More than 250 submissions show the shift from labor-heavy services to AI-led, outcome-driven operating models is moving from theory to execution

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- HFS Research today announced the winners of the inaugural HFS Services-as-Software™ Awards, recognizing organizations that are turning AI, automation, proprietary technology, and reusable intellectual property into measurable enterprise outcomes. Selected from more than 250 submissions, the honorees offer early evidence that the services economy is beginning a structural shift away from labor-dependent delivery and toward intelligent, scalable operating models.

HFS coined and trademarked Services-as-Software™ to describe the convergence of services and software: expertise, workflows, data, and technology combined into AI-led solutions that deliver outcomes rather than simply supplying labor or licenses. The awards recognize the organizations making that model operational across enterprises, service providers, software companies, and AI-native firms.

"The old deal is dying: services firms selling more people, software firms selling more licenses, and enterprises being left to stitch it all together," said Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HFS Research. "Services-as-Software collapses that divide. AI does the work, IP scales the expertise, and providers get paid for outcomes, not effort. These winners aren't polishing the legacy model. They're replacing it."

2026 HFS Services-as-Software Award winners
The first-, second-, and third-place honorees in each category are:

Best Services-as-Software Transformation
Enterprise–provider collaborations delivering measurable results through AI and automation.

• First place: Ema — Ema's AI Employee absorbs end-to-end tasks rather than isolated steps. At Wipro, 3M+ queries are resolved in seconds, with employee satisfaction up 20% and HR operations costs down 50%.
• Second place: Capgemini — Capgemini transformed a global electronics enterprise's month-end close into a governed, AI-run process, achieving more than 80% straight-through automated processing at 100% accuracy.
• Third place: Cognizant — Cognizant built an AI-first innovation center for Citizens Bank that reached production in under six months with zero attrition and targets $100 million in annual run-rate savings.

Best Services Eating Software
Service providers embedding proprietary software and reusable IP into delivery.

• First place: Genpact — Genpact's Agentic operations model is live with 70+ enterprise clients (15% of the Fortune 100), embedding AI agents across accounts payable, procurement, R2R, insurance, and banking to replace labor-centric delivery.
• Second place: Firstsource — Firstsource replaced a labor-heavy collections model with its proprietary Kairos platform, reducing the Aptia operation from 270 to 70 FTEs and shifting more than half of its revenue to outcome-based terms.
• Third place: IBM Consulting — Hybrid-AI delivery platform running behind 150,000 consultants and 4,000+ digital workers across roughly 200 live client accounts, then productized and sold to clients as software—priced against the productivity it creates rather than the hours it replaces.

Best Software Eating Services
Software companies replacing customization and manual effort with intelligent automation.

• First place: Humanize — The humanAIze platform performs SAP, Salesforce, and ServiceNow implementation work traditionally billed as consulting hours, reducing program staffing needs by roughly half across live client deployments.
• Second place: Kognitos — Kognitos enables business users to create automations in plain English and deploy them in hours rather than weeks. A supply chain client uses the platform to process more than 50,000 bills of lading each month without an IT team.
• Third place: Celonis — Process intelligence platform establishing a single operational knowledge model for Renault Group, enabling real-time balance sheet velocity and replacing disconnected analytics with a continuous agentic execution layer.

Best Startup / Emerging Firm
AI-native innovators building scalable, outcome-led operating models.

• First place: KUNGFU.AI — AI-native consulting and engineering firm that has automated 70% of $18B+ in annual loan factoring for Triumph Financial, collapsing funding time from 1-2 days to 30 seconds across 25M+ transactions per year.
• Second place: Aokah — Aokah's GCC Execution Intelligence platform replaces periodic, consulting-led governance with continuous AI-driven orchestration. A Fortune 500 chemical manufacturer used it to cut GCC location shortlisting from 10 weeks to less than one week.
• Third place: Veltris — AI orchestration platform rebuilding healthcare revenue cycle decision rules with full explainability, validated against signed-off criteria before shipping and achieving 3x member portal adoption.

"More than 250 organizations entered these awards because the market is searching for a better way to create and capture value," said Saurabh Gupta, President, Research and Advisory Services, HFS Research. "The strongest submissions did more than demonstrate technical innovation. They connected AI and automation to a redesigned operating model, clear commercial logic, and measurable business impact. That combination is what will separate meaningful enterprise reinvention from another cycle of pilots."

What the winning entries reveal about the next operating model
Across the winning submissions, HFS identified a common break from traditional delivery models. The honorees are not simply applying AI to existing processes; they are redesigning how expertise is codified, how work is performed, how value is measured, and how providers and enterprises share accountability for outcomes.

• Intelligence is moving into the delivery core: AI and automation are embedded in workflows and decisioning, rather than added as isolated productivity tools.
• Reusable IP is becoming central to scale: Winning models codify domain knowledge, data, software, and process expertise into repeatable assets.
• Commercial models are beginning to follow outcomes: The strongest entries link technology-led delivery to measurable business value, not simply reduced effort.
• Human expertise is being redesigned, not removed: Leading organizations are concentrating people on judgment, governance, exception handling, and higher-value decisions.

A multi-stage judging process
The 2026 awards drew more than 250 submissions from enterprises, service providers, software vendors, and startups worldwide. HFS analysts reviewed every submission and shortlisted the strongest entries based on AI-driven delivery, agentic adaptability, outcome orientation, scalable architecture, and proven enterprise success. Several members from HFS's Global Advisory Board then reviewed the finalists and voted to determine first-, second-, and third-place honorees.

HFS Research will host two live webcasts featuring the award winners and the transformation stories behind their work. The September 15 webcast will spotlight the winners of Best Services-as-Software Transformation and Best Services Eating Software. The September 29 webcast will feature the winners of Best Software Eating Services and Best Startup / Emerging Firm. Register for the September 15 webcast and the September 29 webcast.

About the HFS Services-as-Software™ Awards
The HFS Services-as-Software™ Awards recognize enterprises, service providers, software companies, startups, and emerging firms that are moving beyond labor-heavy delivery and traditional software implementation. The awards spotlight operating models that embed AI, automation, proprietary technology, reusable intellectual property, and domain expertise to deliver scalable, measurable outcomes. The 2026 program is the inaugural edition of the awards.

About HFS Research
HFS Research is a leading analyst firm examining how enterprises can create value from emerging technology and new operating models. Through original research, data, advisory services, and its global executive community, HFS brings together business and technology leaders to challenge legacy thinking and define the future of enterprise operations. HFS coined and trademarked Services-as-Software™ to describe the shift toward AI-led, outcome-driven delivery. Learn more at https://www.hfsresearch.com/.

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SOURCE HFS Research