HCM Top 500 Leaderboard Showcases Biggest HR Apps Vendors Vying To Dominate In Scores of Markets, Verticals and Countries

Our second annual HCM Top 500 Market Report highlights the achievements of more than 1,000 HCM applications vendors across 22 segments in three primary groups – Core HR, Talent Acquisition and Workforce Management.

For the second year in a row, we are identifying top 10 leaders, ranked by their latest annual HCM applications revenues, in segments like Core HR, Payroll, applicant tracking and workforce analytics. The more we survey these market leaders, the better we understand the magnitude of change sweeping through companies regardless of their size and location. Many companies are entering uncharted territories, tackling a host of issues from workplace safety (borne out of the #MeToo movement) to the digital habits of the Millennials (manifested by how much screen time shapes the daily life of a typical 21-year-old).

In addition to their market segment, vertical and functional attributes, we are making available top 10 leaders in some 45 countries through our Downloads Subscription plan. The idea is to help buyers shortlist vendors that have done well in established markets like the United States as well as emerging countries like Oman. Increasingly we find indigenous vendors making a big difference in specific countries where they have done a superlative job meeting local requirements. Examples include Works Apps in Japan, LG lugar de gente in Brazil and Aditro in Sweden. Suffice it to say that we are not stopping there with 45 countries.

This report summarizes our research results, spanning thousands of interviews and continuous surveys with HCM vendors, customers and consultants over a four-year period, as we identify some of the most innovative, the fastest-growing, as well as the ones with unparalleled staying power because of their sizable Cloud and on-premise applications revenues after decades of selling Core HR, recruiting and time and attendance applications to millions of organizations around the world.

As shown in Leaderboard 1 below, the worldwide HCM applications market reached product sales of more than $16 billion in software license, maintenance and Cloud subscription revenues in 2016. We align the three major product groups – Core HR, Talent Acquisition and Workforce Management – with their purpose-built capabilities to help companies identify and recruit talents, manage and evaluate every aspect of Core HR function from compensation to learning, while running a range of other apps to boost workforce productivity.

Leaderboard 1 – HCM Applications Market By Vertical, Function, Cloud vs. OnPremise, 2016-2021 Forecast

Similar to any market-sizing report that we put out, the objective is to deliver independent research to our subscribers and readers that they can use to navigate the tumultuous times for smart hiring, constantly reinforcing company values in order to build an engaging workforce, while devising new ways to improve metrics from learning and development to increased productivity.

For decades, companies have invested heavily in training their people, the same way they have put to use some of the most advanced analytics tools ever being created to better manage their employees.

The tidal wave is getting stronger. Mercadona, a Spanish grocery chain with more than 1,600 stores and 79,000 employees, has chosen SAP to move its business into the cloud. Mercadona will adopt a fully integrated SAP platform for its end-to-end digital transformation, implementing a broad set of SAP solutions including SAP S/4HANA, SAP for Retail solutions, and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting and SAP SuccessFactors Learning solutions.

Similarly, AT&T is about to implement Oracle’s Field Service Cloud (OFSC) to optimize its scheduling and dispatching for its more than 70,000 field technicians. With OFSC, AT&T will combine its existing machine learning and big data capabilities with Oracle’s technology to increase the productivity, on-time arrivals and job duration accuracy of AT&T’s field technicians.

The examples illustrate the value of these HCM applications, especially in helping companies address staffing, learning and scheduling requirements for an army of employees, transforming their operations from typically a legacy system that is difficult to use and maintain to something that is lightweight and easy to run – similar to any app on a smartphone.

The good news is that HCM applications vendors are getting better at this. Workforce Software, for example, is adding R&D resources to improve its user experience. After buying WorkPlace for its scheduling applications, Workforce Software is strengthening its product portfolio in order to better compete with category leader Kronos. At the same time, Workforce sees an opportunity in bulking up its partner ecosystem for key verticals like retail and manufacturing, while streamlining implementation time by up to 40% in order to help customers generate better and faster returns on their software investment.

For its part, Kronos just announced a new suite of workforce management applications called Dimensions after spending millions in new Cloud infrastructure with the use of Google Cloud as well as advanced personalization capabilities for entering time cards and requesting time-off – all by accessing one’s smartphone.

This comes at a time when demanding users are raising the bar, putting the onus on HCM applications vendors to meet and support their ever-changing onboarding, career development, as well as ready access requirements to relevant data and insights in order to perform their tasks.

Many HCM applications vendors have done an admirable job standardizing the record-keeping functions of the personnel system, keeping track of everything from accruals to PTOs while delivering correct pay slips and other important compliance updates.

Furthermore, talent management vendors like BambooHR, ELMO and Reflektive have made such automation tools as continuous performance management, succession and rewards and recognition widely available as part of their standard features to end users around the world in real time.

In 2016, some of these vendors have gained ground by delivering a range of such best-of-breed features as part of their suite offerings. For instance, Oracle over the past year has incorporated more than 1,000 new features into its HCM Cloud. Oracle now packs everything from video-based learning to Anytime Feedback into its HCM Cloud suite, which already includes a revamped applicant tracking system and new modules for governance, risk and compliance as well as employee health and safety.

While some continue to build out their on-premise offerings, much of the growth is driven by their Cloud applications, as shown in Leaderboards 2 and 3 that rank top 10 vendors in the overall HCM apps market and Cloud HCM.

Leaderboard 2 – Top 10 Vendors In Overall HCM Applications Market, 2016

Source: Apps Run The World, December 2017

In 2016, Workday’s comprehensive Cloud HCM offerings coupled with its relentless focus on customer satisfaction propelled it to become the No. 1 vendor in the Cloud HCM applications market.

Leaderboard 3 – Top 10 Vendors In Cloud HCM Applications Market, 2016

Source: Apps Run The World, December 2017

HCM Top 500 By Functional Segmentation

All these developments will result in broadening the HCM applications market at the granular level.  Leaderboard 4 shows the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 vendors in each of the 22 HCM applications segments in 2016. For other key players, follow the links of these 22 HCM applications segments below and access an index page that lists profiles of dozens or more of other vendors that compete in the same segment.

Leaderboard 4 – Breakdown of HCM Applications Market by Segment and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Vendors in 22 Segments Based on Their Segment Revenues

Source: Apps Run The World, December 2017

HCM Top 500 By Vertical Segmentation

The worldwide Human Capital Management applications market is evolving across different industries as demographic shifts and the increased dependence on services sectors for job growth are leaving the global workforce in a state of flux.

In 2016, collectively healthcare, retail and professional services accounted for nearly 30% of the total spend in HCM applications given the aging population, growing consumer spending and increasing demand for specialized professional services have all contributed to job growth in healthcare, retail and professional services verticals especially in fast-growing countries like China and India.

Backed by their domain expertise and differentiated offerings, many HCM applications vendors that specialize in strategic verticals are finding increased traction.

Leaderboard 5 shows the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 HCM applications vendors in each of the 21 verticals with SAP, Kronos and Workday dominating 17 industries in 2016. For other HCM Top 500 vendors that cater to specific industries, follow the links of these 22 verticals below and access an index page that lists dozens or more of other players that have built a franchise in that vertical.

Leaderboard 5 – Breakdown of HCM Applications Market by Vertical and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Vendors in 21 Verticals Based on Their Vertical Revenues

Source: Apps Run The World, December 2017

HCM Top 500 By Region

If one maps the current working-age of about 64% to the global population of 7.4 billion, nearly 4.7 billion between the ages of 15 and 64 could be end users of HCM applications. Against this vast group, the segmentation of the worldwide HCM applications market extends across geographies.

HCM Top 500 By Country

Leaderboard 6 shows the biggest HCM applications vendors by country. In addition to the 16 countries listed below, downloads subscribers will be able to access the top HCM vendors in 45 countries.

The diversity of our HCM Top 500 underscores the HR continuum that companies are trying to sustain and strengthen, especially those that need to operate in multiple countries. In its latest annual report, Deutsche Bahn, the German rail company with nearly 300,000 employees, said it was rolling out a new recruiting software program as part of an EU-wide talent management program. Talentsoft for talent management, Facebook for social media recruiting, as well as a number of virtual-reality startups are helping DB and its 150-strong talent acquisition team identity cutting-edge technologies to fill the 7,000 to 8,000 positions each year vacated by departing and retiring employees.

HCM vendors are racing to support that strategy. In the fourth quarter of 2017, SAP announced extending localization support for its Employee Central product via its Upgrade Center to include Position Management, Total Workforce Management, integration and localized content for time off and Time Sheet for countries such as Australia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and USA. That in turn will provide HR managers more best-practice templates to roll out a consistent HCM strategy at the global level.

MOVE-IT, on the other hand, is one of the HCM Top 500 vendors with extensive ties to Egypt. With customers in 12 countries including many Gulf States, MOVE-IT said it is considered the first cloud based HR solution with dual language interface (Arabic and English). For any HR executive working in Egypt with more than 80 million people and a growing array of Cloud and HR options, choosing between a big vendor and a local hero will not be an easy decision.

Or take Xceed365 as an example, the Lagos, Nigeria-based vendor has won the support of some of the biggest banks in the country. These tier-one customers prefer to buy from local HCM heroes like Xceed365 capable of delivering extensive support as well as domain-specific in Core HR and talent management products, instead of partnering with others that are not ready to expand in Africa.

For HR executives, managing people is a universal challenge. With the advent of mobile technology and the spread of real-time information in split seconds, not running the right HCM applications may well be untenable at best, or detrimental in the worst-case scenario.

The purpose-built capability of this year’s HCM Top 500 vendors in 22 functional areas, 21 verticals and 45 countries serve as a game-changing reminder that choosing the right solution may well be the best antidote to a global challenge that could get more complicated for companies regardless of their size and location.

Leaderboard 6 – Breakdown of HCM Applications Market by Country and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Vendors in 16 Countries Based on Their Country Revenues

Source: Apps Run The World, December 2017

Workplace Safety, HR Data Validation, Screen Time vs Productivity Gains

In order for anyone to stay successful in the HCM applications market, the challenge is that the base line is constantly evolving. For much of 2017, workplace safety became a hot topic in social media with the revelations of sexual misconduct perpetrated by powerful media, business and government executives. Soon the #MeToo movement took on a new significance by inspiring ordinary workers in different industries and countries to speak out of their own sexual harassment experiences in the workplace.

The new base line is not whether any organization would be immune from the fallout given that there may be millions of companies with impeccable workplace safety records. Still, it only takes a single allegation to tarnish one’s reputation for good these days. So the issue is how HR should respond to any such exposure when it happens. Equally important is if HR should have implemented safeguards from whistle-blower hotlines to rigorous follow-throughs and direct reporting of such cases to the board and/or shareholders whenever they may occur.

For HCM vendors, the question is what role they should be playing to help companies mitigate such risks through real-time reporting, training as well as HR policy reviews. Addressing employee concerns on a pro-active basis may well be the visual cues that HR departments need to take in order to demonstrate their commitment to workplace safety. Amid low employment, the first thing any observant employee would want is the perception that their HR department is vocal and active about enforcing workplace safety.

The next priority for HCM vendors is to convince users the value of the HR data that are being generated.

Continuous feedback, micro-learning as well as other tools designed to help employees become more engaged in the workplace will form the basis of a new-generation of employee self-service and manager self-service systems. The key is whether these tools are being created using algorithms that may incorporate unintentional biases or flawed assumptions. Instead they need to be purpose-built to address a specific problem. The same applies to artificial intelligence and machine-learning systems that have been touted as the next big thing. Should they be considered the panacea that can fix organizational malaise or just more data being served up to justify knee-jerk reactions?

At a time when iconic organizations like General Electric are facing existential crisis, one is tempted to ask just how valuable are the data these companies have been generating and how they reflect their health, or the ability of their employees to harness such data.

For HCM vendors, the holy grail is to bullet proof the value of one’s HR data in order to ascertain the quality of new hires, the competitiveness of one’s compensation program, or the integrity of one’s time and attendance system to root out innocuous things like buddy-punching to outright fraud for systematic overpaying.

Last but not least, HCM vendors will have to find better ways to account for the time employees spend doing their jobs. If the stat of a person now spending more than 11 hours each day using electronic devices is to be believed, it’s worth asking how much more work can be done by that employee if his/her screen time rises or falls.

Does a company that foots the bill of a smartphone for its employees have the rights to decide how much screen time is allotted for work? Conversely, should a company prevent an employee from using his/her own smartphone if it interferes with their productivity? What should the social contract be like between employers and employees if the former do not have any control over how the latter spend their working hours?

While it’s purely academic to ask such questions, the bottom line is simple – to what extent can productivity improve if an employee’s screen time is taken into account?

In a services-based economy where someone is either a solution scientist (meaning their value rests with their ability to deliver and replicate a solution down to a science) or a project player (meaning their collective value depends on getting a project done to the satisfaction of their client), the amount of screen time these employees spend now matters a great deal.

To put it another way, labor activity, which used to measure how much time a worker spends on completing a task, is now going through seismic changes with the advent of eCommerce, robots, and autonomous vehicles. There used to be a time when one could track the labor activity of a store clerk. With growing popularity of eCommerce, the store clerk could well be a robot in a fulfillment center, or a solution scientist running the entire fulfillment center with just a handful of colleagues.

In the future, HCM applications will be tasked to do different things and measuring how employees optimize their screen time may well be one of their biggest attributes. Already, HCM applications have emerged as the career assistants, policy advisors and work-life balance pilots for employers and employees alike. Undercut by tech-savvy competitors that have succeeded in exploiting digital transformation that has reshaped the advertising industry, Publicis Groupe decided to break its many silos by launching the Power of One model. Eschewing a long-standing multi-divisional structure with an international network of agencies, Publicis quickly developed a talent management system that combs through the resumes of the nearly 80,000 employees of the 92-year-old French advertising agency in order to identify the skills needed to handle digital-marketing projects that are in demand by its customers.

Instead of relying on seniority, titles, and traditional advertising work experiences, Publicis runs algorithms to build a tiger team of account managers, coders, graphic designers and copywriters, according to a January 19, 2018 article in the Wall Street Journal. In other words, Publicis now places greater value of its HCM applications above corporate hierarchies and conventional business processes in order to accommodate ever-changing customer requirements.

After all, with home-delivered meal kits, ubiquitous Uber rides, a staggering number of  review sites and social media feeds now dominating many lives, the task of managing people and resources takes on a different meaning evolving from a static system sitting in the background to a pro-active intelligent app that helps users make the right HR and career decisions.

Companies and employees will be better off to ask if they are well protected by using such apps and their trust in these systems could well be a clear indicator on how they want to be seen in the world, reflecting their core values in terms of finding talents, grooming them and helping them realize their true potential.

Further Readings

The HCM Top 500 report series covers more than 3,000 pages of content, make sure you don’t miss any of the 500+ profiles by becoming a subscriber. Or you can catch the highlights with the following links:

• Top 10 Core HR Vendors, Market Forecast 2016-2021, and Customer Wins
• Top 10 Talent Acquisition Vendors, Market Forecast 2016-2021, and Customer Wins
• Top 10 Workforce Management Vendors, Market Forecast 2016-2021, and Customer Wins
• Top 10 HCM Software Vendors and Market Forecast 2016-2021
• HCM Top 500 Leaderboard Showcases Biggest HR Apps Vendors Vying To Dominate in Scores of Markets, Verticals, Countries

Methodology

Similar to any of the hundreds of reports that we have published since 2010, HCM Top 500 is a labor of love. Since 2013, our team of researchers have been conducting rigorous research on thousands of HCM vendors, surveying them quarterly, reviewing their products at even shorter intervals because of the compressed Cloud release cycle, and discussing HR vision with their customers to better understand user needs as well as different paths to upgrade and replace their existing systems.

Each year we also attend many industry-wide and vendor-specific user conferences – HR Tech Conference, Dreamforce, UNLEASH (ex HR Tech World), SAPPHIRENOW, Oracle Open World, just to name a few, to gauge what customers are looking for.

Throughout this process comes a rich database of more than 2,000 HCM vendors as well as over 50,000 HCM customers that have been touched one form or another through regular surveys, phone and in-person interviews, email exchanges, and social media interactions, etc.

On a proactively basis, we contact the vendors directly to tabulate their latest quarterly and annual revenues by HCM segment, vertical market, revenue type, region, country and customer size.

We supplement their written responses with our own primary research to determine quarterly and yearly growth rates in each of the 22 segments and 21 verticals, in addition to customer wins to ascertain whether these are net new purchases or expansions of existing implementations.

Another dimension of our quantitative research process is through continuous improvement of our customer database, which stores more than one million records on the enterprise software landscape of over 100,000 organizations around the world.

The database provides customer insight and contextual information on what types of HCM, enterprise software systems and other relevant technologies are they running and their propensity to invest further with their current or new suppliers as part of their overall HCM and IT transformation projects to stay competitive, fend off threats from disruptive forces, or comply with internal mandates to improve overall enterprise efficiency.

The result is a combination of supply-side data and demand-generation customer insight that allows our clients to better position themselves in anticipation of the next wave that will reshape the HCM marketplace for years to come.

HCM Market Taxonomy

Definition of Human Capital Management (HCM) Applications

Core HR and Performance Management

Talent Acquisition 

Workforce Management

• Apps Business
• HCM Market
• Feature