Manda Banda is Lynchpin Media ’ s Deputy Managing Editor and Editor of Intelligent CIO Middle East and Intelligent CIO Africa . |
Offering small office home office ( SoHo ) and small and midsize business ( SMB ) networking services and solutions can be lucrative for
many reasons . For one , SoHo and SMB
customers are often the earliest adopters
of new technology because it ’ s much easier
to change a one to 10-seat company ’ s
networking needs than it is to change
a 2,000-seat enterprise ’ s networking
infrastructure . It ’ s also easier for SoHos
and SMBs to make purchasing decisions ,
whereas with enterprises , decisions can
take months and at times , years . And with
more and more people going into business
for themselves , there is never a shortage of
customers in this segment .
As the supply and demand for network
and security tools increases for SMBs in
the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), so do
the options for SMB network appliances
and services . Analyst IDC is forecasting a
compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of
4.7 % for the 2016 to 2021 forecast period .
Spending by businesses with fewer than
1,000 employees on IT hardware , software
and services , including business services , is
expected to reach US $ 684 billion in 2021 .
IDC said mid-market firms will account
for the largest share of total SMB IT
spending , even though they are further
along in technology deployment than small
businesses . Over two thirds of global SMB
IT spending will be driven by firms with 100-
999 employees through 2021 .
Clearly from IDC ’ s predictions , SMBs
around the globe are increasingly interested
|
in investing in resources to improve employee productivity and improve their competitive positions . While SMBs , especially smaller ones , have immediate tactical needs to sharpen performance , they are also looking to co-ordinate resources in a meaningful way . For many , this will be an important step in their Digital Transformation that has accelerated since the start of the global Coronavirus pandemic . In the Middle East , the SMB market is the most focused sector by all vendors and IT distributors as it plays a key role across all technology spheres . Small and mid-size business contribute more than 60 % of economic growth in the region .
Despite the SoHo and SMB market being the largest spending sector for all kinds of technology products , small businesses are still challenged by limited IT budgets , the rapid pace at which technology is changing and the cost of implementing some of the networking solutions available in the market today . In addition , skills in general in the IT sector remain a huge stumbling block for some small businesses in the Middle East . One of the challenges is to be able to properly identify the technologies that are critical to your small business success . Once you have done that , the next crucial step is to actually proceed with implementation . Identifying mission-critical technologies is a relatively simple exercise – actually weaving them into the existing architecture is another matter entirely and that ’ s where channel partners need to focus on and be helping SoHos and SMBs .
|
IDC said mid-market firms will account for the largest share of total SMB IT spending , even though they are further along in technology deployment than small businesses .
With channel stakeholders ( vendors ,
distributors and resellers ) being urged to
do more to help SoHos and SMBs overcome
some of the barriers to technology
adoption , opportunities for resellers in this
sector are huge .
Increasing awareness around cybercrime
and information security provides a
natural conversation starter . A security
conversation allows IT resellers to point
to a set of services and products they can
provide to their SMB clients . Regardless of
the angle which resellers take to increase
their business among SMB customers ,
they will need to take some fundamental
steps . These include taking the time to
comprehend their customer ’ s vertical ,
evaluating the business problem and
converting those findings into an offering
that best fits the customer ’ s environment .
What is key to keep in mind when a
reseller is implementing any strategy
to overcome the barriers to technology
adoption is that SMBs are not buying
technology because it is something nice to
have , but because technology helps to solve
their business objectives .
|
24 |