ISG Ranks 52 CRM Vendors, Warns Over 50% Can’t Deploy AI by 2027
ISG released its 2026 CRM Buyers Guide evaluating 52 software providers across five platform categories, naming Salesforce and Oracle as Overall Leaders in every segment and HubSpot third in six. The report warns that through 2027 over half of enterprises lack the architecture to deploy AI-driven CRM features, risking revenue growth.
1. 2026 CRM Buyers Guide Overview
ISG’s 2026 Buyers Guide assesses 52 CRM software providers across five platform categories—Customer Relationship Management, CRM Platforms, CRM Marketing, CRM Sales and CRM Services—and includes separate evaluations for Emerging Providers, Digital Commerce, Partner Relationship Management and Sales Engagement solutions.
2. Top Ranked Vendors
Salesforce and Oracle secured Overall Leader status in all platform categories, while HubSpot achieved third-place Overall Leader in six segments; ServiceNow and Microsoft rounded out third-place standings in the remaining categories. Emerging Providers guide crowned Creatio as Overall Leader, followed by SuperOffice and Pipedrive.
3. AI Deployment Challenge
The research finds that AI features like predictive scoring, segmentation optimization and service routing enhance CRM but remain augmentative. It predicts that through 2027 more than 50% of enterprises will lack the system architecture to deploy the latest AI-driven sales, service and partner relationship capabilities, potentially capping revenue growth.
4. Buyer Considerations and Recommendations
ISG advises companies to evaluate CRM providers based on AI strategy, architectural flexibility, ecosystem maturity, configurability and governance. Firms are cautioned to avoid excessive customizations that create technical debt and limit future innovation when selecting CRM platforms.