software PM market analysis — 2026-09-15

Enterprise software demand is being underpinned by continued cloud migration and rising investment in AI infrastructure, according to 24/7 Wall St. and Menlo Ventures research. Subscription pricing remains the dominant commercial model, with vendors continuing to prioritise recurring revenue and longer customer relationships, per FastSpring’s analysis of subscription economics.

Workflow automation and platform engineering are gaining traction as enterprises look to coordinate increasingly complex software delivery and operations, Octopus Deploy notes. That points to buyers consolidating tooling around platforms that span more of the software lifecycle rather than adding standalone point solutions.

The picture is mixed rather than uniformly positive. Whether AI-driven software spending converts into durable, recurring revenue is an open question, since strong interest in AI tools does not guarantee sustained adoption unless vendors can demonstrate measurable value. Enterprises are also likely to weigh cloud-cost discipline against expanding AI workloads, and consolidation pressure across workflow and automation platforms could reshape vendor competition. Given demand-side support alongside unresolved questions on returns and cost discipline, sentiment stays cautious rather than clearly positive.