Oracle says AI will accelerate, not replace, enterprise software

Oracle co-CEO Mike Sicilia said on the company's first earnings call of fiscal 2027 that “AI is an accelerator, not a replacement for packaged applications.” His comments challenged the view that artificial intelligence could replace traditional software.

Sicilia argued that enterprise suites provide standardized, end-to-end processes and business rules that AI cannot replace. He said AI could instead address a long-standing weakness of software packages: the training and upskilling employees need to use them.

Under this model, AI agents could perform tasks through existing workflows and business rules, while people move into supervisory roles. Sicilia said agentic AI could reduce the time and cost of deploying enterprise applications and deliver faster ROI for customers.

Oracle plans to add an agentic AI accelerator as soon as next month to automate parts of SaaS implementation. The company is also managing mixed software results. Quarterly SaaS revenue rose 10%, while overall software revenue fell 3%. Cloud revenue, including infrastructure and AI capacity, grew 60%.

Oracle's position is that AI may change software interfaces, but will not replace the software beneath them.