The SMB market is huge and, until recently, has not invested a great deal in IT; nor has it been on the receiving end of much vendor attention, particularly from those providers targeting large enterprises and multinationals. To give an idea of the scale of the sector, there are 19 million SMBs in the EU and in most of the member states they make up more than 99% of enterprises. SMBs generate a substantial share of European GDP and are a key source of new jobs and business ideas. IT offers significant benefits to SMBs - as it does other, larger organisations - but it has to be the right fit for their size and structure. ‘The SMB Market Opportunity’ report examines why the SMB sector is currently the focus of attention for vendors that have traditionally targeted the enterprise sector and what SMBs are looking for from an IT solution. We explore the SMB market opportunity for the ERP, SCM, CRM, security and contact centers technologies and services. In addition, the report profiles the main vendors targeting the SMB IT opportunity and their SMB strategy going forward. The SMB Market Opportunity report is of interest to any IT vendor or services provider wanting to target its offering to the SMB sector. It will be of equal interest to SMB- and mid-market-focused vendors as it will to large enterprise vendors eager to snatch some market share in what is still a highly fragmented market. The report will be of interest to providers in the enterprise application, IT security and contact centers markets. Although we do not examine the SMB market opportunity for hardware, we profile the efforts of hardware vendors in the final chapter as they target this sector. Given the importance of partnerships and the channel to selling solutions to SMBs, the report will also be of interest to VARS, systems integrators, resellers and third-party service providers.
Key questions answered in this report:
What technologies are SMBs buying?
How much are SMBs spending on ERP/CRM/SCM and other technologies?
What is driving IT investment in the SMB market?
What dynamics exist in the SMB market?
What traits do SMBs look for in a vendor?
Who are the vendors leading the SMB market?
How can I improve my go-to-market strategy and sales approach to appeal to SMBs?
How can I develop my channel and partnership strategy?
This new report will provide you with:
Dynamics and factors influencing the SMB market to enable you to assess your company’s position in the market.
Drivers and inhibitors to purchasing amongst SMBs, allowing you to strengthen your competitive position.
Spending patterns up until 2010 for key IT markets, helping you devise effective market strategies.
Profiles of the leading vendors targeting the SMB market, enabling you to benchmark yourself against the most profitable companies.
Forecasts for IT investment in key technology areas, such as on demand CRM, allowing you to identify lucrative opportunities in the SMB market.
Explanations of emerging market segments, such as unified threat management, assisting you in formulating effective targeting strategies specifically for the SMB market.
Additional Information
Hot issues covered in this report:
Channel - vendors operating in the SMB space need to change from offering expensive direct sales models to channel and partner strategies.
On demand / hosted solutions - reduction of overall costs, deployment and use, time to value and access to new applications previously unavailable.
Open source / linux - increasing cost of IT products and services, the drive for open standards and avoiding vendor lock-in, government policies and Linux adoption in Europe and Asia, and the support of blue-chip vendors.
Verticalization and customization - extremely important factors for SMBs to consider.
Cash-strapped and resource-thin - overcoming users’ lack of resources for supporting IT and the fact that few SMBs include expensive project implementation as a priority.
Security - denial of service attacks, identity theft, spam and viruses.
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