From enterprise to SME: Technology to deliver business value

The small to medium business sector has emerged as an enticing market for many ICT solution providers. Even those vendors that were traditionally focused on the enterprise market are increasingly tailoring their products to address the specific requirements of this sector. One such vendor is Sun Microsystems. The result is that smaller companies today enjoy the benefits of advanced technology systems that were previously the preserve of their larger counterparts.

"Traditionally focused on the enterprise, recent developments at Sun have resulted in the delivery of highly competent solutions that are aimed at a specialist provider of business solutions to this market sector, the SME market," says Raymond Wright, Managing Director of Network Alliance.

These solutions include servers based on AMD processors which provide many features that have been drawn from Sun's capability in the enterprise market.

"Along with alliance partners like Oracle, Microsoft, Symantec and Veritas - some of which are names that were previously exclusively associated with enterprise technology - Sun is bringing highly competent and very affordable solutions to market," continues Wright.

Even software that was restricted to big business is now within the reach of small companies; Wright is particularly enthusiastic about Microsoft's CRM solution, which he says can deliver value in organisations with as little as five users.

He notes that most SME organisations are price-sensitive and are demanding when it comes to technology investments. "Recent research into our client base indicates that small and midsize companies are cautious about devoting their financial resources to IT. Some 88% indicate that IT spend must go hand-in-hand with the business value to be gained."

Wright says Sun offerings like its V20Z server have been very well accepted in the SME market. "This is a dual-processor machine that ships fully equipped with Windows 2003 Server or Small Business Server and is priced at below R20 000 - well within the reach of companies of between 10 and 75 employees."

Small companies are not only benefiting from technology that is more accessible than ever before. Wright says resellers are developing innovative financing solutions to help entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to grow their businesses.

"SMEs who are also looking for one-stop solutions that include implementation, support and services are benefiting greatly from advances in the technology industry, and the changing business models of some of the big vendors. In SA this is of particular benefit, and can help further stimulate what has become a vibrant economy," he concludes.