However, I don't think anybody has really wide spread adoption yet and I think it's because the tools aren't accessible to the majority of researchers currently. Take, for example, mlflow. It's a great tool in many ways but requires you to think fairly carefully about how to structure your application around the framework. Additionally, to run experiments, you need to set up your own infrastructure.
These requirements may be met in some settings (larger businesses with a modern engineering culture) but I think are not met in the broader market (university research departments, smaller businesses, businesses without the modern engineering focus, etc).
For the ideas in the personal finance space, there are, as we all know, a large number of fintech companies that are attempting to tackle many aspects of this right now. It's a very tough space to get into due to regulation and poor economics at small scales. It's a domain I'm familiar with though and that means a lot to me. I think the financial industry has a long way to go and will almost certainly look radically different in the future. As it stands, I believe the industry is too fragmented from the customer perspective, with different organisations offering parts of what to people are really all the same thing.
To plan and save for my future I need a current account with a bank to manage my day to day spending and as a 'hub', savings accounts (potentially with other institutions) to save cash, I need a brokerage account to diversify my savings, a company pension pot (with one or more providers depending on how you've moved jobs) and possibly an IFA to tie it all together and cut through the jargon and save you time. This should all be one thing - and it should be easy, and cheap.
Re the contracts idea specifically - yes I am aware of a few firms/organisations that independently manage contracts digitally. The idea is about trying to provide that functionality as a service with the intention being to make consumers lives easier as much as businesses (e.g. I would like one central place where I can manage all of my contracts, sign them, ask questions, be reminded of upcoming obligations, etc). Right now, I think most people have a drawer somewhere full of paper that could probably be organised better.
I'll be honest, I don't have a specific niche yet. If I were to validate that idea further, I would approach legal firms, landlords, and legal departments as saas businesses first most likely. I'm sure there are other sectors worth considering. It may also be that the business first way is the wrong way to approach it? Perhaps You could build a tool for consumers first.