The software ownership dilemma

Software ownership has undergone an interesting evolution. Traditionally, software producers retained ownership, through licensing or the use of Software as a Service (SaaS). However, the AI era provides an opportunity to bring about a significant shift.

A key  difference in the AI era is the increasing customization of software for individual users. The ability to retrain models with client data allows organizations to capture their unique tribal knowledge. This customization offers significant advantages over "off-the-shelf" models like ChatGPT.

Organizations typically prefer to keep their data and information secure, away from potential competitors or third parties. Ensuring the safety of data already is a crucial concern for companies in this AI era, but will be even more so with this customized information and data When models are highly customized for each enterprise, who will ultimately own these models? The market is still undecided, but innovative startups like smartR AI and SeerBI are experimenting with transfering model ownership to end-users.

Transfering software ownership to consumers offers several advantages. First, this approach provides end-users with a higher level of security and control that has been lacking in traditional software ownership models. Second, they can choose where to deploy the model. Third, they have assured access to the model, regardless of the vendor's circumstances. Fourth, as the software becomes an enterprise asset, the model can be sold or licensed to third parties, representing intellectual property for the organization.However, one drawback of owning the software is the question of how the enterprise will support and upgrade it. To address this, companies can enter into multi-year support contracts with vendors to handle software maintenance and upgrades.

This new approach to selling software provides enterprises with a fresh perspective on their intellectual property, and the role of software in their core value proposition. Bespoke AI captures significant enterprise value and changes the way software is owned, offering organizations greater control over their digital assets.