{"id":14445,"date":"2026-07-01T10:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gtm360.com\/blog\/?p=14445"},"modified":"2026-06-28T20:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T15:08:30","slug":"technology-matters-until-cost-matters-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm360.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/01\/technology-matters-until-cost-matters-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology Matters – Until Cost Matters More!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthropic<\/em> and other Artificial Intelligence labs have recently started charging customers for token usage in addition to per-seat subscription. This is like Prime Video<\/em> charging for a subscription and asking extra money for some movies!<\/p>\n

This move has had a knock-on effects on Cloud Service Providers and SAAS vendors who consume tokens. Microsoft<\/em>, ServiceNow<\/em>, and Workday<\/em> have responded by either tacking on usage costs to seat-based pricing or by switching totally to usage-based pricing.<\/p>\n

This has in turn escalated token costs for AI end customers. In this oft-repeated news story, Uber’s CTO is quoted saying that the rideshare giant blew through its entire 2026 token budget in the first four months itself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Naturally, customers are finding ways to save money. A recent issue of Applied AI<\/em> newsletter via The Information <\/em>reports the top five cost-saving measures used by end customers of AI:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Using model routers to switch between models<\/li>\n
  2. Prompt engineering<\/li>\n
  3. Rationing employees’ AI usage<\/li>\n
  4. Pushing for discounts<\/li>\n
  5. Stop using AI<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Applied AI cites Novo Nordisk<\/em> as Exhibit A of the last tactic:<\/p>\n

    \n
    In a dose of operational reality, some companies are saving money by actively restricting AI usage when traditional, structured software is cheaper.\u00a0For instance, when pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk<\/em> recently analyzed past clinical trial data using Anthropic’s Claude, executives realized the standard version of Microsoft Excel – even without Microsoft’s Copilot AI features – was both cheaper and more reliable.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Let me call this AI Repatriation<\/strong>, the process of ditching AI and instead using traditional SAAS \/ COTS software.<\/p>\n

    This term is inspired by Cloud Repatriation<\/em><\/a> and SaaS Repatriation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n