134. Rewriting the Rules of SaaS Value

AI is forcing technology companies to rethink what customers are actually paying for, and how they prove the value they deliver.On this episode of TSIA’s TECHtonic, Thomas Lah sits down with Michael Speranza, CEO of Kantata, to explore how AI is reshaping the economics of SaaS, professional services, and enterprise technology. As software becomes easier to build and AI accelerates automation, the code itself is becoming less defensible. The real value is shifting toward industry expertise, data, context, and the ability to turn insights into measurable business outcomes.Thomas and Michael unpack why simple AI automation is quickly becoming table stakes, while predictive and agentic capabilities are opening the door to a new level of value creation. They also examine the growing pressure to move beyond seat-based and time-and-materials pricing toward consumption- and outcome-based models—and why both technology providers and their customers are still figuring out what that transition should look like.The conversation also explores the rise of the hybrid workforce, the changing role of technology services, the importance of reducing time to value, and why the future of enterprise software may not be a choice between standardization and customization, but a new model that combines the two.For technology and services leaders navigating AI, the message is clear: the question is no longer simply what your technology can do. It’s what becomes possible for your customer because of it, and whether you can prove it.