Technology Record - Issue 37: Summer 2025

127 agent and a data hierarchy agent that can all coordinate to resolve a field issue in real time. But the key is human oversight. AI frees teams to focus on innovation, creativity and highervalue contributions. Can you share an insight into how agentic AI might evolve the traditional software-as-aservice model? Agentic AI refers to a system of autonomous agents that can work independently or together to perform specific tasks within a defined workflow. Think of it as an ecosystem of intelligent assistants – each focused on one area, such as monitoring, compliance or optimisation – that collectively deliver end-toend automation. For example, one agent might forecast equipment failures, another could analyse maintenance logs, and a third may handle spare part orders – all with minimal human intervention but governed oversight. This marks a major shift from passive analytics to proactive decision-making. In contrast, traditional software-as-a-service (SaaS) offered centralised applications with standardised workflows, often requiring users to adapt their processes to the software. Agentic AI turns that model on its head. It brings a more intuitive, customised face that adapts to users, not the other way around. Agentic AI is not replacing SaaS, it is evolving it. The next generation of SaaS will be modular, contextaware and integrated with enterprise data. What pressures will SaaS companies face as agentic AI becomes more mainstream? The pressure is twofold: personalisation and performance. Firstly, SaaS providers must offer far more tailored, adaptive user experiences or risk becoming obsolete. Users increasingly expect the software to respond in natural language, automate repetitive tasks and learn from behaviour. Static, one-size-fits-all applications just won’t cut it. Secondly, SaaS companies must rethink how they handle data. Agentic AI thrives on clean, accessible, governed data. SaaS platforms must become interoperable with other data environments and adhere to strong governance models. Companies that can’t, or won’t, evolve in these areas will lag behind their competition. Manufacturing firms can use agentic AI to automate processes and provide workers with the information they need to complete their daily tasks INDUSTRIALS & MANUFACTURING “ AI adoption isn’t just a technical upgrade, it’s a cultural shift”

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