The 2026 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success

A few key themes have emerged from this year’s analysis that inform both the direction of the market and the focus for the solutions landscape:

• The need to transform work and the workforce for AI is reshaping the HR ecosystem too.  
• HR teams are realising that becoming a skills-based organisation (SBO) is part of the journey, not the destination.  
• AI innovation now underpins all of the main innovations in the employee lifecycle and experience.  
• There are no easy answers to creating an effective AI-HR architecture.  

"The last year has seen some truly significant moves in HR focusing on powering Talent & People Success.", said David Perring, Chief Insights Officer at Fosway Group and lead analyst in the research." A swarm of innovators in talent and strategic workforce intelligence have progressively established themselves as the go-to providers for companies as they mobilise themselves for the future of work. AI is the key disruptor, revolutionising every part of the employee experience.”  

The 2026 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success incorporates both Talent Suites and Specialists. Talent & People Success Suites provide a range of talent functionality, from talent acquisition through to development, performance and employee wellbeing. Specialists provide a more focused set of functionalities within Talent & People Success – for example, focusing on specific topics such as skills, talent mobility, or employee listening. 

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and Chief Insights Officer, David Perring, will take questions in a live online 'Ask The Analyst' session on 17 November at 2pm BST.