technology representing over $17 billion in total worldwide spend in 2021. Global HCM players have been working feverishly to solidify and grow their base of Clients and get them locked into a platform for several years to shore up stock price and shareholder value. Like most market dominant players, these firms are more focused on driving average revenue per Client up, than they are on innovation. But with the rapid pace of change in the workforce, many customers are finding these large market players are not nimble enough to meet their needs. And if the investment money flow is any ...

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UKG: The Kronos and Ultimate Software Merger One Year Later

April 1, 2020, Ultimate Software and Kronos merged to create one of the larger players in the HCM market. Six months later, the company rebranded the merged entity to UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group). Now that just over a year has passed since the merger and with direct experience working with our Clients and the combined companies, we thought now would be a good time to assess where the company is in the landscape of HCM solutions, and where you should be encouraged (while exercising caution) in executing agreements going forward. You may also remember them as a 'one to watch' on our Top 10 HCM HRMS suppliers for 2021. Common Threads Unlike many ...

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Top 10 HCM HRMS Suppliers for 2021

Introduction: The WFA (Work from Anywhere) dynamic has challenged the traditional mission of HCM professionals. With these changes come new and unique ways that HCM and HRMS providers should be engaged and negotiated with. As you read through our top 10 providers, some strategic imperatives to keep in mind: Innovation: Shifts to WFA models require rapid, nimble, innovation focused providers. Keep this in mind when researching your renewal and or new agreements. Ensure the agreement’s terms and conditions meet YOUR expectations and projected business requirements – not the providers sales and margin goals. Return of the niche providers: HCM ...

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HCM Customers: 3 Warning Signs When Adding On Products

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused quite a bit of upheaval for IT and HR groups (and many others) as they support the immediate needs of their user communities and employees. To that end, the HCM suppliers have the tools that companies need to facilitate these requirements, but there are some warning signs that HCM customers should be wary of. We have noticed three prevalent themes coming through the ‘pandemic buying’ that are worth noting and taking heed when you see them. 1. Your HCM provider is offering a free trial of software you don’t currently own to “assist you during these times.” When you are offered anything for free, you are right ...

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Breaking Bad: The Big 5 HCM Suppliers

According to MarketWatch, the global HCM market size in 2018 was $12.6B USD and is poised to grow to $22.6B by 2025! That is an impressive growth number and companies will be going all out to claim their share of it. While these ‘Big 5’ take up a massive chunk of the HCM market, the biggest piece of the pie is still quantified as ‘other’, meaning there are a myriad of options for enterprises to choose from. Before you can even consider the niche players and startups on the cutting edge of HCM technology, you first have to know what the big players can do. They will claim they can do everything under the sun, but in some cases that’s only ...

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Six ‘Beware’ Factors to Consider in Today’s Cloud HCM Offerings

Its been a long time since HCM solutions were primarily used for ‘counting noses’. Companies large and small understand the strategic value in their workforce and are aggressively using HCM solutions to support their investment, and HCM providers know it. Between emerging technology, disruptive companies, mergers and acquisitions, changing licensing models, cloud migrations, and much more, to say today’s HCM software market is under rapid change would be a massive understatement. Unfortunately, none of us really have the luxury of ignoring these changes lest we be left in the wake of overpaying for a non-compliant, underperforming, and ...

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7 Ways to Walk the Walk With Disruptive Technology

Andrea Alterman
Jul. 1,2015 |

The Internet of Things ( IoT). Disruptive Technology. Market Disrupting Suppliers. Strategic Supplier Sourcing. Have you been hearing a lot about these terms within your organization while sitting in I.T. meetings and in line at the local Starbucks? Are you already seeing that shift in some technology spend to marketing and other digitally enabled parts of the business? Have your teams looked into investing more in technologies that would challenge the status quo, but in the end just go with what’s comfortable? Have your tier one technology suppliers filled you with enough fear, uncertainty and doubt around disruptive technology that you now ...

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