Sales segmentation and appetite for risk

Risk is the biggest barrier to successful cloud sales.

Technology companies need to understand their clients and prioritise their sales efforts. They need to focus on those clients that, based on their risk profile, are going to be most receptive to their cloud offerings.

Large global and multinational organisations typically have a low appetite for risk, given that they're subject to an array of governance and regulatory requirements and must manage the complexity of ensuring compliance with multiple countries' laws and data sovereignty imperatives. Small enterprises are probably less concerned about security and risk; in fact today, midmarket companies are adopting cloud faster than any other segment.

Organisations in certain vertical industries will also be more risk-averse - particularly highly regulated environments such as government, financial services and health care.

A business with which technology companies have a strategic partnership will be more receptive to buying their cloud services due to a level of trust that's been built over time. Organisations with which the seller has more of a transactional relationship will be highly focused on price - so here you're likely to be most successful if your offer is the cheapest in the market.

Four Lenses of Segmentation