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As we wrap up the year, a recap of the biggest HR Tech and Benefits stories: Gallagher acquires AssuredPartners, Rippling and Deel's rivalry intensifies, Bamboo refines their UI and much more!
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As we put a bow on another eventful year, the industry is showing no signs of slowing down. From huge acquisitions reshaping the employee benefits landscape to feisty rivalries between well-funded startups, there’s plenty to unpack. Let’s dive into five stories capturing our attention this month:
What’s Happening: Gallagher, already a heavyweight in the benefits and HR consulting arena, just inked an agreement to acquire AssuredPartners. This deal is massive and cements Gallagher’s expansion deeper into the mid-market and into verticals like transportation, energy, and government—all areas where AssuredPartners has excelled.
Why It Matters: We’ve been talking all year about the ongoing consolidation in the benefits brokerage space. Large players are gobbling up regional and mid-market competitors, adding both geographic reach and specialized industry capabilities. And Gallagher, which earlier snagged OperationsInc and iBTR, is on a serious spending spree.
But let’s not bury the lede: hats off to AssuredPartners for building a $13.5B juggernaut in 13 years. That’s an incredible success story, and now Gallagher’s got itself a formidable new team.
What’s Happening: We’ve long admired the Rippling vs. Deel race—two ambitious venture-backed giants charging full speed into global payroll, HRIS, and beyond. Competition is great for spurring innovation, but recently this tug-of-war took a turn for the childish.
Deel launched a page calling out its advantages over Rippling, and Rippling fired back by creating a “snake oil” themed game, referencing their competitor’s claims. Things escalated when a Deel sales leader posted an inappropriate comment in Rippling’s website chatbot, prompting Rippling to publicly shame them.
Why It Matters: The takeaway from observers was unanimous: “Grow up, folks!” While these antics provide some Twitter drama, they also highlight the intense pressure each is feeling to outpace the other. We love rivalry—it pushes vendors to innovate and deliver better value. But let’s hope these two can ratchet the temperature down in 2025 from an overflowing boil, to a nice productive simmer.
What’s Happening: If you’ve ever used BambooHR, you know it’s built its reputation on simplicity and user-friendliness. In October, Bamboo rolled out a completely refreshed UI that feels cleaner, more intuitive, and unmistakably modern. Our favorite part is the simplified navigation bar on the left-hand side—just seven links for quick access to core features.
Why It Matters: UI/UX matters more than ever. With so many HR systems crammed with endless menus, BambooHR’s update shows that a great HRIS doesn’t need to bury users in complexity. For context, the HRIS system we use at OutSail has a whopping 31 navigation links on the left—a daily reminder that less is often more. Bamboo’s redesign keeps them at the forefront of user-centric design, proving that even established vendors must continually evolve to stay ahead of the curve.
What’s Happening: TriNet made waves in late 2021 by acquiring Zenefits, stepping beyond its core PEO and ASO services into standalone HRIS territory. But this was never a permanent shift—TriNet’s master plan was always to integrate Zenefits’ HR tech capabilities into its broader offerings. Now that this integration has matured, TriNet will stop selling Zenefits as a standalone HRIS platform.
Existing Zenefits users shouldn’t panic yet: these sunsets typically unfold over a few years. But the direction is clear—TriNet is nudging (or eventually pushing) standalone Zenefits customers toward its ASO or PEO models, or leaving them to explore new HRIS providers.
Why It Matters: For Zenefits customers, it’s time to strategize. Forced migrations are rarely fun, and while you may have a grace period, start exploring your options sooner rather than later.
This scenario should also be a warning to any Namely customers— as there are significant parallels worth noting.
What’s Happening: Workday’s stock soared 9% recently on the news that it will join the prestigious S&P 500 index. The requirements for inclusion demand sustained profitability, and meeting these criteria is a big credibility boost. When a company joins a major index, passive fund managers rebalance portfolios, typically driving stock prices higher.
Why It Matters: Beyond the stock pop, inclusion in the S&P 500 cements Workday’s position as a mature, stable enterprise software giant. It’s a signal to the market and to buyers that Workday isn’t just a high-growth newcomer—it’s a well-established force. For HR and finance professionals weighing vendor choices, Workday’s elevation to the S&P 500 membership can offer additional confidence and credibility in a sometimes-uncertain market.
Wrapping Up: Consolidation, rivalries gone off the rails, user experience upgrades, strategic product retirements, and market credibility—this month’s stories capture the complexities and opportunities in HR tech. As we head into 2025, we’ll keep an eye on these dynamics, always advocating for a marketplace that values innovation, transparency, and of course, a dash of good old-fashioned competition.
Stay tuned, stay informed, and we’ll see you next month!
