three categories-wired and wireless switching, routing, and networking products will see us$1.9b spent this year, says ami study
new york, ny [ami-partners] – wired and wireless switching, routing, and networking products are the top three fastest growing it areas among u.s. small businesses (1-99 employees) this year. these three categories will account for about $1.9 billion, up 13% from 2006, according to a survey by new york-based access markets international (ami) partners, inc.
“continued pressure to improve productivity, reduce traditional telecom costs, improve response time to co-workers or external client-these factors will continue to fuel the networking market,” says melissa chong, new york-based analyst at ami-partners. “about 53% of u.s. sbs have now installed a local area network (lan). however, only 66% of these lan-enabled sbs have a client/server-based network, while 33% still use peer-to-peer networks.” wireless lan environments are even less common, with only one in three lan sbs having a wireless lan setup. “this may come as a surprise, as peer-to-peer networks don’t provide much by way of security, which is on top of every sb’s mind,” says ms. chong. “for the past two years, improving internet or networking bandwidth/connection speed has been one of the top five it priorities among u.s. sbs. improving connectivity very likely entails upgrading networking equipment, further supporting market growth.”
after setting up their basic needs, such as pc, internet and basic software applications, sbs are increasingly aware of the advantages of pooling these resources for further benefits. a connected office means people and ideas are shared more quickly. timely, informed decisions can be made. shared email, instant messaging and other real-time collaborative applications help to reduce time and communication cost.
“education is, of course, still necessary, but many parallel it products are being launched that fuel awareness,” ms. chong says. “for example, multi-functional printers offer scan-to-network or scan-to-email functionalities. this allows sbs to scan/copy a hardcopy document and upload or email it directly to another pc or onto a network folder to be accessed by all. as the price of these types of printers continue to decrease the return on investment increases. if an sb doesn’t operate a networked environment, how would it benefit from this functionality?”
given that 47% of us sbs do not yet deploy a lan, opportunities to catch this market abound. lan environments are necessary precursors for more advanced adoptions such as vpns (virtual private networks), networked storage or security options, intranets and hosted/premise-based ip communications. service providers should be prepared to offer not just products, but solutions that utilize and enhance the network’s full capabilities, which is what sbs want and need.
about the study
ami’s 2006-2007 u.s. small business market overview and comprehensive market opportunity assessment study highlights these and other major trends in the context of current/planned it, internet and communications usage and spending. products and services covered include established and emerging hardware, software, applications and business process solutions. based on ami’s annual surveys of sbs across the u.s., the study tracks a broad spectrum of issues pertaining to budgets, purchase behaviors, decision influencers, channel preferences, outsourcing, service and support. also covered are detailed firmographics and critically important technology attitudes and strategic planning priorities. this data points to key opportunities and messaging hot buttons for vendors and service providers seeking to match their offerings to sb market requirements.