IT vendors in Singapore love to target the SMEs (Small Medium Enterprise) in Singapore due to the sheer volume of SMEs here.
I learned that targeting SMEs here require a special understanding of the environment, especially when it comes to IT solutions
SMEs are defined as enterprise with less than 200 staff and annual revenue of not more than SGD2 million dollars.
The sheer number of Singapore makes the industry a "honey pot" for any IT vendors.
There are 216,900 enterprises in Singapore and 99% are made up of SMES and they contribute close to half of the S$367.00 billion nominal value created.
While targeting SMEs is a must, I have experienced some the challenges around the way and look to share with readers here.
Challenge 1: SMEs may not have a dedicated IT person
It is impossible for SMEs to avoid having any IT today as the Internet has made IT a must have. In my discussions with SMEs, it came to a surprise that most SMEs don't have a IT person to take care of their IT, but rather a person who will be in charge of it.
The person, most likely to be in charge of IT, would be, surprisingly, is the finance/admin/operations manager who is in charge of purchasing IT solutions. Or it could be somebody who is happen to be good at computers.
There was a case where the company's IT went down for three hours because the person in charge removed a port connection to the switch and placed it back into the wrong hole, but insisted he was right.
Challenge 2: SMEs depend on local trends rather forward thinking
Most of these SMEs get their information from major tech news rather than forward thinking.
The recent Wannacry ransomware issue, reported in major newspapers, created a major spike in interest in security solutions only after it happened.
Prior to the incident, interest in security was a mere passing thought and most SMEs would go, "Nay, it won't happen to me".
Challenge 3: SMEs really depend on their SIs/resellers, not direct
As they do not have a dedicated IT person in charge, most SMEs depend on their trusted system integrators (SIs) or resellers for their IT solution.
SIs have their preferred brands they carry and so IT vendors need to really incentivise these SIs/Reselelrs to push their solutions to the SMEs.
The obvious reason that SMEs don't have a dedicated IT person means that going direct is not the right option. This is because the SMEs do not the knowledge to choose the right IT solution for their requirement.
Such SMEs also wouldn't dare download free solutions as they, not only wouldn't know what to do with it, but also wouldn't want to take a risk to try something on their own.
As such, the best way to target SMEs is through the SIs and resellers, though this could cut into your margins.
I learned that targeting SMEs here require a special understanding of the environment, especially when it comes to IT solutions
SMEs are defined as enterprise with less than 200 staff and annual revenue of not more than SGD2 million dollars.
The sheer number of Singapore makes the industry a "honey pot" for any IT vendors.
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| Source: http://www.singstat.gov.sg |
While targeting SMEs is a must, I have experienced some the challenges around the way and look to share with readers here.
Challenge 1: SMEs may not have a dedicated IT person
It is impossible for SMEs to avoid having any IT today as the Internet has made IT a must have. In my discussions with SMEs, it came to a surprise that most SMEs don't have a IT person to take care of their IT, but rather a person who will be in charge of it.
The person, most likely to be in charge of IT, would be, surprisingly, is the finance/admin/operations manager who is in charge of purchasing IT solutions. Or it could be somebody who is happen to be good at computers.
There was a case where the company's IT went down for three hours because the person in charge removed a port connection to the switch and placed it back into the wrong hole, but insisted he was right.
Challenge 2: SMEs depend on local trends rather forward thinking
Most of these SMEs get their information from major tech news rather than forward thinking.
The recent Wannacry ransomware issue, reported in major newspapers, created a major spike in interest in security solutions only after it happened.
Prior to the incident, interest in security was a mere passing thought and most SMEs would go, "Nay, it won't happen to me".
Challenge 3: SMEs really depend on their SIs/resellers, not direct
As they do not have a dedicated IT person in charge, most SMEs depend on their trusted system integrators (SIs) or resellers for their IT solution.
SIs have their preferred brands they carry and so IT vendors need to really incentivise these SIs/Reselelrs to push their solutions to the SMEs.
The obvious reason that SMEs don't have a dedicated IT person means that going direct is not the right option. This is because the SMEs do not the knowledge to choose the right IT solution for their requirement.
Such SMEs also wouldn't dare download free solutions as they, not only wouldn't know what to do with it, but also wouldn't want to take a risk to try something on their own.
As such, the best way to target SMEs is through the SIs and resellers, though this could cut into your margins.
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