As a technology advisor, you’ve likely asked yourself: “Should I focus on mid-market organizations or large enterprises?”
Both markets offer strong revenue potential for advisors, but require different engagement strategies. The 2025-26 Telarus Tech Trends Report reveals a growing divide between the two segments, with mid-market customers moving with much greater speed and agility while enterprises face longer buying cycles and added complexity.
This article explores how mid-market and enterprise organizations compare, why the mid-market is the “sweet spot” for technology advisors heading into 2026, and strategies for engaging enterprise buyers and moving conversations forward.
Mid-Market vs. Enterprise Organizations
Before we dive in, here’s a quick refresher on how mid-market organizations differ from enterprises:
- Mid-market organizations sit a level above SMBs, with 100 to 1,000 employees and between $10 million and $1 billion in annual revenue. These organizations usually have sizable IT budgets, and prioritize growth and transformation.
- Enterprise organizations are large, multinational companies that have more than 1,000 employees and exceed $1 billion in annual revenue. These organizations also have substantial IT budgets, opening the door to sizable deals and multi-year contracts.
Why is Mid-Market a Major Growth Lever for Technology Advisors?
Technology advisors are far more likely to find quick wins in the mid-market. According to this year’s Telarus Tech Trends Report, mid-market organizations now offer the greatest near-term growth opportunity.
This is largely because mid-market buyers are open to receiving guidance from technology advisors. In fact, 96% of mid-market respondents said that they are interested in working with advisors, compared to one-third of enterprise buyers. In addition, 75% of mid-market respondents said that at least 26% of their tech buying is done through advisors.
Telarus also found that mid-market companies are leading in technology spend, with 92% of mid-market buyers expecting IT budget increases compared to 45% of large enterprises. Meanwhile, 89% of mid-market buyers expect to increase software spend, compared to 57% of enterprise buyers.
“This signals a strong reliance on tools to fill capability gaps—and greater openness to outside advisory as a force multiplier,” the report explains. “Enterprise buyers, meanwhile, are scaling back on both fronts, reflecting a more cautious and cost-centered mindset.”
Top Mid-Market Opportunities for Technology Advisors
- AI: Mid-market organizations are adopting AI and experimenting with it more freely, but often lack the resources and bandwidth to implement solutions independently. “They’re interested in LLMs, GenAI pilots, and better deployment practices—but face resource and risk constraints,” the report says.
- Cloud modernization: Mid-market buyers ranked cloud modernization as their second-highest external support need (63%), meaning advisors have a strong opportunity to guide migration and infrastructure upgrades. Key areas include ERP/suites, containerization, cloud-native, edge computing, and multicloud.
- Modern cybersecurity: IT buyers in mid-market companies are more likely to require external cybersecurity support than enterprise buyers—specifically around zero trust, consolidation, passwordless authentication, and integrated security.
Tapping into the Enterprise Arena
While the mid-market offers significant upside for technology advisors, the enterprise market is also rich with opportunity. Buying cycles may be longer and more challenging, yet a single enterprise “whale” can still be more profitable than several smaller mid-market deals.
Here are some challenges to expect when approaching enterprise buyers, and tips for overcoming them.
- Complexity: Enterprise customers have more internal stakeholders and board members, which may complicate and delay buying decisions.
Technology advisors should be prepared to spend more time on planning, documentation, and consultative selling when working with enterprise buyers.
- A harder sell: Large enterprise buyers also tend to be more selective about who they work with. According to Telarus’ research, 73% of enterprise buyers said that 25% or less of their buying is done through advisors.
When large enterprise buyers do seek new partners, they value depth of knowledge in specific technologies over general support.
- Different priorities: Enterprise buyers prioritize cost over innovation. In fact, large enterprises are 4x more likely to have investment decisions influenced by cost-cutting than mid-market companies.
Technology advisors can use cost-cutting opportunities to fund innovation, which is seeing increased investment.
Key Takeaway: Tailor Your Pitch to Win in Both Segments
With the right strategy and mindset, technology advisors can thrive in both the mid-market and enterprise arenas.
Telarus recommends advisors tailor their approach based on buyer mindset and segment, while keeping the following points in mind:
- Qualify early to identify each buyer’s priorities, and tailor your consulting path accordingly.
- Frame value strategically and share examples of how other clients have either reduced spend or achieved growth.
- Guide with outcomes, while emphasizing phased implementation and ROI-based planning.
Get Additional Insights to Guide your Selling Conversations
This is a small snippet of what you’ll find in the 2025-26 Telarus Tech Trends report—a comprehensive, interactive resource offering the latest insights around buyer needs and opportunities in the channel. Download the full report.