When Satya Nadella speaks, I think we should listen because they built the change. And in a recent appearance on the BG Squared podcast, the Microsoft CEO didn’t hold back.
His take? The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model that’s powered modern businesses for over a decade is on its way out — and something much bigger is on the horizon.
What’s replacing it? Say hello to AI agents.
According to Nadella, the apps we rely on today — think CRMs, HR systems, financial dashboards — are mostly just:
→ Basic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) interfaces sitting on top of databases
→ Wrapped in business logic
→ Delivered through cloud subscriptions
But here’s the kicker: that business logic is now being offloaded to AI agents. And once that happens, the foundation of most SaaS apps starts to look… unnecessary.
“Once the logic is in the AI tier,” Satya explains, “all the backend will get replaced.”
AaaS: Agents-as-a-Service?
If this prediction plays out, we could be entering a whole new era — one where instead of logging into rigid platforms with set workflows, businesses will rely on intelligent AI agents that can understand goals, carry out tasks, and adapt on the fly.
Need a report pulled from your finance system? An AI agent can do that. Want to approve leave requests, create a marketing plan, or manage inventory? Just ask.
It’s less about clicking buttons and more about having conversations. Less about apps, more about outcomes.
What Does This Mean for the SaaS Industry?
For startups and enterprise giants alike, this shift could be massive. The traditional playbook — build a cloud app, charge per seat, scale — might start to feel outdated fast.
Instead, the next big wave might be AI-native companies building tools where the “app” is just the shell, and the real power lives in an intelligent, responsive agent sitting at the center of it all.
If you’re in tech, this is your sign to start paying attention. The shift from SaaS to AaaS (Agents-as-a-Service?) isn’t just a trend — it could be the next evolution of how businesses run.
So… Is SaaS really dead?
Maybe not today. But if Satya’s right, it’s definitely living on borrowed time.
