July 27, 2009, 10:04 AM — The number of small-medium businesses in the world is expected to reach 330 million in 2014. Outside North America these smaller enterprises (98% of which employ fewer than 100 people) account for more than 90% of all businesses. Many of these firms are candidates for Wi-Fi networking; but according to a recent study from ABI Research, vendors addressing these markets must take regional conditions and tastes into account.
“When it comes to opportunities in wireless LAN equipment markets, these international SMBs represent the greenest of remaining green fields,” comments ABI Research vice president Stan Schatt. “The winning vendors will be those that develop equipment that meets the particular needs of those companies, at acceptable price points. Small businesses demand products that are designed specifically for them. You can’t just repackage enterprise products.”
In Europe, the best SMB opportunities for WLAN equipment vendors are services companies with 20-99 employees. Eastern Europe is particularly attractive: Russia and Poland have very high PC penetration but their wired infrastructure is not as developed as in Western Europe.
The most intriguing SMB WLAN equipment opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region is India. In particular, there is a predominance of very small manufacturing companies that are green field targets for WLANs as their only network, since Ethernet cabling is not widespread.
In Latin America, where ABI Research believes the Wi-Fi penetration rate is still only around 25% in mid-sized businesses, the opportunity is found not just in the services sector, but in industrial settings as well.
“The Mobile SMB and Wi-Fi” is the first study to segment the global SMB market by employee size while also providing vertical market segmentation and actionable suggestions on how to attack specific segments of this market. It identifies the SMB market segments that are most likely to grow the fastest in specific regions of the world and offers channel-specific advice. The report leverages two key primary research surveys which ABI conducted, as well as interviews with leading vendors.
It is part of two ABI Research Services, Wi-Fi and Business Mobility, which also include other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, ABI Vendor Matrices, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support.
ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through research and advisory services in eight key practice areas. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
