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Small business IT spending to pass $600 billion in 2018: IDC

IDC expects SMBs to spend the most on devices, including personal computing devices, peripherals, and mobile phones.
Written by Natalie Gagliordi, Contributor
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Image: iStock

Small businesses will spend nearly $602 billion this year on IT software and services, according to new data from IDC. The research firm posits that hardware, software and IT services will each account for around 30 percent of total SMB spending in 2018.

On a more micro level, IDC expects SMBs to spend the most on devices, including personal computing devices, peripherals, and mobile phones. Second to that is application spending, led by resource management software, content applications, customer relationship management systems and collaboration software.

More than two thirds of total small business IT spending will be driven by firms with 100-999 employees through 2021, IDC said. Within the mid-market segment, medium-sized businesses (100-499 employees) will spend $229 billion in 2018, while large businesses (500-999 employees) will spend $182 billion. Small businesses with fewer than 100 employees will see spending growth of 4.7 percent over the five-year forecast period.

"SMBs around the world are increasingly interested in investing in resources to improve employee productivity and improve their competitive positions," said Ray Boggs, VP of SMB Research at IDC. "While SMBs, especially smaller ones, have immediate tactical needs to sharpen performance, they are also looking to coordinate resources in a meaningful way. For many this will be an important step in their digital transformation."

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