In 2020, the top 10 Cloud HCM software vendors accounted for 78.2% of the global Cloud HCM applications market which grew 6.5% to approach $18 billion in license, maintenance and subscription revenues.
Last year Workday was No. 1 with a 14.6% market share riding on a 25% jump in Cloud HCM license, maintenance and subscription revenues. Microsoft was #2 followed by UKG, SAP and Oracle.
We ask the simple question: Who’s buying Cloud HCM applications from whom and why? And we provide the answers – supported by decades of research – to our clients around the world. (Sample from our Apps Database)
Through our forecast period, the Cloud HCM applications market size is expected to reach $23.8 billion by 2025, compared with $18 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7%.
| Exhibit 2: Worldwide Cloud HCM Software Market 2020-2025 Forecast, $M | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2020 | 2025 | 2020-2025 CAGR, % |
| Total | 18062 | 23852 | 5.7% |
Source: Apps Run The World, April 2021
Top 10 Cloud HCM Software Vendors
Human capital management includes such functions as eRecruiting (applicant tracking), Onboarding (employee profile), Performance Management (assessment, goal management, succession planning), Core HR (personnel administration, benefits, compensation management, payroll), Workforce Management (absence management, activity tracking, scheduling, time and attendance), and eLearning (learning management system).
Here are our forecast assumptions for the Cloud HCM applications market. Talent shortages, demographic shifts, contingent labor surges are reshaping the global workforce as firms of all sizes revamp their HR systems to better acquire, retain and source a new generation of employees. For more on our forecast assumptions, please visit our Quarterly Win/Loss Analysis Scoreboard and our Enterprise
Here are the rankings of the top 10 Cloud HCM applications vendors in 2020 and their market shares.
| Rank | Vendor | 2019 Cloud HCM Apps Vendors, $M | 2020 Cloud HCM Apps Vendors, $M | Growth, % | 2020 Cloud HCM Apps Market Share, % | Recent Developments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workday | Subscribe | Subscribe | 19.0% | Subscribe | Workday eclipses Microsoft as the No. 1 Cloud HCM applications vendors after showing increased traction with more than 3,450 customers picking up its flagship HR offerings including some of the biggest employers in the world. In its latest quarter Workday added 11 new Fortune 500 customers for the core HCM product and it now counts 45% of the Fortune 500 and 70% of the Fortune 50 relying on its products to manage tens of millions of employees. |
| 2 | Microsoft | Subscribe | Subscribe | 15.0% | Subscribe | After making significant inroads into job recruiters and HR executives that eye LinkedIn’s 700 million+ members with great interest, Microsoft now aims to expand its presence in Cloud HCM with Viva for enhanced employee experience that covers learning, workplace engagement, physical and mental well-being, all of which will be embedded and extended into other apps like Microsoft 365 and Teams throughout 2021. Try Microsoft Apps. |
| 3 | UKG | Subscribe | Subscribe | 21.3% | Subscribe | The 2020 combination of Ultimate Software and Kronos to create UKG – now with an annual run-rate of $3 billion+ – has catapulted the vendor to leapfrog incumbents such as ADP, Oracle and SAP as it starts delivering best-of-breed HR and workforce management products to an installed base of 55,000 customers around the world. Upcoming enhancements include expanded payroll offerings with improved user interface and predictive capabilities for better compliance reporting, along with robust analytics and HR service delivery. |
| 4 | SAP | Subscribe | Subscribe | 20.0% | Subscribe | In the Cloud HCM market, SAP now has more than 7,100 customers including 4,264 for Employee Central. That covers 179 million users worldwide. Some 110 customers of SAP HCM run its products with at least 100,000 users each. In 2021, SAP plans to beef up its workforce management offerings with plans to deliver robust time and attendance and eventually best-in-class scheduling capabilities. |
| 5 | Oracle | Subscribe | Subscribe | 28.0% | Subscribe | Oracle is expected to strengthen the entire HCM product lifecycle capabilities through increased use of AI and machine learning, better Employee Experience access to all backend systems, while reinforcing the needs to ensure diversity and inclusion, and enhanced cybersecurity protection for work from home employees. It will be anchored by the new Oracle Journeys designed to guide employees through tasks and key milestones while delivering quick access to resources they need across HR and the extended enterprise, such as “Return to the Workplace Journey” as part of the updated Oracle Employee Care Package that may be especially pertinent in the coming months as organizations start going back to in-office operations. |
| 6 | Cornerstone OnDemand | Subscribe | Subscribe | 29.8% | Subscribe | Following the 2020 acquisition of Saba, Cornerstone offers an expanded product portfolio for all facets of HR as it helps a diverse group of clients realize the potential of their people with purpose-built learning and development applications as well as topical eLearning and training content. The combined company covers more than 75 million users and serves approximately 6,000 organizations around the globe. |
| 7 | Paycom | Subscribe | Subscribe | 13.1% | Subscribe | With more than 31,000 clients across the United States, Paycom saw uninterrupted growth in 2020 and it quickly rebounded after a slight deceleration in the second quarter. For the second half of the year, Paycom resumed its double-digit subscription revenue gains after successfully upselling and cross-selling a range of HR, payroll and workforce management products to its SMB customers. |
| 8 | Paylocity | Subscribe | Subscribe | 11.0% | Subscribe | Despite rising layoffs among some of its customers, Paylocity has weathered the pandemic with 11% growth in its product revenues in 2020 as it back-filled its product portfolio last year with the addition of VidGrid for video learning and the $15 million acquisition of Samepage Labs for task management, file sharing, and real-time collaboration. |
| 9 | ADP | Subscribe | Subscribe | 5.0% | Subscribe | Thanks to its improved sales and field support capabilities, ADP has rebounded as its ADP Employer Services division, which offers a range of Cloud and onpremise HCM applications, started to see a turnaround in the second half of 2020 with increased revenues after a 5% drop in the second quarter. In the latest quarter, ADP Employer Services posted a 0.3% rise in sales, while its HR outsourcing arm rose nearly 5%. |
| 10 | Ceridian | Subscribe | Subscribe | 22.5% | Subscribe | Ceridian has succeeded with its Dayforce Cloud HCM products, which posted 23% growth in 2020 to reach more than $500 million in subscription revenues with nearly 5,000 customers and 4.2 million users. It also sells into 38,000 Powerpay customers for payroll, which also serves as a perfect vehicle for Ceridian to convert them into full-blown Dayforce subscribers. In 2021, Ceridian acquired Ascender HCM in Australia, which caters to 1,200 customers mostly in Asia Pacific. |
| Subtotal | Subscribe | Subscribe | 18.8% | Subscribe | ||
| Other | Subscribe | Subscribe | -22.3% | Subscribe | ||
| Total | Subscribe | Subscribe | 6.5% | Subscribe |
Source: Apps Run The World, April 2021
Other HCM software providers included in the report are: Asure Software, Beeline, Benefitfocus, Blackboard, Bullhorn, Businessolver, Campus Management, CareerBuilder, Castlight Health, Constellation Software Inc., Epicor, Equifax, Excelity Global, Field Nation, First Advantage, Freelancer, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Gusto, HealthcareSource, HealthStream Inc., Hilan, HireRight, HotSchedules, IBM, iCIMS, Infor, Insperity, Inc., Instructure, Inc., Intuit Inc., iSolved Human Capital Management, Jobvite, Madison Performance Group, Meta4, Morneau Shepell Inc., P&I Personal & Informatik AG, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, Peoplefluent, a Learning Technologies Group Company, Roper Technologies, Inc., Saba Software, Sage, ServiceNow, SHL, SmartRecruiters, Snag, Sopra HR Software, a subsidiary of Sopra Steria, Sterling Talent Solutions, SumTotal Systems, a Skillsoft Company, Talentsoft, TOTVS, Tricor Group, Trimble, TriNet, Tyler Technologies, UNIT4, Upwork, Vertafore, Visier, Visma, Vitech Systems Group, WalkMe, Wolters Kluwer, Workday, WorkForce Software, LLC, Works Apps, Xero, Yardi, Yonyou, Zellis (ex NGA Human Resources UK & Ireland), Zoho Corp., and many others.
Custom data cuts related to the Cloud HCM Applications market are available:
- Top 200+ Cloud HCM Applications Vendors and Market Forecast 2020-2025
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Industry (21 Verticals)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By HCM Segments and Categories
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Country (USA + 45 countries)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Region (Americas, EMEA, APAC)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Revenue Type (License, Services, Hardware, Support and Maintenance, Cloud)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Customer Size (revenue, employee count, asset)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Channel (Direct vs Direct)
- 2020 Cloud HCM Applications Market By Product
Exhibit 4 shows the enterprise applications market by functional area. The highest growth functional markets revolve around smaller segments like Analytics and BI, Collaboration, eCommerce, PPM and TRM, where first movers remain less established than those that for decades have been entrenched in functional areas like Content Management and CRM.
Cloud HCM Win/Loss Analysis As Part Of Enterprise Applications Buyer Insight Customer Database
On the buyer side, customers are investing in Cloud HCM systems based on new features and capabilities that are expected to replace their existing legacy systems. In many cases, competitive upgrades and replacements that could have a profound impact on future market-share changes will become more widespread.
Since 2010, our global team of researchers have been studying the patterns of the latest Cloud HCM software purchases by customers around the world, aggregating massive amounts of data points that form the basis of our forecast assumptions and perhaps the rise and fall of certain vendors and their products on a quarterly basis.
What follows is a sample of our latest findings, which are being updated continuously. Each year our research team identifies tens of thousands of these HCM customer wins and losses from public and proprietary sources.
The research results are being incorporated into regular updates in our Enterprise Applications Buyer Insight Customer Database. You can access the Quarterly Win/Loss Analysis Scoreboard and our Enterprise Applications Buyer Insight Customer Database by becoming a subscriber.
List of Cloud HCM Customers
| Customer | Industry | Empl. | Revenue | Country | New Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2U | Education | 5519 | $574.0M | United States | Workday HCM |
| 3M Company | Manufacturing | 96163 | $32.76B | United States | Workday HCM |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | Retail | 20000 | $4.83B | United States | Workday HCM |
| Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Life Sciences | 16370 | $5.16B | United States | Workday HCM |
| Bain Capital | Banking and Financial Services | 1000 | $105.0M | United States | Workday HCM |
| Bass Pro Shops | Retail | 40000 | $8.10B | United States | Workday HCM |
| Brady Corporation | Manufacturing | 5400 | $1.08B | United States | Workday HCM |
| City and County of Denver | Government | 11100 | $2.35B | United States | Workday HCM |
| City of San Mateo | Government | 475 | $140.0M | United States | Workday Payroll |
| H&E Equipment Services, Inc | Construction and Real Estate | 2254 | $1.17B | United States | Workday Performance Management |
| Fiserv, Inc. | Banking and Financial Services | 44000 | $14.85B | United States | Workday Prism Analytics |
| Adient | Automotive | 2500 | $223.0M | United States | Workday Recruiting |
| C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. | Distribution | 15500 | $25.00B | United States | Workday Recruiting |
| 90 Seconds | Professional Services | 200 | $23.0M | Singapore | LinkedIn Talent Solutions |
| Abunayyan Holding | Oil, Gas and Chemicals | 4500 | $800.0M | Saudi Arabia | LinkedIn Talent Solutions |
| Divi Resorts | Leisure and Hospitality | 2900 | $900.0M | United States | LinkedIn Talent Solutions |
| Oticon Australia | Manufacturing | 600 | $80.0M | Australia | LinkedIn Talent Solutions |
| San Francisco Symphony | Non Profit | 500 | $9.1M | United States | LinkedIn Talent Solutions |
| Allianz | Insurance | 147425 | $135.73B | Germany | Linkedin Learning |
| Marketo | Professional services | 1500 | $400.0M | United States | Linkedin Learning |
| State of Missouri | Government | 55890 | $30.00B | United States | Linkedin Learning |
| Alaska Air Group, Inc. | Aerospace and Defense | 23376 | $6.55B | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions |
| Amcor USA | Distribution | 35000 | $9.30B | Switzerland | Kronos Workforce Dimensions |
| Cheney Brothers, Inc. | Distribution | 3000 | $2.00B | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions |
| CoorsTek, Inc. | Manufacturing | 5900 | $850.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions |
| FreshDIrect | Retail | 3000 | $600.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions |
| Lifespan Corporation | Healthcare | 15000 | $2.00B | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions Analytics |
| Rouses Markets | Retail | 6500 | $900.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions Analytics |
| City Beach Australia | Retail | 2000 | $250.0M | Australia | Kronos Workforce Dimensions Core HR |
| Vigor Industrial LLC | Manufacturing | 2300 | $560.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Dimensions Core HR |
| Airlite Plastics Co. | Manufacturing | 900 | $120.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Ready |
| ALPLA Inc. | Manufacturing | 1400 | $200.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Ready |
| Farmer Brothers | Consumer Packaged Goods | 1521 | $595.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Ready |
| Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, Inc | Non Profit | 335 | $18.0M | United States | Kronos Workforce Ready |
| Air Canada Jazz | Transportation | 4400 | $1.67B | Canada | UltiPro HCM |
| BH Management Services, LLC | Construction and Real Estate | 2500 | $1.00B | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| Breg | Life Sciences | 1210 | $200.0M | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| Festival Foods | Retail | 7500 | $700.0M | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| Mid-Atlantic Health Care | Healthcare | 3700 | $1.00B | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| Mitchell International | Professional Services | 2500 | $450.0M | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| Pulice Construction Inc. | Construction and Real Estate | 650 | $160.0M | United States | UltiPro HCM |
| AGCO Corporation | Manufacturing | 20961 | $9.04B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Apleona GmbH | Professional Services | 17000 | $4.14B | United Arab Emirates | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | Life Sciences | 22000 | $6.20B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Block Communications | Media | 2500 | $500.0M | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Canada Life Assurance Company | Insurance | 10500 | $3.26B | Canada | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Collinson Group | Professional Services | 2100 | $300.0M | United Kingdom | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| DeLaval | Manufacturing | 4500 | $1.10B | Sweden | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Devon Energy Corporation | Oil, Gas and Chemicals | 1400 | $4.83B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Discovery Limited | Banking and Financial Services | 12000 | $2.38B | South Africa | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Flowers Foods, Inc. | Consumer Packaged Goods | 9700 | $4.12B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central |
| Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Life Sciences | 16370 | $5.16B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Learning |
| Capital Group | Banking and Financial Services | 7500 | $7.60B | United States | SAP SuccessFactors Learning |
| Commerzbank | Banking and Financial Services | 49410 | $9.46B | Germany | SAP SuccessFactors Learning |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | Retail | 20000 | $4.83B | United States | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Accelya Holding World S.L | Professional Services | 3000 | $300.0M | Spain | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Accolade Wines Australia Ltd | Manufacturing | 1700 | $653.0M | Australia | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| BAE Systems | Aerospace and Defense | 85800 | $23.21B | United Kingdom | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Banking and Financial Services | 10000 | $1.00B | United States | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| City of Atlanta | Government | 7921 | $2.62B | United States | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Danieli | Manufacturing | 9378 | $2.87B | Italy | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| DFC Global Corporation | Banking and Financial Services | 1700 | $275.0M | United States | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Dyson Ltd | Manufacturing | 12500 | $5.70B | United Kingdom | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Enerpac Tool Group | Manufacturing | 2300 | $493.0M | United States | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| First Abu Dhabi Bank | Banking and Financial Services | 5400 | $2.89B | United Arab Emirates | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| G4S plc | Professional Services | 1200 | $1.50B | United Arab Emirates | Oracle HCM Cloud |
| Darden Restaurants, Inc. | Retail | 180000 | $8.08B | United States | Cornerstone HR Suite |
| Bourne Leisure Ltd | Leisure and Hospitality | 16500 | $1.36B | United Kingdom | Cornerstone HR Suite |
| Haven Leisure Ltd | Leisure and Hospitality | 9000 | $300.0M | United Kingdom | Cornerstone HR Suite |
| The University of Auckland | Education | 13000 | $230.0M | New Zealand | Cornerstone HR Suite |
| Advanced Technology Services, Inc. | Professional Services | 3400 | $350.0M | United States | Cornerstone Learning Suite |
| Bourne Leisure Ltd | Leisure and Hospitality | 16500 | $1.36B | United Kingdom | Cornerstone Learning Suite |
| State of North Carolina | Government | 81000 | $51.29B | United States | Cornerstone Performance Suite |
| RLI Insurance Company | Insurance | 1050 | $915.0M | United States | Cornerstone Performance Suite |
| C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. | Distribution | 15262 | $16.63B | United States | Cornerstone Recruiting Suite |
| BlackHawk Industrial | Professional Services | 710 | $400.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Boxer Property Management Corp | Professional Services | 1000 | $100.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Egenera, Inc. | Professional Services | 305 | $79.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Goodwill Industries Bay Area | Non Profit | 710 | $24.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Oberg Industries | Manufacturing | 800 | $13.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Veterinary Practice Partners, LLC | Professional Services | 1370 | $300.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Zelis Healthcare | Healthcare | 600 | $100.0M | United States | Paycom HR Management |
| Miner | Transportation | 550 | $150.0M | United States | Paylocity HCM |
| NestLabs | Manufacturing | 1000 | $340.0M | United States | Paylocity HCM |
| San Francisco Symphony | Non Profit | 500 | $9.1M | United States | Paylocity HCM |
| Addus Homecare | Healthcare | 5002 | $648.0M | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| Holiday Retirement | Leisure and Hospitality | 11000 | $2.00B | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| Kratos Defense and Security Solutions | Oil, Gas and Chemicals | 3000 | $717.0M | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| Rush Enterprises, Inc. | Distribution | 7244 | $5.81B | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| Waste Pro | Utilities | 2600 | $464.0M | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| SanMar | Retail | 4000 | $1.50B | United States | ADP Vantage HCM |
| Alcami Corporation | Life Sciences | 1038 | $250.0M | United States | ADP Workforce Now |
| Bentall Kennedy | Construction and Real Estate | 1100 | $800.0M | Canada | ADP Workforce Now |
| Capstone Real Estate Services Inc. | Construction and Real Estate | 850 | $50.0M | United States | ADP Workforce Now |
| CECO Environmental | Professional Services | 985 | $417.0M | United States | ADP Workforce Now |
| Double Down Inc | Media | 280 | $66.0M | United States | ADP Workforce Now |
| Gun Lake Casino | Leisure and Hospitality | 1200 | $100.0M | United States | ADP Workforce Now |
Source: Apps Run The World, April 2021
Further Readings
The HCM Top 500 report series covers more than 3,000 pages of content, make sure that 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 2015-2020, and Customer Wins
- Top 10 Talent Acquisition Vendors, Market Forecast 2015-2020, and Customer Wins
- Top 10 Workforce Management Vendors, Market Forecast 2015-2020, and Customer Wins
- Top 10 HCM Software Vendors and Market Forecast 2015-2020
- HCM Top 500 Vendors To Navigate 22 HR Software Markets In Bumpy Year
- HCM Top 500 Leaderboard Showcases Biggest HR Apps Vendors in 22 Markets
- HCM Top 500 Ranks the World’s 500 Largest HCM Software Vendors
More Enterprise Applications Research Findings
Based on the latest annual survey of 3,000+ enterprise software vendors, Apps Run The World is releasing a number of dedicated reports, which profile the world’s 500 largest Enterprise Applications Vendors (Apps Top 500) and the world’s 500 largest Cloud Applications Vendors (Cloud Top 500) ranked by their 2015-2020 product revenues.
Their 2019 results are being broken down, sorted and ranked across 16 functional areas (from Analytics to Treasury and Risk Management) and by 21 vertical industries(from Aerospace to Utility), as shown in our Taxonomy. Further breakdowns by subvertical, country, company size, etc. are available as custom data cuts per special request.
Research Methodology
Each year our global team of researchers conduct an annual survey of thousands of enterprise software vendors by contacting them directly on their latest quarterly and annual revenues by country, functional area, and vertical market.
We supplement their written responses with our own primary research to determine quarterly and yearly growth rates, In addition to customer wins to ascertain whether these are net new purchases or expansions of existing implementations.
Another dimension of our proactive 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 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 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 enterprise software marketplace for years to come.
