Key Sections
Erik Bissonnette, Co-Head of Technology Investing and Portfolio Manager at Blue Owl Capital, joins David Breach, President at Vista Equity Partners, to discuss how one of the world's leading technology investors is thinking about the current landscape and the implications of AI on the broader software sector.
Key takeaways
Increasing discernment within enterprise software: After a period of broad-based selling in public software, the market is increasingly differentiating between businesses that will benefit from AI and those that may be more challenged by it. Incumbents most likely to thrive share three key attributes that solidify their position:
1. Context: Longstanding customer relationships with a deep understanding of enterprise workflows
2. Trust: A proven track record of systems behaving predictably and operating in secure environments with enterprise-grade uptime
3. Scale: Capacity to deploy AI solutions across a broad range of customers
While incumbents are well-positioned to bring AI into the enterprise, execution will determine which platforms ultimately capture the opportunity.
AI value capture mirrors prior innovation cycles: The current AI cycle appears to be following a similar pattern to the on-prem to cloud transition, where value accrued sequentially from hardware to infrastructure to applications. Early gains with AI have accrued to chips, data centers, and compute, which collectively lay the foundation. However, the application layer may ultimately prove the largest long-term beneficiary, as it delivers AI into the hands of end users and unlocks efficiencies for the enterprise.
Vista's Agentic AI Factory drives adoption and value: To expand value through AI product innovation, Vista launched its Agentic AI Factory, a platform purpose-built to scale agentic AI across its enterprise software portfolio, enabled by expertise from Vista's Value Creation team and strategic technology partnerships. Out of 90+ portfolio companies, more than 50 already have agentic AI solutions in market. Beyond creating new revenue streams, AI is also driving efficiency across key operational areas such as software development with faster deployment cycles, customer support with quicker resolutions, and sales with increased productivity.
Featured speakers
Erik Bissonnette
Erik Bissonnette is a Senior Managing Director at Blue Owl and member of the Direct Lending Investment Team. Erik is also Co-Head of Technology Investing and a member of the Technology Lending Investment Committee for Blue Owl Technology Credit Advisors. In his role, he oversees strategies with over $25 billion in AUM, focused on making debt and equity investments in established enterprise software and technology companies.
David Breach
David Breach is the President of Vista Equity Partners. Additionally, David sits on Vista’s Executive Committee, the firm’s governing and decision-making body for matters affecting its overall management and strategic direction, as well as the firm’s Private Equity Management Committee and Private Equity Funds’ Investment Committees. He is also the Co-Chief Executive Officer of VistaOne, Vista’s evergreen private equity vehicle, where he serves on the Investment Committee and Board of Directors. David also sits on the boards of Vista portfolio companies Clari + Salesloft, Solera, and Stats Perform.
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