“The next software war may not be about features anymore. It may be about which systems can actually think and act.”
For years, enterprise software companies competed on dashboards, integrations, workflow tools, and subscriptions. The formula barely changed. Businesses bought software. Employees operated it manually. Data moved through structured systems one click at a time. But according to Anaplan CEO Charlie Gottdiener, AI is starting to fracture that entire model.
Speaking about the future of enterprise software, Gottdiener argued that the industry is moving toward a split between traditional deterministic software and AI driven systems capable of operating with what he described as “domain authority.” That phrase is becoming important. Because it points to software that does more than simply respond to commands. Instead, the systems begin understanding operational context deeply enough to make recommendations, coordinate workflows, and eventually take actions on behalf of businesses themselves.
And that changes the role software plays entirely. For decades, enterprise software mostly functioned like digital infrastructure. Companies stored information. Tracked operations. Managed workflows. Employees still handled most of the thinking. AI systems are beginning to blur that boundary now.
Suddenly software is summarizing meetings, generating reports, forecasting outcomes, assisting with customer communication, writing code, and managing parts of operations that previously required teams of workers handling tasks manually. That is why Gottdiener believes the SaaS industry may be entering a much larger transformation than many companies are prepared for.
“The future belongs to systems with domain authority,” he reportedly said while discussing how AI is changing enterprise software behavior. That statement captures the anxiety spreading quietly across large parts of the software industry right now. Because if AI systems become the main operational layer businesses interact with, traditional SaaS platforms risk becoming background infrastructure users barely touch directly anymore.
The software still exists. But the center of value shifts elsewhere. Toward AI systems sitting above the interface itself. And honestly, parts of that shift are already visible inside workplaces. Employees increasingly ask AI systems to summarize documents instead of opening dashboards manually. Teams generate reports automatically instead of building them piece by piece. Developers rely on AI coding systems to accelerate software creation dramatically.
The interaction layer is changing. Fast. That is partly why investors and founders are suddenly rethinking how enterprise software companies will survive long term if AI systems absorb more operational work directly. Some believe traditional SaaS companies can evolve into AI powered platforms themselves. Others think many existing products may slowly become utilities sitting underneath smarter operational systems that businesses interact with instead.
The implications are enormous. Especially financially. SaaS became one of the most profitable and stable models in modern tech because companies paid recurring subscriptions for software humans used constantly throughout the workday. But if AI agents eventually become the primary interface handling those interactions automatically, the economics of enterprise software could shift with them.
Still, the transition is not simple. Enterprise businesses depend heavily on trust, reliability, compliance, and predictability. Many executives remain cautious about allowing AI systems to make sensitive operational decisions without human oversight. That hesitation is slowing adoption in some sectors. At least for now. But the pressure is building. Because companies also see enormous efficiency gains in automation, particularly as AI systems improve at handling repetitive analysis, planning, forecasting, and administrative work.
And underneath the industry language, the core fear inside SaaS is becoming clearer. Not whether AI changes software. But whether humans slowly stop interacting with software directly at all. That possibility sounded exaggerated not very long ago. Now CEOs are openly discussing it on conference stages. Which explains why Gottdiener’s comments are attracting attention far beyond Anaplan itself.
Because what he is describing is not just a product shift. It is the possibility that enterprise software is quietly moving into an entirely different era. One where software no longer waits for instructions first. But increasingly begins acting beside the user, around the user, and sometimes ahead of the user entirely.
