Understand the SME market

Resellers in the SME space find their greatest success by focusing on the key needs of their specific customers, writes David Spate

Research has shown that data protection is a topic of increasing concern for SMEs worldwide. Coupled with additional research indicating that IT spending growth among SMEs has been faster than among larger organisations, this data has stimulated a rush among enterprise storage vendors to offer data protection solutions aimed at SMEs.

While the rash of product offerings provides a wide selection of solutions, resellers to the SME space seem to find their greatest success by focusing on the key needs of their customers. These are as follows:

• Cost. While this is a consideration for most customers, it is always a top priority for SMEs where budget is a critical selection criteria.
• Functionality. Value for money is equally important. Surveys have shown that SMEs are concerned about stripped-down enterprise products being offered as ‘low-end’ solutions, with key features either crippled or removed entirely. SMEs need products designed for them from the ground up, by vendors that understand their needs and the environment they operate in.
• Scalability. Growth is a priority and a goal for the majority of SMEs. This is why data-protection solutions are an investment in the future. Garnering a return on that investment requires that the solution has the potential to grow with the organisation.
• Simplicity. When it comes to IT, complexity is the bane of SMEs. Ease of use, from licensing through to implementation, is a decisive factor. To that end, server vendors have begun to bundle data-protection software in their SME offerings.

Beyond products, what else should a reseller look for in a vendor of SME data protection solutions? Certainly, a vendor’s business approach to the market is important. SMEs prefer to buy from VARs for all the familiar reasons, such as credit lines, technical support and vendor aggregation. Reduction of, or preferably, elimination of conflict between direct and partner sales, provides a particular set of benefits to the reseller, including higher margins, bespoke programmes for demand creation and field sales resources dedicated to supporting reseller businesses.

In the clamour to ‘reach’ the SME market there can be a tendency to forget the basic principles. Businesses buy to meet their own needs, to obtain maximum value for the costs they incur and to secure, as much as they can, their future growth. SMEs are no different. A vendor/reseller partnership that can consistently deliver these values will thrive.

David Spate is vice president of EMEA at Yosemite Technologies.