Why I think you should be careful buying this SaaS dip.
Today, during our bi-weekly management meeting, we discussed cost-cutting measures. This is nothing new, as things aren't going superbly in our business right now.
We are a Scandinavian company, so cutting jobs isn't in our DNA. We believe that if we remain loyal to our employees, they will repay us with loyalty and trust when the market picks up.
So, we often look at other measures. And today, for the first time, there was a new topic on the agenda: our ERP system.
Let me explain.
An ERP system is a hassle for every sales employee and a lovely tool for management. Managers can pull lists of won, lost, or stalled opportunities, competitors, quotes, market share... as long as the sales employees fill everything in correctly.
That's the hassle: correctly.
They have to fill in every box correctly, link every opportunity with a quote correctly, link the competitors correctly,... you know the drill. This takes time, it's repetitive and boring.
Time-consuming, repetitive, and boring.
Sounds like an ideal job for AI.
$CRM thought exactly the same. In 2014, Salesforce started investing in a project now known as Salesforce Einstein, which is the AI layer on top of the standard Salesforce platform.
Since 2014, the project has cost approximately $40B. Yet, according to the latest results, Salesforce Einstein brought in $800M in revenue in 2026...
Two years ago, we thought Einstein would be a huge benefit. AI would make analysis way easier, and it truly does today.
There is just one major problem: AI has evolved. Einstein has been outpaced.
We feel that with most basic LLMs today, it no longer matters where the information is stored. The bot will find it. It doesn't matter if sales reps store the competitor info perfectly, link the quote perfectly, or close an opportunity correctly. AI will just find the data.
The most expensive ERP systems still haven't solved this hassle, while easy-to-access AI tools have. Even a combination of Microsoft Dynamics and Copilot (which isn't universally seen as the best LLM) would already solve this problem partially.
At the moment, we haven't changed our systems. I don't think we will for a long time. But it highlights a major $40B issue.
AI has disrupted major businesses, is disrupting major businesses, and will continue to disrupt businesses.
I'm not saying that none of the SaaS companies can make a comeback. Today was just a major reality check for me.
They are not the safe havens they used to be. You can't just park your money in these companies without being deeply aware of the impact of AI.
Investing is not about what you want to happen, but about what is really happening. So open your eyes, listen, and always do your research.
The safest bets of today can be major risks tomorrow.