|
23rd December 2003 - In-Stat/MDR estimates that information
technology expenditures in the small business market
increased by more than 5% between 2002 and 2003, with
continuing increases in spending expected moving forward.
High-speed Internet access and networking are expected
to remain the key factors contributing to growth in
IT spending in this market. With increased use of DSL
and cable modem services, small businesses are experiencing
a general increase in their IT requirements. As these
firms continue to evolve in their use of technology,
especially broadband, they are focusing on provisioning
equipment and services more efficiently.
Increased provisioning of broadband services is expected
to remain the primary driver behind telecom spending
growth among small businesses for the next two or three
years. For the most part, spending on broadband services
is additive - on top of the "usual" telecom
services, such as local or long-distance service. This,
combined with greater points of presence for broadband
in this market (purchased for both employees in commercial
locations and at-home workers), suggest this category
of telecom spending will play a key role in telecom
growth over time. Along with demand for broadband, deeper
penetration of wireless services and devices in this
market, both phones and PDAs, and increased usage are
expected to contribute to growth in telecom spending
as well. Post 2005, Telco-provided managed services,
like managed security and managed LAN services, are
expected to experience greater adoption among small
businesses moving forward, driving up telecom spending
accordingly.
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
- Providing employees with high-speed Internet connections
is driving the need for local area networking in this
market. The use of network hardware in efficiently
provisioning high-speed access to multiple employees
is expected to keep demand for network hardware high
moving forward. Providing an increased number of employees
with high-speed Internet access is expected to drive
up demand for firewall solutions as well. Network
hardware growth is expected to be strong in this market,
with rates second only to those of telecom spending
growth.
- The small business market will spend over $161 billion
on information technology in 2003. By 2008, small
businesses are expected to spend more than $215 billion
on IT products, services, and personnel.
- The small business market accounts for roughly 31%
of total US business IT expenditures, making it the
second largest overall, behind only the enterprise
market.
- Small businesses spend more on telecom services
and equipment than any other area of IT investment,
telecom accounts for roughly 32% of this market’s
IT spending. Growth in telecom spending is expected
to average almost 10% over the next five years.
- Second to telecom, growth in network hardware spending
is expected to average roughly 9% over the next five
years.
This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR report,
"The
Wealth Effect: IT Spending by Type and Size in the US
Business Market, Part Three: Small Businesses (5 to
99 Employees) - Advance Report: (Dynamic Data File)",
which presents spending forecasts for overall IT spending
in the small business market for 2002 through 2008.
Forecasts for spending for the six broad spending categories
of computer hardware, applications, network hardware,
telecom services and equipment, IT personnel, and outsourcing
and hosted services are presented and broken down by
size of business. The overall IT spending forecast is
broken out by both size and category.
Back
to News Reports
|
