Ascendion has been named a Leader in the Integrated Platform and Application Services quadrant of the ISG Provider Lens Digital Engineering Services 2026 report, placing the software engineering company among the top providers ISG assessed in that segment.
ISG said the assessment focused in part on Ascendion's work in AI-led legacy modernisation, software development lifecycle operations through its AAVA platform, and quality engineering in regulated environments.
The recognition comes as technology suppliers and their customers try to move artificial intelligence projects from pilot stages into wider use across core business systems. Advisory firms and buyers have increasingly shifted their attention from proofs of concept to whether providers can deploy AI tools in production environments without disrupting existing operations.
Ascendion, which describes itself as an AI-native software engineering company, works with large enterprises on application modernisation, software delivery, and the deployment of agentic AI systems. Its engineering teams and AI agents operate across banking, healthcare, retail, and technology.
In the report, ISG highlighted the company's role in modernising older systems through AI-led engineering. It also pointed to AAVA, Ascendion's agentic AI platform, for managing software development workflows, as well as the company's approach to quality engineering in settings with strict governance and reliability requirements.
Karthik Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer of Ascendion, linked the ranking to broader changes in how large companies are using AI. "This is what's possible when AI moves from an experiment to being responsible for outcomes," he said. "Using our Engineering to the Power of AI method, AI agents and our engineers work together at enterprise scale to deliver the impact enterprise leaders need. Companies that will lead the next decade will operationalize agentic AI securely and at scale. We've designed the company to ensure that clients thrive in the era of AI operating models. We're honored that ISG's recognition reflects the outcomes our clients are seeing."
Client examples
Ascendion cited several customer projects to illustrate the type of work covered by the ISG assessment. In one case involving a digital-first banking business, it said it reverse-engineered more than 900,000 lines of code dating from the 1980s in three weeks using AAVA, completing a modernisation programme in half the time and at a third of the cost of more conventional approaches.
It also pointed to work for a UK bank with a history stretching back two centuries. According to Ascendion, the project involved mapping the bank's architecture within weeks, protecting 5.2 million customers, and delivering velocity gains of 50% to 75% during a platform rebuild.
In healthcare, Ascendion said it deployed more than 650 AAVA agents in a regulated environment for a US healthcare payer with no downtime. The work improved access to care for 39 million people across all 50 states, increased customer satisfaction by 25%, and reduced support volumes by 30%, according to the company.
Another example involved a Fortune 100 technology company, where Ascendion said it deployed more than 4,000 agents across more than 2,500 workflows. According to the company, that project cut time to market by 40% and created projected savings of more than USD $500 million.
Market shift
The ISG report described a wider industry shift away from fragmented modernisation efforts and technical upgrades with limited business effect. Instead, enterprise customers are looking for broader operating model changes that can reduce technical debt, improve software delivery, and support growth while making AI systems usable in day-to-day business processes.
That framing matters because many large organisations still face a gap between experimenting with AI and deploying it at scale in environments shaped by regulation, legacy infrastructure, and security demands. Providers that can show evidence of implementation across multiple sectors are likely to draw attention from boards and senior technology buyers seeking measurable returns rather than narrow technical pilots.
Ascendion said it has more than 11,000 engineering professionals and more than 10,000 AI agents working across 12 countries. It also said it serves more than a third of the Fortune 500, suggesting its growth strategy is centred on large enterprises with complex software estates and significant technology budgets.
ISG's position in the market gives the ranking added weight among outsourcing buyers and technology leaders. The research and advisory group said it works with more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, and has built its reputation on provider assessments and market analysis in business and technology services.
Shirish Kulkarni, Senior Lead Analyst at ISG, explained why Ascendion ranked as it did in the study. "Ascendion differentiates through its agentic AI-led engineering approach, combining rapid product innovation with platform-driven modernization. Its AAVA accelerator and integrated AI capabilities enable faster design, prototyping and legacy transformation, delivering measurable productivity gains and positioning the firm as a high-velocity, experience-led digital engineering enabler," he said.