Techaisle Blog

Zero Trust (ZT) is a concept that, while not universally recognized, holds significant relevance in many organizations, particularly within the mid-market sector. Techaisle’s SMB and Midmarket Security Adoption Trends research shows that Its awareness is relatively low in the small business segment, with a mere 8% familiarity. However, this awareness escalates within larger organizations, reaching 46% in core midmarket businesses (100-999 employees) and 69% in upper midmarket businesses (1000-4999 employees). This trend intensifies when examining the perceived importance of ZT among those aware of it. Only 29% of small businesses regard ZT as more than “moderately important,” whereas a staggering 90% of core midmarket and 93% of upper midmarket firms deem Zero Trust as “important” or “very important.”

About 30% of upper midmarket organizations are engaged in Zero Trust (ZT) access projects. In contrast, 45% of small businesses, compared to a mere 1%-2% of midmarket firms, have no immediate plans to implement ZT access. The data reveals that a significant number of businesses have initiated the deployment of ZT access solutions: 86% of upper midmarket firms, 69% of core midmarket organizations, and 42% of small businesses.

Balancing Immediate Needs with Proactive Planning: Zero Trust Drivers for Different SMB Segments

Cutting-edge midmarket companies are embracing a variety of adoption drivers in response to Zero Trust’s (ZT) capabilities. These capabilities resonate with executives addressing immediate needs, adapting to alterations in their IT landscapes, and proactively forecasting future demands. As with most business decisions, leadership teams carve out paths to success that align best with corporate requirements. ZT stands out for its unique ability to cater to a spectrum, or even a blend, of diverse motivations.

Not long ago, channel partners tended to fall into two camps: those primarily engaged in transaction-client relationships and those who believed (or wished to believe) that their customer relationships were consultative and advisory.

Today, the channel window has changed. Forget the “trusted advisor” moniker; become a “success partner” because shared risk agreements are reshaping the channel landscape.

Shared Risk, Shared Success: The New Channel Paradigm

Techaisle has seen a rise in outcome-based relationships – in which customers define their target objective (rather than issuing an RFP detailing a specific set of products) – and shared risk agreements, in which the client contracts for a specific outcome (often, one which is tied in some way to financial metrics), where the partner is paid on achievement of the goal rather than delivery of a bundle of technology.

Techaisle’s recent Channel Survey confirms that this migration is well underway. Across all 2,115 channel partners, more than 45% describe their current “relationship philosophy” as outcome-based or shared risk. These new relationship models are best established in the MSP community, where shared risk is a primary philosophy for more than one-third of the survey’s MSPs, with an additional 23% reporting that they primarily engage in outcome-focused agreements.

Shared risk is also a critical relationship model for SIs. This seems like a logical step forward; SIs have often been targets of complaints about solution timeliness or completeness, and a shared-risk agreement helps forestall these potential objections. In contrast, VARs are only half as likely as SIs to pursue shared risk agreements; they are far more likely than any other channel group to establish transactional relationships.

The End of "Trusted Advisor"? Why Channel Partners Must Embrace Shared Risk for Mutual Success

There are few more cherished channel objectives than attaining the position of being a 'trusted advisor' to clients. The phrase connotes a relationship rooted in respect, where the channel partner provides sage counsel to clients who rely on the partner for technology and strategy. Channel partners who act as trusted advisors can direct client attention and investments in ways that enhance the long-term relationship between supplier and buyer.

Users recognize the value of advisory services. More than three-quarters believe that there is a real advantage in a supplier's ability to respond to business pain points with helpful advice. 71% report that a partner that "listens to business needs and guides a customer towards the right technology solution" provides a vital service. Nearly two-thirds believe that a firm that "shares vision and partnership with both IT and business units" facilitates outcomes important to supplier selection.

2024 will focus on metrics, not manuals, resulting in the rise of customer-centric channel strategies. The year will also center around data, not dials, and the imperative of winning in the new era of AI, partner collaboration, and ecosystem commerce. The partners will be compelled to move from silos to symphony by orchestrating the ecosystem to meet customer demands for AI and as-a-service. The Techaisle channel survey shows that the partner community members are searching for a roadmap to success. That roadmap will vary across partner models, as will the opportunities and requirements for suppliers. This shift will be driven by the rise of AI and ROI, which have made prioritizing metrics that align with business outcomes essential. Once again, vendor disintermediation will be real. The reseller channel will be under pressure as it explores different business models, product mixes, and strenuous demands for new skills and service capabilities. Techaisle partner predictions rely on extensive research with over 5000 partners leveraging a panel of over 300K partners. Here are the top 2024 top 10 channel partner predictions.

In 2021, we predicted that AI would permeate small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and midmarket firms, not as an independent solution but as an integral feature within other products. As SMBs fully comprehend the inherent nature of AI, they will increasingly seek AI-powered solutions to prescribe actions that mitigate risks and enhance decision-making, business agility, and innovation proactively.

We also predicted that AI technology would evolve so rapidly that by the time SMBs become comfortable with data-driven decision-making, AI would be executing decisions that might be beyond the comprehension of business executives. The challenge with AI would shift from trusting data over intuition to trusting AI when insights into its decision-making process are not readily available in the cloud applications used by SMBs and midmarket firms. We expect this trend to continue into 2024.

After surveying over 3000 SMBs and midmarket firms, Techaisle has announced its top 10 SMB and midmarket predictions for 2024. There is intense market pressure on SMB and midmarket executives to deliver tangible progress towards – and benefits from – application innovation and digital business. At least some of this results from a worldwide fascination with Generative AI and its anticipated potential to transform nearly any function it might apply to. Gen-AI offers significant potential for SMBs and midmarket firms to enhance their operations and drive innovation. By leveraging this technology effectively, these businesses can improve efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

In 2024, SMBs and Midmarket business and technology leaders will maintain a practical perspective as they move into the digital future powered by AI. SMBs will invest in AI-infused, AI-embedded, tailor-made technology solutions to streamline operations and expand their customer base. To improve manageability, reduce complexity, and limit sprawl, pragmatism will overtake progressiveness. Technology choice and deployment complexity will create purchase inertia, empowering SMBs to seek suppliers capable of supporting a roadmap from the current state to a future-ready organization. SMBs will look for proof points in AI solutions that deliver tangible benefits within their environment. SMBs will adjust their own pricing strategies and implement cost-control measures. Labor shortages will prompt them to invest in employee training and retention initiatives to ensure smooth operations and efficiency. Additionally, SMBs will opt for proactive supply chain management and diversification strategies to minimize disruptions and exploit growth opportunities.

Here are Techaisle’s top 10 SMB and Midmarket predictions for 2024.