Market share breakdown of global core banking vendors from the CB RADAR™ 2025 Market Intelligence Report, showing a fragmented ecosystem where the top three vendors account for just 30.1% of total tracked projects.
Updated December 2025 to include insights from the full CB RADAR™ 2025 series.
As 2025 closes, we revisited the CB RADAR™ dataset to reflect on what 113 transformations have taught us—and what they signal about the future of core modernization.
The headlines haven’t changed, but the context has. The market’s moving faster, vendor lines are blurring, and success is being redefined with every new project.
Why We Built CB RADAR™
Core banking transformation has become the defining challenge of modern banking. It’s high-stakes, high-cost, and for many executives, a one-shot deal. Get it right, and your institution gains agility and resilience. Get it wrong, and you risk years of wasted effort and millions in sunk costs.
Too often, transformation conversations are dominated by vendor marketing or broad surveys that don’t reflect what banks actually experience on the ground.
That’s why we created CB RADAR™—an independent market-intelligence report that tracks real-world projects.
For the first time, we now have a dataset of 113 core banking transformations worldwide, spanning 2021 through 2025. The findings reveal a market that’s moving faster—but also with more complexity—than many realize.
What the Data Shows
113 Transformations Tracked. From 2021 through mid-2025, we documented 113 projects worldwide. Modernization is no longer a question of if, but how and when.
Cloud as the Baseline. 84.5 percent of projects reported cloud adoption—but definitions varied. Some went fully cloud-native, others SaaS-lite or hybrid. Cloud is now the expectation, not a single model.
Success vs. Reality. 72.5 percent of banks called their projects “successful.” Yet optimism bias runs high: for many, success means “we went live,” not “we delivered ROI or agility.” Compared to studies showing 60–75 percent failure rates, the truth is more nuanced.
Vendor Fragmentation. The top three vendors captured just 30.1 percent of projects. More than 20 providers shared the rest, making evaluation and governance harder than ever.
U.S. Dominance, Global Signals. Nearly half of all tracked projects came from the U.S.—driven by vendor density and regulatory clarity. But emerging markets in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Kuwait are leapfrogging straight to digital-first models, bypassing decades of legacy.
Why This Matters for Executives
Every core banking transformation carries a mix of ambition and risk. The CB RADAR™ findings highlight three truths for banking leaders:
- Go-live isn’t success. Celebrating technical completion without validating the business case creates false confidence.
- Vendor choice is strategic. With 20+ credible players and blurred lines between core and adjacent platforms, selection and negotiation are critical skills.
- Cloud strategy defines outcomes. “Cloud-first” means different things in different contexts; the model you choose will shape your future agility and cost base.
For executives, the implication is clear: make decisions based on benchmarks and evidence—not vendor narratives.
From the CB RADAR™ Series
The full series explores these insights in depth:
- The Cloud Mirage: 84.5% Say They’re Cloud-First — But Are They?
- The Success Paradox — When ‘Going Live’ Isn’t Success.
- The Fragmented Vendor Landscape — 20+ Players, No Clear Leader.
- The U.S. Leads — But for How Long?
- Leapfroggers — How Emerging Markets Are Skipping Legacy.
- Finding the Sweet Spot — Why Medium Complexity Wins.
- Redefining Core — The Rise of nCino and Adjacents.
- Lessons in Bias — How Executives See What They Want to See.
- Benchmark Yourself — How Banks Compare to the Global Dataset.
- What’s Next — The Future of the RADAR Series.
What’s Next: Looking Ahead to 2026
CB RADAR™ is no longer just a report—it’s a living benchmark. The next edition will expand into payments, risk, and vendor ecosystem intelligence, creating a comprehensive view of bank modernization.
