CHANNELSOLUTIONS
PEDRO PEREIRA
SMBs are hungry for IT
As a result, companies that
would have been reluctant a few
years ago to adopt new technology
VENDORS ARE FINALLY CATCHING ON TO THIS NEEDY MARKET are now making investments in
VPNs, mobile devices and vari-
The smb mar- e Week Strategic Partner, a sis- ous applications to support secure
ket rules, ter publication of The Channel remote access.
plain and Insider, reports on the mind- This means that even some
simple. Gone are boggling array of IT solutions smaller companies are no longer
the days of tech- available to SMB customers content to play laggard in adopt-nology hand-me- today. Everything from laptops ing technology. They’re making
downs from the and wireless routers to complex strategic decisions based on the
enterprise. security, storage and business expectation that smart phones,
That’s not to continuity systems is finding its remote access and business
say every last vendor gets it yet, way to companies in that vast applications will act as vehicles to
but the signals are strong that, market. better productivity and increased
for the most part, IT vendors are As these companies go about profits.
catching on to the importance of their business, they look to tech- This, of course, puts solution
serving the needs of small and nology to shape business strat- providers in the enviable position
midsize businesses. In the pro- egy and accommodate further of serving a market that is hungry
cess, they’re working to tighten growth. To achieve those goals, for more, while pressuring ven-relationships with the VARs, inte- businesses turn to solution pro- dors not only to develop targeted
grators, service providers and con- viders that deliver the requisite technology but also to support
sultants that know and serve the expertise, services and equip- the channel partners that get the
SMB market. ment. technology into customer environ-
By far, most U.S. jobs are One area of rapid growth is ments.
created at companies with 500 mobility and telecommuting, Rather than focus on volume
employees or less, according to according to the Computing alone, vendors must intensify
government statistics. Much of the Technology Industry Association, their efforts to help solution
U.S. economy, in fact, rides on the or Comp- providers with
money made and spent by these TIA, which SMBS ARE GOBBLING UP marketing and
companies, of which there are recently com- TECHNOLOGY IN A WIDE technical know- about 6 million. missioned how.
SMBs this year collectively a study by RANGE OF CATEGORIES. The SMB
will spend a projected $241 bil- AMI-Partners market is
lion in technology, according to on SMB technology spending. dynamic, and its IT spending
AMI-Partners. Take a moment Nearly 75 percent of SMBs have shows no signs of letting up.
to digest that: It’s a respectable at least one employee who tele- The vendors that best support
number and represents roughly a commutes, the study found. On their channel partners in meet-
6 percent increase from the $227 average, 7 percent of SMB employ- ing the market’s needs are going
billion SMB buyers spent on IT ees work from home one or more to win. ´
in 2006. days per week.
SMBs are gobbling up technol- The study also found that 10 Pedro Pereira is editor of e WEEK
ogy in a wide range of categories. percent of the SMB work force Strategic Partner and a contributing
We’re not just talking about a PC is mobile and that 90 percent of editor for The Channel Insider. He
and printer anymore. SMBs have at least one employee can be reached at pedro.pereira@
The cover story in October’s traveling at least one day per week. ziffdavisenterprise.com.
