One sentence reality check

We did it Joe, we made software as a service obsolete; say hello to personal software as a service or personal software at your service err… service as your software…wait what 🤯?

Why is it important?

A few months to a year ago the "SaaS is dead" crowd was brushed off as overreacting. See some examples here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/saas-dead-tejas-bhandarkar-exfhc and here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lutzfinger/2026/04/24/saaspocalypse-is-deadthe-future-of-saas-is-saas/. Then came the SaaSpocalypse: https://www.forbes.com/sites/donmuir/2026/02/04/300-billion-evaporated-the-saaspocalypse-has-begun/.

Well, we've finally hit the inflection point where, bar corruption and unfair AI laws, the software as a service paradigm you know is now dead. Or at least on its last breaths or in for an evolution, whatever you know what I mean.

Some backstory if you care ... skip if you don’t

How did I come to this conclusion and what makes me qualified to say it? Nothing really. 

Truthfully when I got into technology I wanted to create my own video game because I couldn't afford a computer or a Sega Genesis (😮 yes I know shut up). So I picked up a book, worked from 13, 14, 15 years old to buy parts, build my own computers, bikes, footballs and fix electronics to learn. Honestly the only difference between Mark Zuckerberg and myself was the zip code, two parent household, access to capital…hmm I'm seeing a pattern here.

I was eventually "late" to the software and startup game because I simply didn't have the resources to think beyond my needs. I did get into a telecom startup in my early 20s but growth was limited. I continued learning by going to school part-time, building my own tools and tools for the company as well as doing freelance work. I learned a lot over the 10 years from 20 to 30. When I got out of business school I took a leap and decided to dive into the real startup game. 

Over time I learned that access to capital, networks, mentors, and interpersonal skills were way more important than raw skill. And as soon as I had that realization, bam! Here comes AI. In the blink of an eye (5 years or so), I went from learning and building the old fashioned way to now orchestrating agent swarms, harnesses and building customized software with much less resources and in shorter time spans than I had done my entire life.

But it wasn't just me, the whole world is now able to build software tailored to their needs simply by talking to an AI chatbot / agent. Hell did you see this event app from NY State: https://claude.ai/artifact/RPXWCRbUkcGndMiaemhjYV#no_universal_links? Straight from Claude.

Getting to the point

I buried the lede but think about this for a second, you can now build software tailored to your needs by just talking or typing. And you don't even have to be good at that, the AI will figure out what you mean! Why would you spend $500/month on multiple cloud software when you could host your own version for less than $200/month and can make changes or create ANY solution to your problems at any time.

The new reality

Just as Sony, Microsoft, Adobe and undoubtedly many other SaaS companies have and will come to find, their generic moats are no longer viable. Any user can tap into frontier intelligence for an affordable price, have a background agent (Muse, GrokBot, Dots,…etc) run 24/7 and just get shit done. Software is no longer a black box, hell PS5 games have been decompiled and made free, various videogames are being remixed and Adobe and Microsoft being usurped by https://getartcraft.com. Welcome to the world of AaaS (Agentic software as a Service) or service as software, where your only concern is the outcome not the how. This is just the beginning. 

How does it help you?

In one sentence: We've entered the world of service as software where whatever service, tool, integration, …etc you need can be developed for you by AI agents pretty competently.

Quick checklist (yes/no)

• Are you looking to customize the tools you need for your unique business or personal need?
• Are you looking to reduce your costs while getting a better impact on your business and workflows?
• Are you able to speak and read at an 8th grade level?
• Are you willing to spend $100/month for an AI Agent tool?
• Do you want to take back your time and spend it doing things you enjoy?

If you answered yes to at least three of the above, you are ready to set up and use your very own AaaS.

Are you building your own SaaS/AaaS?

If you're thinking of launching an AaaS/SaaS service, you need to think in terms of defensibility. If you put out a solution too quickly you'll be copied and outcompeted plain and simple. The perspective of understanding your moat is more important now than ever. Your moat, or defensible area, used to be something as novel as your brand, how early you were to market or how many amazing engineering tricks you did in the back to get things working. That's no longer true.

Honestly, you now need to focus on a few key things:

1. Niche markets you can support and serve with both technology and human in the loop services
2. System of record and source of truth data. In other words is data being created and stored first hand from your systems and are you effectively organizing and analyzing it?
3. How integrated is your solution to the different systems your customers need? If your solution doesn't integrate it's dead in the water. Why pay for or use your service when I can just ask AI to build something custom for me?

How can we help?

At NITM, we are used to building custom solutions by taking on needs from clients and translating this into plans, implementation and deployment strategies. Understandably with the rise of AI and agentic AI, our role shifts from doing the initial work to either educating you or helping to make sure you get to production stably, securely and quickly. 

We can turn around a 4 month project into a 1 month launch through our Vibe Code to Production service ensuring what you built is set up to meet your needs securely and reliably. Additionally we can simply come in and do an assessment and help you set up your AI tools and technology to accomplish your goals. Or we can simply function as your technology advisor working only as needed on an hourly or retainer basis.

Conclusion

In short, the way we get software just changed. Whether SaaS is fully dead or simply in for an evolution, you no longer have to settle for a tool that almost fits your needs. You can describe what you want and have an agent build it.

Of course in the real world, not everything is as cut and dry. SaaS isn't disappearing overnight, and a lot of it will likely stick around in some form. If you're a user, ask whether what you're paying for still earns its spot. If you're building a product, defensibility is more important now than ever: niche markets, human in the loop, source of truth data, and integrations.

Ultimately, focus on the outcome you want and let the agents handle the how. We're always ready to take a call and discuss what you need.

Additional Resources

1. SaaS Is Dead, by Tejas Bhandarkar
2. SaaSpocalypse Is Dead: The Future Of SaaS Is SaaS
3. $300B Evaporated. The SaaS-Pocalypse Has Begun
4. Schrödinger's SaaS: How SaaS Will Evolve Alongside AI
5. The Only SaaS Moats Left in 2026
6. NY State event app built with Claude
7. ArtCraft
8. Adobe in Trouble After Someone Reverse Engineered Adobe Creative Suite and Released It as Open Source
9. ArtCraft: Free Adobe Alternative, But Can You Trust It?
10. Artcraft Keeps Slopping Clones Of Adobe And Microsoft Office
11. AI is the prime suspect in the PS5 jailbreak surge