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AI and the Rise of Service-as-a-Service: Why Products Are Becoming Invisible

 

The software world is undergoing a fundamental shift. Thanks to AI, product development has become faster, easier, and more scalable than ever before. Tools like Cursor and Lovable—along with countless “co-pilot” clones—have turned coding into prompt engineering, dramatically reducing development time and enhancing productivity. 

This boom has naturally caught the attention of venture capitalists. Funding for software companies hit $80 billion in Q1 2025, with investors eager to back niche SaaS solutions that follow the familiar playbook: identify a pain point, build a narrow tool, and scale aggressively. Y Combinator’s recent cohort was full of “Cursor for X” startups, reflecting the prevailing appetite for micro-products. 

But beneath this surge of point solutions lies a deeper transformation: the shift from product-led growth to outcome-driven service delivery. This evolution isn’t just about branding—it’s a structural redefinition of how software creates and delivers value. Historically, the SaaS revolution gave rise to subscription-based models, but the tools themselves remained hands-on. For example, when Adobe moved Creative Suite to the cloud, the billing changed—not the user experience. Users still needed to operate the software. SaaS, in that sense, was product-heavy and service-light. 

Now, AI is dissolving the product layer itself. The software is still there, but it’s receding into the background. The real value lies in what it does, not how it’s used. Glide co-founder Gautam Ajjarapu captures this perfectly: “The product gets us in the door, but what keeps us there is delivering results.” Take Glide’s AI for banks. It began as a tool to streamline onboarding but quickly evolved into something more transformative. Banks now rely on Glide to improve retention, automate workflows, and enhance customer outcomes. 

The interface is still a product, but the substance is service. The same trend is visible across leading AI startups. Zendesk markets “automated customer service,” where AI handles tickets end-to-end. Amplitude’s AI agents now generate product insights and implement changes. These offerings blur the line between tool and outcome—more service than software. This shift is grounded in economic logic. Services account for over 70% of U.S. GDP, and Nobel laureate Bengt Holmström’s contract theory helps explain why: businesses ultimately want results, not just tools. 

They don’t want a CRM—they want more sales. They don’t want analytics—they want better decisions. With agentic AI, it’s now possible to deliver on that promise. Instead of selling a dashboard, companies can sell growth. Instead of building an LMS, they offer complete onboarding services powered by AI agents. This evolution is especially relevant in sectors like healthcare. Corti’s CEO Andreas Cleve emphasizes that doctors don’t want more interfaces—they want more time. AI that saves time becomes invisible, and its value lies in what it enables, not how it looks. 

The implication is clear: software is becoming outcome-first. Users care less about tools and more about what those tools accomplish. Many companies—Glean, ElevenLabs, Corpora—are already moving toward this model, delivering answers, brand voices, or research synthesis rather than just access. This isn’t the death of the product—it’s its natural evolution. The best AI companies are becoming “services in a product wrapper,” where software is the delivery mechanism, but the value lies in what gets done. 

For builders, the question is no longer how to scale a product. It’s how to scale outcomes. The companies that succeed in this new era will be those that understand: users don’t want features—they want results. Call it what you want—AI-as-a-service, agentic delivery, or outcome-led software. But the trend is unmistakable. Service-as-a-Service isn’t just the next step for SaaS. It may be the future of software itself.

CISO Role Expands as Cybersecurity Becomes Integral to Business Strategy

Over the past decade, the role of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) has expanded significantly, reflecting cybersecurity’s growing importance in corporate governance and risk management. Once primarily responsible for managing firewalls and protecting data, CISOs now play a critical role in shaping business strategies and aligning cybersecurity with broader company objectives. 

This evolution is underscored by increasing industry investment, as Gartner predicts that global spending on security and risk management will rise by 14.3 per cent this year, surpassing USD 215 billion. CISOs are no longer viewed solely as technical experts. 

Today, they are seen as strategic business leaders, responsible for driving business success by mitigating cyber risks and enhancing security measures to support long-term goals. 

As Saugat Sindhu, Partner and Global Head of Advisory Services for Cybersecurity & Risk Services at Wipro Limited, explains, “CISOs can shift from being seen as technical experts to strategic business leaders by building awareness and translating technical risks into business terms that are understandable for board members and executives.” 

This shift is essential for gaining leadership buy-in and ensuring that cybersecurity supports overall business growth. Emerging technologies such as generative AI are further transforming the CISO’s role. A recent ISC2 survey found that 88 per cent of cybersecurity professionals believe AI will significantly impact their roles, either now or in the near future. 

CISOs must continually educate themselves and their teams to stay ahead, integrating advanced technologies into cybersecurity strategies to strengthen security and drive business goals. To successfully transition from a technical to a strategic role, CISOs should adopt three key strategies.  

First, they need to shift from being purely “tech guardians” to becoming enablers of business growth, understanding how cybersecurity can help their companies gain a competitive edge. Second, they must build strong partnerships with senior leaders like the CFO and CRO to integrate cybersecurity into the company’s risk management framework and secure the necessary resources. 

Finally, CISOs should foster a culture of continuous learning and awareness across the workforce, ensuring all employees are equipped to handle emerging cyber threats.