IDC: Pure Seat-Based Pricing Will Be Obsolete by 2028 — 70% of Software Vendors Refactoring Pricing Strategies Around New Value Metrics

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IDC predicts that by 2028, pure seat-based pricing will be obsolete, with 70% of software vendors refactoring their pricing strategies around new value metrics such as consumption, outcomes, or organizational capability. The 35% of point-product SaaS tools that Gartner projects will be replaced by AI agents by 2030 are the most vulnerable — commoditized software with weak data moats faces replacement while differentiated platforms with deep workflow integration emerge stronger. IDC frames the current moment not as 'the death of SaaS' but as displacement: legacy companies using static features and strict workflows are becoming less important as intelligence becomes the main product.