HCM is Back! Why AI Means The HCM Market Is Poised for Growth.

Today, after in-depth meetings with Workday, SAP, UKG, Dayforce, Hibob, Gloat, and others, I’m ready to say “the SaaSPocalypse is over.” HCM is poised for massive growth ahead.

And there’s more – I describe the five new “redefining” features of Agentic HCM (Human Capital Management) platforms and why this may unlock a $10 Billion new revenue market for major HCM players. You as a buyer or consumer of these systems have to start to think about these systems differently. Rather than see them as Payroll and HR “boat anchors” which you have to buy, they’re now “growth enablement platforms.”

This is all discussed in detail in our HR 2030 research and advisory services, and I’ll be talking publicly about this at Unleash and other conferences this Fall and next year. Stay tuned for more to come.

Additional Information

HR 2030: Dynamic Enablement for Growth

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Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Introduction: HCM Market's Big Comeback
• (00:01:06) - Trend 1: Multifunctional Agentic Workflows
• (00:01:51) - Trend 2: Conversational Interfaces
• (00:02:14) - Trend 3: Embedded Workforce Benchmarking Data
• (00:03:55) - Trend 4: Platforms for Building Your Own Agents
• (00:04:18) - Trend 5: Governance and Agent Management Tools
• (00:05:41) - Market Consolidation and Impact on Small Vendors
• (00:07:28) - Rising HCM Revenues and Value Shift
• (00:08:07) - Cross-Functional Value Examples from SAP, Workday, UKG
• (00:08:48) - ROI Modeling and Growth-Oriented Use Cases
• (00:10:09) - Example Transaction and Token Cost Economics
• (00:11:47) - Market Size Estimate and New Revenue Potential
• (00:12:26) - Compute Costs Declining Despite Revenue Growth
• (00:13:25) - Budget Concerns and Reframing AI as Growth Tool
• (00:14:11) - Real Benefit of AI: Growth, Not Headcount Cuts
• (00:15:17) - Decline of Small Vendor Innovation and Consolidation
• (00:16:58) - From Administrative Systems to Capacity Management
• (00:18:07) - Agents as Valuable Employees Needing Management
• (00:20:18) - Closing Thoughts and Invitation to Connect