Month: October 2025

• Vertical software firms are seen as resilient amid AI disruption, according to RBC Capital Markets.
• These firms benefit from deep expertise and regulatory knowledge, making them more resilient.
• RBC recommends companies, including Autodesk and Clearwater Analytics. See the full list below.

As hype around generative AI continues to rattle the software sector, more specialized software companies may be among the most resilient players and the most underappreciated.

RBC Capital Markets wrote on Wednesday that vertical software — tools specifically designed for industries such as healthcare, insurance, and industrial design — could weather AI disruption in the near term and benefit from it in the long run.

These software vendors benefit from deep domain expertise, regulatory knowledge, and workflows that are difficult to replicate, the analysts wrote in a note to investors.

“Vertical software is one pocket of software that is likely to be viewed as ‘AI-proof’ (for now),” the RBC analysts, led by Rishi Jaluria, wrote.

‘Need-to-have’ software

Vertical software often supports critical functions and is typically seen as “need-to-have,” not just “nice-to-have,” the report explained.

With high customer retention, it could take years for these companies to be threatened by AI startups, even in a best-case scenario, the analysts argued.

One such company, Clearwater Analytics, boasts gross revenue retention (GRR) rates of 98% to 99%, demonstrating the loyalty of its customers to the product. Gross revenue retention is a common metric for subscription-based businesses and software companies, measuring how effectively they maintain their existing revenue base.

Additionally, many of the industries these companies serve are still in the early stages of modernizing their technology. That makes customers less likely to adopt AI-driven replacements in the near future.

Over the longer term, RBC sees vertical software vendors playing a key role in shaping the next phase of AI adoption. Rather than merely supplying data, they can provide context to train and fine-tune AI models, leading to industry-specific AI tools that drive real productivity gains.

Goldman Sachs’ view

At a recent Goldman Sachs tech conference last month, I asked Kash Rangan, the firm’s software analyst, about which companies could survive the AI challenge.

He highlighted ServiceNow, praising CEO Bill McDermott’s battle-tested leadership. He also pointed to Intuit for creating value for its existing products by subtly adding AI into them.

Salesforce got a more reserved assessment. Rangan said while CEO Marc Benioff is “in the fight,” the company still needs to prove that its new Agentforce AI product is gaining traction with customers and that they’re willing to pay for it.

In an industry dominated by flashy AI bets, RBC highlights a quieter reality: while vertical software may not be immune to threats by AI companies, its combination of industry entrenchment and domain-specific potential makes it a rare, AI-proof niche. For now, anyway.

RBC’s AI software survivors

Here are the vertical software companies that RBC recommended on Wednesday. RBC rates these all “Outperform,” citing their defensibility and their ability to innovate around AI:

• Autodesk: A design software company best known for AutoCAD and other tools used in architecture, engineering, and manufacturing.
• Bentley Systems: Provides infrastructure engineering software for the design, construction, and operation of roads, bridges, utilities, and other large-scale projects.
• Clearwater Analytics: Offers cloud-based investment accounting and reporting software for asset managers, insurers, and corporations.
• Guidewire: Develops cloud and software products for property and casualty insurers to manage underwriting, claims, and billing.
• Hinge Health: A digital health company specializing in musculoskeletal care, offering virtual physical therapy and pain-management programs.
• Samsara: Provides Internet of Things (IoT) platforms that help businesses manage physical operations, including fleet management, logistics, and industrial monitoring.
• PTC: Delivers software for product management, industrial IoT, and augmented reality to support manufacturers in designing and servicing products.
• Veeva Systems: Supplies cloud-based software tailored for the life sciences industry, including solutions for clinical trials, regulatory compliance, and customer engagement.

Sign up for BI’s Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.

Simone Migliori liked the idea of an October wedding so much she had two — a backyard elopement in 2023 and a bigger bash in 2024. Part of the decision, at least on wedding No. 1, was that it was the anniversary of when Migliori, 27, and her husband first met. But it was also because she’s always wanted to get married in the fall. Both events were held in Massachusetts, and she loves the color palette and the cooler weather at that time of year. Plus, Taylor Swift has a fall aesthetic, and there’s the Pumpkin Spice Latte. “I feel like Fall is the ‘it girl,'” she says.

Her assessment is correct: When it comes to weddings, October is the hot way to go. Adieu to June.

The wedding website The Knot’s 2025 global wedding report found that October is the most popular month in the United States to wed, as it has been since 2019. Data from Zola, another wedding planning website, shows October has been scrapping it out with June and September for the top nuptial month for at least the past decade.

“Weddings, for some time, have been in the fall, and, kind of, the conversation has finally shifted to acknowledging they’re in the fall,” says Emily Forrest, a Zola spokesperson. She got married in October nine years ago, thinking she was going against the grain by eschewing the spring and summer months. “I wanted to do something a bit different,” she says. “It turns out that’s pretty common.”

It’s sort of like the trend five years ago when everyone named their babies Olivia and Liam, thinking it was distinctive, only to discover on the first day of kindergarten that everyone else had the same idea. October weddings are the Sophias of marriage — beautiful, beloved, and maybe not so unusual anymore.

The June bride tradition dates back to ancient Rome and Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth. It stuck around in the Middle Ages because flowers were prettier at the start of summer (and could help mask some smells), and it didn’t hurt that it lined up with agricultural calendars, between planting and harvest. It continued into the modern era, too, including in popular culture. The 1954 musical film “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” has a song called “June Bride.” In 2009’s “Bride Wars,” Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway duke it out because both dreamed of getting married in New York’s Plaza Hotel in June.

October weddings are the Sophias of marriage — beautiful, beloved, and maybe not so unusual anymore.

June is still a popular month to get married, but a cascade of climate, logistical, and aesthetic factors has many couples increasingly looking to the fall months. Jove Meyer, a wedding planner in New York City, puts it plainly: While some couples may want to get married in June, “there’s only four weekends” in the month. And July and August are going to be too hot for many people to opt for them.

“July is just miserable to work in, and I can’t imagine being a bride in a full gown and the guys in a suit and jacket outside,” says Megan Niger, a wedding photographer based in Connecticut.

The next best thing used to be September, but now, especially with global warming, people are realizing that “you can have a gorgeous October wedding,” Meyer says. “It’s not winter. It’s extended-late summer, depending on when in October you get married.”

“We see a lot more stability in October,” says Mandy Connor, the owner of Hummingbird Events & Design in Boston. “If you’re a bride or groom who doesn’t like to sweat on their wedding day, October is a perfect timeframe for you.”

Ideally, it will be warm during the day and cool off at night as people start dancing. And if it does get a little too nippy, there are a lot of decor elements, such as firepits and blankets, to incorporate.

That weather stability translates to scheduling stability, too. In the late spring and early summer months, it’s hard to find a weekend that works for all the guests: School is ending, there are a lot of graduations and other competing events, and many families are setting out on their summer vacations. Depending on the locale, wedding attendees may find themselves competing with tourists in the summer months, driving up the price of airfares and hotel rooms.

“People are ready to celebrate by October,” says Lauren Kay, the executive editor of The Knot. “You’re like: ‘It’s been a minute since I’ve taken a vacation. Sure, I’m going to go to your destination wedding or go party with you.'”

With the rise of the fall wedding, the entire wedding calendar has shifted to accommodate. The spring is more of a wedding shower season, the summer for bachelor and bachelorette parties, and the fall for the actual big day. (Engagements have long been and remain most popular in December, around the holidays, because families and friends are around and it’s got a festive feel.)

Also, to state the obvious: Fall is pretty. In many parts of the country, leaves are changing and falling, providing what many couples believe is an ideal backdrop for their celebrations, especially if it’s outdoors.

Hannah Gettleman, 35, landed on October 26 for her nuptials in Chicago. The ceremony and reception will be indoors, but the photos and a cocktail hour will be outside, God (and weather) willing. “I love fall in Chicago. It’s the Midwest, it’s by some leaves, and I just love the vibrancy of the fall in and of itself,” she says. “There are a couple of parks that we want to check out that are near the venue, so we definitely want to get the fall foliage in our photography.”

Couples who want to marry during Spooky Season are going to encounter some spooky levels of competition.

To be sure, solid weather isn’t guaranteed at any time of the year in any part of the world. Take it from Cameron Ruby, 33, whose San Francisco wedding was in October 2021. She and her now-husband had originally planned to get hitched in March of 2021, but they pushed it back. “The impetus behind choosing October was that in San Francisco, it tends to be, historically, the best weather of the year,” she says. But there was an atmospheric river, which caused huge amounts of rain. Guests’ flights were canceled and delayed. Ruby’s dress got so muddy that no dry cleaner would take it. “You cannot predict the weather,” she says.

October becoming a sought-after wedding month means it’s getting sought-after prices, too. The Knot’s data shows the average wedding cost in the US is already an eye-popping $33,000.

Meyer says October used to be more of a “shoulder season,” tucked between the high and low seasons, and therefore could be more affordable. But that’s changing. “It may not be a shoulder season for long,” he says.

Couples who want to marry during Spooky Season are going to encounter some spooky levels of competition, which means they may have to book a year or two in advance.

“Everybody sort of clamors for them, and you’ll see people say, ‘I know I want September, October, but …'” says Susan Norcross, who owns The Styled Bride in Philadelphia. The hot date for next year is not quite October but instead September 26, she says, because people want to do 9/26/26.

Vendors and venues can get away with charging more amid higher demand in the fall, though prices aren’t just season-dependent; they’re also day-dependent. If you want to do your wedding on the cheap, your best bet may be picking, say, a Thursday or Friday, whatever the month. And if you’re going after the coveted October, being open to an off day gives you a better shot at landing a date.

Couples are being very purposeful about planning their weddings nowadays. Every detail has meaning. They’re embracing some traditions and eschewing others. Many are also getting married after being together for a long time, so they’ve pored over every detail. It turns out a lot of them have concluded they want to wed in October.

For guests, it’s nice in that the fall really is less packed, schedule-wise (football fans excepted), and it’s not a bad deal to space out wedding season. But it also means you should probably check your calendar — you might have more weddings on there than you’d think.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.