monday.com lost roughly 70% of its value in nine months. The debate that followed was predictable: AI will replace SaaS camp vs. the no it won’t, even the AI companies run on SaaS.
Both arguments are too narrow.
No serious enterprise is ripping out its core systems of record. Governance, compliance, auditability, and risk management create real switching friction. Platforms like Salesforce and Workday are protected by that reality.
But protection is not leverage.
What’s happening is not one disruption. It’s three structural pressures hitting at the same time.
First, platform unbundling. For years, horizontal SaaS bundled the system of record, workflow engine, user experience, and ecosystem into one product. If you wanted the data, you accepted the interface. That bundling created stickiness, pricing power, and expansion velocity. Now customers are consuming the bundle differently. Teams surface data in Slack, internal dashboards, and AI copilots instead of living inside the SaaS UI. Workflows are orchestrated across specialized tools. Data is extracted and recomposed in centralized platforms. The core system remains, but it no longer controls the daily experience. The product stays intact, but the economic leverage embedded in the bundle weakens.
Second, the economics have shifted. Building a focused product for a narrow use case is cheaper than ever. Distribution is simpler. AI reduces the cost of building “good enough.” This lowers the barrier for vertical and purpose-built solutions, especially in the SOHO and SMB segments. Instead of one horizontal suite expanding across departments, you get multiple specialized tools solving specific problems well. The lower end fragments first, and that pressure gradually moves upward.
Third, buyer behavior is changing. Companies are increasingly treating horizontal SaaS platforms as structured data containers rather than as the place where work lives. They build their own engagement layers across systems. They question add-on modules and license only what is actually used. The impact shows up in slower seat expansion, greater scrutiny at renewal, and weaker pricing power.
None of these forces will eliminate SaaS. Core systems of record will remain because enterprises need stability, governance, and scale. What is changing is the leverage that came from bundling everything together.
This is not extinction. It is platform unbundling, cheaper vertical competition, and more disciplined buyers all hitting at once. That combined pressure weakens expansion, pricing power, and leverage — and that is why SaaS is bleeding from a thousand cuts.
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SaaS is not dead. It is bleeding from a
March 16, 2026
Kfir Pravda
No serious enterprise is ripping out its core systems of record. Governance, compliance, auditability, and risk management create real switching friction. Platforms like Salesforce and Workday are protected by that reality.
But protection is not leverage.
What’s happening is not one disruption. It’s three structural pressures hitting at the same time.
First, platform unbundling.
For years, horizontal SaaS bundled the system of record, workflow engine, user experience, and ecosystem into one product. If you wanted the data, you accepted the interface. That bundling created stickiness, pricing power, and expansion velocity. Now customers are consuming the bundle differently. Teams surface data in Slack, internal dashboards, and AI copilots instead of living inside the SaaS UI. Workflows are orchestrated across specialized tools. Data is extracted and recomposed in centralized platforms. The core system remains, but it no longer controls the daily experience. The product stays intact, but the economic leverage embedded in the bundle weakens.
Second, the economics have shifted.
Building a focused product for a narrow use case is cheaper than ever. Distribution is simpler. AI reduces the cost of building “good enough.” This lowers the barrier for vertical and purpose-built solutions, especially in the SOHO and SMB segments. Instead of one horizontal suite expanding across departments, you get multiple specialized tools solving specific problems well. The lower end fragments first, and that pressure gradually moves upward.
Third, buyer behavior is changing.
Companies are increasingly treating horizontal SaaS platforms as structured data containers rather than as the place where work lives. They build their own engagement layers across systems. They question add-on modules and license only what is actually used. The impact shows up in slower seat expansion, greater scrutiny at renewal, and weaker pricing power.
None of these forces will eliminate SaaS. Core systems of record will remain because enterprises need stability, governance, and scale. What is changing is the leverage that came from bundling everything together.
This is not extinction. It is platform unbundling, cheaper vertical competition, and more disciplined buyers all hitting at once. That combined pressure weakens expansion, pricing power, and leverage — and that is why SaaS is bleeding from a thousand cuts.
SaaS is not dead. It is bleeding from a thousand cuts. was originally published in RevenueFlows on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.