Contract Lifecycle Management Market – Key Research Findings Many global companies are spread across different industry verticals and different regions of the world. These companies have to comply with different set of rules and regulations for different regions. The contract lifecycle management market is witnessing incremental growth, as companies are coming up with better solutions, which helps them to comply with all the latest compliance and regulatory guidelines in case of any updates or changes in industry regulations. One of the key developments in the contract lifecycle management landscape reflect a rise in usage of cloud based contract lifecycle management solutions. Improved security, unlimited data storage and access to this stored data from anywhere is showing a remarkable growth in the contract lifecycle management market. Cloud based contract lifecycle management solutions are expected to hold almost 70% of the market share by 2029, and these solutions are gaining popularity by helping users to outline fast growing company’s rules and policies. Thus the cloud based software solutions are anticipated to trigger the growth of the contract lifecycle management market.

Paradigm Shift Towards Contract Management Software is Enhancing Revenue Generation Many companies deal in hundreds of contracts with different lifecycles, which makes it very difficult to manage all of these manually. Contract lifecycle management software helps to keep all of a firm’s contracts together in a single electronic repository. This contract lifecycle management software repository gives contract managers direct access to the contracts they need to manage. This repository also ensures compliance with governance and audit requirements. Moreover, this contract lifecycle management software supplies data from the contract to the transaction systems to execute ordering, purchasing, or invoicing transactions accurately, and also supports the risks and obligation entitlements in the contract portfolio. Hence, there is a rise in demand for this software, which drives the growth of the contract lifecycle management market. Each region or country has a different set of rules or regulations, which leads to heavy burden of international regulations for compliance teams. This situation can result in some non-compliance and manual errors, or result in some regulations getting overlooked. Contract lifecycle management software helps companies cope up with all the latest rules and compliance in case of any updates or changes in industry regulations. Thus, by using contract lifecycle management software, companies can avoid massive penalties associated with non-compliance. Thus, an increase in the growth of contract lifecycle management market is expected during the forecast period.

Challenges Faced while Using the Contract Lifecycle Management Software Before making enterprise-wide decisions, it is very important to ensure that the company can see all the legacy contracts. Most of the contracts with other entities are in formats such as PDF, word, and others, and therefore, the company can make contract lifecycle management systems more efficient by centralizing all contracts. Legacy contracts can be significant in some instances but may not be of interest to all companies and hence, companies try to avoid centralization of such contracts. Moreover, this process has to be done manually in contract lifecycle management software and it is quite time consuming as well as costly, thus most companies avoid this kind of consolidation. This is likely to pose a significant challenge in the contract lifecycle management software

North America Poised for High Penetration with Advanced Technologies The North American contract lifecycle management market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 13.0% during the forecast period. This growth of contract lifecycle management market can be attributed to integration of technologies such as IoT, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and others. Such integration can lead to development of the contract lifecycle management software with much more capabilities and improved performance. Moreover, presence of leading players in this region is also anticipated to boost the growth of the contract lifecycle management market. On the other hand, the contract lifecycle management market in Europe is also witnessing significant growth with the increasing adoption of contract lifecycle management solution in small and medium enterprises in this region. With rising competition among leading market players, more and more companies in Germany, France and Italy are adopting these solutions to enhance their operational efficiency and propel the growth of the contract lifecycle management market.

Contract Lifecycle Management Market Structure The global contract lifecycle management market is fragmented due to the presence of large number of players in the market. However, the leading players of contract lifecycle management market such as Information Services Group, Inc., Icertis and Oracle have their expertise in the field of artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud platform and analytics. These companies have continued to dominate the contract lifecycle management market landscape due to increasing number of strategic partnerships and acquisitions in order to enhance their customer base and product portfolio. For instance, in July 2019, Icertis was recognized as a top strategic partner of Microsoft as the company’s contract lifecycle management solution gives enterprises powerful new capabilities to manage risks, maximize revenue and control costs. Moreover, this solution can also turn contracts into strategic business assets, driving the growth of the contract lifecycle management market.

The Analyst’s Viewpoint A comprehensive view of the contract lifecycle management market has led our analysts to conclude that, the market is proliferating at an impressive rate. Regions such as North America and Europe are holding a large part of the contract lifecycle management market. Integration of technologies such as IoT, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and others could provide assistance as a time saving and a cost effective strategy thereby fueling the growth of the contract lifecycle management market. New technological innovations and Strong financial position of key market players will also give impetus to the contract lifecycle management market.

Contract Lifecycle Management – Onboard With Latest Advancements in Technology In the past few years, automated technologies have played a pivotal role in shaping the current landscape of several industrial sectors. At present, automated technologies are an integral component of law firms and legal teams worldwide. One aspect that has experienced notable adoption and progress is legal contract lifecycle management. The surge in adoption of advanced contract lifecycle management processes is primarily boosted by demand for transparency and efficiency by clients from legal teams. In addition, regardless of the type of business, organizations get into several contracts on a regular basis. The nature of the contract could vary from binding suppliers and purchasers to creating legal bonds with other parties. Thus, it is essential for companies to implement contract lifecycle technology to achieve efficiency in contract management and upgrade the outdated processes. The growing adoption of technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI) in contract lifecycle management solutions is likely to mold the future landscape of the contract lifecycle management market.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Redefining the Modern Day Contract Lifecycle Management Processes Over the course of the last decade, innovative technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) have generated a significant amount of interest in commercial applications. Moreover, these technologies have played a key role in transforming an organization’s operational capabilities. At present, a large number of companies are recognizing the potential of AI and integrating the technology to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and save time. As smart technologies continue to make huge strides, a number of market players are setting their sights on AI technologies to not only simply the contract management process but also to attract a new segment of customers. Bottlenecks existing in the current contract management process which hinder an organization’s efficiency include, dealing with massive datasets and performing repetitive tasks. In the current competitive landscape, maximizing efficiency and streamlining business operations is imperative for companies and thus, several organizations are leaning towards artificial intelligence to improve their contract lifecycle management. In the current scenario, automation of contract lifecycle management processes is a growing trend and is expected to continue in the foreseeable future as machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence makes steady inroads into the contract lifecycle management market. The role of AI in contract lifecycle management can be segregated into three major segments including, data extraction from current contracts using machine learning, AI assistance for contract authoring, and AI-centric contract obligation management.

North America and Europe Lead the Innovation Race The contract lifecycle management market is set to experience an impressive growth in Europe and North America owing to high adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT). Further, the onset of the aforementioned technologies has significantly enhanced the performance and capabilities of modern day contract lifecycle management software. The presence of established market players including Apttus, Cobblestone Software, and Icertis among others has played a key role in shaping the current market landscape in North America. The market in Europe has gained noteworthy momentum in the last few years owing to high demand for contract lifecycle management software from small to medium-sized enterprises.

‘Smart Contracts’ with Blockchain on the Horizon The adoption of technology in the contract lifecycle management space has picked up significant pace in recent years. The onset and evolution of disruptive technologies including AI and blockchain are expected to revolutionize the future of contract lifecycle management systems. Prominent software companies are addressing the growing demand for optimized contract management by integrating state-of-the-art technologies such as AI and blockchain. Sensing the growing importance of governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) coupled with client collaboration, active players in the market are redefining their innovation strategies to fulfil the aforementioned requirements. In addition, multiple companies are refining user experience (UX) by formulating efficient and smarter workflow models and notification systems. Although the adoption of block chain in contract management is at a nascent stage, as the technology matures, it is likely to pave way for ‘smart contracts’ in the coming years.

How Growth Will Unfold Owing to the presence of large number of companies, the current global contract lifecycle management market shows a high level of fragmentation. Software companies including, Apttus, Icertis, and Information Service Group, Inc. are expected to be at the forefront in terms of innovation and technology integration in the coming years. Further, as penetration of advanced technologies continues to deepen, contract lifecycle management processes are likely to shift from tedious and manual paper-based systems towards an efficient and a futureproof processes. In addition, as more customers recognize the importance of upgrading the outdated contract management systems, the contract lifecycle management market is set to experience a robust growth in the coming years.