ISG to Evaluate Life Sciences Digital Services

Key Terms

contract research organizations (CROs) medical

Contract research organizations (CROs) are independent service providers that carry out research tasks for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies—such as clinical trials, lab testing, data management, and regulatory support—on a fee-for-service basis. Investors watch CROs because they turn drug and device development plans into measurable progress: like hiring a specialized contractor to complete key parts of a construction project, CROs affect timelines, costs, and the likelihood that a product will reach market.

pharmacovigilance medical

Pharmacovigilance is the process of monitoring and assessing the safety of medicines after they are on the market, ensuring that any side effects or risks are identified and managed. For investors, it matters because it helps ensure that pharmaceutical companies maintain safe products, which can influence a company’s reputation, regulatory approval, and financial stability over time.

GenAI technical

Generative AI (genai) is a type of artificial intelligence designed to create new content, such as text, images, or music, that resembles human-produced work. It matters to investors because it has the potential to transform industries by automating tasks, enhancing creativity, and enabling new products and services, which can influence company performance and market opportunities.

decentralized trials medical

Decentralized trials are clinical studies that use remote tools — like telemedicine, home visits, wearable devices and local clinics — instead of requiring participants to travel to a central research site. For investors, they matter because they can lower costs, speed enrollment, and broaden patient diversity (like running a business remotely rather than at one headquarters), but they also introduce questions about data quality, logistics and regulatory acceptance that affect a sponsor’s timeline and risk.

hybrid trial models medical

A hybrid trial model mixes traditional, in-person clinical study visits with remote elements such as telemedicine, home health visits, and digital monitoring tools. Like a hybrid workplace that combines office and remote work, this approach can speed patient enrollment, lower costs, and reduce dropouts, which affects development timelines, regulatory approval risks, and the potential financial returns investors watch closely.

omnichannel technical

A coordinated approach to selling and serving customers across all touchpoints—stores, websites, mobile apps, social media, and call centers—so the experience feels like one continuous conversation no matter where a customer interacts. For investors, omnichannel capability signals how well a company can attract and keep customers, turn interactions into sales, and use shared customer data to cut costs and boost revenue—making it a key driver of growth and competitive strength.

wearables technical

Wearables are small electronic devices worn on the body—like watches, rings, patches or glasses—that track activity, health signals or provide computing functions. They matter to investors because they create new revenue streams, recurring hardware and data services, and can change healthcare, consumer behavior and costs; think of them as a pocket-sized assistant that turns everyday actions into measurable, monetizable information. Regulatory approvals, data privacy and adoption rates can strongly affect a wearable maker’s value.

customer experience (CX) technical

Customer experience (CX) is the overall impression and feelings a person has when interacting with a business or service, much like how a customer feels after visiting a store or using an app. It includes every touchpoint, from browsing to purchasing and support, shaping their satisfaction and loyalty. For investors, strong CX often indicates a company's ability to attract and retain customers, which can lead to long-term success.

Upcoming ISG Provider Lens^® report will examine how providers enable digital, AI-driven transformation across the life sciences value chain

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining IT service providers and contract research organizations (CROs) across key digital and operational areas in the life sciences domain.

The study results will be published in a comprehensive ISG Provider Lens^® report, called Life Sciences Digital Services, scheduled to be released in April 2026. The report will cover companies offering services such as digital clinical development, patient engagement, manufacturing and supply chain, pharmacovigilance and regulatory affairs and commercial operations, including the capabilities of CROs.

Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the report to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm’s buy-side clients.

Life sciences enterprises are turning to strategic providers, including CROs, to unify fragmented data and modernize legacy systems. As innovation costs rise, organizations are prioritizing scalable digital strategies built on cloud data platforms, Good x Practice (GxP)-compliant AI and interoperable systems to strengthen core operations. Factors such as platform consolidation, patient-centric design and hybrid trial models are accelerating digital adoption among enterprises in this domain, supported by clearer regulations for decentralized trials and remote monitoring.

“Enterprises are moving decisively from experimentation to true, enterprise-grade digital transformation,” said Iain Fisher, director at ISG. “They are rapidly adopting advanced technologies such as GenAI copilots to support critical life sciences processes including protocol design, labeling and safety reporting.”

ISG has distributed surveys to more than 80 providers. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce eight quadrants representing the digital services that the typical life sciences enterprise is buying, based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The eight quadrants are:

• Clinical Development (Service Providers), evaluating providers’ capabilities in facilitating efficient, compliant and data-driven drug development. They are further examined on their ability to accelerate trial timelines, improve data integrity and enable decentralized and hybrid trial models.
• Patient Engagement (Service Providers), assessing providers delivering omnichannel platforms, mobile health tools and digital therapeutics that enhance patient education, adherence and retention. Providers in this space should combine life sciences expertise with robust digital platforms.
• Manufacturing and Supply Chain (Service Providers), covering providers that can facilitate digitally connected, compliant and resilient operations across drug and device manufacturing. They should demonstrate expertise in process automation, predictive maintenance and quality control.
• Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Affairs — Digital Evolution (Service Providers), evaluating providers offering AI-enabled case processing, signal detection and regulatory intelligence solutions. They are assessed on their ability to comply with varied life sciences regulatory standards and their proficiency in workflow automation.
• Commercial Operations — Digital Evolution (Service Providers), evaluating providers’ potential and strategic vision in commercial operations. Providers should focus on how their technology enables data-driven, omnichannel engagement and commercial excellence for life sciences organizations.
• Clinical Development (CROs), examining CROs delivering digitally enabled, decentralized and hybrid clinical trial services. CROs should combine scientific depth with digital innovation to provide patient-centric clinical research outcomes.
• Patient Engagement (CROs), covering CROs providing digital and behavioral science-based engagement tools that improve patient recruitment, onboarding and retention. Key evaluation areas include mobile applications, wearables and AI-driven analytics that enable personalized, real-time interaction with patients.
• Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Affairs — Digital Evolution (CROs), assessing CROs’ ability and effectiveness in managing drug safety, compliance and global submissions. They need to demonstrate success in reducing case turnaround times and enhancing submission accuracy.

Geographically focused reports from the study will cover the global life sciences digital services market and examine products and services available worldwide. ISG analysts Rohan Sinha and Sneha Jayanth will serve as authors of the report.

A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as digital service providers in the life sciences domain can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study.

All 2025 ISG Provider Lens^® evaluations feature expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research.

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208138954/en/

Press Contacts:



Laura Hupprich, ISG

+1 203-517-3100

laura.hupprich@isg-one.com



Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG

+1 978-518-4520

isg@matternow.com

Source: Information Services Group, Inc.