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Recently, I came across a thought-provoking article that brilliantly captures the current state of AI adoption in enterprise IT. What struck me most was the vivid metaphor comparing AI’s arrival to barbarians at the gates of ancient Rome. Let me share some surprising insights from this discussion that every SME leader needs to hear.
Q: The article uses a dramatic metaphor – “barbarians at the gate.” What does this really mean for businesses today?
A: Here’s what’s fascinating: the author attended the Gartner Business Application Summit in Las Vegas, where 2,000+ IT professionals gathered, and “AI agents” dominated every keynote and conversation. But here’s the surprising part – most attendees weren’t deep into AI technology at all. When asked who understood how LLMs do function-calling, only 5% raised their hands!
The “barbarians” metaphor isn’t about destruction – it’s about unstoppable change arriving whether you’re ready or not. Just as the Visigoths stormed Rome in 410 CE, AI is arriving at enterprise gates unsought, somewhat feared, somewhat resisted, but ultimately unstoppable.
Q: What was the most eye-opening revelation from the conference?
A: Two things stood out:
First surprise: The massive disconnect between hype and reality. Vendors were slapping “AI agent” labels on everything, adding purple-hued chat windows to old products, claiming their solutions were suddenly “agentic.” Yet very few attendees shared actual deployed AI agent scenarios. The hype was running far ahead of practical implementation.
Second surprise: One attendee dismissed AI as “just another technology wave” like cloud or mobile that they’d gradually deal with. But here’s the crucial insight the author shared: AI isn’t just another new technology. It fundamentally changes how application programming happens – who programs, how programs are written, and how they execute.
Q: What should SME leaders actually do with this information?
A: The article offers two critical pieces of advice that might surprise you:
Paint the POSITIVE opportunity: Stop thinking about AI as a cost or risk. Instead, focus on these tangible benefits:
- AI inference costs are headed to zero – consume as much AI as you can
- AI agents should reduce your application software costs (vendors should charge you LESS, not more)
- Automate tedious document and operational workflows
- Decrease software development costs dramatically
- Reimplement legacy “tech debt” applications much faster and cheaper
- This is your chance to escape vendor lock-in and be in the driver’s seat
Recognize the magnitude of change: AI changes application programming itself. It’s flexible, “intelligent” programs authored with little or no code, usually by business users (not engineers), with non-deterministic semantics. That’s a once-in-an-era platform shift.
Q: What’s the most surprising piece of advice for dealing with vendors?
A: Be skeptical of any decades-old SaaS vendor that simply adds an “Agent-” prefix to their marketing. Ask them these tough questions:
- “How will adopting your AI solution cut our current costs by 50%?”
- “What correctness and consistency can you demonstrate? Is it 99%? At least 95%?”
- “What’s your technical basis for asserting we can reliably run our business on your agents?”
When you don’t hear reasonable answers, the author’s advice is bold and clear: “Throw open the gates and let the AI barbarians in to duke it out with the old guard.”
Q: What does this mean for SMEs specifically?
A: SMEs actually have a strategic advantage here. Unlike large enterprises locked into complex vendor ecosystems, smaller organizations can move faster, experiment more freely, and adopt AI-first solutions without the baggage of legacy systems. The key is to see this as the opportunity it is – not a threat to manage, but a chance to leapfrog competitors still trapped in old paradigms.
The real customers mentioned in the article – from trucking stops to lumber companies to farm equipment manufacturers – show that practical AI adoption is happening across every industry. The question isn’t whether AI will transform your business operations, but whether you’ll be early enough to capture the competitive advantage.
The Bottom Line
AI agents represent a fundamental shift in how business applications work. The hype is real, but so is the opportunity. For SME leaders, the message is clear: educate yourself beyond vendor marketing, ask tough questions, and be ready to welcome new solutions that can genuinely transform your operations and cut costs.
This isn’t about surviving change – it’s about thriving through it.
Want to dive deeper into these insights? Read the full article: AI barbarians at the gate by Praveen Seshadri
Agile Mindset & Execution - Agile ME 