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ISG Research is happy to share insights gleaned from our latest Buyers Guide, an assessment of how well software providers’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements. The Total Compensation Management: ISG Research Buyers Guide is the distillation of a year of market and product research by ISG Research.
ISG Research has conducted market research for over two decades across vertical industries, business applications, AI and IT. We have designed the ISG Buyers Guide™ to provide a balanced perspective of software providers and products that is rooted in an understanding of business and IT requirements. Utilization of our research methodology and decades of experience enables our Buyers Guide to be an effective method to assess and select software providers and products. The findings of this research provide a comprehensive approach to rating software providers and rank their ability to meet specific product and customer experience requirements.
The ISG Buyers Guide for Total Compensation Management is the distillation of continuous market and product research. It is an assessment of how well software providers’ offerings address enterprises’ requirements for Total Compensation Management software. The Value Index methodology is structured to support a request for information (RFI) for a request for proposal (RFP) process by incorporating all criteria needed to evaluate, select, utilize and maintain relationships with software providers. The ISG Buyers Guide evaluates customer experience and the product experience in its capability and platform.
The structure of the research reflects our understanding that the effective evaluation of software providers and products involves far more than just examining product features, potential revenue or customers generated from a provider’s marketing and sales efforts. It can ensure the best long-term relationship and value achieved from a resource and financial investment We believe it is important to take a comprehensive, research-based approach, since making the wrong choice of Total Compensation Management software can raise the total cost of ownership, lower the return on investment and hamper an enterprise’s ability to reach its potential. In addition, this approach can reduce the project’s development and deployment time and eliminate the risk of relying on opinions or historical biases.
ISG Research believes that an objective review of existing and potential new software providers and products is a critical strategy for the adoption and implementation of Total Compensation Management software. An enterprise’s review should include a thorough analysis of both what is possible and what is relevant. We urge enterprises to do a thorough job of evaluating Total Compensation Management and offer this Buyers Guide as both the results of our in-depth analysis of these providers and as an evaluation methodology.
This research-based index evaluates the full business and information technology value of total compensation management software offerings. We encourage you to learn more about our Buyers Guide and its effectiveness as a provider selection and RFI/RFP tool.
We urge organizations to do a thorough job of evaluating total compensation management offerings in this Buyers Guide as both the results of our in-depth analysis of these software providers and as an evaluation methodology. The Buyers Guide can be used to evaluate existing suppliers, plus provides evaluation criteria for new projects. Using it can shorten the cycle time for an RFP and the definition of an RFI.
The Buyers Guide for Total Compensation Management in 2025 finds Oracle first on the list, followed by ADP and Salary.com.
Software providers that rated in the top three of any category ﹘ including the product and customer experience dimensions ﹘ earn the designation of Leader.
The Leaders in Product Experience are:
- Oracle.
- ADP.
- Salary.com
The Leaders in Customer Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP
The Leaders across any of the five categories are:
- ADP and Oracle, which have achieved this rating in four of the five categories.
- Salary.com in three categories.
- SAP in one category.
The Buyers Guide for Compensation Insights in 2025 finds Oracle first on the list, followed by Salary.com and ADP.
Software providers that rated in the top three of any category ﹘ including the product and customer experience dimensions ﹘ earn the designation of Leader.
The Leaders in Product Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP.
The Leaders in Customer Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP.
The Leaders across any of the five categories are:
- ADP, Oracle and Salary.com which have achieved this rating in three categories.
- SAP in one category.
The Buyers Guide for Compensation Operations in 2025 finds Oracle first on the list, followed by ADP and Salary.com.
Software providers that rated in the top three of any category ﹘ including the product and customer experience dimensions ﹘ earn the designation of Leader.
The Leaders in Product Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP.
The Leaders in Customer Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP.
The Leaders across any of the five categories are:
- ADP and Oracle, which have achieved this rating in five of the five categories.
- Salary.com in four categories.
- SAP in one category.
The Buyers Guide for Compensation Planning in 2025 finds Oracle first on the list, followed by Salary.com and ADP.
Software providers that rated in the top three of any category ﹘ including the product and customer experience dimensions ﹘ earn the designation of Leader.
The Leaders in Product Experience are:
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
- ADP.
The Leaders in Customer Experience are:
- Anaplan.
- Oracle.
- Salary.com.
The Leaders across any of the five categories are:
- Oracle, which has achieved this rating in four of the five categories.
- ADP and Salary.com in three categories.
- Anaplan and SAP in one category.
The overall performance chart provides a visual representation of how providers rate across product and customer experience. Software providers with products scoring higher in a weighted rating of the five product experience categories place farther to the right. The combination of ratings for the two customer experience categories determines their placement on the vertical axis. As a result, providers that place closer to the upper-right are “exemplary” and rated higher than those closer to the lower-left and identified as providers of “merit.” Software providers that excelled at customer experience over product experience have an “assurance” rating, and those excelling instead in product experience have an “innovative” rating.
Note that close provider scores should not be taken to imply that the packages evaluated are functionally identical or equally well-suited for use by every enterprise or process. Although there is a high degree of commonality in how organizations handle total compensation management, there are many idiosyncrasies and differences that can make one provider’s offering a better fit than another.
ISG Research has made every effort to encompass in this Buyers Guide the overall product and customer experience from our total compensation management blueprint, which we believe reflects what a well-crafted RFP should contain. Even so, there may be additional areas that affect which software provider and products best fit an enterprise’s particular requirements. Therefore, while this research is complete as it stands, utilizing it in your own organizational context is critical to ensure that products deliver the highest level of support for your projects.
You can find more details on our community as well as on our expertise in the research for this Buyers Guide.
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