Back in 2024 Phil Fersht and the global sourcing advisory company HorsesforSources (HfS) coined the term Services-as-Software. Back then they predicted that by 2030 services would hardly be services anymore, but rather technology. They predicted that we ill see a shift from the traditional Software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, to a model where services are delivered primarily through technology and with an effort to minimizing human intervention. And did I forgot to say that AI will be at the core of this revolution? Obviously it will.
Through my more than 30 years in the technology business, I have spent significant time working at the vendor side and as a sourcing advisor. Since the start of 2025, I have worked as an in-house buyer. With this diversified experience, it is interesting to see where the market is today.
One concern I see is that as buyers, we are still used to buy hours. And yes, the consultancy companies simply love contracts that are hourly based. That gives minimum risk for the supplier, while they at the same time can continue to use their well tried model of building a hierarchical structure to deliver to the customers. This might be very 2000–2025, as indicated by HfS, but it is still convenient for both parties. It is after all what we know the best.
As the IT editor in Times of India, Shilpa Phadnis writes; human-agent ratio is a new measure for Indian IT companies. These companies have understood that they need to use agents keep being profitable.
2026 has the potential to be the year of Services-as-Software. However we as professional buyers has to be ready to buy these kind of services. I am ready. Are you ready?
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