Upwork Enterprise: What Makes It Great (Independent Contract Workforce Analysis)

Upwork, the well-known, global online freelancer marketplace, is increasingly becoming known for its Upwork Enterprise solution, a combination of technology and managed services designed to enable enterprises to source and engage freelance talent. Upwork Enterprise was recently evaluated in Spend Matters’ SolutionMap framework with the Independent Contract Workforce (ICW) enterprise solution category. The ICW solution segment is the most dynamic part of the contingent and workforce and services (CW/S) procurement technology market, which also includes the Temp Staffing (Vendor Management Systems/VMS) and Contract Services/Statement of Work solution segments.

Today’s ICW enterprise solutions — many originating, like Upwork, as online marketplaces — have their roots (or at least their impetus) in the so-called gig, freelance and peer-to-peer “economies” (the new world of Uber and Airbnb versus the establishment world of enterprise software applications inhabited for decades by providers like SAP and Oracle). Some of these “gig economy” solution providers have been clawing their way into larger enterprises with new technology platforms to allow those organizations to scale up their use of freelancers sourced through online platforms. This is what Upwork has been doing with Upwork Enterprise, which goes go market now as a combined managed services and technology solution (analogous, up to a point, of traditional managed service providers with their own VMS technology).

In the ICW solution segment, Upwork Enterprise is a unique solution that provides a set of functionality and services that organizations of any size can use to source, engage and pay remote, online freelancers and agencies from Upwork’s global marketplace. It provides clients with robust capabilities that includes management of SOW projects and the organization of preferred providers (freelancers/agencies) in private talent pools. And the value of the platform also is being amplified by a growing set of managed services and solution offerings.

Where does Upwork Enterprise fit into the burgeoning ICW market? As of September 2018, the Spend Matters SolutionMap contains functional and customer satisfaction benchmarks on over 50 providers within the procurement technology landscape, including six providers within the ICW segment. But where does Upwork Enterprise stand out most and help “set the bar” in for the ICW segment? And why should this matter for procurement and HR organizations? Let’s delve into the SolutionMap benchmark to find out where Upwork Enterprise is great.

“What Makes It Great” is a recurring column that shares insights from each quarterly SolutionMap report for SolutionMap Insider subscribers. Based on both our rigorous evaluation process and customer reference reviews, each brief offers quick facts on the provider, describes where it excels, provides hard data on where it beats the SolutionMap benchmark and concludes with a checklist for ideal customer scenarios in which procurement, finance and supply chain organizations should consider it.