Forterro CEO calls fears around AI in software industry exaggerated

Forterro CEO Dean Forbes believes that fears about AI's impact on the corporate software market are greatly exaggerated. In his view, for industry players like Forterro, a new technological wave is not so much a threat as an opportunity to strengthen the product and make business more efficient.

Why Panic Doesn't Work

Forterro operates in industrial software, a segment where beautiful demos alone are no longer sufficient. Clients need systems that support production, procurement, warehouses, financial processes, and long chains of approvals. Therefore, the idea that AI will quickly "sweep away" familiar vendors looks too simplistic for such a market. Forbes says that changes in software are indeed happening, but perceiving them only as destruction is a mistake. For companies with a stable customer base and clear specialization, this window is for growth, not a signal to surrender.

"This is an opportunity for companies like Forterro."

The logic here is simple: in industrial software, value is created not only by code but also by subject-matter expertise. Even if AI accelerates development, it does not eliminate requirements for integration, reliability, maintenance, and understanding of specific industry scenarios. Customers still expect the vendor to take responsibility for results, not just provide access to a model. Therefore, those who will win are not those who talk loudest about AI, but those who can embed it into already-functioning processes without risk to the client's business.

Where AI Brings Value

Forbes views the shift in the industry as a practical opportunity to improve the product itself and the company's internal economics. For enterprise software vendors, AI can become a tool that accelerates teams and brings service closer to users. This is not only about code generation, but also about new scenarios of work within existing platforms: from analytics and suggestions to automating routine operations. In this context, AI is not a replacement for the entire stack, but a layer that increases productivity and value of already-deployed software.

• Accelerating development and testing of new modules
• Smarter customer support through built-in assistants
• Automating reporting, error detection, and data operations
• Personalized suggestions for employees on the production floor and in back-office

For companies like Forterro, this is also a way to deepen dialogue with existing customers. When a vendor already has access to a customer's business processes, they can not just add a fashionable AI layer, but offer concrete improvements: faster employee training, help with planning, reducing time on manual operations, and improving solution quality. This approach reduces the risk of empty hype, because AI is evaluated not as an abstract revolution, but as a measurable function within a working loop.

Geopolitics and Budgets

In the conversation, Forbes touched not only on AI but also on a broader backdrop that influences corporate demand. Geopolitical uncertainty makes companies more cautious: procurement decisions may take longer, budgets are reviewed more frequently, and requirements for vendor resilience become stricter. For B2B vendors, this means that even a strong technology agenda does not eliminate old questions about security, localization, support, and predictability of a partner over the long term.

Against this backdrop, it is especially clear why the thesis about the "end" of traditional software companies sounds too loud. Business rarely changes critically important systems because of a single trend, even if it seems fundamental. Much more often, clients choose a more cautious scenario: they test AI selectively, calculate the economics, assess the risks, and only then scale new features.

Therefore, the near-term winners in this wave are not the loudest players, but those who can combine innovation with operational discipline.

What This Means

The words of the Forterro CEO well describe the current mood of the mature B2B market: AI is already changing the rules of the game, but does not necessarily destroy existing players. For industrial and vertical vendors, this is a chance to repackage their expertise, embed new tools into the product, and profit from customers' transition to smarter automation.