New research identifies small business adoption and usage of IT and cloud solutions

New research from Parks Associates finds strong familiarity with standard IT services is low among small businesses (SMBs), including only 28% of U.S. SMBs that are very familiar with cloud-based storage and backup services. Less than 25% are very familiar with remote IT support or network security services, compared to 35% that are very familiar with online payment processing.

“Small businesses need IT products, but they just don’t have time to research the available products and services,” said Patrice Samuels, Research Analyst at Parks Associates. “Once U.S. SMBs become strongly familiar with IT support services, 33% are willing to pay to receive these services for their business, compared to 3% who are unfamiliar. Market education and outreach to promote IT products and services are needed to encourage adoption in the small business markets.”

Parks Associates’ Selling Cloud Services and IT Support to SMBs, which includes a nationwide survey of SMB decision makers, shows awareness can drive adoption—16% of SMBs began shopping for a new IT service or service provider after learning about a new product or service feature, making awareness a stronger driver of service adoption than outages with their current service. Personal recommendations are the most common source of IT information, but one-third of SMBs use online news sites, magazines, or portals for IT information.

“Educational programs may need to incentivize participation in order to get SMBs to join in, especially micro-SMBs, which are generally SMBs with fewer than 50 employees,” Samuels said. “Self-support or other low-labor/low-cost freemium offerings will allow micro-SMBs to gain familiarity with and a better understanding of the value of IT services.”

Parks Associates’ Selling Cloud Services and IT Support to SMBs explores interest in and demand for new IT support and cloud solutions among U.S. SMBs. It surveys SMB decision makers to identify the companies most interested in various IT solutions and product features, including sources of information and influence and purchase triggers, to help identify the primary target markets for SMB support products and services. Key topics include:

• The technology and IT services used by SMBs
• Service provider strategies
• Interest in new IT and support services
• Factors driving adoption of IT services
• Market challenges and opportunities

The research is available for purchase. More information is available at www.parksassociates.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Holly Sprague at [email protected].

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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