Catering to customers’ specific needs and providing at least a base level of personalization has become paramount in today’s customization-centric world. Fueling that shift is CPQ solutions, which streamline the way in which companies generate accurate quotes for complex goods and/or services.
In fact, a CPQ industry analysis from Pinkus Partners finds that sales representatives using it can produce quotes 73% faster compared to those relying on manual processes. And an enterprise study done in 2024 revealed that organizations adopting CPQ achieved a 15% increase in win rates over their counterparts without such systems.
So let’s dive into CPQ’s history, where it’s at today, how it fits into the modern tech stack, and its place in revenue lifecycle management.
1980s: Manual quoting and paper-based sales
The 1980s represented the dawn of product configuration technology.
Before CPQ, sales teams handled configuration and quoting manually. Custom product orders required back-and-forth between engineering, sales, and finance, often over spreadsheets or even paper. Errors were common, and turnaround was slow.
By the end of the decade, configurators were a bit more advanced and could even tie into emerging CRM systems, though they were still treated mainly as back-office tools used by engineering or support staff.
1990s: Front-office adoption and interactive selling
Come the early ’90s, sales force automation (SFA) was really starting to catch on. More and more companies could automate many of the arduous tasks that were once dependent on humans. At this point, configurators were being brought to the front office.
These tools, integrated with CRM, helped sales reps systematically build valid product configurations and pricing, reducing errors in quotes. The primary goal remained simplifying complex pricing and ensuring quotes were accurate and consistent.
In the late 1990s, the internet and ecommerce boom transformed CPQ processes. Configurators become essential for interactive selling; customers could specify product options on websites (for instance, customizing a PC or car online) and instantly receive prices.
Configurator software was embedded in early ecommerce platforms, automating what-if pricing and ensuring only compatible options were chosen.
By 1999, Salesforce’s launch as the first major SaaS CRM platform foreshadowed a shift in architecture for sales tools, indicating that the coming CPQ solutions would increasingly be delivered via the cloud rather than on-premises.
2000s: Emergence of dedicated CPQ systems and the shift to the cloud
2000-05: Early CPQ, hosted on-premises
In the 2000s, CPQ (configure, price, quote) became a distinct software category. The year 2000 saw the founding of BigMachines, often credited as the first dedicated CPQ software company.
BigMachines and similar pioneers introduced integrated platforms for product configuration, pricing, and quoting, combining a product rules engine with pricing logic and quote generation.
These early CPQ products were typically web-based (hosted) applications that could streamline complex B2B selling, replacing manual quote spreadsheets with automated, rules-driven systems.
2005-09: Subscription-based CPQ on the cloud
But, in the first half of the decade, most CPQ solutions were still delivered as on-premise or client-server software (often extensions of ERP or CRM systems). It wasn’t until around 2005-07 that vendors began introducing “on-demand” CPQ offerings (hosted/cloud versions) to alleviate IT burdens.
Subscription-based CPQ services offered quicker deployments, more frequent feature updates, and easier integration via web APIs. By the end of the decade, cloud CPQ solutions were gaining traction as they proved more scalable and agile than their on-prem predecessors.
CPQ tools also grew more sophisticated in this era, adding integration hooks into ecommerce and CRM systems, so that quotes and configurations could seamlessly tie into online storefronts and sales workflows.
2010s: Mainstream adoption, suite integration, and intelligent enhancements
In 2010, Gartner Research released a report in which they formally defined modern CPQ as a platform with a…
- Pricing engine
- Quoting software
- Proposal generator
- Rules-based backend
- Approval and authorization workflows
CPQ systems typically include pricing engines, proposal generators, quoting systems, and rules or constraint engines, and are complemented by approval and authorization workflows.”
Enterprise software giants moved aggressively into the CPQ space, making sure CPQ capabilities were part of their broader offerings. And new entrants started coming into the fold.
- In 2013, Oracle acquired BigMachines for ~$400 million and folded it into Oracle’s product suite as Oracle CPQ Cloud.
- In October 2014, pricing software firm PROS Holdings purchased Cameleon Software (formerly Access Commerce) for $33 million, adding configure, price, quote functionality to the PROS portfolio.
- Also in 2014, our founders built DealHub to become the new generation of all-in-one, full-cycle solutions, integrating CPQ with contract management, billing, and subscription management.
By the end of the decade, nearly every top CRM and ERP provider had a strategic CPQ module (Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, etc.), and independent CPQ specialists (like DealHub) had either carved out niches in the market (in our case, through subscription billing and dynamic/usage-based pricing capabilities).
Technology-wise, CPQ systems were now highly configurable platforms: admins could define complex product rules, conditional pricing, and discount approval workflows without coding.
It also became a key success driver for sales representatives. Sales tools like CPQ help them focus on active selling rather than laborious manual tasks that consume time and energy. Research shows that sales reps spend only 28% of their time actively selling. But when employees have more time to focus on that key part of their role, as well as building stronger customer relationships, they are more satisfied and successful.
What you’re doing is taking what a sales rep does well, and making it available and repeatable to everyone else. It helps you standardize approaches and make them widely accessible, allowing reps to learn from and replicate the practices of your top performers, leading to more success.”
Some solutions began leveraging AI on a small scale, for instance, suggesting optimal add-on products (upsells) or providing guided selling prompts based on historical deal data.
2020s: AI-driven CPQ and unified revenue operations (2020–2025)
Early 2020s: CPQ enables RevOps efficiency.
The decade opened with CPQ playing a central role in end-to-end revenue operations.
- Salesforce introduced Revenue Cloud, which unified its CPQ and Billing products with partner and ecommerce integrations on the Customer 360 platform.
- Apttus merged with Conga to create a unified CPQ, CLM, and revenue management platform.
- DealHub’s AI-powered CPQ + CLM+ Digital Sales Room + Billing + Subscription Management unified CPQ with adjacent processes, like negotiations, recurring billing, and renewals.
Platforms like ours mark the point where CPQ can finally facilitate the modern quote-to-revenue workflow.
CPQ in the Modern Quote-to-Revenue Workflow
Post-COVID to present: AI-powered CPQ delivers unprecedented sales insights.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation, and today’s CPQ now incorporates AI and machine learning to further automate and optimize the selling process.
For example, DealHub’s AI-powered system…
- Analyzes profit margins and past deals to suggest optimal product configurations, pricing, and discounts
- Gives real-time engagement and deal sentiment analytics to help sellers understand buyer intent
- Intelligently routes approval requests based on deal size, risk, and organizational policies
- Offers low-code/no-code administration to set up CPQ without IT help
- Bills and recognizes revenue automatically according to ASC 606 and IFRS 15 for one-time, recurring, and consumption-based models
The ability to set up CPQ without expensive IT infrastructure, integrate it with the rest of your sales stack, and glean insights from it a human would otherwise miss makes every company more competitive. It helps them supercharge their sales cycle and gives them the power to scale their sales operations faster.
Not to mention, it lowers the barrier to entry by making CPQ more accessible. What was once a specialized solution for enterprise companies is now the standard across more than 80% of companies of all sizes.
CPQ streamlines the sales process from end to end.
When you consider the fact that CPQ systems help expedite and automate the sales process and improve CRM, all the while ensuring that customers get the precise products/services they want, it’s obvious why they’re being adopted by so many of today’s companies.
In just a mere 30 years, sales software has evolved into an entirely new form, alongside the SaaS model and subscription economy, and now with the emergence of AI and no-code/low-code software.
Where configuration systems were once extremely limited and primarily relegated to back office duties, CPQs now provide businesses with the means of simplifying complex configurations and offering accurate quotes, while at the same time providing clients with a personalized and streamlined purchasing experience.
Where do you see the best CPQ solutions heading in the next 10 years?
