Surviving the AI storm as a SaaS company? You have to go faster!

I see it in almost every SaaS company I visit. Being caught up in daily surgery. Being busy resolving customer issues, checking off the roadmap and achieving quarterly goals. AI is seen as a way to create greater efficiency, rather than an opportunity for real core innovation.

The actions remain free up for a developer to experiment, build a small chatbot, write code faster with GitHub Copilot, or generate automatic reports...

Is that you?

Then pay attention. Because while you are busy with small experiments and efficiency gains, there is a startup somewhere that is currently redefining your entire market with an AI-native solution. A solution that is 10 times better, faster and cheaper than what you currently offer.

This is not the time for caution. Now is the time to ask yourself: how can we completely redefine our product, with the new possibilities that AI offers? And are you going to deliver much more value in doing so?

There is much more at stake for SaaS companies than just missed opportunities. If you don't move along radically, you can be overtaken by “AI natives”.

Exponential growth or existential threat? You get to choose

The business value of your SaaS company is not only determined by your current turnover, but primarily by your growth potential.

Here's the problem: the market has already fully priced in your current growth path and recurring revenue in your company valuation. So if you simply continue with what you are already doing, your business value will hardly increase.

In fact, in this era of AI disruption, you run a real risk of your business value plummeting dramatically.

The market for AI-related revenue by (traditional) SaaS companies is expected to grow by a factor of 10. That's where your chances lie. But the risk of loss due to the shift in value to new, AI-native players is even greater.

To increase your business value, you need to find new growth drivers that the market hasn't factored in yet. In other words: you need to use AI in such a powerful way that it takes your recurring revenue to a completely new level.

Several major players in the SaaS world have already done this:

• With an early and successful introduction of AI features, Salesforce has seen an impact of more than 20% on their share price in one year.
• ServiceNow, a company that focuses on making business processes more efficient, has also achieved significant financial benefits by integrating AI into their core product.
• With the Halo platform, CM has applied a strategy similar to Salesforce, which has proven to be an impetus for innovation and has strengthened its competitive position.

How are you going to make your product exponentially more valuable?

To answer that question, you have to think outside the box. You need to understand what your customers need and what new opportunities AI offers you with that.

You can then redeem that value in various ways:

1. Develop product add-ons with AI

You can add AI features to your existing product and offer them as additional modules that customers pay for separately. Examples include predictive analysis, intelligent search functions, or automated recommendations based on the data in your SaaS solution.

2. Create premium licenses with AI features

Instead of separate modules, you can also add AI functionalities to a premium version of your product. This encourages customers to switch from the standard version to a more expensive version.

3. Develop new stand-alone AI products

A more ambitious option is to develop completely new products, such as own AI agents, that run on AI technology. These products can complement your existing solutions or even open up a completely new market.

4. Build agent studios or platforms

The most advanced SaaS companies offer customers a platform where they can build their own AI agents that work with their specific business data.

As a mature SaaS company, you have a big advantage (that you don't want to ruin)

As an existing SaaS company, you are stronger than you think. You have domain knowledge. You understand your customers' business processes in detail. You've collected a lot of valuable data. You serve your existing customers. You've built relationships of trust and optimized sales channels.

Newcomers may be more agile and embrace the latest technology, but they still have to build it all. You already have it. The challenge is: how do you turn this advantage into an unbridgeable gap?

The answer lies in combining the best of both worlds. You need to imitate the agility and innovative power of startups, while making maximum use of your existing assets. This requires a transformation in how you work. About a culture of experimentation and rapid learning. For the willingness to fail and to learn from it.

How to create the speed you need

Too many companies are opting for a linear strategy when implementing AI. First get the data in order, then experiment, then validate, then develop.

That is too slow.

These times require speed. You want to be able to ship new solutions in record time. And that only works if you start working in parallel. You always want to be busy with all these things:

Continuous process of idea generation and validation

Gather ideas for AI applications that can add immediate value for your customers. Validate these ideas quickly, for example by presenting them to existing customers. What problems do they solve? Are customers willing to pay for this?

Technological exploration and development

In parallel with validating ideas, you need to build the technological knowledge and infrastructure that is needed for AI applications. Experiment with different AI models and architectures to find out what works for your specific use cases.

A lab environment for customer testing

Create an environment where you can test, train, make smarter, and optimize new AI applications with real users and real customers. This also increases customer engagement in your innovation process.

Rapid Deployment Program

Develop a structured approach to rapidly roll out successful AI applications to your customer base. This includes a plan for training and adoption so that customers get the most out of your new features.

Improving data infrastructure

In the meantime, work on improving your data infrastructure. Some AI applications require perfectly structured data; for others, you can start with what you have. Most importantly, don't wait for everything to be perfect.

Are you going to surf or drown?

As a SaaS company, you are at a crossroads. You can continue on the current path, with incremental improvements and efficiency gains. Or you can opt for a radical transformation, using AI not only to improve existing processes, but to reinvent your entire product and business model.

The first road is comfortable and safe in the short term. The second path is uncertain and scary, but also your only path to long-term survival.

My advice: don't wait until it's too late.

The AI storm is sweeping across SaaS land. And the question isn't whether you get wet, but whether you're surfing the wave or being swallowed up by it.

The next step with AI

Ready to take the next step with AI? Here are your options:

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