Techaisle Blog

A global research study of 6,240 SMBs and midmarket firms found that IT security is a top priority for these organizations. 85% of SMBs and 100% of midmarket firms ranked IT security as a top priority, and 61% of these firms are increasing their IT security spending by more than 8%, a higher percentage than overall IT spending. The study also revealed that 56% of SMBs and 88% of upper midmarket firms experienced at least one cyberattack in the past year. As a result, preventing cyberattacks is a priority for 64% of firms.

According to the Techaisle survey, cybersecurity breaches can be costly for SMBs (1-999 employees), with an average loss of US$1.2 million in data, productivity, compliance and regulatory expenses, and staffing costs. Upper-midmarket firms (1000-4999 employees) suffer even more significant losses, with an average cost of US$28.6 million per breach.

According to a series of surveys by Techaisle, cloud cost optimization (CCO) has recently become the top priority for SMBs and midmarket organizations. In 2023-24, cloud cost optimization has moved from being the 2nd priority in 2021-2022 to the 1st. Techaisle survey found that 59% of SMBs and 55% of upper midmarket firms are now focusing on optimizing their cloud costs, making it the top consulting services priority for 100% of firms surveyed. As the adoption of cloud services continues to grow, so do the accompanying costs, which can quickly spiral out of control if left unmanaged. This challenges organizations of all sizes to optimize their cloud costs. Cloud economics and cost optimization consulting are not only challenging for SMB and midmarket firms but also for channel partners. According to a parallel survey by Techaisle, 49% of channel partners have seen an increase in demand for cloud cost optimization consulting. As a result, 72% of partners are planning to offer these services to their customers.

Cloud cost optimization has become crucial for SMBs and midmarket firms to effectively manage their expenses, improve resource utilization, and keep costs within budget. By implementing strategic approaches to cost optimization, businesses are challenged to balance the value of their cloud investments with the need to control expenditure.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR CCO

In 2014, 80% of these firms viewed the cloud as a solution for increasing revenue, while only 20% used it to reduce costs. In 2023, the data flipped. The appeal of the cloud lies in its flexibility, adaptability, and ability to provide resources on demand. However, SMBs and Midmarket firms often end up paying for more resources than they use, leading to unexpectedly high cloud bills impacting their financial stability and hindering growth and investment.

If connected cloud is the logical starting point for discussing the essential elements of a connected business platform, connected insights is the discussion’s logical destination. In today's highly competitive business environment, the significance of data has increased exponentially for most types of enterprises, including midmarket organizations and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). However, organizations often need help to harness data effectively to achieve desired business outcomes, mainly due to their lack of readiness for analytics. To address this issue, Qlik offers a comprehensive suite of real-time data integration and analytics solutions that seamlessly connect data, insights, and actions.

With over 40,000 active clients, of which 25,000+ are mid-sized businesses, Qlik offers an easy-to-use platform that allows business users to analyze data, gain insights, and make data-driven decisions. It empowers companies to unlock growth opportunities and optimize operations by seamlessly integrating diverse data sources and customizable analytics applications. Moreover, as organizations grow, Qlik's scalable solution can seamlessly handle mounting volumes and complexities of data analysis, making it suitable for midmarket clients and SMBs. Additionally, the company’s capacity pricing model is designed to be affordable, allowing organizations with limited resources to leverage the full potential of its robust analytics capabilities.

Techaisle’s latest research shows that analytics is a top priority for SMBs, with 73% of SMBs, 92% of core midmarket firms, and 99% of upper midmarket firms prioritizing it. In 54% of organizations, IT and business users struggle to manage data growth, while in 59%, IT and data analysts focus on data integration. Developing an ‘evidence-based culture’ is critical in using analytics to achieve business objectives. 39% of firms are working towards enabling a data-driven decision-making culture. Given this data, Techaisle believes that Qlik is well-positioned to meet the needs of midmarket firms.

Data literacy is as crucial in today’s workforce as reading and writing were during the Industrial Revolution. Qlik provides a wide range of free data literacy resources, including various courses available through a consortium with other companies. For organizations looking to enhance their employees’ skills, Qlik offers tailored programs designed in collaboration with Chief Data Officers.

QLIK: DELIVERING DATA TO INSIGHTS TO ACTIONS TO FORESIGHT

The availability of various data sources makes gaining a unified and comprehensive view of a business complex, and integrating data from diverse systems and formats is incredibly challenging for SMBs and midmarket enterprises with limited resources. Recognizing this challenge, Qlik provides a solution that empowers organizations to conduct cross-functional analyses, unveiling hidden insights and correlations that may otherwise remain concealed in data silos.

A Techaisle SMB and Midmarket adoption trends study of over 5100 SMBs and midmarket firms found that managed services are a priority for 79% of SMBs and 97% of upper midmarket firms. Worldwide spending on managed services by SMBs and midmarket firms is estimated to reach US$104B in 2024. Data from the last five years also shows an increasing overlap between managed and cloud consulting services, with a growing need for cloud cost optimization, security and compliance, and cloud and storage optimization. In the final analysis, Techaisle expects strong growth for managed services as it directly supports critical business and IT needs.

The adoption of managed services is driven by several key factors. These include improving IT security and management processes, proactively identifying and fixing problems, reducing IT and business risks, and enhancing disaster recovery and business continuity readiness. However, the focus of demand for managed services is shifting from infrastructure management to areas such as core security and application management, business process automation, cloud management, analytics, AI, edge and observability management.