Yesterday I wrote about the Global Technology Study conducted by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) that explores the value of IT to small businesses as well as the challenges faced. This research identifies three major pain point areas:
(1) IT installation, maintenance and upgrade: Small businesses note that they dislike trail-ware and free-ware seeing these technology approaches as slowing their operations.
(2) Security and integrity of data: Keeping information safe is a critical concern for small businesses, but they also recognize that they don't have, and don't know how to effectively get, cost-effective IT security solutions.
(3) Finding information to solve problems: Small business owners and market experts do not see hardware and software vendors providing the information or solutions to solve either complicated or simple problems. This raises a huge issue for small businesses because they report that they don't have the necessary and dedicated IT staff that can effectively focus and address their everyday, let alson more serious, IT problems. Their fall back position is to go to the vendors who have supplied the technolgoy, but who they also see as a source or origin of their problem.
What's particularly interesting about these pain points is that the study shows that 50% of small businesses use few or no outside resources to address their IT challenges. If someone within the small business itself does not know how to install, maintain and update the hardware and software purchased, basic operations easily can be put at risk. Compounding this challenge is that small businesses don't typically identify and assign one person as the IT "solution leader" who is responsible for taking action.
Instead, small businesses look outside of themselves to other small businesses (people they may know in their industry) to serve as "role models" for helping them address their IT needs - whether it's advice on purchasing, trouble shooting and technical problem solving. Only 25% approach IT manufacturers for IT help and less than one-fourth report asking an IT consultant for help.
These low percentage responses leave the impression that small businesses lack trust in the organizations they buy from (typically) and the consultants that traditionally serve them. And, it also suggests that small businesses need a totally different IT approach like Innuity's software as a service offerings - seamless solutions that are simple to purchase and install and where maintenance is in the hands of the provider (Innuity).
Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO
We provide a computer security solution designed specifically for small businesses and we've had to refocus our marketing efforts.
We originally thought that every business owner already knows they need better security. However, we were wrong.
Our new shift has focused on educating business owners on the security threats they face and never even know about.
I found your information very helpful. Specifically the part about how they know they need better security but don't know how to get it.
Our solution is pre-configured for them so it's basically plug-n-play. We did it that way to appeal to those business owners who want to do it all themselves.
Posted by: Thomas J. Raef | September 12, 2007 at 04:10 PM