IDC's Worldwide Small and Medium Business Markets program provides an extensive overview of the business priorities, challenges, and technology ecosystems of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) across the globe. The program's survey work and the lead analyst’s experience and perspective from covering the SMB market for more than a dozen years provide rich business and technology insights, identifying and guiding SMB success in today's rapidly changing business environment. Key to these segment insights are the use of IDC's advanced segmentation factors including by region, business and technology personas and challenges, investment priorities, and industry verticals.

IDC's Worldwide Small and Medium Business Markets program provides benchmarks and practical guidance on SMB business goals, objectives, and outcomes including acquiring new customers, controlling costs, and increasing operating productivity. This program provides an expert understanding of SMB technology procurement processes and benchmarks across key technology categories including security, mobility strategies, cloud adoption, business applications adoption, and infrastructure innovation.

• Key SMB advanced segmentation factors and critical concerns
• SMB U.S. technology spending update including regional comparisons
• SMB cloud computing and software-as-a-service use/plans
• SMB use cases of emerging technologies
• Enterprise software and key business applications (CRM, ERP, and analytics), including deployment method and mobile access
• Online promotion and ecommerce, including mobile optimization
• IT services, including remote/hosting services, networking services, application services, infrastructure services, and BPO
• Device/peripheral trends, including the changing use of tablets, smartphones, notebook PCs, printers, and related BYOD practices
• Purchase process (channel preferences and information sources)
• Networks, servers, storage, virtualization, and UC capabilities

• 2022 U.S. Buyer Behavior Snapshot
• Prosumer Priorities, Plans, and Challenges
• U.S. SMB Market Profile Update 2023
• SMB Digital Transformation Update
• Worldwide SMB Market Profile Update 2023
• SMB Technology Spending Outlook
• Worldwide SMB Cybersecurity Update
• Worldwide SMB Forward-Looking Technology Capabilities
• Worldwide SMB eCommerce Capability Profile Snapshot
• Worldwide SMB Business and Technology Priority Snapshot
• Worldwide SMB Remote Workforce Update

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

1. What advanced SMB attributes/demographics are key to better buyer personas when used with employee sizes and revenue?
2. What socioeconomic factors are impacting SMBs the most, and how are they reacting to these factors? How are changing SMB technology and business priorities driving changes in hardware, software, and services spending as well as in the deployment method?
3. How are channel preferences changing SMB technology sourcing preferences and the role of service providers, and how are SMBs researching technology investments?
4. How are SMBs relying on different support solutions, including full-time IT staff, to manage their diverse IT environments?
5. When does an SMB become big enough for a given solution, and how is that changing.
6. How fast is the SMB market growing worldwide by company size category, technology category, and region?

Advanced business resources: ERP, CRM, and sales force automation (SFA); notebook PCs, smartphones, and tablets as part of mobile worker enablement; desktop PC and workstation ownership and purchase plans; and critical current and planned internet/online promotion resources