Nodus, the Catalan digital agents that make AI operationally efficient for SMEs

BarcelonaOver the last decade, the technology sector has experienced a boom in Software as a Service (SaaS), which became one of the leaders of digital transformation in the business world. This cloud-based software, with user subscription programs and employee interfaces, largely defined how SMEs should approach their digital transformation. Traditional SaaS marked a turning point, especially for business cost management, particularly in the area of ​​human resources. However, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), and especially AI-powered autonomous agents, has changed the rules of the game and led to a situation that the ecosystem has dubbed as SaaSpocalypseOr the SaaS apocalypse. It's not so much the end of SaaS as a reinvention of the sector, which is realizing that it won't thrive unless it shifts towards an agentive version—that is, integrating agentive AI. The model now requires autonomous agents capable of executing end-to-end workflows with human oversight, but with a degree of autonomy. An example of this shift is the Catalan company Nodus, an operational architecture that allows for the structural deployment, governance, and scaling of digital workers within a company, preventing the fragmentation that arises when AI is implemented in a scattered way. Founded in Catalonia, the company began developing its technology two years ago and will be working with clients by 2025, aiming to integrate AI into the operations of SMEs to help them grow in an integrated manner.

"We've been doing technology consulting all our lives, we've worked with many types of technologies, but with the emergence of ChatGPT three years ago, we witnessed the arrival of AI in the commercial sphere, and we saw that all the technologies we had been working with were converging, and that everything Nodus did," explains Albert Pijuan. The executive explains that their solution "is the home of the digital workersThese are the digital workers who become part of the SME's operational system, integrated into the company's programs, and allowing it to scale without having to increase its infrastructure," he explains.

Hybrid Teams

"Until now, AI and agents have been integrated in a fragmented way, and you can't have AI from a parent and another from a mother and not be able to govern them in an integrated way," Pijuan explains. "Nodus (his operating system) is an architecture that provides governance of the digital workers"Privacy of all data and ownership of all infrastructure, which is important because it means that this infrastructure becomes the property of the company, not OpenAI or any other large tech company." The big difference with a traditional SaaS is that "it is not necessary to adapt to the softwareRather, what Nodus generates is operational capacity that adapts to the company's way of working." Ultimately, it would be like introducing digital workers into the existing business infrastructure to work alongside human employees and build a hybrid team.

"a cross-cutting solution applicable anywhere there are repetitive processes or tasks." "It can range from the agricultural sector to industry, accounting, or finance. It's about creating hybrid teams, organizations that can scale with people and digital workers "Together, they free up employee workload and allow them to dedicate more time to value-added tasks," notes the CEO at ARA.

As an example, Pijuan explains that Nodus can be implemented in the agricultural sector, a sector where there is often a high turnover of labor during harvest season. In many cases, it is implemented by managing the relationship between workers and the company via WhatsApp, assigning tasks, tracking progress, and scheduling—and it does so in all languages—managing contracts and orders, and performing real-time stock management, for example." He also explains that one type of digital worker One position that is in high demand is that of sales assistant, "who can prepare quotes, help salespeople with prospecting, provide telephone support, and may even interact with potential clients," he explains.

A change of model

Thinking about a hybrid work model combining digital agents and human employees opens up the debate about the future of the labor sector and potential job losses. Faced with this dilemma, Nodus maintains that "change is inevitable," but that what digital agents bring is "the space for workers to focus on doing things that add more value." "AI is replacing repetitive tasks, not people. This is generating a restructuring of the labor market, where human value shifts towards decision-making, judgment, and strategy," Pijuan points out.

"There will be an operational and speed gap between companies that integrate digital agents and those that don't; one will soar in terms of efficiency, and the other will fall behind," the CEO notes. He also explains that "the costs are on par with an SME. If an SME can hire workers, it can also hire a digital agent." digital workerWe're not talking about thousands of euros in funding; depending on the complexity of the digital agent they request, it will be more or less expensive, but the return is immediate – explains Pijuan. Nodus is proprietary technology that is constantly evolving, and this involves a preliminary assessment to understand the company's current state. From there, a map is created to show how the digital workers "They can improve their processes." Currently, the company operates nationally, but its goal for 2027 is to expand into the international market; to achieve this, they will launch a funding round in the coming weeks.