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The boundary between B2B consulting and B2B software companies is blurring again. With AI gaining momentum, today’s market demands faster, smarter, and more scalable solutions.
Some consulting firms are evolving by productizing their expertise into advanced software platforms that can process information more quickly, analyze large datasets more effectively, and simulate use cases beyond what we are capable of doing manually.
These firms recognize how many aspects of AI, not just Generative AI, can increase time-to-value. They also know, through direct experience, that human-in-the-loop is critical for complex workflows where contextual awareness is paramount.
At the same time, software firms embed high-touch consulting to ensure real client outcomes with their software. This convergence is also reshaping how pricing and monetization strategies are delivered—and our software, Levelsetter, exemplifies this new frontier.
A Proven Pattern: Consulting and Software Converging to Deliver Value
This isn’t the first time consulting and software have intertwined. Past waves include:
- ERP & Business Process Consulting: Where firms built proprietary tools to automate complex implementations, process reengineering and systems integration. Consulting firms like Accenture, Deloitte, and IBM Global Services grew massive practices around ERP implementation.
- SaaS Ecosystems: Remember when Salesforce hit the market and transformed the way software was delivered? From army fatigues to picket lines, they shook the industry and sparked the transition from on-premises software to SaaS. Consulting partners created apps and integration services embedded within vendor platforms and Salesforce’s AppExchange became a marketplace for third-party software built by these partners.
- Cloud Era: The shift from on-premises to virtualization, private clouds and ultimately IaaS and PaaS in public clouds. Consulting firms invested heavily in migration, architecture and design, security, and platform services expertise to stitch together the cloud services, creating new applications and integrating older on-premises approaches.
- AI Rising: A new generation of AI-enabled tools is again creating opportunities for expertise to be productized to expedite results and software to be created that requires human-in-the-loop to drive adoption and wider use cases for more complex problems. Including analyzing data for predictive modeling and insights, natural language processing for tagging and identifying negative behaviors among other things and now GenAI is is surfacing new use cases from research, to automation, to intelligent agents, to new imagery creation – all spurring a new wave of innovation.
Each wave is about making expertise repeatable, scalable, and outcome-driven. We believe that there is solid ground for leveraging the IP learned through consulting and applying it to new software innovation while staying true to our value of delivering
high quality expertise and business outcomes
that improve our customers bottom line,
as quickly and responsibly as possible.
Some would argue that consulting firms create crappy software, stitched together scripts that make up solutions. We’re not that firm. While our heritage does stem from consulting, our team is composed of computer science practitioners, software industry leaders with real-life, hands-on experience leading through generations of change, and first hand experience evolving generations of pricing models alongside technology innovation.
Our software, LevelSetter, is a SaaS product not a script.
Levelsetter: Redefining B2B Software Pricing with AI and Automation
B2B Software Pricing – whether perpetual, cloud subscription, or evolving AI models, has always been a critical but notoriously complex function—too often managed with manual spreadsheets, static rules, and disconnected data sources or not managed at all.
Levelsetter changes the game by embedding AI-driven automation and dynamic, time-series deal intelligence into the heart of pricing operations.
This wasn’t just some random idea, afterall, there is nothing about pricing that is simple. This evolved from delivering hundreds of engagements. Manual repetition, laborious calculations, multiple iterations over hours and hours of work. We knew the work we were doing was right, and we could start to see patterns in our approaches to determining the monetization strategy and pricing models.
Leveraging our expertise in software AND consulting,
we recognized there was a better way.
LevelSetter was born.
Why is Levelsetter Different?
| LevelSetter Capability | Improvement Delivered |
| AI-Powered Pricing Decisions | Instead of static pricing rules, Levelsetter continuously analyzes deal data, market signals, and competitive dynamics to recommend optimized prices and discounting strategies. |
| Real-Time Deal Evolution Tracking | Levelsetter builds a dynamic timeline of how each deal evolves—capturing every pricing change, concession, and approval—so pricing teams understand the true impact of each action. |
| Rapid Pricing Adaptation | Customers can roll out pricing updates in minutes, not months, ensuring they stay competitive and responsive in fast-moving markets. |
| Integrated Deal Management | Levelsetter enforces compliance to pricebook and discount schedules, reducing margin leakage and empowering sales with guided decision-making. |
The Critical Role of Human Expertise: AI-Augmented, Not AI-Replaced
While Levelsetter’s AI-driven automation and dynamic analytics dramatically enhance pricing accuracy and speed using machine learning, human judgment remains essential in the pricing process. AI excels at processing vast data sets, identifying patterns, and suggesting optimized pricing strategies—but it does not possess full contextual awareness of every nuance affecting a deal.
Why Human-in-the-Loop Matters:
- Complex Negotiations: Pricing decisions often involve subtle relationship dynamics, strategic trade-offs, and unique client considerations that AI alone cannot fully capture.
- Market and Competitive Context: AI models rely on historical and structured data but may miss emerging market shifts, regulatory changes, or one-off competitive threats known only to seasoned pricing professionals.
- Ethical and Strategic Decisions: Determining when to deviate from algorithmic recommendations requires ethical judgment and alignment with broader business strategy.
- Validation and Trust: Pricing teams validate AI recommendations, ensuring transparency and building confidence among sales and executive stakeholders.
Levelsetter is designed as an AI-augmented platform, empowering teams to:
- Review and adjust AI-driven recommendations
- Apply strategic insights and discretion where necessary
- Collaborate with sales and finance through transparent workflows and deal histories
This hybrid approach combines the speed and scale of AI with the critical thinking and expertise of humans, delivering smarter, more defensible pricing outcomes.
The Business Benefits: Moving Beyond Manual Pricing
By replacing manual, error-prone pricing processes with Levelsetter’s AI-enabled platform, organizations realize:
- Increased Revenue and Margin: Optimized pricing and disciplined discounting translate directly to improved profitability.
- Faster Go-to-Market: Rapid pricebook updates and scenario modeling enable agile responses to market changes.
- Improved Sales Productivity: Automated workflows and deal insights free sales teams to focus on value conversations, not price disputes.
- Greater Pricing Governance: Transparent, auditable deal histories reduce risk and improve compliance.
- Scalable, Repeatable Pricing Excellence: Productized expertise embedded in software empowers consistent execution across geographies and teams.
Why This Matters in the Consulting–Software Convergence
Consulting firms specializing in monetization and pricing can no longer rely solely on manual approaches or bespoke engagements.
The future is software-enabled consulting—where AI, automation AND embedded expertise deliver scalable, predictable outcomes.
Levelsetter embodies this future by transforming how pricing knowledge is applied—turning consulting frameworks into real-time, data-driven decisions that adapt as deals evolve.
This is the new competitive edge.
The Road Ahead: Embrace Hybrid Models to Lead
The winners in the next generation of B2B software pricing will be hybrid firms that blend their deep consulting expertise and understanding of the problem with software innovation. Whether building proprietary platforms like Levelsetter or integrating embedded services into SaaS models, the consulting-software convergence is the engine for next-generation monetization success.
Ready to move beyond manual pricing and unlock scalable revenue growth with AI-driven pricing automation?
Learn how Levelsetter and expert consulting together can transform your pricing operations.
