When people hear Everything-As-A-Service (XaaS), their minds tend to go to the same places.
Software. IT infrastructure. Cars. Industrial equipment. Maybe energy.
And then comes the objection:
“Interesting model. But it doesn’t really apply to our industry.”
We hear versions of this surprisingly often.
Usually, it is not because the industry is fundamentally incompatible with XaaS. It is because the conversation starts with the wrong question.
Companies look at the product they sell today and ask:
“How could we turn this asset into a subscription?”
But XaaS becomes much more interesting when you ask something else:
“What does our customer actually need to have available, achieve or improve? And could we take responsibility for delivering that continuously?”
Once you start there, the boundaries of XaaS become much wider.
In fact, some of the most interesting As-A-Service opportunities may be hiding in businesses that do not look like As-A-Service businesses at all.
What if the “X” isn’t a product?
The language of XaaS can unintentionally make companies think about assets.
Machine-As-A-Service. Device-As-A-Service. Equipment-As-A-Service.
That is understandable. Physical products provide an obvious starting point.
But the “X” in XaaS does not have to be a thing.
It can be capacity. Knowledge. Availability. Comfort. Skills. Performance. Access. Even risk reduction.
And that opens some unexpected doors.
Capacity-As-A-Service: buying readiness instead of infrastructure
Imagine a business whose demand fluctuates dramatically.
Traditionally, it has two choices:
- build enough capacity to meet peak demand, investing in the equipment, facilities, people or other resources needed to handle its highest anticipated level of activity, and accept that much of that capacity may sit unused during quieter periods;
- or build for average demand and risk shortages, delays or lost revenue when demand spikes.
Neither is particularly attractive.
A Capacity-As-A-Service model changes the proposition.
Rather than owning all of the assets required to meet potential peaks in demand, the customer contracts with a provider to make a defined amount of usable capacity available when it is needed. In other words, the customer is not primarily paying for the underlying equipment or infrastructure; it is paying for readiness and access, eg. the ability to increase output, storage, transport, energy or another resource without having to own and maintain everything required to provide it.
The provider takes responsibility for having the necessary assets, infrastructure and operational capability in place. Depending on the model, the customer might pay a recurring fee to reserve that capacity, pay when it is activated or consumed, or use a combination of the two.
That logic can extend surprisingly far.
A manufacturer could provide access to additional production capacity when a customer needs to increase output. A warehouse operator could guarantee flexible storage space during seasonal peaks. A logistics provider could reserve transport capacity that customers can call on when volumes rise. An energy provider could guarantee access to a specified level of power capacity rather than requiring the customer to own the equipment needed to generate or store it themselves.
The physical assets still matter. But they become the engine behind the service, rather than the service itself.
The customer is effectively saying: “I don’t want to own everything required for the worst-case scenario. I want you to make sure the capacity is there when I need it.”
Use cases:
- MaaStry applies this thinking through Manufacturing-as-a-Service, connecting companies with available production capacity across a network of factories. Instead of investing in additional machinery or committing to permanent capacity, customers can access manufacturing resources when they need them.
- Xometry follows a similar logic at scale, connecting buyers with a large network of manufacturing suppliers for processes such as CNC machining, injection moulding and additive manufacturing. The customer does not need to know which factory will have spare capacity next month. The platform orchestrates access to that capacity.
Learning-As-A-Service: from training event to continuous capability
Now move into a completely different world: corporate learning.
The traditional model is highly transactional.
A company identifies a skills gap, purchases a training course, sends employees to it and considers the job largely done.
But skills do not work that way anymore.
Technology changes. Roles evolve. Knowledge becomes outdated. Employees move between functions.
So what if the customer stopped buying training and started buying continuous workforce capability?
Learning-As-A-Service could combine assessment, personalised learning paths, content, coaching, certifications and ongoing measurement into a recurring model.
The provider is no longer rewarded simply for delivering a two-day course. Its role becomes helping the customer's workforce remain capable over time.
Use cases:
Companies such as SureSkills and TTRO already use Learning-as-a-Service to describe propositions that go beyond individual training courses. Depending on the model, the provider can support learning content, technology, skills development and the broader learning ecosystem on an ongoing basis.
Agriculture-As-A-Service: what does the farmer really need?
Agriculture might seem about as far from SaaS as you can get.
Fields, tractors, irrigation systems, fertiliser, sensors and specialised machinery are deeply physical. Which is precisely why it is interesting.
A farmer does not ultimately need to own a particular piece of technology. The farmer needs a result: productive land, healthy crops, reliable operations and better yields.
That creates room for propositions built around access to machinery, precision-agriculture technology, monitoring, maintenance, agronomic expertise or even specific performance outcomes.
The manufacturer's question changes from “How many machines can we sell?” to “How much of the farmer's operational challenge can we take responsibility for?”
The further you follow that question, the less the business resembles traditional equipment sales.
Use cases:
- Lely, best known for its automated milking and feeding systems, has explicitly described a move from a product approach towards Product-as-a-Service in its vision for the Farm of the Future. Its Horizon farm-management platform adds another layer: farmers can continuously use data from cows and Lely equipment to support decisions around herd health and farm performance.
- Nedap offers another illustration of the shift in value. Its livestock-management technology uses identification, sensors and data to continuously monitor individual animals, supporting areas such as health, reproduction, behaviour and location.
Even expertise can become As-A-Service
Now remove the physical product entirely.
Many businesses depend on capabilities they cannot justify building permanently in-house.
Cybersecurity expertise. Compliance knowledge. Engineering capability. Sustainability expertise. Data science. Specialist maintenance skills.
Historically, these have often been purchased through individual projects or consulting engagements.
But where the need is continuous, why should the commercial model remain transactional?
Expertise-As-A-Service could give an organisation ongoing access to a capability that expands and contracts according to need.
The customer is no longer buying a predefined project or a block of hours. It is securing access to a capability without having to build and maintain the entire capability itself.
So, what does this mean for your industry?
None of these examples suggest that every company should launch an As-A-Service offer tomorrow.
Nor do they suggest that every product can simply be repackaged behind a monthly fee.
The interesting lesson is elsewhere.
When XaaS can take the form of production capacity, continuous learning, agricultural outcomes or access to specialist expertise, it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that an industry is simply “not suited” to it.
There will, of course, be constraints.
Regulation may shape what is possible. Assets may have long lifecycles. Customer behaviour may be conservative. Distribution structures may be complex. The economics may require new partners, financing mechanisms or capabilities.
But those are design challenges. They are not reasons to stop exploring.
So when someone says “XaaS doesn’t apply to our industry,” perhaps the most useful response is simply:
“Are we sure we’re looking at the right X?”
Ready to find your X?
At Black Winch, we help companies look beyond the product and uncover where As-A-Service can create real value, then turn that opportunity into a business model that works in practice.
Whether you already have an As-A-Service concept you want to develop or scale, or you are still trying to understand what the “X” could be in your industry, get in touch with us.
