Niche vendors have the ability to address specific needs not currently being met by large, and often mainstream, providers. IT leaders should perform the necessary background research before entering into long-term contracts with niche vendors to identify additional risks.
Niche Vendors Defined
Niche vendors are typically small (though not always), yet highly focused enterprises that identify and fulfill a specific need in the IT marketplace. For mainstream vendors, those market segments are too small to serve them profitably and often lack economies of scale, intellectual property, and/or knowledge depth.