Large, midsize and specialist service providers help companies gain business value from broad or targeted rollouts, ISG Provider Lens^® reports say

Enterprise implementations of generative AI (GenAI) have evolved over the past year from proof-of-concept experiments to production deployments, with organizations seeking different provider partners and outcomes based on their needs and capabilities, according to new research reports published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Specialists report finds that many companies have begun structured adoption of GenAI for limited purposes, turning to service providers that focus on a narrow set of domains or technical capabilities. These organizations are less interested in rapid, large-scale deployments than in projects that deliver measurable business value within a specific context. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Large and Midsize report, also published today, finds that other enterprises have moved beyond isolated use cases and are integrating GenAI into end-to-end workflows while building AI ecosystems aligned with business objectives.

“Enterprises are not impressed by pilots alone,” said Steve Hall, chief AI officer, ISG. “They want GenAI delivery models that can handle real workloads and withstand operational pressures. For some organizations, that means projects limited in scope, while others are deploying GenAI across multiple business functions.”

GenAI is becoming recognized as a strategic asset that can enhance productivity and competitiveness through capabilities including hyperpersonalization, scalable automation and real-time intelligence, ISG says. As enterprise investment in GenAI grows, the service providers that help clients deploy it have evolved in different ways. Large providers have scaled up their infrastructure, formed partnerships and developed proprietary models, while most midsize players continue to focus on accelerators, pilots and integration expertise.

Specialist service providers often play a decisive role for companies rolling out GenAI in precise, selective implementations designed to avoid excessive complexity, the report says. They provide skilled, focused teams to co-create solutions with clients for specific functions or industries. Companies particularly seek specialists that can harmonize data and embed trust frameworks within a single workflow, designing specific business metrics from the outset.

Rather than one-time demonstrations, many organizations are beginning to seek repeatable, production-ready GenAI components, ISG says. They are responding to a trend in the past year among specialist providers of packaging niche capabilities into reusable toolkits or mini-platforms. As enterprises become increasingly aware of the operational costs of GenAI, some are also choosing lean architectures offered by specialist providers that use smaller models or optimized data handling.

“Successful enterprises are proving that GenAI maturity depends more on reliability than on size or speed,” said Gowtham Kumar Sampath, principal analyst, ISG Provider Lens Research, and lead author of the reports. “Organizations that adopt disciplined, outcome-oriented methods are establishing the foundation for sustainable AI value creation.”

The reports also explore other trends in enterprise GenAI adoption, including the growing importance of integration and interoperability and the emergence of new types of evaluation pipelines.

For more insights into GenAI-related challenges facing enterprises, plus ISG’s advice for overcoming them, see the ISG Provider Lens^® Focal Points briefing here.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Specialists report evaluates the capabilities of 24 providers across two quadrants: Strategy and Consulting Services — Specialists and Development and Deployment Services — Specialists.

The report names Fractal, Lingaro Group, MathCo, Network Science, Quantiphi, Straive, Tiger Analytics, Tredence, Version 1 and WNS Analytics as Leaders in both quadrants.

In addition, Sigmoid is named as a Rising Star — a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in both quadrants.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Large and Midsize report evaluates the capabilities of 56 providers across four quadrants: Strategy and Consulting Services — Large, Strategy and Consulting Services — Midsize, Development and Deployment Services — Large and Development and Deployment Services — Midsize.

The report names Accenture, Apexon, Ascendion, Birlasoft, Brillio, Capgemini, Cognizant, EXL, Firstsource, HARMAN, HCLTech, Hexaware, IBM, Infosys, NTT DATA, Persistent Systems, TCS, Trigent, Unisys, UST, Virtusa and Wipro as Leaders in two quadrants each. It names Deloitte and DXC Technology as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Coforge is named as a Rising Star — a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in two quadrants. Atos and DXC Technology are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.

In the area of customer experience, HCLTech is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among GenAI service providers. HCLTech earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.

Customized versions of the report are available from Ascendion, Birlasoft, EXL Services, Hexaware, Lingaro, NTT Data, Persistent, Unisys, Version 1, Virtusa and WNS.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Specialists report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® global Generative AI Services — Large and Midsize report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens^® Research

The ISG Provider Lens^® Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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Enterprises are not impressed by GenAI pilots alone. They want GenAI delivery models suited to real workloads and operational pressures. Some companies are pursuing limited projects, while others are deploying GenAI across multiple business functions.