2025 State of Contracting Report Spotlights Contract Performance
For the second year in a row, Icertis has released its 2025 State of Contracting Report, a compilation of 30+ data points and insights to help leaders maximize business performance this year. A comprehensive look at how businesses manage relationships with suppliers, customers, and partners, the report includes key insights from more than 10 million contracts managed by Icertis alongside third-party research and industry spotlights.
Amid today’s rapidly changing business environment, leaders are analyzing the role of contracts in navigating macroeconomic dynamics and changes in trade policies. A mindset shift in how businesses buy and sell – driven by the evolution of contracting – offers unique opportunities for enterprises to rethink how value is created and sustained by embracing emerging technologies like GenAI and AI agents.
Key findings from the 2025 State of Contracting Report include:
- Most contract negotiations are missing the big picture: 90 percent of CEOs believe their companies are leaving money on the table during contract negotiations. The view from the CFO’s office is not much better: 82 percent agree that contract negotiations do not produce the value they should. The report indicates that the disconnect lies in where contract negotiators are focusing their attention and a “frustrating status quo” for those who recognize the commercial purpose of a contract.
- Long-term performance outweighs pre-signature efficiencies in driving value: With a growing focus on post-execution technology, interest in long-term contract performance is rising. Nearly 40 percent of legal operations leaders now assess their contract management program performance based on business metrics like revenue and cost savings, rather than just legal efficiencies.
- AI agents stand to scale enterprise resources like never before: AI is here for the long haul. This game-changing technology—with its ability to parse natural language and unstructured data—is assisting businesses in unprecedented ways and translating hype into action. AI agents trained to execute specific contract processes enable organizations to leverage their contracts as the single source of truth for the “rules of business”. 76 percent of contracting leaders, when asked about their top aspiration for AI implementation, report contract value realization as their goal.
- Primed for transformation: Industries ranging from banking and insurance to government, public sector, and healthcare are facing rapid evolution. While each sector is presented with its own unique needs and challenges, the impact of contracts is ubiquitous in addressing revenue, savings, and risk because contracts sit at the heart of strategic initiatives across every industry.
As Patrick Hughes, Senior Director, Industry Advisory, writes: “Modern contracting technology can deliver insights, operations, and performance that minimize administrative burdens, maximize outcomes, and optimize compliance oversight. With AI, and especially AI agents, contract managers can get real-time decision guidance to ensure they maximize contract revenue, ensure compliance, and mitigate risk.”
As businesses enter this new era, data reveals a growing shift toward holistic approaches to contracting—ones that integrate risk management with performance optimization. Leaders who embrace this paradigm will not only mitigate risk but also amplify their competitive edge. With every dollar of revenue tied to a contract, 2025 offers an extraordinary chance for enterprises to drive transformative growth through smarter, data-driven contract strategies.