**When Software Starts Doing the Work: Why AI Is Rewriting the Boundaries of Business**

For decades, enterprise software existed to support people in doing their jobs. It helped organize, streamline, manage, and track—but it didn’t produce the work itself. Software was a tool, not a teammate.

That’s changing.

Today, we’re entering a new era—one where software isn’t just a canvas for productivity. It’s becoming productive in its own right.

Thanks to the rise of intelligent agents, autonomous workflows, and task-aware interfaces, we’re seeing software evolve from an enabler to a contributor. The systems themselves are now helping to generate output—drafting content, reviewing contracts, writing code, summarizing meetings, and even simulating decisions.

This shift has enormous implications—not just for how people work, but for the shape of entire industries.

**The Limits of Traditional Software Categories Are Breaking**

Historically, many software markets have been constrained—not by demand, but by practicality.

Some industries were too small to justify standalone solutions. Some workflows were too dependent on scarce, expensive human labor to scale. Some users didn’t have the time, budget, or team structure to make use of existing platforms.

But now?

When the software can produce meaningful work on its own, the economics shift.

* Small teams can do more with less

* New departments can justify their own tools

* Previously niche categories become viable markets

The ceiling has lifted—and the floor has expanded.

**Case in Point: The Quiet Reinvention of Code**

Just a few years ago, the total market for code editing software—integrated development environments (IDEs)—was surprisingly small, estimated in the low billions. Despite how central engineers are to every modern company, the actual spend on the tools they used was limited.

Why? Because while coding was essential, it was scarce. High-value work done by high-skill professionals, but rarely scaled.

Enter AI agents.

Now, intelligent systems can assist in code generation, refactoring, and debugging—radically reducing the time and cost of development. The result?

The IDE category is transforming from a niche into one of the fastest-growing segments in tech. What was once a limited slice of spend is becoming a strategic pillar for companies of all sizes.

Because software that helps you write code is useful.

But software that writes the code with you? That changes everything.

**The Same Shift Is Coming Everywhere Else**

This pattern is not limited to engineering. We’re already seeing it emerge across:

* Legal — where agents can summarize case law, draft contracts, and review compliance language

* Financial services — where agents reconcile accounts, prepare forecasts, and automate audits

* Healthcare — where documentation, triage, and patient education are increasingly agent-assisted

* Public sector — where previously unscalable services can now be personalized and automated at scale

And what’s especially exciting?

This opens up entirely new markets—previously too small or complex to support a dedicated software model.

For instance: developing software for life sciences compliance officers used to be economically unviable. Too niche. Too high-touch. Too fragmented.

But with AI agents doing part of the heavy lifting, the economics shift. Now, it does make sense to build something specialized. Because the software doesn’t just sit on the shelf—it contributes directly to the work.

**What This Means for Organizations and Builders Alike**

If you lead a company, agency, or product team, here’s what this means:

* The software you’re using today may already be capable of more than you think

* The processes you once thought were “too expensive to automate” may now be well within reach

* The markets you assumed were too small to serve may now be scalable—because the economics of labor have changed

This isn’t just a change in tools. It’s a change in business models.

Where once the value of software was measured by its ability to support work, it will increasingly be measured by its ability to perform it.

**Final Thought**

The evolution of enterprise software into productive output isn’t a feature—it’s a foundational shift.

It expands what’s possible for small businesses.

It unlocks new capabilities for large institutions.

And it opens up markets that, until now, have lived on the edge of feasibility.

If you’re building, buying, or budgeting for software in the years ahead, the question to ask isn’t just:

“What does this help my team do?”

The question is:

“What part of the work can this system now do for us?”

That’s where the next wave of transformation begins.