EDITOR’S NOTE: I am hearing the following comments from the CPO Community with increasing frequency:
Market Consolidation is Already Happening
An increasing number of CPOs are expressing concern that “a handful of names are being thrown around” in specific procurement verticals.
Echo Chamber Effect Accelerates Selection Bias
The “shocking” amount of overlap in thinking among “smart” procurement professionals suggests that market forces are naturally winnowing down the pool of viable vendors. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where:
Buyers gravitate toward the same “safe” choices
Lesser-known solutions get systematically excluded
Market share concentrates among fewer providers
Buyer Psychology Supports Infrastructure Thesis
Increasingly, CPOs express frustration about their struggle against “the pull” toward consensus choices, which aligns with Shapiro’s infrastructure argument. What this means is that buyers are gravitating toward vendors with:
Proven track records (note the generational high-rate of initiative failures)
Substantial backing
Market validation
The infrastructure depth Shapiro describes
Professional Network Amplification
The concern is further amplified by how procurement professional networks inadvertently accelerate market consolidation. When experienced practitioners consistently mention the same vendors, it creates powerful social proof that marginalizes innovative but lesser-known solutions. An important side note is the increasing frustration among practitioners and ProcureTech solution providers regarding the number of associations and past trusted sources that promote webinars showcasing and selling a particular solution, rather than sharing any meaningful knowledge.
Strategic Implications
For Hansen’s Prediction: This buyer behavior is the mechanism through which 75% of ProcureTech providers will fail. It’s not just market forces – it’s active buyer selection patterns concentrating spend among fewer vendors.
For Shapiro’s Thesis: The vendors surviving this consolidation will be those with substantial infrastructure, enterprise relationships, and market presence – exactly the “big metal” investments he describes.
The Echo Chamber Risk: While this consolidation may be inevitable, CPO awareness of the “echo chamber” suggests that the market might miss genuinely innovative solutions that lack the resources for widespread market penetration.
A CASE IN POINT
QUESTION: Does ConvergentIS, Vultr, or Focal Point appear on the ProcureTech 100 list, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, the SpendMatthers SolutionMap, McKinsey, or any of the other major lists?
ProcureTech100
I was unable to find ConvergentIS, Vultr, or Focal Point in any sources discussing the ProcureTech 100 list or Yearbook. Neither appears in representation during 2023–2025, based on available content and examples of listed providers.
A broader search indicates that ConvergentIS is featured in Model 3 – Best ProcureTech Combo with ORO Labs in a HFS analysis (Procurement Insights), but not explicitly on any ProcureTech list.
NOTE: Both ConvergentIS and Focal Point do appear on the ProcureTech Source Database, and ConvergentIS has participated in a ProcureTech Founders’ Circle Event, but has not appeared on the actual ProcureTech 100 list.
Other Major Listings (Gartner, Spend Matters, etc.)
A search through publicly available sources did not show evidence of ConvergentIS, Vultr, or Focal Point appearing in:
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
Spend Matters Solution Map
McKinsey, Deloitte, or similar leading analyst listings
These providers may not yet have achieved the visibility required for inclusion on these platforms—many of which rely on scale, visibility, and vendor submissions.
“We found it in our budget to pay between $20,000 and $40,000 to get minimal coverage from a large analyst firm. In one instance, this covered either a one or two-part assessment that was only available behind the Paywall or a lost logo placement on an overcrowded solution map.”– ProcureTech Solution Provider
30
BONUS COVERAGE
QUESTION: How would Vultr boost the performance and ROI of ProcureTech solutions like Tealbook?
Vultr can significantly boost the performance and ROI of ProcureTech solutions like Tealbook in several tangible ways:
1. Accelerated Data Processing & AI Enrichment
Tealbook’s value hinges on its ability to continuously discover, validate, and enrich supplier data using AI and ML. Vultr’s high-performance, GPU-accelerated cloud enables Tealbook to process and update supplier profiles faster and at greater scale—powering real-time supplier discovery, risk analysis, and data quality improvement.
Faster enrichment = more timely insights = faster supplier matching and cost savings for end users.
2. Scalability and Global Reach
Tealbook supports millions of global suppliers. Vultr’s 30+ global data centers and fast, low-latency network allow Tealbook to push data and analytics to users anywhere, with high reliability and responsiveness.vultr+1
Outcome: Enterprises get instant access to new and updated supplier data no matter the geography, supporting faster sourcing, agility, and compliance.
3. Flexible, Cost-Effective Infrastructure
Vultr’s predictable, competitive pricing enables Tealbook to offer its SaaS solution to more customers, pass along savings, and flexibly scale up compute and storage in line with demand without paying hyperscaler premiums.
Lower infrastructure costs boost Tealbook’s margins and ROI, and lower the TCO for procurement teams subscribing to Tealbook’s platform.
4. Data Security and Compliance
Vultr’s certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.) mean Tealbook can assure customers their supplier data is secure, meets global regulations, and is compliant—crucial for regulated industries and for conducting secure multi-tenant SaaS operations.
5. Rapid Deployment, Integration & Innovation
Vultr’s streamlined, independent infrastructure and composable cloud services allow Tealbook to deploy updates, new features, and integrations more quickly—supporting not only speed-to-market but also rapid integration with customer ERP, S2P, and analytics workflows.
Frees Tealbook’s engineering to focus on product innovation, not platform maintenance.
6. AI/ML-Driven Supplier Intelligence
Vultr’s AI/ML capabilities power Tealbook’s ability to uncover supplier diversity, risk, ESG, and performance insights—delivering richer analytics and actionable recommendations to procurement teams.
Direct ROI and Performance Improvements for Tealbook Customers Using Vultr
Bottom line: By running on Vultr, Tealbook becomes faster, more scalable, more cost-effective, and more secure—directly boosting procurement teams’ ability to source, qualify, and manage suppliers; reduce risk; and deliver rapid cost and compliance gains, all with lower infrastructure expense and higher SaaS margins for Tealbook itself.
PARALLEL WITH RAM 1998 – THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE ECHO CHAMBER “BOX”
Procurement Insights
The Follow-Up Post To The Angry Poll: Getting Beyond The Echo Chamber
Posted on August 24, 2025
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EDITOR’S NOTE: I am hearing the following comments from the CPO Community with increasing frequency:
Market Consolidation is Already Happening
An increasing number of CPOs are expressing concern that “a handful of names are being thrown around” in specific procurement verticals.
Echo Chamber Effect Accelerates Selection Bias
The “shocking” amount of overlap in thinking among “smart” procurement professionals suggests that market forces are naturally winnowing down the pool of viable vendors. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where:
Buyer Psychology Supports Infrastructure Thesis
Increasingly, CPOs express frustration about their struggle against “the pull” toward consensus choices, which aligns with Shapiro’s infrastructure argument. What this means is that buyers are gravitating toward vendors with:
Professional Network Amplification
The concern is further amplified by how procurement professional networks inadvertently accelerate market consolidation. When experienced practitioners consistently mention the same vendors, it creates powerful social proof that marginalizes innovative but lesser-known solutions. An important side note is the increasing frustration among practitioners and ProcureTech solution providers regarding the number of associations and past trusted sources that promote webinars showcasing and selling a particular solution, rather than sharing any meaningful knowledge.
Strategic Implications
For Hansen’s Prediction: This buyer behavior is the mechanism through which 75% of ProcureTech providers will fail. It’s not just market forces – it’s active buyer selection patterns concentrating spend among fewer vendors.
For Shapiro’s Thesis: The vendors surviving this consolidation will be those with substantial infrastructure, enterprise relationships, and market presence – exactly the “big metal” investments he describes.
The Echo Chamber Risk: While this consolidation may be inevitable, CPO awareness of the “echo chamber” suggests that the market might miss genuinely innovative solutions that lack the resources for widespread market penetration.
A CASE IN POINT
QUESTION: Does ConvergentIS, Vultr, or Focal Point appear on the ProcureTech 100 list, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, the SpendMatthers SolutionMap, McKinsey, or any of the other major lists?
ProcureTech100
NOTE: Both ConvergentIS and Focal Point do appear on the ProcureTech Source Database, and ConvergentIS has participated in a ProcureTech Founders’ Circle Event, but has not appeared on the actual ProcureTech 100 list.
Other Major Listings (Gartner, Spend Matters, etc.)
These providers may not yet have achieved the visibility required for inclusion on these platforms—many of which rely on scale, visibility, and vendor submissions.
“We found it in our budget to pay between $20,000 and $40,000 to get minimal coverage from a large analyst firm. In one instance, this covered either a one or two-part assessment that was only available behind the Paywall or a lost logo placement on an overcrowded solution map.” – ProcureTech Solution Provider
30
BONUS COVERAGE
QUESTION: How would Vultr boost the performance and ROI of ProcureTech solutions like Tealbook?
Vultr can significantly boost the performance and ROI of ProcureTech solutions like Tealbook in several tangible ways:
1. Accelerated Data Processing & AI Enrichment
2. Scalability and Global Reach
3. Flexible, Cost-Effective Infrastructure
4. Data Security and Compliance
5. Rapid Deployment, Integration & Innovation
6. AI/ML-Driven Supplier Intelligence
Direct ROI and Performance Improvements for Tealbook Customers Using Vultr
Bottom line:
By running on Vultr, Tealbook becomes faster, more scalable, more cost-effective, and more secure—directly boosting procurement teams’ ability to source, qualify, and manage suppliers; reduce risk; and deliver rapid cost and compliance gains, all with lower infrastructure expense and higher SaaS margins for Tealbook itself.
PARALLEL WITH RAM 1998 – THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE ECHO CHAMBER “BOX”
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