Kartik Deshpande’s Post

Controversial take maybe? Maybe not? Most all SaaS software is headed for commoditization - or already there. Innovation - especially in our ecom vertical - is weak and mostly uninteresting. Ai will close all those gaps and even completely take the some SaaS offerings out. Most every category will be challenged by lower priced and more agile options who are implementing the full feature suit much faster than before. The parity issue will become irrelevant as engineering gets easier to ship. What makes us interesting is the services, support, and how e implement and increment our customers. Prove me wrong.

https://lnkd.in/gaP45dBS Scaling a software company is not just about growth anymore—it’s about profitable growth, and executives have options in how they pursue it. #ai #budget #channel #customerexperience #growth #isv #scale #software

#SaaS is dead. 💀 Software is a business TOOL, not a business model. Software is becoming more commoditized ( hello, #AI :) ). As it becomes easier for enterprises to roll their own software or build replacements for all the SaaS; software becomes less valuable, and ....the VALUE of your code depreciates. Curious what new novel business models will come out of this now that you can't acquire a customer on your SaaS platform once and expect them to pay you forever—  Plum Data Labs dies thigs differently. We charge for VALUE. #venturecapital #innovation #data

SaaS replaced tools; AI agents will replace entire workflows. 📌 Old way:  You buy software (eg. Zendesk), pay $30k/year for the tool. Then hire employees to use the tool (pay for people + software) 📌 New way:  You pick an AI agent - and say “answer these support tickets”. The agent solves the tickets for you (no tool, no employees) and you just pay the AI agent 1 cent per ticket solved “People don’t want drills, they want 1 inch holes” (they don’t want the tool, they want the result)

The old enterprise software playbook is dead. You know the one: Take 6-9 months to design. Get feedback. Iterate. Build an MVP. Get more feedback. Then start selling. That might work in a stable market. But after 20 years watching market cycles in finance, I can tell you: GenAI isn't that market. You can't afford to wait and see with GenAI. The shifts are happening in real time. By the time you finish your planning cycle: - The core technology has evolved twice - Enterprise buying cycles have started without you - Your initial architecture needs rethinking - The market has moved on I saw this coming at Colleva. It's why we raised $3M+ in December and moved immediately to build an enterprise-grade AI coaching and feedback platform. Because in GenAI, you're not just racing against competitors. You're racing against time itself. Every major enterprise is making their AI technology decisions now. They're: - Choosing vendors - Building stacks - Allocating budgets And they're not going to rip everything out in 18 months because you finally arrived at the party. The reality of enterprise AI in 2024: - You need real security & compliance from day one - Your architecture must scale immediately - Multiple vendor integrations can't wait - You need a team that can execute now That's why we built Colleva as an enterprise-ready platform from day one. Because in this market, you have to get both the timing and the execution right. The market doesn't care about your perfect plan. It cares about who was ready when the window opened.

AI agents aren't going to replace SaaS software, but AI combined with subscription fatigue IS going to revolutionize business software. Over the next few years, small groups of high-powered individual contributors (<10 people) are going to build low-cost competitors to major pieces of software. Their disruptive advantage isn't going to be some unique combination of features, it's going to be dramatically reduced cost. Because they won't be trying to become unicorns, their pricing will be consistent, fair, and "flat" (e.g. not seat-based or, if seat-based, reasonably-priced). Because, let's be real, most business software is clunky and easy to replicate.

Interesting article (https://lnkd.in/gBvGiKVt) and interesting concept of "Software Delivered Services". Really resonated with us given the work we are doing at bookend.ai. This shift requires a different way of building and selling software, supporting customers and growing the business. Not everyone is onboard yet given some of the questions I get like "But what user interface is your customer using everyday?", "What SaaS tool are you building to run their workflows?", or "So, is this a product or a services business?". We are building a compelling product business that delivers valuable outcomes for our customers. We are excited to work with our forward thinking customers to power this shift. #startuphustle #generativeai #healthcaretech

The Future of SaaS in an AI-First World If you’re building software like it’s been done these last 10–15 years, it’s time to rethink. The SaaS giants of the last decade? They’ll fast become the new incumbents. The playbooks that built those businesses are aging fast. We’re entering the AI-first era: language oriented, task centric, and agentic. Users will expect software to meet them where they are—not just through sleek interfaces, but via integration, automation, and proactive intelligence. API access is becoming essential, allowing AI agents and environments to leverage your software on users' behalf. And there are going to be huge opportunities in "headless": headless CRMs, headless task management, headless financial planning — headless *everything*. Software designed for infinite adaptability and seamless integration, unbound from traditional interfaces. This isn’t a tweak to the old model; it’s a wholesale shift. SaaS companies must evolve—or risk being left behind.

Lot of debate lately about whether or not AI destroys SaaS and if software is over as an industry. The answer is relatively simple. Most of this debate is hyperbole from AI hype boys or defensive stances from SaaS bros. The answer is there will be: - more SaaS products - more software enabled services - more internal software built at companies large and small - more software engineers - more non-engineers building software etc. There will just be more software built period, full-stop. Software as an industry has historically been supply constrained. Lower the barriers to software, and we will just get more software. That's on net a good thing for the world imo.

🚀 SaaS on Steroids with Agentic AI 🤖💡 The future of SaaS is about to hit overdrive with Agentic AI—AI systems capable of independent decision-making and task execution. 🌐✨ Here’s how Agentic AI will supercharge SaaS: 1️⃣ Hyper-Automation: SaaS tools will perform tasks autonomously, from data analysis to customer support. ⚙️📊 2️⃣ Personalization at Scale: AI agents can tailor solutions for every user, delivering unparalleled experiences. 🎯 3️⃣ Cost Efficiency: Enhanced decision-making will reduce operational costs for businesses. 💸 4️⃣ Innovation Catalyst: New use cases will emerge, redefining industries. 🚀 The agentic era isn’t just evolution; it’s a revolution for businesses and tech ecosystems. Are you ready? 💼✨ #SaaS #AgenticAI #FutureOfWork #Automation #Innovation #AIInBusiness #TechTransformation #DigitalFuture