>>Simian+X82
I dont actually think it changes the economics of software as a service much. What's true for the small scale is true for the large scale. Sure, it's easier to build your own HR platform now but it's also easier to write and maintain it at scale with all your domain knowledge, legal infrastructure, etc. This seems true for inventory management, document signing, ecommerce, expensing, crm, training, accounting, etc. Why wouldn't the offerings from services providers get better and cheaper (relatively)?
The stuff you do in-house is probably still going to tied deeply to your internal processes. Admin dashboards, special workflows integrating with different systems, etc.