Your colleagues are no longer asking how to fix broken tech. They’re asking, “How do we secure business against the certainty of change?”
Leaders and strategists are grappling with the constant need for speed in talent acquisition versus the long-term mandate for risk mitigation.
Verified First’s 2026 HR Tech Report: Addressing Risk, Speed, and Strategy cuts through the noise to provide actionable, strategic insights to address this challenge. Synthesizing over 1,000 technology replacement intent votes, the report delivers a clear directive: Success is achieved only by unifying velocity, strategy, and foundational risk management.
The data reveals a critical strategic gap where the pursuit of speed is actively increasing organizational risk and financial exposure. This blog outlines three HR tech strategic insights your organization can leverage to secure your next technology investment.
The data shows the market's highest replacement intent (26.2%) is focused on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). This trend suggests that high-churn recruiting systems have a measurable impact on recruiting metrics such as time to hire and can ultimately delay stability and return on investment (ROI).
The full report shows how one client leveraged certified integration to achieve a 67% reduction in total onboarding time.
Download your copy to see how guaranteed ROI in your HR tech strategy delivers results!
Background screening is the second most replaced technology (14.1%), yet many leaders still treat it as a stable afterthought. This is what we like to call the Illusion of Stability.
Why does this illusion exist? Because background screening is a critical utility, it runs in the background and can easily be neglected. It's often viewed as a "set-it-and-forget-it" system.
However, the report data shows this "stable utility" is, in fact, an acute source of operational pain. Worse, as organizations rush to replace their high-churn platforms, they overlook the hidden risk of their legacy screening integration.
The full report showcases why proactive investment in seamless integration today secures your HR tech strategy and assets tomorrow. The best way to ensure a seamless transition is to mandate certified integrations before migration begins.
Organizations must go beyond fixing operational pain to succeed in 2026. Our data suggests executive priorities are shifting toward long-term organizational resilience and building sustainable competitive advantages.
We observed significant spikes in Learning Management Systems (LMS) replacement intent (62.5%) in sessions focused on strategic talent planning, confirming an executive focus on internal mobility and a skills-based architecture. Leaders at organizations nationwide are trying to transform their workforce from a fixed cost into a sustainable competitive advantage.
For growth companies, sustainable scalability is essential for future success. The intent to replace the core Human Resources Information System (HRIS) ranked highest among mid-market companies (92.3%).
The data suggests that organizations are outgrowing their initial startup HR systems, which are often spreadsheet-based or lacking the API framework necessary for integrated data governance. Failure to upgrade this core infrastructure can result in stagnation and operational paralysis. When the core fails to scale, the entire enterprise slows
The report validates that HR research activity peaks strategically in Mid-Year (May-July) and October, aligning directly with budget finalization cycles. This seasonal data demonstrates HR purchases are data-driven investments that must be planned around risk and long-term HR tech strategy, rather than reactionary fixes. This peak is your window to act strategically.
Strengthen your HR tech strategy by downloading the full report!
Your competitive advantage will not be defined by which technology you buy, but by how well you maximize your investment. So, how do you do that?
Seamless integration.
Certified integration for critical utility systems buys certainty — certainty of compliance, certainty of data integrity, and certainty of maximum ROI.
"The highest-level shift in HR leadership is moving from solving technology problems to averting risk. The choice is simple, pay a premium to fix broken integrations tomorrow or invest in certified, seamless connections today to secure your entire talent journey against inevitable platform change." - Jim Miles, CEO at Verified First.
Start protecting your 2026 investments today. Download the 2026 HR Tech Report: Addressing Risk, Speed, and Strategy for your actionable, strategic framework!
We are proud members of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA)
Verified First is NIST 800-53 compliant.
© 2025 Verified First, LLC | Privacy Policy | Legal
