Trends in the SMB Technology Space

I just finished reading a report from SMB Group titled “Vendor Strategies to Bring Game-Changing Technology Trends to SMBs”. The report is a pay-per-access report but I received a copy from IBM to review and I’m happy I got to see it.

The report describes research performed by SMB Group into how small and medium businesses (SMB) are viewing and using technology in their business. A few of the interesting tidbits from the report are:

• SMBs that view technology as a business enabler and invest more in technology are much more likely to anticipate revenue growth than other SMBs
• The majority of SMBs indicate that mobile solutions are now critical for their business,
• SMBs need to proactively deploy technology to improve both business processes and the customer experience
• SMBs are willing and even eager to benefit from IT, but they are under-resourced and under pressure.

There are many more good pieces of information in the report, but the above were the ones that I wanted to point out. I don’t think any of these are a surprise to anyone.

The small and midsize market has always looked to technology to help level the playing field but there’s always been a challenge to the SMB. The challenges come into play around budget and people, which the last bullet point above points out. SMB’s are understaffed and under-funded but with the many tools, vendors and capabilities around today, SMB’s have more opportunity to bring in the right technology and the right vendors.

While the technology playing field is being leveled, the challenge still exists with being able to hire the right people. That said, even with the people challenge existing today, SMB’s are in a much better place than they were a few years ago.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.