I’d just like to say, everything you’re describing is mostly accurate for enterprise platforms. However, SME’s are what make up a majority of the businesses in the country. And for these businesses, SaaS is a drain and frankly in the age of AI, most of them ARE unnecessary. Their value does lie in the API that connects to custom software build around them, or even just custom software built from the ground up. Pretty much every person I talk to complains about salesforce. And why are they special? They aren’t. A good systems engineer should be able to build a salesforce adjacent platform relatively easily with AI in my personal opinion. One that is lean and only does what the business needs it to do.
SME’s are the next wave, and if we don’t focus enough on them, we risk falling behind.
You’re right on SMEs, and I actually think they reinforce the pattern.
Most SaaS companies start exactly there: narrow, focused, solving a specific workflow. HubSpot vs Salesforce is a good example. HubSpot began with SMEs, but as they moved upmarket, they didn’t just add features. They built the system: data, workflows, integrations, governance.
That’s the shift.
A good systems engineer can absolutely build something Salesforce-adjacent with AI today. But the challenge isn’t building it, it’s operating it over time.
As soon as the system matters (multiple users, real data, integrations, reliability), that complexity shows up. Whether it’s internal or SaaS, someone still has to run it.
AI expands what’s possible for SMEs. But as those tools succeed, they start rebuilding the same infrastructure.
That’s the cycle. And I don’t see it changing any time soon.
The Salesforce paradox maps directly to retail platform decisions.
Retailers stay on Magento or similar platforms not because the interface is good - most would admit it is not - but because the checkout logic, promotional rules, and inventory behaviour built around it over ten years cannot be reconstructed elsewhere without losing institutional knowledge nobody documented.
The interface was replaceable from day one. The decade of undocumented decisions built inside it was not. That is the real switching cost and it has nothing to do with the software.
Perfectly put Om. And thank you for the additional example. Many of the systems that are deeply embedded in organizations from sales, to marketing, customer support, and accounting use platforms with UIs designed in the late 2000’s. They’re not being used out of love of the experience.
Exactly 100% - the UI is almost irrelevant at that point. The system became the operating model.
Replacing it means rebuilding the operating model, not just migrating the data. That is a completely different conversation than most platform decisions start with.
A very insightful read. Couldn’t agree more with your perspective.
I’d just like to say, everything you’re describing is mostly accurate for enterprise platforms. However, SME’s are what make up a majority of the businesses in the country. And for these businesses, SaaS is a drain and frankly in the age of AI, most of them ARE unnecessary. Their value does lie in the API that connects to custom software build around them, or even just custom software built from the ground up. Pretty much every person I talk to complains about salesforce. And why are they special? They aren’t. A good systems engineer should be able to build a salesforce adjacent platform relatively easily with AI in my personal opinion. One that is lean and only does what the business needs it to do.
SME’s are the next wave, and if we don’t focus enough on them, we risk falling behind.
You’re right on SMEs, and I actually think they reinforce the pattern.
Most SaaS companies start exactly there: narrow, focused, solving a specific workflow. HubSpot vs Salesforce is a good example. HubSpot began with SMEs, but as they moved upmarket, they didn’t just add features. They built the system: data, workflows, integrations, governance.
That’s the shift.
A good systems engineer can absolutely build something Salesforce-adjacent with AI today. But the challenge isn’t building it, it’s operating it over time.
As soon as the system matters (multiple users, real data, integrations, reliability), that complexity shows up. Whether it’s internal or SaaS, someone still has to run it.
AI expands what’s possible for SMEs. But as those tools succeed, they start rebuilding the same infrastructure.
That’s the cycle. And I don’t see it changing any time soon.
Fair play. Guess we’ll see how it goes!!
The Salesforce paradox maps directly to retail platform decisions.
Retailers stay on Magento or similar platforms not because the interface is good - most would admit it is not - but because the checkout logic, promotional rules, and inventory behaviour built around it over ten years cannot be reconstructed elsewhere without losing institutional knowledge nobody documented.
The interface was replaceable from day one. The decade of undocumented decisions built inside it was not. That is the real switching cost and it has nothing to do with the software.
Perfectly put Om. And thank you for the additional example. Many of the systems that are deeply embedded in organizations from sales, to marketing, customer support, and accounting use platforms with UIs designed in the late 2000’s. They’re not being used out of love of the experience.
Exactly 100% - the UI is almost irrelevant at that point. The system became the operating model.
Replacing it means rebuilding the operating model, not just migrating the data. That is a completely different conversation than most platform decisions start with.