Analysys Mason, a specialist technology consulting and research firm, predicts that small and medium-sized businesses will increase their spending on technology in 2023 and will be confident in business performance, despite the economic challenges. The 145 million SMBs worldwide are expected to spend USD1.45 trillion on IT in 2023 (40% from the Americas, 30% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 30% from Asia–Pacific), driven by the post-pandemic trend towards digital transformation. This represents a growth of 6.3% over 2022 spending, down from 7% year-on-year growth that was expected before the pandemic. The predictions are based on the data in Analysys Mason’s SMB Technology Forecaster, which provides insights into SMB spending in 132 technology categories in 52 countries.
Analysys Mason predicts a shakeup in how vendors and the reseller channel sell to SMBs. One in three SMBs plan to switch channel providers to gain enterprise levels of service and support and SMB behaviour has shifted significantly resulting in more demand for cloud-based and as-a-service solutions.
“SMB technology spending is gradually getting back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Bob Takacs, Research Director, Analysys Mason. “There is concern about the broader economic environment, but SMBs are confident in their own businesses given that they pulled through the pandemic and are focused on how they can be set up for growth.”
The message to technology vendors and resellers is to focus on service and support, while delivering clear messages around the business use cases of technology solutions. SMBs are looking for simple procurement and installation, tiered pricing and comprehensive support.
2023 predictions
Ecosystem transformations
- 37% of SMBs plan to switch channel partners in favour of an ‘enterprise-lite’ experience of support and services.
- SMBs’ IT spending through MSPs is expected to grow by 11% year-on-year from USD279 billion in 2022 to USD311 billion in 2023, driven by the need for end-to-end support in managing increasingly complex software stacks and driving forward digital initiatives.
- SMBs will spend more than USD66 billion on IT solutions from telecoms operators. 80% of SMBs would consider taking IT services from operators.
New spending priorities
- As-a-service spending will increase. SMBs’ spending on platforms-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions is expected to grow by 18% year-on-year from USD3.4 billion in 2022 to USD4.0 billion in 2023. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) spending is expected to grow from USD44 billion in 2022 to USD54 billion by 2023, representing a 22% year-on-year growth. PC and device-as-a-service (PCDaaS) models will shift focus from device procurement to a fully integrated IT experience
- Rising energy costs will affect SMBs’ IT spending decisions. This will lead to an increase in the use of IoT-related solutions, such as energy usage apps and smart meters, in addition to finance and expense management applications.
- 24% of SMBs worldwide plan to start Environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and 46% are more likely to buy from vendors with established ESG policies.
- Spending on cyber-security solutions will increase from USD69 billion in 2022 to USD77 billion in 2023.
