How AI Will Change Traditional IT Models

We’re not just in a tech shift. We’re in a work shift. I’ve lived through major technology waves: On-prem. SaaS. Social. Mobile. Each one made us more connected, more efficient, more scalable. But AI? It is different. It’s giving rise to a whole new concept: “work” or “results” as a service. So, what does that mean exactly? Simply put, if software-as-a-service helps people do work, AI will do work to help people. Take a salesperson, for example. Their "job to be done" is to close deals. Every day, they carry out tasks to help them achieve that goal. They spend hours updating records, scoring leads, drafting emails, scheduling calls, researching companies, and following up. Software made it easier to do all this work. But the salesperson was always the one who actually did it. (I was in sales, I know what it’s like 😉) Now, AI is bringing intelligence to software. It can think. It can reason. It can do work – like updating contact records and crafting follow-up emails. The goal hasn’t changed. But the path to get there? Completely transformed. So, how does this change our mental model for thinking about software? When we buy software, we’ll focus less on features and functionality, and more on the specific work and results it can deliver to help our businesses grow. In other words, we will think of software as “work” or “results” as a service. Today, we use passive tools. Soon, we'll use active agents. Today, we buy licenses for our teams. Soon, we’ll buy outcomes for our business. Today, we use software to help us do work. Soon, we'll use software that does work for us. I can’t think of a more exciting shift than that!

Remember when cloud services changed the way we use "computing"? We went from buying expensive servers to simply paying for what we used each month or even day. I'm seeing the same shift starting to happen with software, but with a twist. The tools we use today are built assuming a human is clicking buttons and reading screens. That's why we pay for "seats." But what happens when AI agents start using these tools for us? The whole idea of paying per person suddenly feels strange and outdated. This isn't just a tech change; it's about completely rethinking how software makes money. I've noticed these early "computer-using agents (CUA)" appearing in our browsers, doing small tasks for us like shopping to get the best prices across sites. It starts with simple things like browser extensions, which will change first before larger applications follow. Check the top extensions for different browsers and think about how they’ll be relevant if agents are parsing the websites. An AI agent doesn't need all those visual helpers and explanations we humans do. While headlines focus on what AI can do, I'm curious to see how it's reshaping the business side of software. As AI continues integrating into our digital ecosystem, expect traditional software licensing to evolve dramatically, creating new opportunities and challenges for both providers and users alike. #ExperienceFromTheField #WrittenByHuman

I had the opportunity to speak with Bob Evans this week about how AI is changing the enterprise apps landscape. The key takeaways: 1️⃣ AI is redefining enterprise apps: traditional apps are grids and forms over data at their core, but AI changes all that. Copilot delivers business insights and personalized assistance directly in your workflow—whether you're creating customer pitch decks, responding to emails, or closing the books. Agents take it further, scaling your operations by completing workflows. 2️⃣ Legacy systems are fading into the background: with this shift to Copilot and agents, legacy systems of record will soon become more like a mainframe – still essential but in the background and not a destination for running your business. 3️⃣ Agents are the new apps of the AI era: in the AI era, agents will give individuals and teams more capacity. But trying to interact with all of them without a Copilot would be like using mobile apps without a smartphone. That’s why our vision is to empower every person with a Copilot and transform every business process with agents. Better together! This shift is already underway and delivering real business value for companies like Dow, McKinsey & Company, Lumen, Pets at Home, and internally at Microsoft. Check out the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gPkM3FPd

The biggest risk in IT right now? Assuming what worked last year will still work tomorrow. (Spoiler: It won’t. AI already changed the rules.) I get asked this constantly: ➡️ “Is AI really the future of IT?” ➡️ “What can AI actually do in operations?” ➡️ “Should we wait or act now?” Here’s the reality: AI isn’t coming. It’s already here. And it's transforming IT operations in 10 very real, very measurable ways: 1️⃣ Automates routine tasks → Saves teams hours 2️⃣ Monitors systems → Prevents outages before they happen 3️⃣ Analyzes data → Surfaces patterns and insights fast 4️⃣ Enhances security → Detects threats in real-time 5️⃣ Improves decision-making → Adds clarity with data 6️⃣ Supports IT teams → Acts as a force multiplier 7️⃣ Streamlines workflows → Removes bottlenecks 8️⃣ Scales operations → Supports growth without chaos 9️⃣ Personalizes UX → Delivers tailored experiences 🔟 Drives innovation → Enables new capabilities This isn’t a vision. It’s already happening. Leaders who wait for the ‘perfect’ AI use case will fall behind. Those who experiment, pilot, and iterate now? They’ll build an unfair advantage. Let’s shift from hype to execution. From “what if” to “what’s next.” Let’s rethink IT with AI at the core. Let’s talk: Strategy → not just tools. Execution → not just experimentation. Outcomes → not just potential. 👇 🔹 Follow me for more insights on enterprise transformation 🔹 Subscribe to my ‘Transform Smarter Blueprint’ newsletter 🔹 Connect with me to explore real-impact strategies 🔹 DM me to explore AI use cases with real business value ♻️ Repost to share the future of IT with your network P.S. I shared 10 ways AI is changing IT operations, but I know there are more. What would you add to the list? Drop a 💡 in the comments.

If every employee starts managing agents, how does a company change? First, “83% of global leaders say AI will let employees take on more complex, strategic work earlier in their careers.” One executive recently framed this transition of teams evolving to three areas of work : operational, tactical, & strategic. Operational work can be mostly fully automated today. Agents are chomping away at tactical work - better accuracy will improve their share. Humans will focus on strategy work, but likely assisted by AI. “When asked why they turned to AI instead of a colleague, employees cited 24/7 availability (42%), machine speed and quality (30%), and unlimited ideas on demand (28%) as the top reasons—all things humans cannot provide.” Advanced AI users use AI as a thought partner. With some studies demonstrating AI’s creativity as superior to humans, combined with infinite patience, profound memories, & a little bit of obsequiousness, we should expect AI as a strategic work sidekick. The impact on org charts is likely to be profound. Manu Cornet’s interpretation of org charts will need an additional box. What will it look like? “But with expertise on demand, the traditional org chart may be replaced by a Work Chart—a dynamic, outcome-driven model where teams form around goals, not functions…” Microsoft’s Work Trend Index argues most businesses will resemble movie production : teams of specialists who descend upon a project, achieve a goal & move on. And the impact is mostly on customer-facing teams : “In our survey, global leaders listed customer service, marketing, and product development as the top three areas for accelerated AI investment in the next 12–18 months.” The Cornet image of the future will undoubtedly have more agents than humans - by 10x or 100x is hard to say. The leverage from AI is hard to overstate & expectations for speed, depth of thought, creativity, & effectiveness will surge as a result - a huge opportunity for those who understand how to use these new tools effectively.

Last week Jensen Huang laid out the vision that the IT department of every company is going to be the HR department of AI agents in the future. This is likely to be the most profound shift in IT we’ve ever seen, because it completely alters the role of the IT department and its responsibility for overall execution of the company. In the past, we went to IT to procure and deploy software that helps enable employees and power workflows across the enterprise. But it was ultimately up to other functions (from HR to the lines of business) to ultimately drive the outcomes and execution of work in the company. AI Agents flips this all. Now, increasingly, in an AI-first enterprise, we can imagine going to the IT department to actually get the work done with AI in the company. With AI Agents, an enterprise can now deploy any amount of “workers” on a task on demand to solve a specific problem in the business. This could be generating leads in sales, writing code and squashing bugs, reviewing contracts or processing invoices. Now, the business will increasingly go to IT to ask for a particular task or set of tasks to get done, and it’s the IT organization’s responsibility for getting those outcomes delivered. This means IT must be insanely close to the business, understanding all the various needs, connecting the dots to major technology trends, and ultimately implementing the right AI architecture to accomplish this. The success or failure of this work now comes down to AI architectures and the AI stack a company leverages; ultimately the decisions IT makes in AI will determine the company’s effectiveness in execution. This changes IT forever.