CRN Australia: Agentic 'Saaspocalypse' to Rewrite Software Buying Rules

CRN Australia's analysis of Gartner's "agentic Saaspocalypse" research — the warning that up to US$234 billion in enterprise software spend is at risk from agentic AI — included Kathryn Giudes as an expert commentator alongside Chad Gates of Pronto Software. The piece traces the shift from software licences to outcomes, and the way partner value moves from reselling seats to reselling trust.

Kat's contribution frames the durable moat as what the trusted layer accumulates: each customer's rules, permissions, compliance posture and operational knowledge. She argues that customer-specific knowledge, not just data, is what defends a position, and that the control plane is where that knowledge lives.

"The durable moat is what the trusted layer accumulates: each customer's rules, permissions, compliance posture and operational knowledge."

Kathryn Giudes, ORCA Opti (attributed as chair by CRN)

Read the full analysis: Agentic 'Saaspocalypse' to rewrite software buying rules: Gartner (CRN Australia)