AI Resiliency: Physical and Marketplace Hybrids

It’s strange to think that simply “solving a common problem that many companies have” used to be a strategic strength for SaaS.

It is now becoming a strategic risk.

You need more than that.

Two examples that come to mind to increase AI resiliency:

Physical / IRL hybrid:

Tie your business to something AI cannot fully replicate: firmware, construction, sensors, physical services.

If you’re a pure data aggregator for IoT devices and your primary value is upselling “enrichment,” you’re exposed.

The customer already owns the raw data.

Move downstream. Integrate directly on the sensor. Get involved in the hardware layer. Create some physical value-add.

Otherwise, at some point, why would they keep paying you to enrich data they already own?

Marketplace hybrid:

Tie your business to connecting suppliers and buyers.

Take construction. There are plenty of SaaS products for takeoff, estimating, bidding and project management.

Those products can be very useful, but much of the underlying functionality is still software solving a problem the customer controls.

Now layer a marketplace on top.

Use your takeoff and estimating tools to help suppliers and buyers discover real opportunities, submit bids and transact.

Suddenly you have something that is much harder for AI to simply recreate.

The software can be replicated.

The network is much harder to replicate.