Would you say that your main arguments are more applicable to B2B SaaS vs B2C?
Various of your outlined concerns don't directly apply to a consumer.
From a customer perspective, a perfect software world would be open protocols everywhere. Everyone could vibe code their way to the perfectly personalized home screen.
Instead of relying on different algos used by different social media platforms it would be possible to aggregate from all of them and have your own personalized prompt-based algorithm. You won't need to check Instagram itself anymore. You won't need to worry if your friend is using text messages, whatsapp, telegram or signal. You just express an intent to reply to them.
Obviously, every big software player switching to an open protocol approach is unrealistic.
However, I believe that AI computer use advancements (incl. openclaw, claude's recent announcements etc) make it easier to circumvent this. Therefore, we now have a way easier time accessing these types of applications and building our own scaffolding as consumers.
Our willingness to accept small failures or mistakes is considerably higher than in a B2B setting.
Computer use especially breaks down artificial moats (such as a lack of API, insane API pricing or considerable usage restrictions).
The strongest claim in this piece is the one that deserves the most scrutiny: process power as the defining moat.
You're right that application software is "a stored process — it encodes opinions about how the function of an organization should operate." But there's a layer underneath that nobody is building infrastructure for yet.
Stored processes encode what an organization does. They don't capture why those processes were designed that way, who made the judgment calls that shaped them, or what alternatives were rejected.
Harvey knows how a partner likes her memos done. But does it know why that partner structured the review process that way? When she retires, does the institutional reasoning survive — or just the calcified workflow?
Process power without captured reasoning is brittle. It compounds until the people who designed the process leave. Then it becomes legacy code that nobody can explain but everyone is afraid to change.
The next durable moat isn't a better system of record or system of action. It's a system of reasoning.
All Harvey or any other AI tool needs to do is be fed your SOW, timecards, RFP, emails, invoices, and find the patterns. Just get a drink first or you may lose faith in what you do all day.
So, maybe yes, SAAS was relatively easy & fast & got all the glory & Accelerator space (hello Y Combinator)…
Fast scale-up but now with scarce protection of market. Perhaps those of us with amazing novel & IP protected hardware (+ software/plus firmware) which we slaved over for years, will get a l👀k…
BTW, I can open your smartphone or AR glasses with my touchscreen enabled wearable finger ring and do lots of stuff then…
MuseRing technology allows one to access AI covertly, non-invasively…
Agents don't now about moats and will be doing so many internal tasks they may become the user base. Small companies, led by the very people who today are working for Enterprise, will duplicate what is needed using AI with former firms and ignore everything else. X proved it; Block is copying, your industry is next. Don't believe me? Use Claude Code /brainstorming and rebuild your companies tech in a few hours. Then tell me what stage of grief you are in.
Brand is the least likely to endure; is any Gen-Z thinking positively about IBM and many others from time gone by? No. They are not. Soon enough, though, they will be the next line of serious decision makers and purchasers.
Would you say that your main arguments are more applicable to B2B SaaS vs B2C?
Various of your outlined concerns don't directly apply to a consumer.
From a customer perspective, a perfect software world would be open protocols everywhere. Everyone could vibe code their way to the perfectly personalized home screen.
Instead of relying on different algos used by different social media platforms it would be possible to aggregate from all of them and have your own personalized prompt-based algorithm. You won't need to check Instagram itself anymore. You won't need to worry if your friend is using text messages, whatsapp, telegram or signal. You just express an intent to reply to them.
Obviously, every big software player switching to an open protocol approach is unrealistic.
However, I believe that AI computer use advancements (incl. openclaw, claude's recent announcements etc) make it easier to circumvent this. Therefore, we now have a way easier time accessing these types of applications and building our own scaffolding as consumers.
Our willingness to accept small failures or mistakes is considerably higher than in a B2B setting.
Computer use especially breaks down artificial moats (such as a lack of API, insane API pricing or considerable usage restrictions).
I would love to hear your thoughts about this!
The strongest claim in this piece is the one that deserves the most scrutiny: process power as the defining moat.
You're right that application software is "a stored process — it encodes opinions about how the function of an organization should operate." But there's a layer underneath that nobody is building infrastructure for yet.
Stored processes encode what an organization does. They don't capture why those processes were designed that way, who made the judgment calls that shaped them, or what alternatives were rejected.
Harvey knows how a partner likes her memos done. But does it know why that partner structured the review process that way? When she retires, does the institutional reasoning survive — or just the calcified workflow?
Process power without captured reasoning is brittle. It compounds until the people who designed the process leave. Then it becomes legacy code that nobody can explain but everyone is afraid to change.
The next durable moat isn't a better system of record or system of action. It's a system of reasoning.
All Harvey or any other AI tool needs to do is be fed your SOW, timecards, RFP, emails, invoices, and find the patterns. Just get a drink first or you may lose faith in what you do all day.
Yes, the long tail of the software market has just opened up, and the era of personalized software is expanding it. https://rmeerasahib.substack.com/p/personalized-software-is-coming-the?r=1n9qpn&utm_medium=ios
So, maybe yes, SAAS was relatively easy & fast & got all the glory & Accelerator space (hello Y Combinator)…
Fast scale-up but now with scarce protection of market. Perhaps those of us with amazing novel & IP protected hardware (+ software/plus firmware) which we slaved over for years, will get a l👀k…
BTW, I can open your smartphone or AR glasses with my touchscreen enabled wearable finger ring and do lots of stuff then…
MuseRing technology allows one to access AI covertly, non-invasively…
Agents don't now about moats and will be doing so many internal tasks they may become the user base. Small companies, led by the very people who today are working for Enterprise, will duplicate what is needed using AI with former firms and ignore everything else. X proved it; Block is copying, your industry is next. Don't believe me? Use Claude Code /brainstorming and rebuild your companies tech in a few hours. Then tell me what stage of grief you are in.
Brand is the least likely to endure; is any Gen-Z thinking positively about IBM and many others from time gone by? No. They are not. Soon enough, though, they will be the next line of serious decision makers and purchasers.
I was thinking about JC Penny's today...
Excellent article with a profound grasp of software dynamics. The most powerful line: “The world is still short software.” ❗️