Along with banking, law, arts and media, management, math, administration, marketing, customer service and more, some of the career areas most poised for AI domination are within tech itself, including SaaS or software as a service.
Established SaaS firms such as Workaday, Intuit and DocuSign have seen share values in freefall this year as people anticipate that agentic models, especially Microsoft Copilot and Claude Cowork, may soon offer the same solutions without a subscription. Or, even worse, that teams will be able to code their own version of various software easily using AI, while the increasing automation of some positions could mean smaller software subscriptions and fewer sales.
But Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of SaaS giant Salesforce, has been vehemently rejecting the doomsday theories, arguing that new tech is not replacing his product but, in fact, is improving its offerings and bringing in even more revenue.
SaaSpocalypse is ‘nonsense,’ and AI is an ‘opportunity’
In an earnings call this week, Benioff called the SaaSpocalypse rumours “nonsense,” saying “I think it’s time for it to stop.”
He reiterated that Salesforce’s programs, which manage businesses’ customer relationships, have been seeing year-over-year growth, rather than the slow death some seem to be expecting.
“Our seats were supposed to decline,” Benioff told stakeholders on August 26. “Instead, Agentforce Sales, Services [and] Slack all saw year-over-year growth. We were told customers would abandon us. But attrition is near its lowest level ever.”
He’s been consistent throughout the year. In the spring, Benioff said, “People think we have our back against the wall when in fact the opportunity has never been greater,” adding that “all our products are so much better because of [AI apps].”
Other specialists agree.
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Companies adapting, integrating algorithms
David Viney of Alchemy Consulting called industry fears “overblown” in a lengthy LinkedIn post, adding that “every major SaaS name” has continued to “crush” financial expectations.
