Digital and AI
Market intelligence needed to select collections technology
Matt Riddall, SVP, Marketplace, Data and AI · · 3 minute read
Historically, the collections and recoveries (CnR) systems market has been dominated by a small number of established vendors with very similar offerings in terms of functionality, technology and price. This generally resulted in organisations that were seeking to replace their outdated systems selecting the incumbent vendor upgrade option rather than conducting a market assessment. The landscape has changed markedly in the last few years so that today there is much choice and functionality available in the market which means that organisations can get a better deal and a solution that is better fit to their business requirements.
Matt RiddallSVP, Marketplace, Data and AI, arum
Investing in a collections platform is an important decision that an organisation will typically make and live with for 5 to 10 years and it should be made from an informed position which is why many turn to arum for help. Organisations often engage with us early in the process, prior to engaging with any vendors, to assess the market and provide key independent market intelligence on the options that are available. These include both the established vendors and newer entrants into the market. Collection and recoveries systems will provide differing levels of capability out of the box, and/or capability that can be configured or 'customised'. Solutions can also be supplemented by additional modules and other systems that are provided by the same or a partner vendor e.g. decision engine and omni-channel communications. It is important to be aware of these distinctions at the outset as there are pros and cons of each approach.
Over half of the established vendors have released a new major version, and in some instances a completely new system, in the past 5 years
More new entrants into the collection and recoveries systems market in the past 3 years than at any point in history
Most vendors now offer cloud based and SaaS options as an alternative to on-premise
When conducting a market intelligence assessment, arum analyses the factors that are significant to the organisation. These can include maturity of the organisation, budget and benefits, risk appetite, agility, scalability, legacy and future IT architecture, hosting preferences, future ambition, as well as many other factors. arum then assesses the key requirements against fundamental collections system capabilities, and prioritises these in line with the business vision to match a list of solutions that tick all or most of the boxes.
arum are continuously researching, reviewing and engaging with new and established vendors for consideration in both our internal and client's knowledge-base. arum internally hosts a technology webinar series which is a forum for technology providers to pitch their innovative solutions to our experts. This is one channel which helps us keep up to date with the options out there. In addition, the arum team have worked on over 75 systems implementation and change projects, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. We are entirely independent and vendor agnostic so we ensure that this knowledge is used to our client's best interests. If you would like discuss how arum can support you on a specific project,contact us today.
From the same author
More from Matt Riddall.
Digital and AIStill running Experian Tallyman? How to optimize it and plan what comes next
Still running Experian Tallyman? How long the estate should stay, what is worth improving now, and how to plan the move to PowerCurve Collections or the wider market.
Matt Riddall · 29 October 2026
Digital and AIHow to choose a collections and recoveries system in 2026
Choosing a collections and recoveries system means setting requirements first, mapping the whole market against them, shortlisting on evidence, testing the shortlist with scripted scenario demonstrations, and negotiating the contract before implementation starts.
Matt Riddall · 22 October 2026
Digital and AIWhat three weeks at MIT taught us about building agentic AI
Ella and Matt took MIT's agentic AI course to pressure-test the AI-assisted system arum was already building. Here is what held up and what did not.
Matt Riddall and Ella Grice · 17 June 2026
Keep reading
More from arum.
Digital and AIRunning Debt Manager? Versions, upgrade paths and what a migration involves
Which path to take with an existing Debt Manager estate: optimize the current release, upgrade, or move to C&R's SaaS. What a migration involves and what to fix first. By Forid Meah, arum.
Forid Meah · 5 November 2026
Digital and AIBuy vs. build for debt collection platforms
In today's economic and regulatory environment, transforming collections capability is high on organisations' strategic imperatives.
Reuben Gates · 13 May 2026
Digital and AIIs your AI agent actually ready? 11 questions to ask first
Eleven questions to answer before an AI agent handles a customer in arrears, from a team that has been building them since 2019.
Matt Riddall · 2 April 2026
Talk to arum
