Philippine SMB IT spend to top US$1.3B

IT spending by small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the Philippines is expected to rise 19 percent this year, according to new market research.

In a new survey released this week, AMI-Partners projected SMB IT spending in the Philippines to top US$1.3 billion. Computing hardware, which includes PCs, printers, peripherals and servers, as well as Internet-related investments, will account for 70 percent--or the lion's share--of the investment.

Ruth Garin, a Singapore-based research analyst at AMI-Partners, said in a statement: "Most SMBs in the Philippines are boosting investments in computer hardware and Internet-related technologies as they build the basic blocks of IT infrastructure."

Small businesses--defined as having fewer than 100 employees--will spend more than 80 percent of their IT budgets on computing and Internet connectivity, while medium-sized businesses--with between 100 and 999 employees--are likely to spend more than 50 percent of their IT budgets on these two areas.

Garin attributed the higher IT spending to SMBs' awareness of the benefits of IT which include improvements in product and service delivery.

According to AMI-Partners, strong competition among IT vendors has resulted in a wide product selection, and prices have fallen to a level where budget-conscious businesses can now afford to adopt IT.

The analyst house has also projected the SMB market for data security technology to grow 30 percent increase this year.

"Securing the data and network is similar to prolonging the life of an IT investment," she said. "More SMBs are becoming more aware of cyberthreats and want to take measures to protect their data."

The Philippines is one of the top five countries in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, with the fastest IT growth rates, said AMI-Partners.