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HomeINFORMATION & INSIGHTS
Small and Medium Businesses Say They'll Spend the Same
or More on PCs in 2010
U.S. small and medium businesses (SMBs) that responded to a recent NPD survey report they are more likely to spend money on PCs this year than on any other major IT hardware category.
Our new report, The SMB Technology Report, shows more than three-quarters (77 percent) of SMBs plan to spend more, or about the same, on new PC equipment in 2010 compared to 2009. Overall, 41 percent of SMB PC purchases are expected to go through manufacturer direct channels, a percentage that remains consistent regardless of firm size. As might be expected, 43 percent of companies with fewer than 50 employees intend to use retail or ecommerce channels for their PC purchases. With larger firms, however, that share moves rapidly toward VARs and national resellers. More than 40 percent of purchases in firms with more than 50 employees are likely to use those channels.
PC purchasing is being accelerated by companies’ desire to support new growth opportunities – cited as a purchase driver for 51 percent of SMBs. Forty-one percent of these companies say they are using increased PC purchases to support new hiring. Overall, 73 percent of firms surveyed said they plan to buy PCs this year. By company size, 75 percent of companies with 50-100 employees plan to buy PCs this year, while only 60 percent of companies below and above that size (up to 1000 employees) plan to buy.
Even though PC spending is on the rise, it is also the most vulnerable category should the economy start to slow again. Thirty-eight percent of companies that say they plan to reduce PC spending this year are doing so because of budget cuts, and another 18 percent cited staff reductions. Both percentages are nearly double the total hardware market average for each category.
Overall, only 23 percent of firms say they plan to reduce PC spending this year. On average, firms plan to spend about 32 percent less this year than in 2009 on other hardware categories such as storage, networking, servers, and printers. And while PCs had the largest proportion of steady or increased spending, storage equipment has the greatest spending potential: 37 percent of SMBs plan to increase spending on storage equipment in 2010, compared to 32 percent with plans to spend more on PCs.
Methodology
The online survey was fielded between March 29 and April 30, 2010. The 250 respondents in this survey are LinkedIn members who are IT decision makers and influence PC, printer, networking, storage, and server purchasing decisions at firms with less than 1000 employees. Survey respondents were also asked about brand preference, U.S. region, and market vertical.
Learn more.
Find out more about the new The SMB Technology Report and other products and services for the commercial technology market. Contact Charles Camaroto at 866-444-1411
(contactnpd@npd.com).
