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ZDNET's key takeaways
The SaaS apocalypse is over, says a leading VC.
Salesforce is doing just fine, thank you.
Hybrid firms providing both software and services are on the rise.
The software-as-a-service approach may be fading, but what's going to take its place? It could be a whole new level of SaaS.
The so-called "SaaS apocalypse" is over, venture capitalist Orlando Bravo proclaimed in a recent interview with CNBC. Rather than being a software killer, "AI is an enormous tailwind for software companies," he opined. "I can tell you in so many ways why AI is the biggest thing to happen to the software industry now. Software companies can move to a completely new level of business automation by automating some parts of human judgment."
Also: How Workday and other software providers plan to survive AI
Salesforce.com, the poster child of SaaS, doesn't appear to be feeling any apocalyptic pain, either. In May, the company announced revenue of $11.1 billion for its most recent quarter, up 13% year over year. Boosting its presence in the software space, the company recently acquired customer service software company Fin, formerly known as Intercom, for $3.6 billion. In the meantime, while IBM just experienced a brutal quarter, its software side saw 5% growth.
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