Image Credit: bitwave.com
Bitwave CEO and co-founder Pat White says large companies could begin making significant moves away from traditional enterprise software within two years as AI agents become more capable. His forecast comes after AI disruption concerns contributed to a sharp selloff in software stocks earlier this year.
White made the comments at BVI Finance’s Fintech on the Seas conference, where discussions focused on artificial intelligence, digital assets and financial infrastructure. He argued that high software costs could eventually give large companies an incentive to replace parts of established enterprise systems with agent-based technology.
White Sees Governance as Current AI Barrier
White said the biggest obstacle today is not necessarily the capability of AI models but whether companies can establish sufficient controls around autonomous agents. Large businesses rely on enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems for functions including accounting, procurement and sales. “Today, it is still risky,” White said, adding that companies do not yet have adequate frameworks for guarantees and controls around agents.
Bitwave itself develops enterprise software for digital-asset accounting, payments and financial operations. White and Bitwave co-founder Amy Kalnoki participated in a Fintech on the Seas session examining how AI agents could make financial decisions within institutional systems.
High ERP Costs Could Encourage Migration
White argued that expensive, long-term enterprise software contracts could create an incentive for companies to adopt agentic alternatives once governance improves. White pointed to large ERP deployments that he said can cost major companies hundreds of millions of dollars over their lifetimes.
He expects the transition to begin relatively soon. He said:
“We’re talking six months, a year, two years maybe at most.”
AI Concerns Have Pressured Software Stocks
Concerns over AI disruption were among the factors behind a broad software-sector selloff earlier in 2026. Nearly $1 trillion in market value had been erased from global software and services stocks during a period of heightened concern over AI-driven disruption.
White’s timeline remains a forecast rather than evidence that companies are already replacing core enterprise systems at scale. His view depends partly on businesses developing stronger governance, auditability, and controls for AI agents before entrusting them with critical financial and operational processes.
