Service-as-a-Software

Over the past year, I have been rebuilding my solo consulting business from scratch, and from day one, I’ve chosen to integrate AI and automation into everything I do.

From getting my daily work organised, to running analysis and audits, to creating recommendations on how to improve sales, marketing, and customer service.

As time goes on, I’m increasingly becoming involved in turning these recommendations into actions and participating in implementation coaching programs.

This has sparked my interest in how people in marketing, sales, customer service, and customer success can leverage new technologies and concepts to work more efficiently and to get things done without building large marketing, sales and service teams.

In this regard, the research, inspiration, and input from Frans Riemersma and ?? Rik Doclo ?? , as well as the continuous flow of information and insights from Scott Brinker , have helped me detect new trends early on.

One major new concept gaining traction in the market is Service-as-a-Software. Yes, you read that right—not Software-as-a-Service, but the other way around.

In this article, I’d like to share some insights on this intriguing concept, which is poised to further transform how work is organised, making it more efficient and creating more time for human-team activities that have long been neglected—such as personal customer contact and deep strategic thinking.

The concept of Service-as-a-Software

Service-as-a-Software (SaaS) is a concept where software serves as a tool to deliver specific services, combining software functionality with operational processes to provide value to the user.

The Difference Between Service-as-a-Software and Software-as-a-Service

In Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the customer uses the software themselves, typically through a subscription, to perform tasks such as delivered by Microsoft 365 and Salesforce.

In Service-as-a-Software, the company uses the software to deliver specific outcomes or services directly to the customer, with minimal user interaction required.

Characteristics of Service-as-a-software?

• Outcomes Over Tools: The emphasis is on the outcome provided by the software rather than the software itself. For instance, instead of focusing on the features of fleet management software, the customer pays for optimised fleet utilisation.
• Human Involvement Optional: Some aspects of the service may involve human intervention, but the software largely drives the processes, decisions, and outcomes.
• Focus on Service Delivery: The software is not just a product but an enabler of an ongoing service. For example, instead of selling a logistics planning tool, the company provides optimised logistics routes directly as a service.
• Automation of Processes: The software automates complex tasks that would otherwise require manual effort, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.

Key Benefits?

• Customization and Scalability. Service providers tailor outcomes to the company’s specific needs, scaling services as the business grows. A provider using Five9 delivers tailored metrics for a small business, later scaling to handle enterprise-level operations.
• Lower Learning Curve. Companies don’t need to train employees to use complex software platforms. This is especially beneficial for smaller businesses or non-technical teams. For example Five9’s advanced call centre tools are operated by the service provider, delivering metrics like call resolution rates and sentiment analysis without requiring user expertise.
• Time and Resource Efficiency. Internal teams can focus on core competencies while outsourcing complex software operations to experts. A marketing team doesn’t need to manually manage HubSpot campaigns; the service provider does it for them.
• Cost Savings. Businesses save on licensing costs, training, and the hiring of specialised personnel. A company pays for optimised customer service results rather than subscribing to Genesys and hiring a team to manage it.
• Expertise-Driven: Service providers ensure the software is used optimally, reducing the learning curve for clients.

Impact on Traditional SaaS Offerings

The Service as a Software model offers several benefits for companies, and its emergence will significantly impact traditional Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings like HubSpot, Salesforce, Five9, and Genesys.?

1. Customers increasingly expect outcomes rather than software they have to learn and operate. This may pressure traditional SaaS providers to offer managed services alongside their tools.
2. Companies offering Service as a Software start to leverage tools like Salesforce, Five9, or Genesys but add expertise, analytics, and delivery of results. This value proposition can overshadow SaaS providers’ offerings.
3. Companies may compare the cost of directly subscribing to a SaaS platform vs. paying for a service that delivers results. If the latter is more cost-effective, traditional SaaS providers will need to justify their pricing models, adding to the already existing pressure on SaaS-offerings pricing.

As you can see Service-as-a-Software has the potential to significantly change the way work is organised. It is also a next frontier into the practical integration of AI in ways of working that is crossed.?

Service-as-a-Software should, in my opinion, be on the agenda of every meeting and decision session where increase of process efficiency, design of sales, marketing and service target operating models and decisions related to choosing and deploying software and AI related solutions are discussed.?

Do you agree with my take on the potential and the game-changing impact of Service-as-a-Software? Would you like to discuss how Service-as-a-Software an other new concepts in Sales, Marketing and Service can future-proof your business model? DM me to schedule a 15 minute explorative call.?

?Hello, I am Patrick Maes. I love to help companies futureproof the way they organise Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Customer Service. My favourite collaboration formats are the 15-minute call, the 90-minute coffee, and the 3-hour workshop. Open for sales, marketing, customer service, and customer success challenges with start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs, and corporates and looking forward to meeting you.