Lessons from the Climb: How Esker Reached Challenger Status

Esker’s transformation from a Niche player to a Challenger in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Source-to-Pay Suites was a climb, not a leap. And every step in that ascent was guided by customer feedback and strategic innovation. Since we were only able to get there with the help of others, we’re sharing our insights here for Procurement and Finance leaders to use in their own climb.

Lesson #1: Scaling with customer-driven innovation

When looking at the route you’re planning on taking up the boulder, the best approach is to heed the advice of experienced climbers. Similarly, Esker moved beyond feature-building and instead focused on delivering agile, integrated solutions tailored to procurement and finance needs. Customer-driven development led to improvements in usability, flexible deployment models and AI-powered insights, ensuring every step up was steady and supported.

Lesson #2: Connecting the route, not fragmenting it

In climbing, the focus shouldn’t be on just reaching the next ledge: You need to take in the entire mountain face and confront it with balance, precision and agility. Just as a climber needs a reliable rope system, businesses need a unified source-to-pay (S2P) suite to avoid inefficiencies and gaps. Esker’s connected approach integrates sourcing, contract management, procurement, AP and supplier management, creating a seamless experience that reduces maverick spend and improves compliance. Because true transformation isn't about automating individual steps, it’s about ensuring every move works together.

Lesson #3: Navigating with data, not just processes

A climber trusts their tools but relies on their instincts. In procurement, instincts should be backed by data. Esker embeds real-time analytics throughout a user’s S2P journey, offering insights on supplier risk, sourcing trends and cashflow forecasting. These insights help businesses make informed and strategically sound moves at every stage.

More than a Challenger: A trusted climbing partner

Reaching Challenger status in the Magic Quadrant is, to us, validation that we’re building useful solutions for both today’s landscape and tomorrow’s challenges. Just as climbers place trust in their guides, organizations climbing their own transformation curve need the right partner to navigate procurement and finance complexities.