pull the trigger on any increased IT spending

Regardless of your feelings regarding triskaidekaphobia, there is plenty to be nervous about in the coming year ending in the dreaded number 13. It's not just the fear of the number itself or the superstition that surround it, rather most SMB decision makers are fearful of the economic unknown we continue to see in the U.S. economy. The general consensus, post-election, is that the current administration is less than friendly towards the needs of the average small and mid-sized business which ironically is considered to be the largest driver of the U.S. economy. Let me be clear, my intention is not to debate the merits or shortcomings of the government's economic policy rather I mention it as one of the factors in trying to predict what new technologies will be major players in the New Year. Even though the economic outlook for growth is less than rosy, the SMB community will still be spending on technology.

To that end, I turn to my go-to expert of all things technology for the SMB; Laurie McCabe of The SMB Group. McCabe provides a yearly set of predictions on what to expect, and while her forecast for 2012 was broad, she was right on the money with the majority of her insights. Not surprisingly, these trends included many of the subjects I've written about including increased cloud adoption, deeper and wider adoption of social media tools and concepts in marketing and sales, collaboration and widely ranging forms of communication, and the rise of mobility for a flexible workforce.

So where will 2013 SMB technology dollars be spent? Most likely, there will be similar movement as seen in 2012. However, we will see a greater shift towards the cloud among the small business segment especially in the new entrepreneur arena of start-ups. This scenario makes sense for "micro" SMBs that are working without dedicated office space or a large employee base. Again in 2013, mobility is expected to be on the rise but the adoption will pale compared to last January's explosion of tablet PCs. However, the recent introduction of the Microsoft Surface powered by Windows 8 could change that theory. Companies that have invested in a Microsoft-centric network infrastructure will be able to leverage the synergies of their server operating systems with Windows 8 creating a seamless experience across laptop, desktop, Surface, and Windows Phone 8.

With increased mobility will come additional requests from employees to BYOD or bring your own device. Employees expect employers to provide connectivity for their own mobile devices to use across personal and professional endpoints. This expectation presents several security and network connectivity challenges that will need to be addressed in 2013 as was the case in 2012. The BYOD movement led to the rise of software and services called Mobile Device Management (MDM). MDM protects the business from insecure access and allows the organization to track and manage corporate data on personal devices.

When thinking about technology spend for 2013, it's important that I point out another factor McCabe discussed; the reticence of the SMB decision maker and/or business owner to pull the trigger on any increased IT spending. With a polarized electorate and an SMB community that has felt left behind by current administration policymaking, a lot of projects that would have been perceived as good for growth and expansion are going to be left undone by economic uncertainty. Even after the November election and the affirmation of another four years with the same administration, the small and mid-sized business ecosystem will collectively pause and wait for any indication of better times ahead.

The confluence of several other factors will also contribute to slow the optimism. Several tax breaks and programs designed to help jump-start SMB creation and expansion have now expired including the IRS Section 179 tax deduction on capital expenditures. For several years, this tax deduction had given small and mid-sized businesses tangible benefits at tax time for purchases of hardware, software, and services. Additionally, many SMB owners and decision makes are fearful of another governmental mandate; the national health care plan called "Obamacare" which may well add another expense to the bottom line. I should also mention the potential for added taxation of base revenues once Congress gets back into full

The expectation for 2013, based on what was seen last year, is that there will be spending but with continued trepidation. If the current Congress can start to compromise more, which may be possible given the begrudging agreement on the "fiscal cliff" negotiations, maybe more confidence can trickle down to the business community. As with anything revolving around the number "13" there are still superstitions that might color our thinking.

Title Post: pull the trigger on any increased IT spending
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown