alt Hacker NewsI wrote an article about this a few days ago that has been gaining a lot of traction: https://finbarr.site/2026/02/12/in-defense-of-saas.html
Point solutions are going to be free. Complex systems with support, integrations, switching costs, customer data, etc., are not going to be free.
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> This is the same dynamic that kept IBM dominant for decades
IBM still sells mainframes but is no longer a growth darling.
> Markets are right to reassess multiples. But reassessing multiples is very different from pricing in extinction
What you are missing is that the SaaS companies were extremely overpriced. For instance, crm after all the carnage is still priced at 25 times earnings which is historically high for anything that is not a growth company. The perception was that these companies would print money year after year selling software trinkets on their platforms and as such were placed in the growth category. Now, it is plainly obvious that these software trinkets can be produced easily by anyone using AI. Their pricing-power has dramatically declined. Hence the re-rating. None of this contradicts the thesis in your ai-assisted article that these businesses have moats just like IBM and its mainframes. These businesses are now in a vicious reflexive narrative loop where the narrative will impact the real-world which will further fuel the narrative.
Those platforms with a moat have some breathing room but it's only a matter of time. Remember Lotus Notes?