By Michael J. Davern
Publication Date: 2026-02-12 04:23:00
In recent weeks, a number of large software-as-a-service companies, including Salesforce, ServiceNow and Oracle, have seen their share prices plunge.
Even if you’ve never used these companies’ software tools, there’s a good chance your employer has. These tools manage important data about customers, employees, suppliers and products, supporting everything from payroll to purchasing to customer service.
Now, new “agentic” artificial intelligence (AI) tools for businesses are expected to reduce reliance on traditional software for day-to-day work. These include Anthropic’s Cowork, OpenAI’s Frontier, and open source agent platforms such as OpenClaw.
But how important are these software-as-a-service companies now? How quickly could AI replace it – and are the jobs of the people using the software safe?
The digital installation of the business world
Software-as-a-Service systems run in the cloud, reducing the need for internal hardware and IT staff. She…
