BOSTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, AMR Research released its annual
small and midsize business (SMB) IT spending study, which found that 64% of
SMBs will increase their IT spending by an average of 5.3% in 2008.
According to the report, the main reasons for this IT budget increase
include outside-in pressures such as meeting customer demand and handling
increased competition and internal pressures such as increasing
efficiencies and decreasing costs.
Currently, SMBs are focusing the majority (49%) of their budgets on
applications that help them run their businesses. But applications that
support innovation (25%) and growth (26%) are increasingly important as
well.
"Traditional thinking and spending patterns have led us to assume that
SMBs prefer to maintain current levels of IT investment and focus primarily
on running the business," explained Simon Jacobson, senior research analyst
at AMR Research. "But this year's respondents indicate an even split
between running the business and the desire to innovate and grow the
business. This is intriguing for a market segment that has traditionally
been characterized as 'strapped for IT resources' and focused largely on
sustaining current market position."
The most strategic software investments for 2008 will be in customer
management applications (18%), an investment that reflects the increased
customer demand many SMBs are facing. But, according to the report,
companies are planning to focus their strategic investments in business
intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM) applications in 2010.
For more information about this report, please visit
http://www.amrresearch.com or call (617) 542-6600.
About AMR Research:
Research and Advice that Matter: AMR Research is the No. 1 research
firm focused on the intersection of business processes with value chain and
enterprise technologies. Founded in 1986, AMR Research provides
subscription advisory services and peer networking opportunities to
operations and IT executives in the consumer products, life sciences,
manufacturing, and retail sectors. To learn more about our research and
services, visit http://www.amrresearch.com.
Press Contact:
Maura McGreevy
mmcgreevy@amrresearch.com
617-350-1745
SOURCE AMR Research
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Related links:
http://www.amrresearch.com
CONTACT:
Maura McGreevy of AMR Research,
+1-617-350-1745, mmcgreevy@amrresearch.com
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