Clouded Judgement: The Battle for Data Ownership in SaaS

Slack's restrictive API changes blocking customer data access and third-party indexing signal a broader trend of SaaS incumbents locking down data to protect against AI disruption and maintain competitive moats. The article examines whether closed ecosystems with proprietary agents will prevail over open, composable data platforms—a critical control battle as enterprise software rewires for AI. Public SaaS market valuations remain compressed at median 5.4x NTM revenue, with top-tier growth companies trading at 20-25x multiples despite negative operating margins.