The Next SaaS Shoe To Drop: Reduced Switching Costs
Tickers mentioned: CRM, HUBS, ACN
Why Software Switching Costs Are High
Software vendors have proprietary structures for how they manage data. Custom objects and workflows, internal and third-party integrations, and the institutional knowledge baked into these systems over time all make it difficult as a customer to move from Salesforce (CRM) to Hubspot (HUBS) as an example. Historically, these type of moves - especially for larger customers - required expensive technology consultants (think Accenture, ACN), prolonged timelines, and high failure risk.
AI Can Reduce Switching Costs
Data Mapping & Translation
This is the biggest one. Every CRM has a different data model. AI — particularly LLMs — can ingest a source schema and a target schema and automatically generate field-level mappings, flag ambiguities for human review, (reducing the need for consultants to do the mapping), and reduce data discovery work from weeks to days.
Data Cleaning & Normalization
Enterprise CRM data is not clean — duplicate accounts, inconsistent formatting, incomplete records. LLMs can identify and resolve duplicates, standardize formats, and populate missing fields before migration, which historically was a massive labor cost.
Workflow & Automation Translation
For example, Salesforce Flow and Apex triggers do not map cleanly to HubSpot or Dynamics workflows. AI can read the logic of existing automations and suggest equivalent logic in the target system’s native language.
LLM-Driven Migration
Instead of requiring technical admins, LLMs allow business users to describe what they want — “bring over all active opportunities with their associated contacts and last 12 months of activity” — and have the migration scoped and executed without prior technical knowledge.
Anomaly Detection During Migration
LLMs can validate migrated data in real time, flagging record counts, field distributions, and data mapping integrity issues that would previously only surface after go-live.
The Strategic Implication
SaaS valuations and Technology Consulting company valuations will face compression as companies start to figure out how to leverage LLMs to tackle vendor migration projects that were not feasible until today.
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