Industry Insights

SaaS and the Changing Support Needs of SMBs

By Gretchen Dukowitz / October 17, 2017

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the cloud technology tipping point has already come and gone. By the end of this year, 94 percent of U.S. SMBs are expected to be using SaaS applications, while 76 percent of SMBs are already using cloud services worldwide.

These high adoption rates, however, only tell part of the story. Dig a little deeper and SMBs report significant challenges to getting up and running with their cloud-based applications. According to a recent survey, 25 percent of SMBs say that the “initial [user] experience is confusing,” while an equal number say that their software has “too many features.”

In short, too many SMBs don’t realize the full value of their business solutions because they don’t know how to use them and don’t have access to training. This is where service providers can offer tremendous value. By not only selling cloud services but also supporting SMB customers through onboarding and support, companies can evolve from mere providers into trusted cloud advisors.

To learn more, check out Help Wanted: How SaaS is Changing the Support Needs of SMBs, a recent white paper from the team at AppHelp. The paper details topics that include how SaaS has changed the support needs of SMBs, why could application support is different than traditional IT support, the four critical categories of SaaS services, what to look for in a third-party support services provider, and more.

Click here to download Help Wanted: How SaaS is Changing the Support Needs of SMBs.

By supporting SMB customers through onboarding and support, companies can evolve from mere providers into trusted cloud advisors.

Gretchen Dukowitz is Senior Content Marketing Editor at AppDirect.