{"id":15261,"date":"2026-03-31T08:03:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/netherlands\/?p=15261"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:29:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:29:04","slug":"software-is-entering-its-most-powerful-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/netherlands\/2026\/03\/software-is-entering-its-most-powerful-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Software is Entering Its Most Powerful Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent selloff in SaaS stocks misreads the real disruption. It reveals why enterprise software is more essential than ever.<\/p>\n

By Christian Klein<\/em><\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology shift since the internet \u2013 and the most transformative thing to happen to enterprise software. Not because AI threatens it, but because AI needs it. The breakthroughs in reasoning, code generation, and autonomous agents are real, and they will reshape every industry.<\/p>\n

I see it firsthand. AI is driving double-digit efficiency gains across our own operations. In more than two-thirds of our recent fourth quarter cloud deals, customers chose to include AI capabilities. Manufacturers are using AI agents to automate quotation processes, cutting response times dramatically. Consulting teams are reclaiming a quarter of their working week for higher-value work. This is not hype – it is happening, at enterprise scale.<\/p>\n

Every major platform shift follows a pattern. Early on, value accrues to the lowest layers of the stack: the compute, the models, the infrastructure. The shovels in the gold rush. Over time, enduring value migrates upward to the application layer, where technology translates into business outcomes. The internet made that clear. Cloud computing confirmed it. AI will be no different. Software\u2019s not reaching the end of the line \u2013 it’s just getting started. In other words: software is becoming AI’s superpower.<\/p>\n

Where the real value lies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Across industries, companies are pouring billions into AI, driven by real breakthroughs in capability and productivity. Yet many are struggling to translate experiments into measurable, enterprise-wide outcomes. The root causes are well-known: fragmented data landscapes, siloed processes, inconsistent governance, and AI bolted on to aging legacy systems.<\/p>\n

Regardless of their industry or size, every customer I speak with wants one thing: AI that deeply understands their business and does so securely and reliably. That requires integrated applications, harmonized business data, and clear controls. Without these, AI operates in a vacuum, disconnected from business reality.<\/p>\n

If it doesn\u2019t understand how finance connects to procurement, how a supply chain interacts with manufacturing, what compliance rules govern a transaction, or how to handle exceptions, AI cannot reliably run a business. The smallest mistake \u2013 using outdated, incomplete, or incorrect data \u2013 can quietly cascade into wrong decisions, faulty transactions, and significant losses before anyone notices. Far from eliminating software, AI exposes the indispensability of the systems that coordinate work at scale.<\/p>\n

Enterprise AI succeeds where agents and governance meet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Building an agent is becoming increasingly easier \u2013 the tip of the iceberg. Deploying it across end-to-end supply chains or financial close processes, with full compliance and audit trails, is where most of the effort lies. Orchestration, policy enforcement, and workflow determinism are the gatekeepers of trust. The more autonomous agents you deploy, the more valuable the governed systems that constrain and supervise them become \u2013 and that\u2019s where the platforms that already run the world\u2019s core operations come into their own.<\/p>\n

What agents need to operate at scale<\/strong><\/p>\n

To deliver real outcomes reliably, agents need three things. First, deep domain and industry knowledge encoded in systems, so agents understand context, relationships, and end-to-end processes. Second, accurate, semantically rich business data that provides a reliable source of truth. And third, enterprise-grade governance: validation rules, compliance checks, approval flows, identity management and audit trails to keep autonomy safe.<\/p>\n

These are the elements that separate the AI that can truly and reliably run a business from the AI that merely impresses in a demo.<\/p>\n

What changes \u2013 what stays true<\/strong><\/p>\n

AI makes software faster and cheaper to build. Large language models will be commoditized. Business models will evolve as usage patterns shift from users to agents. Entirely new interfaces will emerge. Users will increasingly converse with AI rather than navigate applications, and front-ends will be generated dynamically in real time.<\/p>\n

But the need for continuously updated, governed systems only grows. AI raises the bar for secure updates, telemetry-driven improvement, and shared controls \u2013 all strengths of mature SaaS. AI agents don\u2019t replace enterprise software. They rely on it.<\/p>\n

The winners will not be those who own marginally better foundation models. They\u2019ll be those who deliver value at the application layer: business outcomes grounded in deep domain expertise, integrated across functions, and governed for deployment at scale.<\/p>\n

Software is becoming the operating system for trusted autonomy. The companies that recognize this will embed AI into the systems that run the world\u2019s economy. The rest will run more experiments, generate more prototypes, and wonder why the outcomes lag the hype.<\/p>\n

Long live software.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent selloff in SaaS stocks misreads the real disruption. It reveals why enterprise software is more essential than ever. By Christian Klein Artificial intelligence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":15262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5565301,4976],"tags":[5564590,247],"sapn-display":[5565299,5565297,4556728],"sapn-type":[5562690],"class_list":["post-15261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificiele-intelligentie","category-technologie","tag-artifical-intelligence","tag-saas","sapn-display-artikel-hero","sapn-display-artikel-spotlight","sapn-display-homepage-hero","sapn-type-artikel"],"yoast_head":"\nSoftware is Entering Its Most Powerful Era - 麻豆原创 Nederland Blogs & Nieuws<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/netherlands\/2026\/03\/software-is-entering-its-most-powerful-era\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Software is Entering Its Most Powerful Era\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The recent selloff in SaaS stocks misreads the real disruption. 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