Digital Native Business, Start-Ups and Scale-Ups

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Simone De Bruin
Simone De Bruin

Research Director, Worldwide Digital Native Business



IDC's Digital Native Business, Start-Ups and Scale-Ups CIS advises technology suppliers on the dynamics, tech-buying patterns, and go-to-market approaches needed to effectively reach out to and engage with digital-native organizations.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


A digital-native business (DNB) is defined by IDC as a business where value creation is based and dependent on the use of digital technologies, from how processes are run to the products, services, and experiences it provides. From the start, DNBs are built around modern technologies and data across all aspects — from operations to customer engagement — and whose core value and revenue generation are predominantly based on digital channels, value chains, services, and products. The digital-native market segment represents an emerging and fast-growing group of organizations, is obviously very tech centric, and spends a significant amount of money on technology as it is the basis of the industry's business model. However, the industry clusters and relative maturity of digital-native organizations vary drastically. The difference between an early-stage digital-native start-up and a scale-up that has reached Series D funding and is potentially valued in the billions of dollars is significant. Hence tech vendors that are targeting this segment need to understand these dynamics. This research program provides the following:


Core Research


  • The Digital-Native Spending Taxonomy
  • The Digital-Native Opportunity Forecast
  • The Digital-Native Spending Patterns Survey
  • B2C Digital Natives Versus B2B Digital Natives Perspective
  • Case Studies and Profiles of Digital-Native Businesses, Covering B2B and B2C
  • Vendor Profiles and Best Practices for Engaging with Digital Natives, Start-Ups and Scale-Ups

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. What does the current digital-native landscape look like, and what is the associated digital-native tech spending opportunity?
  2. How do you size and segment the digital-native opportunity based on the IDC taxonomy, addressing fast-growth companies in the tech space as well as the B2B and B2C space?
  3. How do digital-native businesses budget for, procure, and deploy technology as compared with traditional organizations?
  4. Which technology areas are driving IT spend among DNBs, and how are these being deployed (i.e., build versus buy)?
  5. Where is growth in tech spend primarily coming from in the digital-native segment, and to what extent is this impacted by the current economic environment?
  6. How do DNBs move from start-up to scale-up, and how do their technology requirements change during this process.
  7. How do DNBs prefer to work with tech vendors, and how can tech vendors help them deliver growth? Who are the preferred partners and vendors that DNBs work with, and how do they influence their buying decision?

Companies Covered