According to the 2025 Zylo SaaS Management Index Report, 33.6% of business applications are now "shadow IT" – software deployed without IT department oversight. And even if they did have oversight, it would be almost impossible for them to keep up – the average business now juggles 220 different SaaS applications.

This isn't sustainable for any organisation. It’s clear, less is more.

Why tech-overload is a problem

The proliferation of software-as-a-service was supposed to democratise technology, making powerful tools accessible to everyone. Instead, it's created a new kind of digital chaos. Each department, team, and individual have their own preferred tools, leading to data silos, security risks, and mounting costs. IT departments are fighting a losing battle against shadow IT, while employees face growing frustration with rigid, single-purpose applications that don't meet their evolving needs.

The root problem isn't that organisations are choosing the wrong software. It's that the current SaaS model – thousands of discrete apps each doing one thing well – fundamentally misunderstands how humans and organisations work. People don't think in terms of isolated functions. We think in terms of goals, projects, and workflows that cut across traditional software categories.

Consider a typical marketing manager. In a single day, they might need to plan campaigns, manage budgets, collaborate with freelancers, track deliverables, analyse performance data, and report to stakeholders. Rather than one tool that adapts to these interconnected needs, they're forced to bounce between multiple platforms – each with its own learning curve, login, and subscription fee. This adds massive cognitive weight to tasks that should not be as complicated as they seem.

How we can all fix this

Instead of countless specialised tools, what if we had fewer, more adaptable software that could reshape itself to match how people work and live?

This isn't about building one app to rule them all. Some specialised software will always have its place. But AI can dramatically reduce the number of tools needed by acting as a kind of digital Swiss Army knife – transforming to meet different needs while maintaining data continuity and user familiarity. New tools for new processes can be created in seconds within overarching platforms.

Our workspace app Hylark is an early example of this shift. It is an AI-native platform that can flex and adapt to user needs, rather than forcing users to adapt to it. We haven’t just added AI features as an afterthought – the whole platform built from the ground up is mouldable by AI, creating workspaces that match each user's unique requirements and workflows.

When your tools can adapt to you, rather than the other way around, you spend less time managing software and more time being productive. Data flows more freely, collaboration becomes more natural, and security improves because there are fewer points of vulnerability to manage.

Less is more

The future of business software isn't about having more tools – it's about having better ones. Tools that adapt to how people work and live, rather than forcing work to adapt to the tools. Tools that break down silos instead of creating them. Tools that reduce complexity rather than add to it.

As AI continues to mature, we're entering a new phase – one where success will be measured not by how many tools you have, but by how effectively they adapt to your needs.

For organisations drowning in software, this shift can't come soon enough. The question isn't whether this consolidation will happen, but who will lead it. The winners will be those who recognise the future of software isn't about building more and more apps – it's about building smarter ones that are led by the user.

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