04/30/2026
Here's a number most small business owners don't know: SMBs spend an average of 6.9% of their revenue on IT, compared to just 4.3% for large enterprises. π°
Smaller businesses pay more proportionally, yet often get less in return because that budget gets spread across the wrong priorities.
Where are SMBs putting their IT dollars in 2026?
βοΈ Cloud services: 31% of the average IT budget
π₯οΈ Hardware: 22%
π¨βπ» Internal staff: 20%
π€ Outsourced IT: 15%
π¦ Software licenses: 8%
π Telecom: 4%
With 57% of SMBs planning to increase IT spending this year, the key question isn't how much to spend. It's whether your budget is going to the right places.
A few questions worth asking:
-Are you still paying for hardware you could move to the cloud?
-Is security in your top three priorities, or still an afterthought?
-Could outsourcing IT give you more capability for less than an in-house hire?
https://www.analysysmason.com/contentassets/e5187a9660b64aa7a15a9aa5fd3d3df2/analysys_mason_smb_it_spending_forecast_may2024_rsmb1.pdf