Ironically, the very challenges that face midsize companies are in turn the seeds that drive growth and success. Consider the data center: With smaller cash reserves and more restricted access to loans, they are forced to evaluate and choose the most affordable IT solutions that will immediately deliver increased productivity and/or new revenue opportunities. With a smaller workforce, they have to ensure that IT solutions are easy to install and implement, particularly in cases where there isn’t an extensive and dedicated IT department to take ownership. Minimal resources are available to oversee the ongoing implementation and management of projects. Features like reliability, scalability and security have to be built into the solution from the beginning, without paying exorbitant acquisition costs. In IT-speak, the TCA and TCO have to be compelling and competitive.

Technology decisions can make or break a business strategy for midsize companies. Six months into an implementation, if a CRM application is still failing to give sales the edge they need to entice customers to buy new products, and the project was financed over three years, what next? In a large company, you can write that one off and arm the field instead with a proven Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that can be configured and ready in two weeks instead of months or years. But in a small or medium-sized business, writing off a project of that size isn’t feasible. And failing to deliver to the sales team may mean that you need to make cuts to the team to make payroll. IT solutions as a whole can facilitate innovation, or they can be a roadblock to your employees’ efficiency and productivity.