Agentic ‘Saaspocalypse’ to rewrite software buying rules: Gartner

Agentic AI shifts partner value from software licences to outcomes, governance and trust.

Enterprise software is set for the biggest shake-up since the move to SaaS, with Gartner warning that up to US$234 billion in spending is at risk from agentic AI.

As AI agents complete tasks across multiple systems, it reduces the need for users to interact with multiple interfaces, rendering the software invisible.

“This breaks the link between user growth and revenue growth for many enterprise software vendors,” said George Brocklehurst, managing VP, Gartner.

The shift is already underway, according to the research firm, which predicts disaggregation in how software is built, priced and consumed. Despite the dire predications, some local partners see new consulting and managed services opportunities on the horizon.

Buyers expected to prioritise outcomes

As organisations increasingly use agentic AI systems, Gartner predicts the user interface will fade as the point of differentiation. As a result, pricing will shift from new tools or dashboards to outcomes, but this requires AI systems that can retain deep institutional memory and customer context over time.

“Gartner's right that customer-specific knowledge, not just data, is what defends a position. The control plane is where that knowledge lives,” said Kathryn Giudes, chair, ORCA Opti Software.

“The durable moat is what the trusted layer accumulates: each customer's rules, permissions, compliance posture and operational knowledge,” Giudes added.

However, Giudes expects the shift to outcome-based pricing will be gradual as procurement teams adapt to new ways of evaluating software purchases.

“Boards are talking about AI outcomes, but when the contract lands on the table it's still licences, still seats, still annual terms, uniformly across our customer base,” she said.

“Procurement teams don't yet have the frameworks to evaluate or benchmark an outcome-priced deal. They default to what they can compare. Small business will see the benefits of this shift first, and that will enable some of them to be part of the disruption,” she told CRN Australia.

Giudes expects the shift will show up in RFP language before it shows up in contracts, and that's the leading indicator the company is watching.

“Vendors waiting for customers to demand outcome pricing will be late. The ones who win will have the model ready before procurement knows how to ask for it,” she added.

Opportunities for service providers and partners

The opportunity for partners and service providers is to act as the agentic layer across systems, deliver measurable outcomes and help redesign workflows around AI, according to Gartner.

Chad Gates, MD, Pronto Software agreed that partners will evolve beyond implementing software and training users.

“Increasingly, partners will help customers redesign business processes, prepare trusted data, establish AI governance and identify where AI can genuinely improve operations,” Gates said.

Partners with deep industry expertise who understand how manufacturers, distributors or service organisations actually operate will win out.

“Customers will increasingly look for trusted advisers who can help them introduce AI responsibly, securely and with measurable business value,” he told CRN Australia.

With agentic adoption, organisations will prioritise security, governance and compliance, Giudes noted. As a result, accountability will be the partner's new product.

"The value shifts from deploying licences and clocking implementation hours to redesigning workflows around agents, governing them and standing behind the outcomes,” she said.

“Partners stop reselling software and start reselling trust,” she added.