A common misconception is that Gartner only caters to large enterprise clients. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth as there is a strong focus on the midmarket in our research agendas.
Midmarket networking calls are often some of the more interesting conversations we have, as there are two unique attributes that carry major applicability in the networking space, namely
- Limited Scale – on average, midmarket organizations have about 100 servers
- Smaller Staffs – average IT staff has 15-20 FTEs with roughly half dedicated to I&O
While on the surface, this may seem to be a disadvantage, however midmarket IT leaders can parlay these characteristics into advantages. From a staffing perspective, you have smaller teams with broader skills which is a little DevOps-ian (but before DevOps was cool).
For example, in the ADC market, lack of scale and blurring of siloes allows midmarket personnel to use products more strategically and cost-effectively. For example, they can buy a virtual ADC and enable a bunch of the features like WAF, GLB etc etc. This is harder to do in large organizations because of scale and organizational issues (i.e., the security folks want to pick their own WAF, and/or enabling all these features requires a more expensive and/or hardware-based appliance, due to capacity requirements).
This type of midmarket advantage applies across the entire networking space including data center, WAN and even in emerging technologies such as SDN (yes there is SDN applicability in the midmarket). Here are links to relevant midmarket networking research we have published in the Data Center, SDN, and ADC space. In addition, we have more midmarket research coming… Drop me a line if there’s a midmarket networking topic that you’re interested in.
Midmarket Context: ‘Rightsizing’ the Enterprise Data Center Network
Summary: Midsize enterprises can rightsize their data center networks starting at the core. New fixed-form-factor switches, with Layer 3 capabilities, can enable IT leaders to extend the efforts to the wiring closets to save on refresh costs and maintenance expenses and to simplify management.
Midmarket Context: ‘Why, When and How to Converge Storage and Data Networks’
Summary: Midmarket I&O leaders can simplify infrastructure and reduce capex and opex by converging data center LAN and storage networks
Midmarket Context: ‘Three Key Challenges to Resolve Before Deploying an SDN Overlay’
Summary: A common myth is that midmarket organizations don’t need SDN. However, midmarket I&O leaders can leverage SDN overlay solutions to improve agility and security in their networks.
Summary: Midmarket I&O leaders can optimize IT costs and reduce physical infrastructure by using virtualized and software-based ADCs from a variety of vendors.
Regards, Andrew
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