Linas Beliunas painted a quite dark picture for Microsoft, comparing its future to the collapse of DEC. “DEC missed the platform shift. PCs rose. IBM adapted. DEC died. AI could do the same to Microsoft. If AI agents replace SaaS, Microsoft must become the orchestrator, or risk becoming the next DEC.” At the end, he states: “The next platform shift won’t crown winners. It will erase giants.” But what exactly will be the next platform shift, and when will it occur?

GenAI itself answers this question as follows: “While AI is the most prominent driver of this transition, it is not a monolithic shift. The next platforms will be defined by the ways these emerging technologies work together. This move creates an era of ‘ambient computing,’ where interactions happen naturally and are seamlessly integrated into daily life, rather than being confined to a single device.“