For over two decades, HR technology has evolved within a relatively stable framework: standardised best practices delivered via cloud-based SaaS applications. Platforms like SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle HCM Cloud, and rising challengers like Darwinbox built their success on structured forms, preconfigured workflows, and centralised data schemas that promised scalability, compliance, and process efficiency.

But we’re now entering a fundamentally different era—one defined not by incremental enhancements to SaaS, but by the rise of autonomous, agentic AI systems that can think, reason, and act.

What made SaaS powerful in the past—its rigidity and predictability—may become its Achilles’ heel in the AI-first future.

Disruption Checklist: What Incumbents Need to Change

The Old Paradigm — #SaaS Built on Prescriptive Best Practices

Traditional HR SaaS platforms are designed around the idea of “best practices.” Their entire architecture is driven by predefined workflows, rigid data models, and rule-based engines configured to support common HR scenarios. Implementation projects often span 12 to 24 months, requiring:

1. Configuration of forms, workflows, and roles for different personas (employees, managers, HRBPs, etc.)
2. Integration into the existing tech landscape
3. Workarounds and change requests to accommodate unique business logic.

While this model has brought standardisation, it has also introduced significant technical and commercial debt:

1. Complex configuration projects
2. Endless customization cycles
3. Gaps between the system’s limitations and real-world business needs

Many HR leaders have accepted these limitations under the narrative of adopting “best practices” – a phrase that has often served as a euphemism for “the software can’t do what you need.”

The AI-First Shift — When Software Starts Thinking

Agentic AI systems change the game.

Instead of configuring workflows into rigid UIs, you can now:

• • Define outcomes and intents
  • Feed organization-specific data
  • Let autonomous agents interpret, plan, and execute tasks

Legacy SaaS vs #Agentic AI HRTech – Feature Comparison Table

This approach eliminates the need for hardcoded rules or best-practice templates. The AI learns your process by observing your organization and goals, not by retrofitting them into someone else’s logic.

The software stack itself becomes fluid.

• UI is dynamically generated
• Logic is emergent
• Context is learned in real time
• Interfaces are conversational and adaptive to each persona

With this shift, the traditional SaaS architecture becomes less of a solution and more of a bottleneck.

The challenge with the incumbent #HRTech SAAS players

They are locked into:

• • Huge technical Debt (existing code)
  • Recurring license revenue
  • Thousands of customers
  • Ecosystems of SI partners

Rewriting the stack would require:

• • Re-platforming at massive scale,
  • Cannibalising existing commercial streams,
  • Retraining entire support and implementation ecosystems.

This is not just a technology shift—it’s a full-stack disruption to business, delivery, and operating models of existing HRTech incumbents.

And the big challenge they have is that Customers don’t need a HRTech system with added AI on top of their existing HRTech, Customers need an AI-Native HRTech Platform.

The Implication for CHROs and HR Leaders

The strategic shift for CHROs is no longer about choosing the best SaaS vendor.
Instead, they must ask:

“How do I architect my HR function for intelligence, adaptability, and long-term uniqueness?”

Key principles for the AI-first HR future:

• • Don’t buy process templates – design them.
  • Don’t adapt to software limitations – let AI adapt to your business.
  • Think in capabilities, not configurations.
  • Reimagine roles (HRBP, HR Admin, etc.) as prompts and agent interfaces.

The opportunity? An HR system that:

• • Learns your context
  • Talks to employees and managers in their language
  • Handles 90% of tasks autonomously
  • Reduces total cost of ownership by eliminating complexity

FINAL VIEW:

→ Automation solves tasks. AI-First Processes build intelligence.

The enterprise of the future will not “use” HR software — it will converse with HR agents.

The winners in #HRTech will be those who stop adding AI to existing HRTech Platforms and start designing AI Native HRTech Platform.

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About Manu Khetan

Manu, Founder and CEO of Rolling Arrays, a global HR technology leader, brings two decades of expertise to redefine HR practices. Passionate about pioneering HR automation and nurturing talent, Manu advocates for a customer-first and employee-first approach, prioritizing value creation. Beyond the boardroom, he is a dedicated family man, a skilled pianist, and an advocate for empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Join Manu on the transformative journey where HR emerges as a dynamic force for positive change in the business world.