Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Software Space in 2020

Contract Lifecycle Management space is evolving at a rapid pace. Both the number of providers as well as the overall spend on contract lifecycle management has increased significantly over the past few years. A space that has traditionally been championed by the likes of SAP Ariba and IBM Emptoris is now being redefined by a new generation of technology companies who have taken a fresh outlook and are breathing in new life to CLM technology.

These new generation providers have given a tough competition to the existing leaders and have made their mark by consistently by quickly acquiring noteworthy market share coupled with significant startup financing. 

Here's what the CLM space looks like in 2020. 

Disclaimer: Please note that the below categorization is not a comparative listing and is simply an independent perspective on the CLM space based on various parameters.

The Undisputed Leaders 

This comprises of contract lifecycle management vendors that are frequently cited as the top providers with strong CLM capabilities and noticeable market share in various independent research reports.

• Apttus
• Agiloft
• DocuSign (SpringCM)
• Exari (Coupa)
• Icertis

Leaders of Tomorrow

Providers that are frequently recognized for their strong CLM capabilities and proven ability to deliver strong value for their clients. 

• Conga (Apttus)
• GEP
• SirionLabs

The Deep-Rooted Chiefs

Providers with significant market share, influential customer relationships, service delivery capabilities, support structure, and/or unique capabilities that enable them to hold a strong place. 

• Exigent
• Legal Suite CLM
• Oracle Contract Management
• SAP Ariba
• Seal (Docusign)

The Challengers

Providers with strong capabilities, demonstrated strength, noteworthy clients, and top of the mind recall in CLM space. Some of them offer CLM capabilities as part of the bigger software suites (

• CLM Matrix (Wolter Kluwer's)
• CobbleStone
• Concord
• Coupa
• Determine (Concentric)
• Ivalua
• Jaggaer Contracts+
• Symfact
• SynerTrade
• Zycus

Emerging Players

CLM vendors that have started to make their mark in this space, or have been present for sometime but aren't necessarily the most cited ones. One or more of these providers may have higher market share or revenues than players cites in some of the previous categories.

• Brightleaf Solutions
• Corridor Contracts 365
• Contract Express
• ContractRoom
• ContractPodAi
• ContractSafe
• Contract Wrangler
• Gatekeeper
• Ironclad
• Kira Systems
• Medius (Wax Digital)
• Onit
• OpenWindows
• OptimusBT
• Outlaw
• Ultria
• Volody

Establishing the contract Management priorities.

Contract Management has come a long way from being an operational record keeping system to being a strategic priority. More and more organizations are realizing the importance of streamlining contract management processes to gain visibility and control over contractual risks, eliminate inefficiencies and contract leakage, and ensure compliance.

There are more than a 100 contract management systems available in market today each promising unique features and capabilities to enable you to achieve your contract management initiatives. Such a huge list of options makes it difficult to identify the right solution. Often also because the contract management initiatives have various aspects to them and it is easy to get lost amid contradictory advises available on various sources.

This blog is aimed at eliminating all the hype and hoopla around the contract lifecycle management (CLM) technology and enabling you to achieve success in your contract management initiative - one step at a time.

It is essential to have a good understanding of your current CLM maturity to set realistic expectations from your CLM initiative. Some of the key questions to ask are:

1. How are contracts currently managed in your organization at each stage of contract lifecycle?
2. How does the sales team and other business users place the contract draft request? Are there any issues? Some examples of it include: Not knowing where to place the contract draft request, delays in response from the general counsel and legal team in responding to the request, gaps in understanding between the two teams, etc.
3. How are the contract creations requests assigned to various legal team members? 
4. Is yours a high contract volume environment?
5. Where and how are the contracts stored? Do you often find it difficult to locate past contracts?
6. How easy it is for you to locate all the contracts satisfying a certain criteria? 
7. Are there defined processes to ensure a smooth contract transition between the sales team and the service delivery?
8. Does the vendor management / service delivery team has clarity on what needs to be delivered as per the agreed contracts?
9. Are there frequent issues between buyers and suppliers?
10. Are you looking to manage goods contracts or services contracts?
11. Do you want to manage sell side contracts or buy side contracts or both?

These are just a few examples. There may be many other similar questions depending on your industry, and company environment. Answering these questions is key to establishing the key CLM priorities.

Does this sound relevant? Share with us your CLM priorities and dilemmas. And look forward to our next post ... let us solve the CLM puzzle ... one step at a time.