SMB
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Small and midsize business |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Business & Finance, Technology & Computing |
SMB has two meanings. It stands for Small and midsize business (management & strategy) or Server Message Block (networking).
Meanings of SMB at a glance
| # | SMB stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Small and midsize business | Business & Finance › Management & Strategy |
| 2 | Server Message Block | Technology & Computing › Networking |
1. Small and midsize business
Business & Finance · Management & Strategy Abbreviations
Company below a size threshold, usually defined by employee count or revenue, that technology vendors, banks and service providers treat as a distinct market segment. Products and sales teams are often built specifically for SMB customers, who buy differently from large enterprises.
Example: Our new accounting app targets SMBs that have outgrown spreadsheets but cannot justify a full ERP.
Mainly American usage; SME is the more common term internationally. Definitions vary by organization: Gartner, for example, counts businesses with fewer than 100 employees as small and those with 100 to 999 as midsize. Also expanded as "small and medium business."
2. Server Message Block
Technology & Computing · Networking Abbreviations
The file and printer sharing protocol of Windows networks, letting computers open, copy and lock files on shared folders and network drives. Macs, Linux systems and NAS devices speak it too.
Example: Map the department share using its SMB path, \\fileserver\finance, and tick "Reconnect at sign-in".
Developed at IBM in the 1980s and extended by Microsoft: SMB2 arrived with Windows Vista and SMB3, which adds encryption, with Windows 8 and Server 2012. The insecure SMBv1 was exploited by EternalBlue in the 2017 WannaCry ransomware outbreak, and Microsoft now disables it by default. SMB uses TCP port 445. In business writing SMB means small and medium-sized business instead.
Related abbreviations
More management & strategy abbreviations
- SBU – Strategic business unit
- SLA – Service-level agreement
- SLT – Senior leadership team
- SMART – Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound
- SME – Small and medium-sized enterprise
- SOM – Serviceable obtainable market
- SOP – Standard operating procedure
- SPC – Statistical process control
See all 92 management & strategy abbreviations →