According to Okta's CEO, the most valuable application for AI agents in the enterprise will be orchestrating complex processes that span multiple software silos (e.g., Salesforce, SAP, Content Management). This is a task that has historically been difficult to automate with packaged software and required human intervention, representing a massive new opportunity.

In an AI-driven ecosystem, data and content need to be fluidly accessible to various systems and agents. Any SaaS platform that feels like a "walled garden," locking content away, will be rejected by power users. The winning platforms will prioritize open, interoperable access to user data.

As AI makes it trivial to scrape data and bypass native UIs, companies will retaliate by shutting down open APIs and creating walled gardens to protect their business models. This mirrors the early web's shift away from open standards like RSS once monetization was threatened.

Enterprises will not adopt multi-agent AI without two non-negotiable conditions. First, effective guardrails must be in place to ensure safety and compliance. Second, systems must be interoperable, as enterprises will inevitably use agents from diverse vendors like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Google, not a single provider.

The ability for AI agents to access and operate on a SaaS platform's data is becoming critical. Companies that lock down their data risk being isolated, while those with open data APIs will become part of the new AI ecosystem, even if it means ceding the primary 'workspace' layer.

The traditional software model centered on siloed applications (HR, sales, etc.). Todd McKinnon suggests the real value is now in "digital workers" or agents that can operate across these silos. This makes it difficult for legacy app vendors, who are organized by function, to build truly effective, broad agents.

ZocDoc's CEO argues that because multiple AI agents (from Google, OpenAI, etc.) are competing for users, they must integrate with essential real-world services like ZocDoc, DoorDash, and Uber to be useful. This gives service platforms significant negotiating power they never had in Google's search monopoly era.

Instead of focusing solely on defending its core business, Okta sees the primary AI opportunity in a new market for managing AI agent identities. CEO Todd McKinnon believes this "agent layer" could become the single largest category in cybersecurity, a market currently worth over $280 billion.

The current market of specialized AI agents for narrow tasks, like specific sales versus support conversations, will not last. The industry is moving towards singular agents or orchestration layers that manage the entire customer lifecycle, threatening the viability of siloed, single-purpose startups.