• SIMPLIFY. EXPAND. GROW.

    SIMPLIFY. EXPAND. GROW.

    SMB. CORE MIDMARKET. UPPER MIDMARKET. ECOSYSTEM
    LEARN MORE
  • FEATURED INFOGRAPHIC

    FEATURED INFOGRAPHIC

    2024 Top 10 SMB Business Issues, IT Priorities, IT Challenges
    LEARN MORE
  • CHANNEL INFOGRAPHIC

    CHANNEL INFOGRAPHIC

    2024 Top 10 Partner Business Challenges
    LATEST RESEARCH
  • 2024 TOP 10 PREDICTIONS

    2024 TOP 10 PREDICTIONS

    SMB & Midmarket Predictions
    READ
  • 2024 TOP 10 PREDICTIONS

    2024 TOP 10 PREDICTIONS

    Channel Partner Predictions
    READ
  • IT SECURITY TRENDS

    IT SECURITY TRENDS

    SMB & Midmarket Security Adoption Trends
    LATEST RESEARCH
  • CLOUD ADOPTION TRENDS

    CLOUD ADOPTION TRENDS

    SMB & Midmarket Cloud Adoption
    LATEST RESEARCH
  • FUTURE OF PARTNER ECOSYSTEM

    FUTURE OF PARTNER ECOSYSTEM

    Networked, Engaged, Extended, Hybrid
    DOWNLOAD NOW
  • BUYERS JOURNEY

    BUYERS JOURNEY

    Influence map & care-abouts
    LEARN MORE
  • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

    DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

    Connected Business
    LEARN MORE
  • MANAGED SERVICES RESEARCH

    MANAGED SERVICES RESEARCH

    SMB & Midmarket Managed Services Adoption
    LEARN MORE
  • ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

    ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

    SMB & Midmarket Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Adoption
    LEARN MORE
  • WHITE PAPER

    WHITE PAPER

    SMB Path to Digitalization
    DOWNLOAD

Techaisle Blog

Insightful research, flexible data, and deep analysis by a global SMB IT Market Research and Industry Analyst organization dedicated to tracking the Future of SMBs and Channels.
Anurag Agrawal

Six Key SMB and Upper Midmarket Security Trends

The 2023 worldwide SMB, Core Midmarket, and Upper Midmarket IT Security spend will likely be US$84 billion. Additionally, 38% of SMBs and 35% of upper midmarket firms will likely purchase IT security solutions from managed services providers (MSPs). In today’s SMB market, it is critical for vendors to build a detailed understanding of the small, core midmarket, and upper-midmarket segments and to align resources and strategies with requirements as these businesses move from initial experimentation with sophisticated solutions toward mass-market adoption. In the latest research, Techaisle analyzed 2035 survey responses to provide the insight needed to build and execute on security strategies for the small and midmarket customer segments. We find there are six key trends:

techaisle six key smb midmarket security trends

Beyond the six key trends, research finds:

  • A high proportion of SMBs and upper midmarket firms report that they experienced security breaches last year. However, despite this high exposure rate, most SMBs believe they are either “fully prepared and confident” or “as prepared as they can be” for security issues.
  • Small and midmarket firms recognize that the cloud increases the potential for security breaches but are confident – overly so, in Techaisle’s view – in their ability to cope with this expanded risk profile. As a result, most SMBs rely on core security practices and technologies to address cloud-specific threats and are underinvested in cloud security solutions.
  • Security solutions currently in use can be divided into four categories: protection of the mobile environment, protection of data entering the corporate environment, traffic inspection and management, and protection of data being used within the corporate environment.
  • Security-as-a-Service suppliers have had the most success thus far with data center/server, network, and endpoint security offerings.
  • BDMs play an active role in setting security policies, but technical buyers are most likely to acquire security solutions. These technical buyers focus primarily on solution reliability; more junior security professionals focus on support, and senior IT management looks at price/performance.
  • Marketing messages aimed at security buyers should be incorporated within preferred source containers (e.g., whitepapers, case studies, blog posts, etc.) and distributed through preferred channels (e.g., vendor websites, search) aligned with different stages of the security decision process. For example, data shows that some source types, including product trials/demo videos and case studies, are essential in identifying and selecting security vendors.

 

Anurag Agrawal

Nine key channel partner and ecosystem trends

IT adoption has become more diffused. The explosive growth in non-IT management control over IT decisions, which changes the buying point and jeopardizes the value of the channel’s IT relationships, is the change that signals the dawning of the inflection point. The IT channel is changing permanently and in ways entirely different from what we’ve seen in the past. In the same way that “cloud” refers to an extensive range of very different IT models and deployments, “the channel” is becoming a generic phrase that describes a set of business approaches that is increasingly specialized and fragmented. Techaisle’s in-depth channel partner and ecosystem research show nine key trends.

 techaisle channel partners nine key trends

 

 

Channel partners are being challenged in new ways.

Anurag Agrawal

Webex By Cisco - Supporting Hybrid Work with New Capabilities

Hybrid work trends have emerged rapidly over the past year, changing how organizations approach collaboration. Not long ago, the hybrid mode of work was viewed as a luxury – a privilege only for employees who could manage their job from home on occasion. However, the pandemic compelled organizations to scramble for new ways to ensure business continuity, and Hybrid work transformed into a must-have from being a nice-to-have option. Organizations that fail to embrace this change and try to return to a 100-percent-office-based work strategy are at risk of falling short in productivity, talent retention, and much more. Amid the worldwide trend of ‘great resignations,’ organizations have been trying to find a balance between working from home and the office.

In a scenario where hybrid work is no longer a choice but a necessity, many organizations are already aware that they need to provide consistent technical support to employees across different locations to enable a hybrid work environment that is seamless, secure, and smart. Hybrid work requires more than just collaborative software; it requires advanced devices, robust security, dependable connection, and smooth networking—all of which must function in tandem. Furthermore, it requires a unified solution to avoid fragmented communication, additional IT administrative labor, and increased security concerns.

The Webex platform addresses all these essential aspects of hybrid work – where employees work and how they prefer to work. It offers several solutions that can be easily integrated with various pre-existing systems and ensure enterprise-grade security.

Read on learn about Webex, comparisons with Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet

Anurag Agrawal

IBM launches Partner Plus experience designed to accelerate partner business velocity

Hybrid cloud is non-optional, security is a priority, automation is critical, and AI platform adoption is when not if. Cloud automation, hybrid cloud orchestration, and cloud cost management are imposing a daunting challenge on the channel. As the cloud adoption landscape continues to shift, each IT supplier has been evaluating and evolving its partner program to drive sales and profitability for its partners. IBM has been working on developing its program since May 2020, when it introduced Build, Sell, and Service tracks. However, the evolution took on urgency after Arvind Krishna, Chairman, and CEO, of IBM, declared the ecosystem as one of the company's key priorities. As a result, IBM has increased its specialized resources by 50 percent and technical resources by 30 percent to support the partner ecosystem. Recently, IBM announced its new program called Partner Plus. IBM PartnerWorld transitioned to IBM Partner Plus experience on January 4, 2023, with the new incentive program taking effect on April 1, 2023.

Enablement, empowerment, ecosystem, and experiences are the unwritten principles driving IBM Partner Plus in transforming the rules of partner engagement. Kate Woolley, General Manager of IBM Ecosystem, says, “A thriving ecosystem is critical to underpin the success of any technology company, and we believe the underpinnings of this must be an open and inclusive ecosystem. We can reach and do more through and with our ecosystem. As a result, we have put our partners at the center of IBM’s go-to-market strategy.”

Research You Can Rely On | Analysis You Can Act Upon

Techaisle - TA