Security, Infrastructure, and VoIP

Two new studies analyze the results of IDC's European Vertical Market survey, focusing on security, infrastructure, and voice and data convergence in the SMB market. Results from these studies highlight that, in addition to security, given the uncertain economic outlook, IT investments tend to focus on cost efficiencies. IDC's European Vertical Markets team new studies on the SMB market, analyze the results of IDC's European Vertical Market survey and focus on security, infrastructure, and voice and data convergence. Results from these studies highlight that, in addition to security, given the uncertain economic outlook, IT investments tend to focus on cost efficiencies. The optimization of IT infrastructure - server and storage consolidation, system virtualization, storage area network (SAN), and network-attached storage (NAS) - is also a key way of gaining efficiencies for SMBs.

Vendors should market infrastructure technologies as solutions, emphasizing the specific SMB needs that they can help to address, such as compliance requirements, cost savings, and flexibility, said Giuliana Folco, research VP, European Industry Solutions.

Analyzing survey results on the five aforementioned technology areas, this study shows that:

There is a strong connection between investments in these different infrastructure areas. 12.9 percent of companies have invested or are planning to invest in all technology areas. Vendors should leverage up-sell and cross-sell opportunities in SMBs that have already invested in some of the technology areas under examination. Innovation in SMBs does not come in silos.

Server and storage consolidation offer more opportunities than other technology areas, particularly in the U.K., Germany, and Spain.

The availability of new products in the iSCSI area is expected to strengthen the shift from DAS to networked storage, as iSCSI SAN ensures lower costs and simpler maintenance compared to other SAN technologies. It also does not require strong IT skills.

Survey results confirm that SMBs, especially midmarket companies, have been rather dynamic in terms of IT uptake of new technologies and adoption has been increasing alongside a greater awareness of what the IT market offers. In this context, voice and data convergence solutions have started to grow in acceptance.

Reduced costs and, more importantly, reduced complexity determined by the single point of accountability of VoIP deployments, are the two immediate elements that service providers that want to make the most of market opportunities in the SMB space must focus their marketing campaign on. Still, underlining the impact that VoIP has on overall productivity it is crucial to build on longer-term success,'' said Nina Bonagura, senior research analyst, IDC's European Vertical Markets service.