Life After the SaaS-pocalypse: How AI Is Reshaping Software

Summary of Key Tech Concepts & Market/Product Analysis

• AI is “friend and foe,” mainly because it changes workflows rather than eliminating software entirely.

  • Panelists agree AI boosts productivity (friend) but disrupts existing business models by automating or reshaping tasks that previously required multiple tools or manual workflows (foe).
  • Core idea: AI alters how work happens, so organizations may need fewer tools—or different workflows.

• Vulnerable software businesses are those weakly connected to customer outcomes.

  • Companies at highest risk are described as those that:
    • don’t understand their end customer’s process deeply, and
    • are “generic” in how they support the customer’s final output.
  • If a provider can’t demonstrate meaningful embedding in customer value creation, AI-enabled substitutes can replace it.

• Hard-to-replace platforms vs. replaceable skills

  • Example contrast:
    • Wix (website builder) is framed as tied to a “replaceable skill,” which is said to have hurt its trajectory.
    • Salesforce / Snowflake are framed as harder for AI to replace because they are deeply integrated into business processes and data workflows.

• Long-term view: “picks and shovels” for AI

  • The discussion compares AI’s software investment opportunity to past tech booms:
    • Semiconductors were the “picks and shovels.”
  • Analogy: software infrastructure/platform enablers are viewed as similar beneficiaries of AI demand.
  • Claim: companies investing in AI before the current wave (not just recently) are better positioned for long-term gains.

• Investment theme articulated as two layers

  • Near-term: AI infrastructure plays (the “picks and shovels” angle).
  • Longer-term: attachment to customer value—how closely the software is connected to how customers make money.

• Specific company mentions (as AI beneficiaries / positioning)

  • Oracle
    • Presented as a potential AI winner due to existing AI investment.
    • Cited as a “middle ground” between software market uncertainty and AI spending.
    • Risk noted: earnings timing (“buying into earnings can be a little scary”).
  • HubSpot
    • Suggested as benefiting from the AI trade on the “traditional software” side.
    • Framed around strong attachment to the CRM/sales workflow, making it harder to separate from CRM value.

Main Speakers / Sources

• Fernando Montenegro — Vice President, Practice Lead at Futurum
• Colin Simon — CIO, Lloyd Financial Group