AMI-Partners proposes the most actionable and distinguishable method to segment the small business market is by IT adoption. IT adoption is defined as a business' propensity to adopt, or absorb, IT solutions as a means to grow and manage their business. High adopters of IT would be those who are embracing more advanced IT solutions (LAN, e-commerce, mobile PCs, servers, etc), while low adopters are those that are resisting, or do not have a need (whether real or perceived) for IT solutions including a PC (which many low adopters do not have). By segmenting the SB market using an IT adoption algorithm, AMI-Partners is able to accurately profile businesses across a spectrum of attributes including business characteristics, decision making, attitudes, business processes, and IT usage - leading to actionable go-to-market strategy development. For a more in-depth view of the data collection and segmentation methodology see the methodology section of this report.

This report provides a management summary of the AMI-Partners' 2002 Japan Small Business IT Adoption Based Segmentation. Reference will be made to four segments within the segmentation, called tiers, from the highest adopter of IT (tier 1), to the lowest adopter (tier 4). Thus, these four distinct segments have been named by AMI-Partners as AMI Tier 1 SBs, AMI Tier 2 SBs, AMI Tier 3 SBs, and AMI Tier 4 SBs - from the highest (AMI tier 1 SB) to lowest (AMI Tier 4 SB) adopters of IT.

Based on proprietary surveys of Small and Medium Businesses in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia/Pacific region, AMI-Partners' comprehensive data on Internet, IT, eBusiness, and Communications investment and usage is presented in a highly actionable, graphical format with go-to-market insights and analysis.