About MaiNstay

Mainstay Company brings more than a decade of experience delivering value automation platforms and programs for 500+ enterprise technology companies, with 800,000+ business cases created across networking, security, cloud, observability, SaaS, and AI solutions.

Our leadership team includes former enterprise tech executives, sales and marketing leaders, and AI specialists from companies like Cisco and ServiceNow, many of whom have built global value programs at scale.

Mainstay stands apart through a specialized focus on the convergence of business value tools, content, and services, grounded in three dynamics:

Enterprise tech customer and seller mindset, with high-quality, high-adoption tools tailored for companies like Infoblox.

End-to-End value management that spans pre-sales through all customer-facing functions.

Deep tool capabilities in Mainstay Advisor™, supported by value advisory, adoption, and strategic PMO services.

To learn more or discuss how your value management benchmarks and results compare with our survey findings, contact Mainstay.

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Executive summary

Value management (VM) continues to gain momentum and become a key part of leading organizations’ go-to-market strategy. This survey provides a snapshot of the current state of the value management industry, equipping sponsors with valuable data to support future program growth and innovation. Conducted in the summer of 2025, the survey gathered insights from participants across a broad spectrum of industries worldwide. We are excited to see expanded participation in this year’s survey and a broader view of the state of the industry with the inclusion of many new programs.

AI transformation

The transformative role of AI represents the most significant development in the value management landscape. An overwhelming 86% of programs now use AI for research activities, 57% for content creation, and 14% for business case support. Combining AI with modern VM tools can eliminate current barriers to revenue and customer growth and revolutionize how teams conduct customer research, generate insights, and deliver personalized value propositions at scale—fundamentally shifting value management from a resource-intensive expert function to an agile, scalable competitive advantage that can reach far more customers and deals than ever before possible.

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Executive summary

Value management (VM) continues to gain momentum and become a key part of leading organizations’ go-to-market strategy. This survey provides a snapshot of the current state of the value management industry, equipping sponsors with valuable data to support future program growth and innovation. Conducted in the summer of 2025, the survey gathered insights from participants across a broad spectrum of industries worldwide. We are excited to see expanded participation in this year’s survey and a broader view of the state of the industry with the inclusion of many new programs.

Challenges and opportunities

However, significant challenges remain. Despite proven ROI, 86% of programs still deliver business cases for less than half of their deals, and tool adoption among sales teams averages only 34%. These gaps underscore the need for more scalable, user-friendly solutions that integrate seamlessly into the sales process.

See tabs on the right for more information.

Executive summary

Value management (VM) continues to gain momentum and become a key part of leading organizations’ go-to-market strategy. This survey provides a snapshot of the current state of the value management industry, equipping sponsors with valuable data to support future program growth and innovation. Conducted in the summer of 2025, the survey gathered insights from participants across a broad spectrum of industries worldwide. We are excited to see expanded participation in this year’s survey and a broader view of the state of the industry with the inclusion of many new programs.

Key trends

The survey highlights several important trends shaping the industry's evolution. Strategic offshoring has emerged as a critical enabler, with 45% of programs now leveraging offshore resources—up dramatically from 13% in 2024—allowing teams to expand capabilities without proportional budget increases. Most programs (68%) now operate as dedicated functions within sales organizations, reflecting value management's growing recognition as a revenue driver rather than a support function.

See tabs on the right for more information.