SMBs are embracing developments in expertise to attain extra with a leaner workers, allow distant work, automate guide processes, and scale back errors. When carried out thoughtfully, expertise will help smaller companies higher compete with their enterprise counterparts, save on rising labor prices, and generate a sturdy ROI.
IDC’s knowledge clearly illustrates this pattern. In line with IDC’s Worldwide Small and Medium Enterprise Survey (February 2025), 81.8% of all SMBs will improve their tech budgets over the following 12 months. Moreover, a smaller proportion of SMBs plan to chop expertise spending this 12 months (1.7%, in comparison with 4% in 2024 and eight% in 2023), reflecting SMBs’ rising confidence in applied sciences like AI/automation as extra use circumstances emerge. It additionally highlights the efforts of distributors providing extra SMB-specific applied sciences and bundles which might be reasonably priced and simple to deploy and handle. Simple set up, upkeep, and use are paramount for small and medium companies, as 36% of SMBs would not have any full-time, in-house IT staff. A major 85.5% of small companies (these with 1-99 staff) with a full-time IT worker solely have one, in comparison with 40.9% final 12 months.
A prime expertise space experiencing vital funding progress amongst SMBs is AI. Certainly, 47.5% of all SMBs say that conventional AI is a prime funding precedence for them within the subsequent 12 months – a greater than 12 proportion level improve from 35.1% a 12 months earlier. Moreover, 45% record GenAI as a prime precedence, in comparison with 32.8% a 12 months earlier. SMBs are additionally investing steadily in cellular employee help, a pattern that has continued because the pandemic-era transformation of workplace tradition. In 2025, 52.8% of small companies report prioritizing investments in communications by means of video collaboration or video conferencing, versus 43.7% final 12 months. Small companies are looking for to improve to the most recent video and collaboration instruments that increase safety and incorporate new applied sciences, similar to AI, to reinforce effectivity. Many SMBs wish to enable their staff to work remotely, as they usually can not afford to pay as a lot as bigger organizations. Consequently, they’re creating artistic methods to retain prime staff by providing versatile working hours and the power to work remotely or in a hybrid method.
Nonetheless, IDC’s knowledge strongly illustrates that SMBs are taking a security-first strategy to expertise investments. Earlier than investing in a brand new system or resolution, they guarantee it’s safe. As SMBs have few, if any, IT staff to handle cybersecurity threats, they depend upon expertise suppliers to implement strong safety measures. Rising safety is each a prime funding precedence and a prime problem for SMBs; 51.3% of SMBs mentioned that rising safety is a prime funding precedence for them within the coming 12 months. Concurrently, 46.4% record implementing new expertise securely as a prime problem to reaching their enterprise priorities – the primary response from an inventory of ten totally different choices.
There are a number of contributors to this intense concentrate on safety. One is the shift to the cloud from on-premises options. Whereas the cloud affords nice advantages, similar to accessibility from anyplace, pay-as-you-go pricing, and limitless storage capability, it additionally implies that SMBs’ distant or hybrid employees are accessing business-critical networks from private units utilizing public Wi-Fi – suppose eating places, espresso outlets, airports, and extra. One other shift is the rise in AI investments. AI depends on a steady move of knowledge to perform. SMBs are demanding readability on the supply of the info used to coach massive language fashions. Is it the seller’s knowledge, the SMB’s knowledge, or artificial knowledge? How is that knowledge getting used, and what protocols are in place to make sure safety? Many SMBs are simply starting to construct model consciousness, shopper belief, and income. A knowledge breach that tarnishes their picture might be catastrophic.
With nice technological developments come nice duties. Whereas expertise is quickly evolving to assist SMBs sustain with their swift tempo of progress, automate processes, allow distant work, and extra, its major function is to be safe.
Message from the Sponsor
SMBs want larger safety within the AI period. By embedding safety into our complete portfolio, Cisco helps SMB clients concentrate on operating and rising their enterprise as a substitute of accelerating the scale of their IT group. Accomplice with Cisco to grab the chance within the SMB section and shield clients with safety and networking merchandise.
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