CompTIA’s Enabling SMBs with Technology study provides insights into the ways that the small and medium business segment uses technology and interacts with outside firms provided technology solutions. The study consists of three sections, which can be viewed independently or together as chapters of a comprehensive report. The first section of the report covers the market overview of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and how their relationship with the IT landscape is rapidly evolving in favor of growth and diversification.
Part I of III
Today’s SMBs are not just a statistical market asset, they are rapidly transforming the IT landscape and pushing technology companies to create flexible, low-cost and highly available solutions. SMBs are constantly in need of reducing overhead costs in order to stay competitive, and technology and infrastructure is the best place for SMBs to gain that initial competitive edge, at least in terms of resource allocation.
According to the study, the number one strategic priority for SMBs was reducing overhead costs, followed closely by reaching new customers and improving operational efficiency. These three categories are closely tied together, and while SMBs rightfully have reservations about jumping blindly into the sea of “new tech,” it will take some time before IT adapts properly to make partner programs and the channel a more SMB-friendly space to be in.
SMBs are defined as having less than 500 employees and can be further broken down into the following subcategories: Micro firms with 1 – 9 employees, Small firms with 10 – 99 employees and Medium-sized firms with 100 – 499 employees. The SMB space accounts for a large portion of the US market, representing 99.7% of the six million US employer firms, generating 63% of net new jobs over the last 15 years, and employing 48.5% of all private sector employees.
CompTia’s study revealed that out of 500 SMBs 47% were seeking changes and improvements to their current technologies, yet the study primarily focused on analyzing the minority (17%) of SMBs who were satisfied with their infrastructures. It would seem more relevant to consider what course of action the 36% of SMBs are doing that enabled them to answer that they were “very close” to where they wanted to be, and compare those findings to the 47% seeking changes.
It is clear that a minor group of satisfied SMBs could very well be due to the fact that they don’t have the ability or resources to leverage new technologies in the first place. I think it would be more interesting for CompTia to address the 47% of unsatisfied SMBs as opposed highlighting what made a minority successful; this just won’t apply to most other SMBs, even in the same market space.
What I found most interesting about the market overview of CompTia’s study was the general lack of insight provided as to why the majority of these SMBs were self-assessing themselves as unsatisfied with their technology. I believe that the channel has a long way to go before SMBs can truly find alignment in addressing the needs of their businesses by leveraging the channel, and IT will have to change in order for that to happen.
One way that we at Vembu are preparing for this shift, specifically for the channel, is by relaunching our Partner program with updated incentives that address the business goals of today’s SMB. It is important that technology companies in the channel view the channel as a source for SMBs to leverage the best opportunities available to them. Our goal is to help the 47% and 36% of SMBs who need help getting their DR services where they want them to be, and help them with their overhead costs along the way.
This is part one of a three part series. The next editorial will highlight usage patterns in the SMB space.
