SMBs could be on wrong side of new digital divide

SMBs could be on wrong side of new digital divide: EMC survey

Survey finds almost two-thirds find it tough to find suitable technology solutions

Auckland, 22 September 2011 – Local small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) believe they are being overlooked when it comes to technology solutions, according to a survey conducted by EMC Australia and New Zealand.

The survey, which canvassed opinions from more than 1,000 SMB IT decision makers in Australia and New Zealand, found 62 per cent found it difficult to find suitable solutions for their business needs.

According to the survey, SMBs believed they were often disregarded in favour of larger, enterprise businesses when it came to better pricing, understanding and product design.

Of the New Zealand SMBs that took part in the survey:

- More than 72 per cent believed enterprises received more favourable pricing arrangements when buying technology solutions
- Only 10 per cent firmly believed that technology solutions were developed with SMB needs in mind
- 65 per cent were not satisfied with the customer service offered to SMBs
- Almost 34 per cent felt IT vendors were listening to feedback from SMBs
Overall better pricing was what SMBs in Australia and New Zealand most wanted from technology companies, with 34 per cent of respondents citing it as their number one need. Other important considerations included improved technology suitability (31 per cent), better understanding of the SMB market (30 per cent) and better responsiveness to SMB queries (5 per cent).

Mark Oakey, Marketing Manager, Storage Platforms, EMC Australia and New Zealand, said the findings come as SMBs increasingly have to meet a broad range of technology challenges from data growth, complexity and cost.

“The findings are particularly worrying as SMBs face similar technology challenges to large businesses but have fewer resources to cope,” Oakey said.

“Technology is supposed to enable smaller organisations to be competitive with larger businesses; however this won’t be the case if the solutions don’t meet their needs or simply cost too much. We need to address this before it creates a digital divide between large, mid-sized and small businesses.”

EMC announced today that it was launching its own offerings for SMBs, including new education and marketing programs, as well as extensions to pricing and solutions to its SMB offering in Australia and New Zealand.

Announcements include:

- New Zealand roll-out of its integrated virtualisation solutions for SMBs, vCOMPLETE. vCOMPLETE includes best-of-breed technologies from EMC, Cisco and VMware that can be implemented as a single solution. A range of vCOMPLETE solutions are now available to customers in New Zealand. More information on vCOMPLETE solutions can be found at: www.vcomplete.com.au

- SMB price-ready program for the world’s simplest unified storage system, VNXe. The VNXe series is designed for businesses that have growing storage needs but are time poor. As part of the EMC SMB program, the VNXe series is offered at a competitive price with additional storage capacity and local protection for free. More information on VNXe can be found at: http://australia.emc.com/products/series/vnxe-series.htm

- Launch of online information resource exclusive for SMBs. EMC Knowledge Connect will provide SMBs with up-to-date reports from leading industry analysts about key IT issues, case studies from across the globe highlighting real challenges and solutions, and time with respected technology experts via web casts and events in their city. For more information about Knowledge Connect, visit: http://emcknowledge.com/

“This range of solutions delivers more specifically-focussed SMB solutions that are designed to deliver business outcomes relevant to SMBs, offering them better value and simplifying operations” Oakey said.

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About EMC
EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyse their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

- More than 72 per cent believed enterprises received more favourable pricing arrangements when buying technology solutions
-
-
- Only 10 per cent firmly believed that technology solutions were developed with SMB needs in mind
-
-
- 65 per cent were not satisfied with the customer service offered to SMBs
-
-
- Almost 34 per cent felt IT vendors were listening to feedback from SMBs
-
-
Overall better pricing was what SMBs in Australia and New Zealand most wanted from technology companies, with 34 per cent of respondents citing it as their number one need. Other important considerations included improved technology suitability (31 per cent), better understanding of the SMB market (30 per cent) and better responsiveness to SMB queries (5 per cent).

Mark Oakey, Marketing Manager, Storage Platforms, EMC Australia and New Zealand, said the findings come as SMBs increasingly have to meet a broad range of technology challenges from data growth, complexity and cost.

“The findings are particularly worrying as SMBs face similar technology challenges to large businesses but have fewer resources to cope,” Oakey said.

“Technology is supposed to enable smaller organisations to be competitive with larger businesses; however this won’t be the case if the solutions don’t meet their needs or simply cost too much. We need to address this before it creates a digital divide between large, mid-sized and small businesses.”

EMC announced today that it was launching its own offerings for SMBs, including new education and marketing programs, as well as extensions to pricing and solutions to its SMB offering in Australia and New Zealand.

Announcements include:

- New Zealand roll-out of its integrated virtualisation solutions for SMBs, vCOMPLETE. vCOMPLETE includes best-of-breed technologies from EMC, Cisco and VMware that can be implemented as a single solution. A range of vCOMPLETE solutions are now available to customers in New Zealand. More information on vCOMPLETE solutions can be found at: www.vcomplete.com.au

-
-
- SMB price-ready program for the world’s simplest unified storage system, VNXe. The VNXe series is designed for businesses that have growing storage needs but are time poor. As part of the EMC SMB program, the VNXe series is offered at a competitive price with additional storage capacity and local protection for free. More information on VNXe can be found at: http://australia.emc.com/products/series/vnxe-series.htm

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-
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- Launch of online information resource exclusive for SMBs. EMC Knowledge Connect will provide SMBs with up-to-date reports from leading industry analysts about key IT issues, case studies from across the globe highlighting real challenges and solutions, and time with respected technology experts via web casts and events in their city. For more information about Knowledge Connect, visit: http://emcknowledge.com/

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“This range of solutions delivers more specifically-focussed SMB solutions that are designed to deliver business outcomes relevant to SMBs, offering them better value and simplifying operations” Oakey said.

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