Leader: What SMEs need

Are small and medium-sized enterprises the most misunderstood segment of the IT industry?

Perhaps that's going too far but they are certainly a conundrum to the major IT vendors. Every few years, it seems, the big guns come out and say they will be focusing on this area - with mixed success at best.

It's this recurring trend that's prompted us to dedicate a new silicon.com special report to SME procurement - how small businesses buy and use IT.

It's no wonder everyone wants to be friends with SMEs. Whereas there are only so many multinationals to penetrate, the small fry are plentiful. In the UK, between 98 and 99 per cent of all businesses employ fewer than 50 people, according to figure from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Moving up the ladder, mid-sized companies are expected to be spending big on IT over the next three years and outsourcing their IT operations in increasing numbers.

Of course, which segment of the market you are looking at makes a big difference. For our special report, we've defined a SME as under 1,000 employees. But when possible we've broken that up, as the needs of organisations of 20 are considerably different to those of a company with 500 people.

If there's any theme we've encountered, it's that vendors and consultants targeting smaller organisations need to be more sensitive to just how different SMEs' IT wants and needs are to big businesses.

In an analysis piece by silicon.com contributor Danny Bradbury, we look at who makes the IT buying decisions at the smallest businesses (hint: it's not someone with a lot of tech-savvy). This means IT vendors need to make their pitches understandable and convincing to an FD or MD.

When it comes to getting IT buying advice, SMEs trust themselves and the press more than consultants and vendors. Which big-names vendors - from Microsoft to BT - SMEs value most and least is covered in a piece by contributor Ben King.

King also takes an in-depth look at the trend towards outsourcing ecommerce - a popular option for SMEs but also for larger companies who think of online selling as a sideline business.

And last but not least we must highlight the viewpoint of our resident Devil's Advocate, Martin Brampton, on the topic: what the big guns don't get about SMEs.

Stay tuned for more news and views in coming weeks about small businesses IT procurement in our special report.