AaaS is the New SaaS or What is the Future?

Will AI agents replace traditional business services? Are we headed towards Agents as a Service instead of Software as a Service? Microsoft’s CEO hinted at this in a podcast. There’s likely some truth to what he said, but a more grounded guess is that the future lies somewhere in between – with a third key component added to the mix.

Satya Nadella didn’t outright say “SaaS is dead,” but he did suggest that these services might collapse in the future. Why? Because many of them could be replaced by AI agents capable of solving multiple problems. This would also make a holistic approach easier, as the hassle of integrating various services would quickly become a thing of the past.

There’s a lot to unpack here. To start with, AI agents are no silver bullet.

Take coding, for example. Talk to any skilled developer capable of creating complex systems from scratch, and you’ll often hear a common critique of AI-generated code: it’s clunky and convoluted. Likely because best practices aren’t always clearly accessible to AI models. Sure, it works, but it’s far from optimized. Think of all the forums filled with posts like, “I have no idea how to solve this, but here’s my best guess…” Yeah, AI mirrors that energy.

But being stuck with various digital services – when their benefits could be delivered by well-defined AI agents – is definitely not a vision of the future. This can and should be avoided moving forward.

However, when it comes to crafting, adapting, and executing a complex business strategy, adjusting it as the market evolves, that’s not something an AI agent can fully manage yet.

We’re not there yet.

But AI agents will absolutely play a role.

So will logical, smart coding.

And, crucially, humans.

In the next few years, I believe the winning formula will be this hybrid approach. Digital services for businesses (SaaS) won’t be entirely replaced by Agents as a Service. Similarly, humans won’t be completely replaced by generative AI – recent trends have made that abundantly clear.

It’s all about combining these elements: Humans, AI Agents, and Software as a Service.

HASaaS is the future.

And yes, at KontentPlus, this is how we’re structuring our platform. So, obviously, we’re a bit biased. But we’re building our systems based on a clear need.

SaaS isn’t dead. People are awesome. And AI can be amazing. We need all three. Long live HASaaS!

Quick Terms to Know:

What is SaaS?

SaaS (Software as a Service) delivers cloud-based software that users access online instead of installing locally. Examples include platforms like Spotify, Google Workspace, and Salesforce. It’s loved for being flexible, scalable, and cost-effective, with subscription-based pricing.

What is AaaS?

Agents as a Service (or AI as a Service) provides artificial intelligence tools via the cloud. Companies can use AI for tasks like machine learning, data analysis, chatbots, and more, without needing to build their own infrastructure.

What is HASaaS?

This tongue-in-cheek term merges humans, AI agents, and software to tackle business challenges efficiently.

What is an AI Agent?

AI agents are intelligent systems that perform specific tasks independently. They analyze data, make decisions, and sometimes interact with humans or other systems. They’re often used for automation, optimizing workflows, or solving complex problems.