The New Agentic Value Chain

Premium Analysis

The old SaaS value chain was linear. Raw data flowed up through systems of record, through middleware, into applications, rendered through UIs, consumed by humans. Value distributed relatively evenly across the chain. Each layer took its cut. The whole thing was optimized for a person sitting at a keyboard navigating screens.

The new value chain isn’t linear. It’s barbelled. I call it the SaaS Hourglass.

Value concentrates at two extremes — the orchestration layer at the top and the proprietary data/context layer at the bottom — while the middle gets squeezed.

UI-dependent, seat-based, workflow-centric applications that once captured the majority of enterprise software margin find themselves in the most vulnerable position. Not because they stop working. Because the economic unit they depend on — the human seat — compresses.

The chain reorganizes into five tiers, from highest value capture to lowest. Understanding where each tier sits, why it captures what it captures, and who is best positioned to own it is the central strategic question of enterprise technology for the next decade.

Tier 1: System of Action — Agent Orchestration