Continuing adoption of autonomous agents will increase business efficiency and motivate stronger customer service, ISG Provider Lens™ report says
LONDON, April 17, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI-driven automation, particularly through Salesforce’s Agentforce, is beginning to change how businesses in the U.K. operate and could have wider societal implications, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
Salesforce Agentforce enables fully autonomous AI agents that perform tasks independently across the Salesforce Customer 360 platform. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.K. finds that Salesforce’s transition to an agent-first operational model is both a catalyst for business transformation and a topic of societal importance in the U.K.
"Adopting an agent-first model is a seismic shift for organizations, not just technologically but culturally," said Anthony Drake, partner, ISG. "As autonomous agents become smarter, more efficient and more agile, entire customer interaction workflows will be redefined, and new decision-making processes will follow suit."
Successfully integrating autonomous agents will require comprehensive enterprise governance frameworks that establish clear operational and ethical boundaries for agents, along with risk management protocols that monitor and mitigate potential threats while adhering to stringent compliance guidelines.
As AI agents become more commonplace in people’s lives, the report says U.K. consumers may grow accustomed to instant service from businesses and public services, leading to new standards for customer service. Organizations that invest early in developing managed agent services, or partnering with their developers, have a strong chance of securing significant competitive advantage.
"The rise of Agentforce clearly illustrates that the era of static SaaS is evolving into a dynamic, AI-powered future defined and accelerated by autonomous and agent-driven enterprises," said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. "For those in the Salesforce managed services sector, this transformation is an opportunity to lead by evolving into managed agent service providers that help businesses embrace this shift strategically."
The report says Salesforce ecosystem partners will be relied upon to provide a multitude of critical business needs, including robust security protocols and compliance measures, change management and more in-depth insight into clients’ business performance, ROI and efficiency.
For more insights into the challenges facing U.K. enterprises using Salesforce, including how to harmonize the AI strategies of different vendors and how to integrate human and digital workforces, plus ISG’s advice for solving them, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.K. evaluates the capabilities of 52 providers across six quadrants: AI-powered Multicloud Implementation Services – Large Enterprises, Implementation Services for Core Clouds and AI Agents – Midmarket, Implementation Services for Marketing and Commerce with AI Enablement, Managed Application Services – Large Enterprises, Managed Application Services – Midmarket, and Implementation Services for Industry Clouds.
The report names Accenture, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS and Wipro as Leaders in four quadrants each. Capgemini, Credera, Deloitte and IBM are named Leaders in three quadrants each. HCLTech, Hexaware, PwC and Reply are named Leaders in two quadrants each. BearingPoint, Coforge, Globant, LTIMindtree, Nextview Consulting (Sabio Group), OSF Digital, Pracedo, Sabio, UST and VRP Consulting are named Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, NTT DATA is named as a Rising Star — a company with a "promising portfolio" and "high future potential" by ISG’s definition — in two quadrants each. Hexaware, Reply and Xenogenix are named Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
In the area of customer experience, HCLTech is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among Salesforce ecosystem partners. 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 Cognizant and Hexaware.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.K. 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.
