Daily AI CatchupSAP's CTO Pushes Back on 'SaaS Is Dead'
In an interview, SAP CTO Philipp Herzig responds to the narrative that AI agents will kill traditional SaaS. He argues the real differentiator isn't whether software gets replaced by agents, but who controls the clean, structured business data those agents need to work. SAP is betting its moat is decades of enterprise data, not the software interface itself.
Why it matters
💻 Developer · If you build on enterprise platforms, this is a reminder that data access and integration rights matter more than UI layers as agents take over workflows.
📦 Product · Worth tracking for roadmap bets: the fight over AI agents isn't just about flashy demos, it's about who owns the underlying data pipes.
🎨 Design · Less relevant to visual design, but signals that agent-driven interfaces may route around traditional app UIs entirely, changing what you're designing for.
📈 Business · If you run on SAP or similar enterprise stacks, this is SAP telling customers their data lock-in is a feature, not a bug, as AI agents spread.
🤔 Just Curious · A glimpse into how legacy enterprise software giants are arguing they'll survive the AI agent wave, not get replaced by it.