The manual labor required to bridge the gaps between enterprise software systems is becoming a $100 billion opportunity for the next generation of agentic AI. New research recently released by Bain & Company suggests that the real value in AI lies not in replacing SaaS platforms, but in automating the human "glue" that connects them. This involves the expensive
While technical automation potential is highest in customer support and engineering—reaching up to 60%—sectors like finance and HR are seeing 35% to 45% of tasks become automatable. This transition is already being led by early movers like Glean and Sierra, which have scaled to nine-figure revenues by resolving issues across enterprise silos rather than within a single tool. David Crawford, chairman of Bain’s global Technology practice, noted that the old competitive moats are being drained. Crawford stated, “The new competitive advantage is what we call cross-workflow decision context—the ability to see, interpret, and act across workflows that traverse multiple systems.”
To remain competitive, legacy SaaS providers must move through a three-phased execution strategy to close capability gaps and redesign product foundations for multi-agent orchestration. The research indicates that the highest-value opportunities are found where no single system of record owns the final outcome. Companies that fail to capture these decisions and outcomes into a durable data moat risk losing ground to AI-native startups that are already compounding their advantages. Crawford emphasized that the window for action is closing rapidly, stating, “The strategic imperative for SaaS companies is measured in quarters, not years.”