Welcome to The Margin, a newsletter designed to keep you on the leading edge of monetization.

In business, the difference between being ahead of the curve or slow to adapt is anything but marginal. The Margin aims to be the most useful, timely, and incisive ping that hits your inbox all week. It includes critical research and analyst insights to inform short and long-term decision making.

Why ICP Matters to Buyers and Vendors

Ideal Customer Profile

Most software companies struggle to articulate their ICP (Ideal Customer Profile). One in three software companies cannot crisply state its ICP or have any documentation of it.

The result? Vendors waste 10–20% of their precious marketing and sales spend chasing deals they are highly unlikely to win. Worse, two in five customers ends up making the wrong vendor selection, leading to a semi-failed, or completely failed implementation project. Both sides of the transaction lose because neither one took the time to understand the software’s true sweet spot.

Buyers are doing more research with AI and the internet — and yet the level of buyer/supplier friction is at an all-time high. First, immature vendors tend to inflate the reach of their company and products. Who isn’t an “enterprise class solution with infinite scalability”? Second, By understanding vendors’ ICP, users can significantly mitigate software acquisition risks. In our experience leading hundreds of software evaluations over the years, the right place to start is with matching a buyer’s use cases with vendor ICPs. Rankings and individual product assessments can come later.

For analysts, understanding each supplier’s ICP is essential to credibly advising clients. The CPQ — Configure Price Quote market is a good example. It’s highly fragmented and arguably it’s not even a single market. Even though there are over 100 CPQ vendors, the amount of direct competition is relatively low. Salesforce CPQ/Revenue Cloud Advanced does not compete against Tacton. Each product best addresses vastly different use cases. And yet, most research and product comparison sites place these products side-by-side. At MGI, we maintain ICPs for the vendors we rate (including Tacton and Salesforce CPQ/RCA). Users and vendors alike would be well-advised to sharpen their definitions/understandings of what a real ICP is. Both sides stand to gain from the exercise.

The AI Bubble: 2026 Software Valuation Update

Market bubbles eventually pop, and the AI bubble will be no different. With AI dominating funding conversations today, what’s the outlook for valuation multiples in 2026? How should investors determine valuations if AI crumbles? Will so-called AI-first start-ups continue to attract capital at super premium valuations? Will the shine return to traditional enterprise software categories?

MGI analysts will share fresh quantitative data on what factors drive valuations today, the M&A outlook and the probability of the IPO window opening in 2026.

Key Issues:

  • What factors are driving valuation multiples today and where are they headed?
  • Does profitability matter? Is the Rule of 40 relevant?
  • What are potential indicators of the AI bubble bursting?
  • What is the outlook for Software M&A? What are the tailwinds and headwinds?

Reserve A Seat: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2417634096892/WN_W-HXf5TjQ9i_BZtgCHxUBg?#/registration

For a confidential discussion with an MGI analyst, email us to schedule a private call.

Webinar Replay

Signals, Surprises, and What Comes Next

Signals, Surprises, and What Comes Next

Predictions for 2026 and 2025 Year in Review

As 2025 closes, MGI Research Managing Directors Andrew Dailey and Igor Stenmark cut through the hype in MGI’s annual Year Ahead/Year in Review webinar. This session focuses less on predictions-for-predictions’ sake and more on what actually changed market behavior — and what could meaningfully disrupt software, monetization, and AI in 2026.

Key takeaways:

  • The AI honeymoon is over: buyers now demand proof. “AI-first” without ROI is no longer enough.
  • CFOs are behind the wheel: rising AI costs and tighter budgets are pulling finance leaders deeper into tech and monetization decisions.
  • Monetization exposes the weak links: AI-driven pricing and usage models are exposing structural gaps in quote-to-cash and billing.
  • Consolidation is accelerating: selective IPO markets and uneven AI readiness are pushing mid-market vendors toward M&A.
  • Black Swan risk is underpriced: from AI vendor financial stress to geopolitics and energy constraints, 2026 has real tail-risk.

AI is table stakes, execution is not. In 2026, durable winners will be defined by monetization discipline, data quality, and resilience — not vision decks.

Watch Now: https://mgiresearch.com/webinar/2025-year-in-review/

The Margin Podcast, Episode 11

The Contract Intelligence Gap: Praful Saklani on Unlocking Revenue Hidden in Contracts

In this episode of The Margin, we unpack why organizations struggle to digitize their contracts — even after investing in contract repositories. Praful Saklani, CEO and Founder of Pramata, details the untapped value hidden in enterprise contracts. Despite major investments in CLM systems, most companies still can’t answer basic questions about their agreements. Saklani explains why legacy tools fall short, how AI, especially generative AI, can revolutionize contract intelligence, and why this shift must be viewed as a business-wide transformation. From pricing and renewal optimization to risk management and revenue growth, this episode is a wake-up call for C-level leaders.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • Why most CLM investments fail to deliver insight beyond basic document storage
  • How fragmented contract data undermines pricing, renewals, and margin expansion
  • Why contract intelligence is a CEO-, CFO-, and CRO-level monetization issue, not just a legal one
  • Where generative AI delivers real value in contract analysis (and where the hype breaks down)
  • How enterprises can unlock revenue, cost savings, and negotiation leverage from existing contracts

Listen on all major podcast platforms and on the MGI Research website: https://mgiresearch.com/podcast/the-contract-intelligence-gap-praful-saklani-on-unlocking-revenue-hidden-in-contracts/

Behind the Bill

What Billing Customers Really Think About Their Vendors

Based on confidential interviews with verified references across 35+ billing vendors, Behind the Bill reveals where billing platforms actually deliver and where they break.

What stood out:

  • Between 10–20% of vendor references wouldn’t recommend the product they use
  • Gaps in usage billing support remain a top reason for replacement
  • Scalability and support failures directly drive revenue leakage
  • ROI, not features, separates leaders from laggards

Reality check: customer enthusiasm ≠ customer satisfaction.

Download the report: https://mgiresearch.com/research/behind-the-bill/

Clause for Concern

What CLM Customers Really Think About Their Vendors

Based on verified interviews across 20+ CLM vendors, Clause for Concern shows why buyers upgrade, replace, or stall.

Key findings:

  • 1 in 5 customers are hesitant to recommend their CLM vendor
  • 75% expect to increase CLM spend in 2026
  • Costs have increased 5× in five years
  • AI is highly requested yet widely distrusted

Takeaway: CLM success hinges on execution, not promises.

Download the report: https://mgiresearch.com/clause-for-concern

Industry News

Amdocs Acquires Matrixx for $200M, Signaling Continued Consolidation in Telecom BSS

Amdocs acquired Matrixx for $200 million, a transaction widely characterized as a rescue of a struggling company. Matrixx was early to launch a cloud-based telco charging solution, and slow to expand beyond the confines of the legacy world of OSS/BSS. In spite of a very capable solution, the company was late in seizing monetization opportunities outside the communications industry. 2026 will see more late-stage vendors get acquired as investors seek liquidity and shift all new investments into AI-oriented solutions.

Biller Genie Raises $22M to Expand SMB AR Automation

Biller Genie raised $22 million in Series B funding to grow sales and marketing around its accounts receivable automation platform for consumer-oriented small business. The raise highlights sustained investor interest in back-office monetization infrastructure below the enterprise tier, where manual billing and collections remain a persistent drag on cash flow and operating efficiency.

BillingPlatform Appoints Chris Bishop as CEO to Support Next Phase of Growth

BillingPlatform named industry veteran Chris Bishop as CEO, signaling a leadership transition focused on operational scale and enterprise expansion. Well-regarded by customers, Bishop comes from Conga where he led sales and services.

ContractPodAi Rebrands as Leah, Signaling Broader AI Ambitions Beyond CLM

ContractPodAi, a pioneer in embedding “AI” into the name of a company, rebranded as Leah. The company is positioning itself as an AI platform serving the agentic needs of legal, procurement, and finance users. The move reflects a crowded, increasingly commoditized CLM market and the growing need for vendors to differentiate.

Medispend and RLDatix Life Sciences Complete Merger Under Medispend Brand

Medispend and RLDatix Life Sciences completed their merger, consolidating under the Medispend brand. The transaction creates a hefty compliance SaaS business serving the life sciences and healthcare industries. Serial-acquirer RLDatix previously added CLM and workflow vendors Ecteon (2021) and iContracts (2019) to its portfolio.

Onit Acquires LawBase to Expand Government Case Management Footprint

Onit acquired LawBase, extending its reach into public-sector case management. The acquisition highlights how legal-tech platforms are branching into adjacent workflows as growth in traditional enterprise legal management matures.

Orb Unveils New Brand Focused on Revenue Design in the AI Economy

Orb launched a new brand identity aligned with “revenue design” for AI-driven and usage-based business models. The rebrand reflects mounting pressure on stand-alone metering products to offer a more complete monetization solution. Orb is one of the few remaining independent providers of metering, as other point providers like Togai, Metronome, Octane, OpenMeter, and Amberflo have either been acquired or pivoted to different markets.

Rain Raises $250M at $1.95B Valuation to Scale Stablecoin Payments

Rain raised $250 million at a $1.95 billion post-money valuation, led by ICONIQ and joined by Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer, Lightspeed, and Galaxy Ventures. The raise underscores institutional interest in blockchain-based payment infrastructure, particularly where traditional settlement systems struggle with speed, cost, and cross-border complexity.

Sirion Secures Majority Investment from Haveli as CLM Activity Builds

Private equity firm Haveli Investments acquired a majority stake in Sirion, reinforcing investor conviction in CLM as system of record for mid-to-large organizations. The deal follows increased M&A and funding activity in the CLM space and marks a key milestone in the evolution of Sirion. Founded in 2012, Sirion is likely to undergo a shift in management as Haveli deepens and expands the team in a coming push for increased profitability and growth.

Wolters Kluwer appoints Maria Montenegro as CEO of Corporate Performance & ESG division

Wolters Kluwer named Maria Montenegro CEO of its Corporate Performance & ESG division. The leadership change reflect Wolters Kluwer’s ongoing effort to accelerate organic growth. The CCH Tagetik CPM platform grew 6% in 2024, and Wolters Kluwer is aiming for double digit growth. The Legal and Regulatory division continues to grow in mid-single digits, including the mid-year acquisition of Brightflag, a legal spend and matter management offering aimed at the midmarket.

Upcoming Events

NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show

  • January 11-13, 2026
  • New York, NY

MWC26 Barcelona

  • March 2-5, 2026
  • Barcelona

Conga Connect 2026

  • March 9-11, 2026
  • Orlando, FL

So What Have I Missed?

Our most recent and relevant research that will help you keep your finger on the pulse of AMP disciplines.

The Evergreen Archives

Curated past research that is still pertinent today.

That’s it for this issue of The Margin. If you’ve made it this far, we’ll certainly see you next time.

Warm wishes,

MGI Research

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