Rethinking your 2021 SMB strategy: COVID-19 survey insights for IT vendors

16 March 2021 | SMB IT

"SMBs have been divided in their response to COVID-19. Some have been able to adapt, often aggressively adopting new technologies, while others have had to focus on cutting costs."

Analysys Mason surveyed nearly 2000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in 2021 to understand how they have managed the COVID-19 crisis to date and what their post-pandemic plans are.

The results provide insights into:

current SMB operating conditions
SMBs' current and planned technology usage and spend
the services and support needed by SMBs from vendors.

They will help IT vendors to:

identify which types of SMB to target and with which products and services
understand SMBs' technology priorities now and once the pandemic eases
understand the differences between SMBs' needs in different countries
find the growing opportunity for offering managed services.

Overview of the differences between SMBs that have adapted to the pandemic and those that have cut costs

The survey focuses on SMBs in four high-income countries, but the results are likely to be relevant for other high-income and many middle-income markets worldwide. Our conversations with vendors and operators indicate that SMBs are responding in a similar way in many different countries.

Geographical coverage and survey sample

Geographical coverage		Sample
Australia Canada UK USA		Small businesses (1–99 employees): 1204 Medium-sized businesses (100–999 employees): 666 Vertical sectors: Agriculture, mining, transportation, utilities and construction (AMTUC) manufacturing IT and communications wholesale/retail Finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) professional business services other services