Between now and 2011, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) buying broadband access for the first time will fall year on year, as broadband penetration of SMEs approaches its limit. Growth in customer numbers will slow dramatically and competition will continue to drive prices down. As a result, the value of the SME market for broadband access will reach a peak, then start to shrink. At the same time, the increased broadband penetration in the SME market will fundamentally change the way companies buy telecoms and information technology (IT) services. Given the rising costs and increasing complexity of managing IT services in house, SMEs are already becoming more open to buying a range of managed IT, software and communications services.

An opportunity exists for broadband providers to drive new revenue growth through selling broadband managed services to SMEs. However, competition among providers of broadband managed services is increasing, customer requirements are exacting and establishing credibility can be a hurdle for providers to overcome.

Underpinned by a survey of SMEs across France, Germany and the UK, Strategies for Selling More to SMEs: analysis of demand for broadband managed services and service bundles reveals what kinds of broadband managed services SMEs are buying, what types they want to buy and how they prefer to buy these services. The report provides detailed forecasts of SME spend on broadband access and broadband managed services for five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), as well as for Western Europe as a whole, and recommends actions for various types of operator and service provider. Case studies of European and North American operators and service providers are included to illustrate how these companies are targeting the SME market for broadband managed services.

The report considers a range of managed service types, including:

- IP Centrex
- IP PBX
- other VoIP services
- IP VPNs
- Web-site hosting
- email
- Internet security (such as virus and spam protection and firewalls)
- data storage, archiving and back-up
- desktop management
- software as a service (SaaS, also known as managed software, on-demand software and application service provision (ASP))
- Web conferencing
- surveillance, monitoring and closed circuit TV.

Strategies for Selling More to SMEs: analysis of demand for broadband managed services and service bundles answers your key questions.

- How big is the SME market for broadband managed services?
- What types of broadband managed services are already being offered and what types do SMEs actually want?
- Will SMEs buy service bundles or do they prefer to buy services individually?
- Do operators need to provide fully integrated, own-brand managed services or is it sufficient for them to act as a channel for a third-party provider?
- What strategies can operators use to maximise revenue from SME broadband customers?

Who should read this report

- Broadband access network operators: identify opportunities to sell extra services to your SME customers.

- Broadband new entrants: understand the opportunity to capture market share.

- Established broadband providers: pinpoint strategies to help you defend market share and drive revenue.

- Wholesale providers: gain insight into the wholesale opportunity presented by broadband managed services.

- Software providers: understand the potential value of the market for software as a service and the opportunity to use broadband providers as a channel to customers.

- IT vendors, systems integrators and service providers: gain insight into the potential value of the networked IT service market and assess the possible threat to service revenue posed by broadband providers.

- Broadband resellers: learn which broadband managed services can be delivered as a simple resale proposition.

About the authors

Simon Sherrington (Analysys Associate) is an independent analyst with 13 years' experience of analysing and reporting on telecoms and Internet market trends, technologies and strategies. He was previously a Principal Analyst and Head of Custom Research for Analysys Research. In that capacity he delivered a range of bespoke market studies for individual clients. These encompassed market sizing and forecasting, benchmarking, market positioning and strategy consulting projects, as well as interview-based market research studies, in the areas of fixed and mobile telephony, Internet technologies and traditional data services. He also developed a range of multi-client studies and online market intelligence services for Analysys Research. Prior to that, he was Associate Editorial Director for telecoms and media publisher CIT Publications.

Rupert Wood (Principal Analyst) directs the Fixed Networks and Services module of the Analysys Research online market intelligence service. He specialises in competition analysis of the European fixed telecoms market and, in particular, the development of broadband services. He has extensive experience in forecasting and sizing European fixed telecoms markets. He is lead author of Central and Eastern European Fixed Telecoms: market sizings and forecasts 2004-12, Western European Fixed Telecoms: market sizings and forecasts 2001-11, Retail VoIP in Western Europe: forecasts 2005-2010, The Telco Product Portfolio beyond 2010, Western European Fixed Telecoms Markets: forecasts 2004-2009, The Impact of Voice over Broadband: forecasts for Western Europe, Maximising Revenues from Broadband: new pricing strategies for European operators, FRIACO: how capacity-based interconnection strengthens the Internet market, Where DTV and Home Storage Will Disintermediate the Internet and Interactive Consumer Broadband: sex, sport and shopping? and co-author of The Telco Organisational Structure beyond 2010. Before joining Analysys, Rupert was a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge.