When AI Agents Devour the App Layer: How Vertical SaaS Will Specialize and Thrive in a Multi-Cloud Future

Microsoft’s grand vision reshapes enterprise software, but the real value lies in specialized, domain-specific AI solutions that co-exist—and flourish—alongside the giants.

In an hour-and-a-half conversation published on December 12, 2024, Satya Nadella sat down with Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner to articulate Microsoft’s vision for the AI era. He delivered a series of provocative statements that challenge how we think about the entire SaaS ecosystem. “The traditional application layer as we know it — CRUD apps with busine…