There is a widespread perception in the IT industry that the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are very different from those of larger businesses.
Smaller budgets and restricted resources are typically cited as unique pressures faced by SME IT managers.
But the technology priorities for small businesses are actually very similar to those of their bigger counterparts, according to Computing’s exclusive ImageTrak 2005 research.
The annual ImageTrak survey asked 4,347 IT managers and 839 finance managers to rate their biggest IT concerns.
Analysis of the answers, which are broken down for the first time here into a comparison of all organisations with small businesses – see graph, below – shows that IT priorities differ less than might have been expected. It is a message that IT vendors would do well to heed.
‘Broadly, analysis of IT concerns highlights consistency across organisation size,’ says James Burckhardt, Computing’s head of research.
‘The pressures of business and IT alignment and business continuity are consistent across all sizes of organisation, although obviously the nature and scale of these concerns is likely to vary more significantly by sector.’
Burckhardt adds that there are subtle differences that are important factors for IT vendors to be aware of.
‘One obvious and unsurprising conclusion is that the importance of regulation and compliance is significantly higher among mid-tier and large organisations,’ he says.
‘Interestingly, smaller organisations place particular emphasis on keeping abreast of new technology. This reflects the pressure of having smaller IT departments, and also reflect the reality that SMEs cannot rely on IT vendors to actively promote emerging technologies to smaller customers.’
John Bace, research vice president at analyst Gartner, says SME IT managers face the disadvantage of having fewer resources and staff, but also have some special benefits.
‘IT managers in small and midsize businesses should use their relationships and relative proximity to company executives to improve the IT department’s performance and enhance their job satisfaction,’ he says.
‘The size and scale of the SME environment enables IT managers better to appreciate the organisational dynamics and priorities, and to have a broader perspective on what the business is facing.’
And Bace suggests that working for smaller businesses is becoming an increasingly attractive career option for chief information officers (CIOs) from larger organisations.
‘Many CIOs at SMEs are upbeat about their ability to add value to the business.
‘Several joined from larger companies, partly because they knew they could make a more significant difference in a smaller business’s performance. This gives them greater job satisfaction.’ he says.
What SMEs say
On business attitudes to IT
‘Our biggest issue is gaining enough commitment and time from the business to work on IT projects.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
‘We can be included in top- level discussions yet ignored on a minor level. IT has a voice but whether it is acted upon is up for discussion.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
On IT suppliers
‘We have a good relationship with our suppliers. They are fully aware we don’t have huge amounts of money. The level of support is superb. They quote us a very good price and if we say we’ve seen it cheaper they will usually match or better it.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
‘They are not really interested in the smaller company. I had a problem when one of the computers had a virus, and finding somebody prepared to look at a standalone PC was almost impossible.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
On bespoke systems
‘If we can design a custom system for ourselves it means it has gone through an entire R&D project. It is far easier to acquire off the shelf than it is to go through all that.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
‘The advantage of off-the-shelf software is that we are able to use a product far more quickly. The disadvantage is having functionality beyond your needs.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
‘Designing your own software is time consuming and costly. But if you are taking applications off the shelf you are reliant on supplier updates.’
Company with fewer than 500 employees
Source: Computing/Oracle research 2006
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