The latest wave of enterprise software earnings reveals a coordinated vendor strategy. AI is being positioned as a premium user interface to drive both new revenue streams and deeper platform lock-in. Vendors are productizing data platforms as a tollbooth to AI value, ending discounts, and forcing a “great rebundling” that concentrates your risk. This new reality demands a strategic response built on rigorous financial governance, architectural flexibility, and a clear-eyed view of business outcomes. This report highlights the vendors’ performance signals and provides a counter-playbook for technology executives to navigate this vendor power play and ensure that AI investments deliver tangible value.