CV_Jan_22

By Martin Vilaboy According to some estimates, there are more than 15,000 SaaS companies around the world competing for the attention of business decision makers. And once any attention has been gained, the targeted business can choose to purchase a SaaS solution directly from the software vendor, or they can be redirected to the vendor’s indirect channel. They can purchase the software as part of a bundle from their ISP or telecom provider, or they could engage a trusted technology advisor, such as a value-added reseller or managed service provider. A new report put out by AppSmart, as a follow-up to a similar 2017 report, sheds some light on how and from where small and mid-sized business are finding, buying, using and best benefitting from cloud-based business applications. And with all things being equal, it turns out things are not equal in terms of results and return on investment. As far as the top reasons an SMB chooses to work with their primary source of software, knowledge, customer service and support and an easy buying process take the top three spots on the list, shows findings from the survey, which was conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of AppSmart. Trust that the provider/ vendor understands the SMB’s needs, as well as the expectation for lower costs come in a close fourth and fifth. “For any providers attempting to convince SMBs that they can’t trust competing SaaS sellers, the findings show this tactic seldom works,” said AppSmart researchers. SMBs put “lack of trust in other providers” last in the list of reasons for choosing a SaaS partner. Similarly, providers cannot assume that SMBs will continue to buy from them because of the inherent barriers or “headaches” to switching providers. AT YOUR SERVICE: XaaS How SMBs are buying and benefitting from cloud business apps THE SaaS SALES JOURNEY 20 CHANNELV ISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2022

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