The Problem with Modern SaaS - and Why Customer-First Still Matters

Software as a Service (SaaS) has changed a lot over the last decade.

Not all of it for the better.

As more investment capital has flowed into software, many platforms have become optimized first for financial performance. Growth targets, packaging strategies, and exit timelines often take priority. Customers still get value, but it can start to feel secondary. Roadmaps move faster. Promises increase. The gap between what looks good in a demo and what actually works day to day keeps growing.

So when every vendor claims to be “customer-first”, it is fair to ask what that really means.

More importantly, how can Broadband Service Providers (BSPs) tell the difference?

Where Incentives Start to Show

Most modern SaaS organizations follow a familiar path.

Growth is the primary objective.

Features are packaged to sell.

Product direction increasingly favors what looks compelling rather than what reduces friction in real world use cases.

From a financial standpoint, this model makes sense. From an operational standpoint, the cracks start to appear.

Providers feel it when tools solve for demos instead of real work. When systems do not communicate cleanly. When innovation adds more dashboards, more alerts, and more manual steps for teams that are already stretched thin.

Over time, value becomes harder to recognize. Not because the software is poor, but because the incentives behind its development are no longer aligned with how network operations actually function.

A simple way to pressure test alignment

Regardless of vendor, there are a few questions providers can ask that tend to reveal a lot.

• Does this tool reduce work or just rearrange it?

• Does it adapt to how our network is built or require us to adapt to it?

• Does value increase as our network grows more complex or does friction increase?

• If feature releases slowed down, would outcomes still improve?

These questions usually make it clear whether a platform was designed for BSPs or for optics.

What Customer-First Looks Like in Practice

Customer-first is often treated as a value statement. In reality, it is an operating choice, and it comes with tradeoffs.

In practice, it means listening before building.

It means prioritizing outcomes over appearances.

It means saying “not yet” or “no” when that is the right answer.

It also means accepting that this approach is not always the fastest or easiest path.

The mindset shift required can present a big challenge. Legacy workflows that previously worked may now be holding teams back. Adoption takes effort. Buy-in does not always happen immediately. Moving toward a better future state often means rethinking habits that feel comfortable but are no longer viable for efficiency.

That friction is not a flaw in the approach. It is part of meaningful change.

An Operations-First Origin

7Sigma did not begin as a funding story. It began as an operations story over 25 years ago.

The company was built by people who worked inside network operations. Alert fatigue, correlation gaps, disconnected systems, and pressure to resolve issues quickly with incomplete context were daily realities, not abstract ideas.

That background shaped how the platform evolved. From the beginning, the focus was on working with the network as it exists today. Not telling providers how to build it. Not forcing decisions around access platforms, hardware vendors, help desk systems, or billing tools.

Networks are not built from a single blueprint. They evolve over time. Different vendors, different eras, different priorities. Any system meant to support BSPs long term has to respect that reality.

When guidance is needed, recommendations are made based on the current state of the network and where the provider is trying to go. The goal is to help, not to dictate.

Value That Evolves With the Provider

Operational needs do not stay static, and the systems supporting them should not either.

For newer providers, value often starts with visibility. Establishing clarity early helps avoid reactive habits before they become ingrained.

For growing teams, the focus shifts to protecting limited headcount and resources. Reducing manual work. Speeding up diagnosis. Allowing operations to scale without increasing stress.

For established providers, consistency becomes critical. Faster resolution. Fewer repeat calls. Less reliance on the institutional knowledge of a few.

For larger organizations, the challenge changes again. Tool sprawl. Data everywhere, insight nowhere. Internal systems that are costly to maintain and difficult to evolve. In these environments, value comes from surfacing what already exists and connecting signals across systems so teams can act with confidence.

Across all stages, the common thread is clarity. Knowing what is happening, who is impacted, what to do next before issues escalate, and enabling that capability across the organization. 

Proactive is a Direction, Not a Feature

Reactive operations used to be enough. They are not anymore.

Networks are more complex. Expectations are higher. Teams are leaner. The next gains in subscriber experience will not come from reacting faster. They will come from preventing issues before customers feel them.

That shift requires more than additional dashboards. It requires systems that evolve as networks evolve and partners who understand that what works today may not work tomorrow.

Building for that reality takes patience, industry experience, and a long term view.

A Different Way Forward

Sustainable growth comes from trust.

Remaining customer-first is not always the easiest choice. It can require rethinking workflows, challenging assumptions, and investing in change before the payoff is immediate. But over decades in this industry, that approach has proven durable for platforms, for BSPs, and for the teams doing the work every day.

This is not just about software. It is about aligning tools with reality and building toward a future state that reduces friction instead of redistributing it.

If you are curious how other providers are thinking through these challenges or want to pressure test your own approach, we would welcome a thoughtful conversation.