Techaisle Blog

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.

SMBs are increasingly dependent on information technology. Techaisle SMB (1-999 employees) survey found that 78% of small (1-99 employees) businesses and 97% of midmarket (100-999 employees) businesses consider technology to be “somewhat” or “very important” to their success, and 28% of small and 43% of midmarket firms report that they have become more dependent on technology over the past 12 months. These SMBs deal with an ever-expanding portfolio of increasingly-complex applications and platform technologies. At the same time, these firms are struggling to rein in IT-related expenditures, including staff-related costs. This combination of increased reliance on technology as a critical element of business success, burgeoning complexity, and cost constraint has created a ‘perfect storm’ for using managed services.

Building an effective managed services channel is a long and complex undertaking. On the positive side, many channel members participate in managed service delivery today, and longer-term trends indicate that a sizable proportion of the channel community will develop managed services specializations. There is also compelling evidence that buyers need and value managed services and that this need has been growing over the past five years and will continue to increase. However, the data also shows that channel firms need help transitioning from delivering some managed services to building viable businesses on a managed services model. To be successful, vendors will need to set objectives spanning the three-year period over which the managed services specialization will emerge and invest in the tactics (and execution excellence) required to support partners through this period.

Dell’s recent enhancements to its security portfolio address midmarket companies' specific security concerns and goals. Dell has significantly expanded its security portfolio with in-house capabilities and partnerships to enhance its threat protection, management, and incident response capabilities. The company’s new additions are crucial in addressing mid-market businesses' security challenges. According to Techaisle data, cybersecurity prevention investments are the highest technology priority for core and upper midmarket firms. With an average spending increase of 8.6%, 64% of midmarket firms are boosting their investments in cybersecurity solutions. The main reason for this spending increase is advanced threats and the rise of remote working, as reported by 61% of firms. In today's digital environment, cyberattacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated, posing a threat to companies of all sizes. The traditional approach to security revolved around building higher cyber walls, hoping that no one would cross them. However, in the last ten years, attackers have found ways to breach these walls, making it necessary to have preventive strategies in place. Businesses must therefore prepare for the possibility of breaches and their potential impacts. Consequently, they must have a comprehensive security portfolio that offers end-to-end protection – from detecting and preventing threats to minimizing the damage in the event of a breach and helping users recover their data.

Mid-market enterprises are particularly susceptible to cyberattacks due to their limited resources compared to larger organizations. They face the same challenges as their larger counterparts but require more resources to defend themselves. To address these challenges, mid-market businesses need a security portfolio that can protect their operations from cyberattacks and minimize the risk of financial and reputational damage, especially as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated. This article examines how recent updates to Dell’s security solutions portfolio can help mid-market businesses navigate the evolving threat landscape and enhance their protection capabilities.

Technology advances daily; how can SMB IT resources and processes keep pace? In March 2023, Dell announced its Dell APEX Managed Device Service subscription to help SMBs and midmarket firms keep devices secure and up-to-date. Dell APEX Managed Device Service is available to buy as a month-to-month subscription at $70 per device for SMBs. Techaisle data shows that 83% of SMBs are prioritizing outsourcing their device, security, and overall IT management. At the same time, 62% are increasing their use of as-a-Service technology adoption. With Dell APEX Managed Device Service, SMBs have peace of mind knowing their IT needs are handled with Dell’s industry-leading IT management and support capabilities. From PC management to device security to expert Dell support, all in a flexible monthly subscription, this newest addition to the Dell APEX lineup delivers the immediate value small businesses need to focus on growing their business, not managing IT.

SMBs increasingly depend on information technology and deal with an ever-expanding portfolio of increasingly complex applications and platform technologies. At the same time, these firms are struggling to rein in IT-related expenditures, including staff-related costs. This combination of increased reliance on technology as a critical element of business success, burgeoning complexity, and cost constraint has created a ‘perfect storm’ for using managed services, especially services covering devices and security. As a result, managed services has become an increasingly important force within the SMB IT portfolio because its key attributes tie directly to business and IT challenges. The reasons for this intense (and growing) interest in service delivery are varied and compelling. The top two issues are “to keep IT costs under control” (49%) and “improve security” (38%).