What is an SMB?

An SMB, which stands for small and medium-sized businesses, is a category of businesses that typically has less than 249 employees and annual revenues of up to $50 million. Collectively, SMBs make up a majority of businesses and, according to Gartner, account for 44% of all business technology expenditures.

Every SMB is unique, although most share some common characteristics. For example, SMBs are typically flat and lean, meaning they don't have the same organizational hierarchy of larger businesses and may not have developed financial resources to draw from. This allows them to be agile and make quick decisions, as well as potentially tough customers to sell to. Additionally, SMBs can be more vulnerable to fluctuations in the economy - a downturn may mean immediate tight cash flows.

SMBs also have unique IT needs and challenges. Limited IT staff means they may not have the expertise needed to support new, complex technologies.Additionally, budget constraints might mean they are slow to upgrade aging hardware and software.

Vendors wishing to do business with SMBs should keep these characteristics in mind when crafting product offerings.