Techaisle Blog

As part of SMB Compass Series, Techaisle has just released a free and detailed report on Salesforce for SMBs – Advantages, Limitations & Competitor comparisons. The report is focused on Salesforce solution portfolio for SMBs and acts as guidance for SMBs deciding to use CRM solutions and planning to use Salesforce solutions as well as competitor solutions. The report has been compiled based on deep discussions with SMBs using Salesforce, partners providing Salesforce implementation for SMBs and Techaisle global cloud surveys. The report covers Salesforce Cloud, SalesforceIQ, Salesforce Analytics Cloud, Salesfroce Pardot and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Salesforce has been leading the charge in cloud CRM and has been adding product offerings to its portfolio to provide end-to-end solution attracting, managing & retaining customers. Survey data also shows that within the US, Salesforce appears within top 10 cloud vendors as mentioned by SMBs. 

Click on the report cover image to download the report

Table of Contents is given below

Techaisle’s worldwide SMB & Midmarket cloud adoption surveys show that 38% of small businesses and 48% of midmarket firms are planning to use cloud CRM in the next 12 months. Data also shows that there is a very strong correlation between top business issues for 2017 and use of CRM. Within midmarket firms, improving effectiveness of sales & marketing is the second top business issue and fourth from the top for overall SMBs. In addition, attracting & retaining new customers /improving customer satisfaction is the 2nd most important business issue for SMBs.

SMB Cloud is no longer a trend that is discrete from mainstream IT. Data presented in Techaisle’s cloud reports shows that cloud is viewed as an IT priority by 96% of US SMBs, by over 85% of European SMBs and nearly 65% of Asia/Pacific SMBs. Within Asia/Pacific if very small businesses are excluded then cloud as a priority jumps substantially. Cloud is not a future issue – it has become an essential component of SMB IT and is the new IT reality. Techaisle’s surveys of SMBs not only found a strong link between cloud and IT – it also found a strong link between cloud, IT and business success. The research data shows that technology is viewed as critical to the success of SMB businesses and that cloud provides a compelling response to SMB business issues and cloud also addresses constraints within the SMB market.

SMBs are sometimes seen as small fish in a pond that is also home to much larger creatures. They are subject to tides and actions that tend to derail their businesses and are strongly felt: when business lags, when orders grow sparse, when supplier costs increase, when the competitive environment changes. Cloud offers direct relief for several of these business pressures.

In 360 on US SMB & Midmarket Security solutions adoption trends report, Techaisle analyzes survey responses from over 1,100 US SMBs to provide the insight needed to build and execute on IT security marketing strategies for the small and midmarket customer segments. Survey shows that overall, spending on security products by small businesses as flat but spending by midmarket firms is on a strong upward trajectory. Most SMBs rely on core security practices and technologies to address cloud-specific threats, but many are underinvested in cloud security solutions. Data encryption and security for virtual environments are particularly primed for growth. Mobile device security, gateway messaging/web security, and (as noted above) virtualization security as high-growth opportunities for security-as-a-service providers.

Techaisle’s research investigated 17 different types of IT security solutions. Techaisle positions these as belonging to one of four categories-

1. Protection of data entering the corporate environment
2. Protection of data that is being used within the corporate environment
3. Protection of the mobile environment
4. Traffic inspection and management

Highlights of findings from the survey include:

For the last decade Techaisle has been providing a unique and an unparalleled perspective on SMBs & Channel partners – deeply-rooted in data and industry knowledge, thereby enabling IT suppliers shape their market strategy.

Techaisle is the only SMB & Channel partner focused research organization that is helping clients in:

• connecting-the-dots across technology areas and their relevance to end-customers
• identifying SMB routes-to-market
• understanding infrastructure solution trends in the face of growing cloud adoption
• showcasing IT suppliers’ thought leadership and promoting through email marketing
• establishing insights into competitive positioning

Each of the below – from Connecting the Dots to Competitive Positioning – has been a point of engagement with Techaisle - through Annual Subscription services, Advisory Services or Custom Primary Research.

Techaisle has not only been a leader in providing thought leadership but has also been a leader in identifying trends much ahead of others who really become fast-followers.

Clients leverage a respondent network of over 900,000 ITDMs and BDMs and 250,000 channel partners in over 20 countries for their custom primary research and marketing outreach requirements.

Through Techaisle’s industry leading research, the annual subscription services have been fulfilling need for clear insight into evolving solution areas needed by both established and emerging suppliers. Clients are able to access market research reports, newsletters, perspectives and white papers for use within the entire organization.

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