Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows

Transforming Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows: AI, Automation, and Workflow Optimization

Enterprise Applications are the lifeblood and framework for accomplishing work in the modern organization. We examine 12 categories of applications used in the enterprise, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship  Management (CRM), Workplace Collaboration, Human Resources, Supply Chain & Logistics, Analytics & Business Intelligence  (BI), Project & Portfolio Management (PPM), Industry/Vertical-Specific Applications, and Communication Services, and delve into how they shape the broader enterprise information architecture. We also focus on the underlying technologies and systems that power these applications, including artificial intelligence and automation, and assess how trends in employee engagement and experience impact the market. 

When working on strategy, product, marketing, and sales initiatives, consider intelligence from our expert analysts – planned deliverables for 2026 include:

  • Market Data – bi-annual market sizing & five-year forecast  
  • Decision-Maker Survey – bi-annual IT Decision Maker survey  
  • Analyst Insight Report – a report on critical issues in the industry  
  • State of the Market Report – a report on technology, markets, products, and vendors
  • Futurum Signal Report Access – any Signal Report published in the relevant practice area

Market Taxonomy

The Enterprise Applications Market, by Submarket

The submarkets Futurum's Market Data model sizes and forecasts across this practice.

  • Enterprise Resource Planning

    Financials, procurement, manufacturing, inventory, and operational planning, plus performance and compliance.

  • Customer Relationship Management

    Sales, marketing, service, and field operations across the full customer lifecycle.

  • Workplace Collaboration

    Messaging, meetings, documents, and shared workspaces for communication and teamwork.

  • Human Resources

    Employee data, payroll, and scheduling, plus the talent lifecycle from hiring to performance.

  • Supply Chain & Logistics

    Planning, procurement, order management, inventory, logistics, and fulfillment.

  • Analytics & Business Intelligence

    Reporting, visualization, planning, forecasting, and business performance management.

  • Project & Portfolio Management

    Resource planning, project tracking, portfolio optimization, and services automation.

  • Industry/Vertical-Specific

    Suites tailored to regulated or specialized industries; the largest sub-market in the model.

  • Communication Services

    Cloud contact center and unified communications, with workforce optimization.

  • Experience Management

    Customer and employee experience, Voice of Customer, and survey and brand research.

Also decomposed by industry vertical, deployment model, and region.

The Latest Insights On Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows

Genesys Bets on Agentic Orchestration to Own Enterprise CX

Genesys Bets on Agentic Orchestration to Own Enterprise CX

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP and Research Director at Futurum, shares his insights on Genesys's new four-layer agentic orchestration stack, which aims [...]
Adobe's CEO Succession Bets on Agentic AI and CX Dominance

Adobe’s CEO Succession Bets on Agentic AI and CX Dominance

Keith Kirkpatrick, Vice President & Research Director at Futurum, analyzes how Adobe's CEO succession positions the company to capitalize on [...]
Salesforce Bundles AI, Slack, and Tableau Into Three New Edition Tiers

Salesforce Bundles AI, Slack, and Tableau Into Three New Edition Tiers

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP and Research Director at Futurum, shares his insights on new Agentforce Edition tiers, and discusses how consolidation [...]
Adobe Embeds 70+ Tools in Slack, Targeting Workflow-Native AI Spend

Adobe Embeds 70+ Tools in Slack, Targeting Workflow-Native AI Spend

Keith Kirkpatrick, Vice President & Research Director, Enterprise Software & Di at Futurum, Adobe's embedding of 70+ tools into Slack [...]
Salesforce Winter '27: Agents Now Run the Workflow

Salesforce Winter ’27: Agents Now Run the Workflow

Salesforce's Winter '27 release enhances Agentic AI across contact center, commerce, and scheduling, with 73.1% of enterprises prioritizing it and [...]
WalkMe Turns Digital Adoption into a Conversational AI Workflow with AI Authoring and AI Insights

WalkMe Turns Digital Adoption into a Conversational AI Workflow with AI Authoring and AI Insights

Keith Kirkpatrick, Vice President & Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows at Futurum, WalkMe's agentic AI lets digital adoption [...]

The Latest NEWS

Enterprise Applications Market Set to Reach $1.1T by CY2031 as 57.7% of Buyers Prefer Consumption or Outcome Pricing for GenAI Add-Ons
August 13, 2026

Enterprise Applications Market Set to Reach $1.1T by CY2031 as 57.7% of Buyers Prefer Consumption or Outcome Pricing for GenAI Add-Ons

Futurum Research’s 2H 2026 Enterprise Applications Market Sizing & Five-Year Forecast projects the market at $1.1T by CY2031, while its Decision Maker Survey (N=833) finds 57.7% of buyers prefer consumption...
Enterprises Maintain 56% Build-In-House Preference Despite SaaS Strengths
June 17, 2026

Enterprises Maintain 56% Build-In-House Preference Despite SaaS Strengths

Futurum’s Keith Kirkpatrick finds 56% of enterprises still prefer to build in-house, virtually unchanged year-over-year, yet SaaS vendors retain structural advantages in workflows, security, and integrations that internal teams cannot...
The Hidden Moat: Why Operational Depth Defeats the 'Build It Yourself' Narrative
June 4, 2026

The Hidden Moat: Why Operational Depth Defeats the ‘Build It Yourself’ Narrative

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP & Research Director at Futurum, shares his insights on the buy vs build debate for enterprise applications, and discusses the appropriate use of AI to build functional...
41% of Firms Plan App Consolidation; Best-of-Breed Procurement Falls to 20.7%
May 12, 2026

41% of Firms Plan App Consolidation; Best-of-Breed Procurement Falls to 20.7%

Futurum’s Keith Kirkpatrick reveals best-of-breed procurement has fallen to 20.7% as 41% of enterprises plan to consolidate app stacks, driven by the data unification demands of enterprise AI....
Are Outcome-Based and Hybrid AI Pricing Models Rewriting the Vendor Playbook?
May 12, 2026

Are Outcome-Based and Hybrid AI Pricing Models Rewriting the Vendor Playbook?

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP & Research Director at Futurum, shares his insights into outcome-based or hybrid pricing models offered by SaaS vendors, and discusses how these models help to align vendors...
Futurum Signal Update: Will Agentic AI Differentiate Sales, Marketing & Service?
April 20, 2026

Futurum Signal Update: Will Agentic AI Differentiate Sales, Marketing & Service?

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP and Research Director at Futurum, explains the core factors that are driving the evolution of the increasingly agentic-focused sales, marketing, and service platforms market....

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If any of this is useful, I would love to talk.

Benjamin Brown, VP Custom Research, Futurum Research

Benjamin Brown

VP, Custom Research · The Futurum Group

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