I completely agree on this one. I have been doing this for many decades and every time the new shiny object comes along, physical or intellectual, process or software, it fizzles out and is eclipsed. Admittedly, that period of time where the software is flying high gets shorter all the time. Right now, it is AI but I suspect that in its current form will be unrecognizable by the end of this decade. This phenomenon plays havoc with organizational structure. Not only that but fashionable trends reverse themselves. Outsourcing was king, now not so much. Same for off shoring (although politics plays a role in this one). Security is an area that I suspect will grow internally since putting all your secrets in someone's else's hands never made a lot of sense to me.
For the practitioner, it is a nightmare of accumulating new expertise every few years. You need a crystal ball and by the time you understand what to do, they are only looking for people with experience.
One thing is absolutely clear, the need for persons who can lead CHANGE is not slowing down.
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Frank Gorman, Former ACMP Board Member, Transformation Consultant
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Original Message:
Sent: 2026-04-07 16:15
From: Jennifer Lipschultz
Subject: What is on the horizon?
Hi Frank-
I'm afraid my singular purview is in the technology, specifically software, sector. The "SaaS apocalypse" has greatly de-valued software companies. While this makes them less expensive to acquire, owners of SaaS companies with sound fundamentals are less willing to sell at this time because of lower prices. Software companies that have figured out (or have a roadmap for) how to leverage AI capabilities to drive value vs generate revenue in a per-seat/user model are going to be sought after (or be the acquirers themselves). My crystal ball tells me that software companies that do not figure this out will find themselves unwillingly for sale at rock bottom prices to perhaps companies that want to buy their customers and think they have a migration path to offer them software with an AI-based / usage based pricing model.
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Jennifer Lipschultz
Original Message:
Sent: 2026-04-01 07:52
From: Frank Gorman
Subject: What is on the horizon?
What industries do you believe present the highest likelihood of mergers and acquisitions in the next five years? A few are obvious to me- Pharma, entertainment, technology...? How about manufacturing, utilities or something unexpected?
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Frank Gorman, Former ACMP Board Member, Transformation Consultant
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