Ventana Research Releases Buyers Guide for Payroll Management

    BEND, OR, November 10, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ventana Research released its 2023 Buyers Guide for Payroll Management, a quantified, research-based report evaluating technology providers and products. The Buyers Guide assesses 8 vendors' products using our Value Index methodology to evaluate software in seven key categories that are weighted to reflect buyers' needs based on our expertise and research. The Buyers Guide for Payroll Management evaluates products that address key elements of payroll management as we define it.

Over the last three decades, payroll management has been widely outsourced. As a result, most payroll management operations were either partially or completely severed from other human capital management (HCM) processes. Organizations thus were not readily able to utilize payroll data to manage important initiatives such as pay-for-performance strategies, optimizing worker schedules or pay equity analyses. This isolation from the evolution of HCM prevented organizations from using payroll information and planning in strategizing.

Now, however, technology is available that integrates the various aspects of HCM, connecting HR, payroll, talent and workforce management information and processes. Furthermore, analysts, managers and executives can apply powerful analytics tools to enable better-informed decisions. More recently, tools such as robotic process automation, chatbots and AI-enabled predictive and personalization capabilities are contributing to easier and more effective workforce management.

"The necessity for managing payroll across domestic and global needs requires the optimization of the supporting business processes and meeting the expectations of the workforce with the engagement and experience they deserve," said Mark Smith, partner and head of software research at ISG. "The Buyers Guide for Payroll Management is the most authoritative source to assess and select software providers that meet overall needs for payroll in the US and across the globe, and unlike other market research, it uses a sound methodology looking at the products and the experience for which enterprises should expect."

The Buyers Guide for Payroll Management evaluates the following vendors that offer products that address key elements of payroll management as we define it: ADP, Ceridian, Infor, Oracle, Paylocity, SAP, UKG and Workday.

The research finds ADP atop the list, followed by Oracle and UKG. Companies that place in the top three of a category earn the designation of Leader. Oracle has done so in all seven categories; ADP in six; and SAP and UKG in four.

The research places vendors into one of four overall categories: Exemplary, Innovative, Assurance, or Merit. This representation classifies vendors' weighted performance overall in Product Experience and Customer Experience. The vendors were awarded the following categories:

Exemplary – ADP, Oracle, SAP and UKG.
Innovative – There were no vendors rated Innovative.
Assurance – There were no vendors rated Assurance.
Merit – Ceridian, Infor, Paylocity and Workday.

This Ventana Research Buyers Guide for Payroll Management is the distillation of over a year of market and product research efforts. It is an assessment of how well vendors' offerings will address organizations' requirements for payroll management software. The index is structured to support a request for information (RFI) that could be used in the RFP process by incorporating all criteria needed to evaluate, select, utilize and maintain relationships with technology vendors. An effective product and customer experience with a technology vendor can ensure the best long-term relationship and value achieved from a resource and financial investment.

The structure of the research reflects our understanding that the effective evaluation of vendors and products involves far more than just examining product features, potential revenue or customers generated from a vendor's marketing and sales efforts. We believe it is important to take a comprehensive research-based approach since making the wrong choice of payroll management technology can raise the total cost of ownership, lower the return on investment and hamper an organization's ability to reach its potential performance. In addition, this approach can reduce the project's development and deployment time and eliminate the risk of relying on a short list of vendors that do not represent the best fit for your organization.

"Organizations that operate in multiple countries but with disparate payroll systems that are themselves disconnected from their other human capital management software can benefit from using global payroll software," notes Robert Kugel, Executive Director and head of business research at ISG. "Being able to handle this critical management function on a worldwide scale can boost productivity, improve performance and ensure compliance."

The Buyers Guide for Payroll Management is neither sponsored nor influenced by technology vendors and is conducted solely in pursuit of Ventana Research's mission to provide value to business and IT through the Consulting, Advisory, Research, and Education (CARE) portfolio of services. Ventana Research's goal is to help guide organizations to optimal efficiency in their use of technology investments for business and IT. Please click here to learn more and read the Buyers Guide for Payroll Management.

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research has the most authoritative and respected market research and advisory services in the software industry and is now part of ISG. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops, and our research and advisory services, Ventana On-Demand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information, and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our tracking of thousands of software providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost, and risk.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage of software providers in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research's insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations' use of information and technology through benchmark research, education, and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

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