Over the past two years, I’ve led and operated as a practitioner in a sustained, feels-like-a-seven-day cadence to build what I believe is the most comprehensive enterprise software research foundation in the industry. Joining ISG after two decades of being a CEO and Chief Research Officer running a specialized research and advisory firm—Ventana Research—the new mandate was clear: expand software coverage more than 5x from 25 to 125+ categories and industrialize delivery through the ISG Buyers Guides, now accessible in concise, readable and listenable formats. That mission is complete: we’ve scaled operations across more than five consecutive quarters and expanded to a highly efficient global research engine that consistently delivers breadth, depth and enterprise-grade perspective.
The inflection point was only possible with talent, strategy and execution. We mobilized a global team to run a six-day, 24-hour operation, then rewired our methodology for an automation- and AI-enabled workflow that compresses cycle time without sacrificing rigor. While many research firms are somewhat afraid of AI-enhanced research, the use of innovative technology actually improves quality and articulation of the unique value from research in the underlying ratings and rankings, and the knowledge of a subject-matter expert industry analyst. Innovation here isn’t “more reports,” it’s a productized research engine using an enterprise-focused RFI with subject-matter-led evaluations, provider ratings and rankings, and a publication design that turns insights into guidance. The result is a repeatable, scalable engine for insight—not a report factory.
AI is reshaping the substance and cadence of software providers and their products. Product experiences (PX) now are evolving with weekly-to-monthly release cycles of innovation from GenAI in 2024 and now agentic AI in 2025, and now converging more directly with AI agents and a conversational AI focus that will be the focal point in 2026. Software providers have also been expanding the customer experience (CX) around the full software lifecycle, not just advocacy and marketing. The combination of both PX and CX is the foundation for evaluating any software provider and it is the framework for our Value Index methodology. The implication is clear: evaluations must track the details in the software platform and capabilities over rapid cycles. Without timely, expert updates, research lags the market and you can’t effectively guide enterprises on provider assessment, selection and value realization.
Market research insights should be enterprise-wide, not locked behind seat-based paywalls. Too much market research is still gated content and subject-matter-expert access is limited to a small number of procurement and IT users in an outdated model that limits impact. ISG Software Research is taking the opposite approach: we publish our ISG Buyers Guide quadrants and executive summaries freely and they are just a click away. We optimize them for generative engine optimization (GEO) so the right details surface in public AI assistants. The result is broader reach, faster answers and better-informed investment decisions for the entire enterprise. We augment this with incremental services that have research infused inside of true advisory and consultative services, not just an inquiry-based approach that limits conversation to 30-minute calls.
Market research for the technology industry must go beyond static 2×2 quadrants, isolated capability reviews or happy-customer-infused ratings. Most research firms haven’t updated their approach in decades. We’ve intentionally unified market trends, provider ratings, and overall rankings including customer experience and product experience with platform- and capability-level analysis. Instead of sampling 8–12 vendors, we assess the full category (often 15–35+ providers) to give enterprises complete understanding of the software category segment. If you are going to do software research on a category, make it complete, not incomplete. Crucially, all of this is anchored by subject-matter experts available for clear written guidance and live inquiry for consultation.
Ask yourself: which global research and advisory firm covers 2,500+ software providers across 125+ categories and delivers a unified experience with executive summaries you can read or listen to? ISG does. With us, you get more than blogs and opinions: our analysts blend thorough research with support for enterprises to rigorously evaluate providers and products, with outputs you can see, hear and read. Examine our software research against any competitor and examine the breadth, depth and accessibility and let it speak for itself.
Search our ISG Buyers Guides here: https://research.isg-one.com/buyers-guide-quadrant-search
Regards,
Mark Smith