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AUSTIN, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 05/29/13 -- Spiceworks, the vertical network for IT, today announced the spring results of its bi-annual State of SMB IT survey. The survey of 1,000 global IT professionals reveals a 19 percent increase in small and mid-sized business (SMB) IT budgets in the first half of 2013, the largest increase in three years. SMB IT professionals reported an average yearly budget of $192,000, up from $162,000 in the second half of 2012. Hardware purchases continue to account for the bulk of IT spending with tablet devices showing strong 12 percent y/y growth.

"The results of our most recent survey highlight optimism among SMB IT departments and a focus on the tools and technologies IT departments need to support their growing businesses," said Kathryn Pribish, Voice of IT program manager at Spiceworks. "SMBs account for half of all IT spending worldwide, so the results of this survey bode well for technology vendors developing the latest SMB products and services."

The State of SMB IT survey is conducted twice annually to investigate the latest technology purchasing, usage and staffing trends among companies with less than 1,000 employees. Those surveyed are among the more than 2.5 million SMB IT professionals in the Spiceworks Community. The survey was conducted during the first quarter of 2013 through Spiceworks' Voice of IT market insights program.

Survey highlights include:

IT budgets see dramatic jump, while IT hiring stalls

• SMB IT budgets surged 19 percent to $192,000 in the first half of 2013, up from $162,000 in the second half of 2012.
• Increases in budget were more prevalent in smaller SMBs as mid-sized businesses with 250-999 employees reported a 13 percent decrease in budget for the first half of 2013.
• Only 22 percent of SMBs plan to hire IT staff in the first half of this year, a four percent decline from the second half of 2012.

IT hardware accounts for largest share of IT budget

• Hardware purchases account for the largest share of SMB IT budgets at 39 percent, followed by software at 30 percent, IT services at 19 percent and cloud/hosted services at 12 percent. Tablet devices showed the largest six-month increase with 42 percent of those surveyed planning to purchase new devices this year, up from 38 percent in the second half of 2012.
  
• Fifty-nine percent of SMB respondents support tablets on their networks, up from 53 percent in the second half of 2012. Support is expected to increase to 70 percent over the next six months.
  
  

Cloud services and virtualization have found a home in SMBs

• Cloud usage held steady with 61 percent of SMBs using at least one service.
• SMBs with less than 20 employees are most likely to deploy cloud services with 69 percent already using at least one solution. These SMBs spend 19 percent of their budget on cloud services, nearing the 25 percent they currently spend on traditional software. SMBs with more than 20 employees spend 11 percent of their budget on cloud services.
• Server virtualization adoption continues to increase with 72 percent of respondents now using the technology, a seven percent increase over the second half of 2012. Unlike cloud services, larger SMBs are more likely to use server virtualization than their smaller counterparts. For example, more than 80 percent of companies with over 100 employees use the technology.

Methodology
The State of SMB IT survey included 1,000 respondents from around the world. Sixty-eight percent of respondents were from North America, 25 percent from EMEA, six percent from Asia-Pacific, and one percent from Latin America. Those surveyed work in organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees and are among the more than 2.5 million IT professionals in Spiceworks. For more information on this survey and for a complete list of survey results, visit http://www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it.

About Spiceworks Voice of IT
The Spiceworks Voice of IT market insights program publishes statistics, trends and opinions collected from global SMB technology professionals. More than 500,000 IT professionals in more than 100 countries have joined the program to share information and feedback on the technology issues important to them.

To receive updates on future research, follow Spiceworks Voice of IT on Twitter at @VoiceOfIT, and sign up for Spiceworks Voice of IT research e-mails at http://www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it. To learn more about Spiceworks' research programs and services, contact insights@spiceworks.com.

About Spiceworks
Spiceworks is the vertical network for IT that connects 2.5 million IT professionals with over 1,800 technology brands to simplify how IT professionals discover, buy and manage more than $450 billion in technology products and services each year. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Spiceworks is backed by Adams Street Partners, Tenaya Capital, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Shasta Ventures and Austin Ventures. For more information visit http://www.spiceworks.com.

Follow Spiceworks on Twitter: http://twitter.com/spiceworks. Connect with Spiceworks on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Spiceworks. Search for available career and networking opportunities on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/spiceworks.

Spiceworks is a trademark and Voice of IT is a registered trademark of Spiceworks, Inc. All other names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.