Voice of IT
December 2012
TM
SMB IT Spending: How IT Pros $162k are Creating and Managing 2013 $152k $151k* $143k Budgets $132k $122k
Approximately how much does your company plan to spend this year (in USD) on IT hardware, software (licenses/purchases) and services (online services such as hosting, email, telecom, bandwidth, etc.)?
Budgets among SMBs have been on the rise for the past few years, and in our recent 2H 2012 State of SMB IT report we found that they’ve reached their highest point during that time. Over the last year, budgets grew 13% worldwide and reached an average of $162,000 with EMEA clocking in at $151,000 on average. To dig a little deeper, we spoke to over 900 IT pros to find out how they go about creating and managing their IT budget and where they plan to put their dollars in 2013. Results show that as investment in IT continues to grow, IT pros will most likely spend as follows:
2H 2010close to 50% of1Haverage 2011 budget on new 2H 2011projects 1H 2012 • Invest • Regard hardware and software as a top priority for 2013 spend Worldwide EMEA • Continue to invest more in cloud-based services and mobile
2H 2012
This report highlights both worldwide findings as well as a breakout for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Planned Budgets Over Time* Approximately how much does your company plan to spend this year (in USD) on IT hardware, software (licenses/purchases) and services (online services such as hosting, email, telecom, bandwidth, etc.)?
$162k
$152k
$151k†
$143k $132k $122k
2H 2010 Worldwide
1H 2011
2H 2011
1H 2012
EMEA
* Source: Spiceworks State of SMB IT 2H 2012 † 2H 2012 was the first time EMEA data was reported separetely from worldwide.
2H 2012
SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013
Where the 2013 Dollars are Headed. Let’s start by uncovering where IT pros plan to focus their spend in 2013. In the coming year, IT pros will be spending slightly more than half of their budget on the projects they were working on in 2012, and then using the remaining dollars for new projects.
Average Percent of Budget Toward New vs. Exisiting Projects What percent of your annual budget is going toward the following types of projects? Worldwide
48%
52%
EMEA
45%
55%
New
Exisiting
Respondents: Worldwide (756) - EMEA (165)
For both worldwide and EMEA IT pros, the top three focuses for the IT budget are hardware and software with laptop/desktop, servers, and software being the top focus areas for over 40% of IT pros. Virtualization and networking are not far behind and mentioned by approximately a third of respondents as a top 3 focus for their budgets. Despite all the buzz, cloud-based services and mobile received the fewest mentions as a top 3 focus area for 2013.
Top 3 Focus Areas for IT Budget What are the top 3 focuses for your budget next year? 50% 45%
48% 44% 43%
41% 41%
40%
37% 34% 33% 30%
30%
28% 24% 20%
20%
19% 18% 17%
15%
16%
10%
6%
4%
0% y
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Worldwide
EMEA
Respondents: Worldwide (927) - EMEA (198)
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2012 2013
2012 2013
2012 2013
Virtualization
2012 2013
2012 2013
Cloud-Based Services
2012 2013 Mobile
SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013 Worldwide EMEA
What percent of your overall budget will be spent on the following categories?
An Uptick in Tech THIS 23% Spend. YEAR NEXT though YEAR
THIS YEAR
12% 14%
NEXT mobile YEAR
THIS YEAR
15% 16%
theNEXT list YEAR
Even data24% shows are not of 2013 16%rising 18%to the top of 18% spend 19% priorities, 25%that cloud and we believe that they are growth areas due to the disruption in mobile (with BYOD and tablets) and the Virtualization growing confidence in cloud-based services. Cloud-Based Therefore,Services to find out how these shiftsMobile are impacting the IT budget over time, we asked respondents the percent of budget they dedicated to these technologies in Worldwide EMEA 2012 and what they plan to dedicate in 2013. The findings show that for cloud-based services and mobile, both are on the uptick and will grow to approximately one-fifth of 2013 worldwide IT spend. What percent of your overall budget will be spent on the following categories? Another technology that’s gained strong traction among SMBs is virtualization. While this ranks 4th THIS YEAR 23% 23% 12% 14% 15% 16% among worldwide top focus areas in 2013 and 5th among EMEA, the actual amount of budget dedicated NEXT YEAR 24% 25% 16% 18% 18% 19% to this technology will stay steady—receiving an average of close to a quarter of 2013 budget spend. Virtualization
Cloud-Based Services
Mobile
EMEA Average Worldwide Percent of Budget Spend in 2012 vs. 2013
What percent of your overall budget will be spent on the following categories?
NEXT YEAR
THIS YEAR
24%
25% NEXT YEAR
23%
23%
THIS YEAR
Virtualization
Worldwide
18%
16%
NEXT YEAR
18%
19%
14%
12%
THIS YEAR
15%
16%
Cloud-Based Services
EMEA
Mobile
Respondents: Worldwide (686-742) - EMEA (140-153)
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SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013
Calling the Budget Shots. Now that we know where the dollars are going, let’s take a look at how SMB IT pros create and manage their budgets. Over half of the respondents in this survey are the point person at their company for making recommendations on how the budget is spent (54%) and/or spending the budget (58%). Roughly a third are responsible for creating (31%) and managing (39%) the tech spend. In EMEA specifically, IT pros are more likely to be involved in managing the budget (45%) and spending the budget (62%) than IT pros worldwide.
Level of Responsibility for IT Budgets What is your role when it comes to developing and managing the IT budget for your company?
58%
I spend the budget
62%
54% 55%
I make recommendations on how we spend our budget
46% 46%
I provide input in developing the budget
39%
I manage the budget
45%
31% 32%
I create the budget
10% 10%
I am not involved with budget or spending for our department
0%
10%
20%
Worldwide
EMEA
30%
40%
50%
60%
Respondents: Worldwide (942) - EMEA (200)
It is interesting to note that not all tech dollars are being spent in the IT departments. Forty-seven percent of respondents state that other departments are using their own budgets to purchase IT technologies or devices. This is similar for EMEA respondents with half stating that IT spending happens outside of their department.
IT Spending in Other Departments
7%
7% 46%
47%
43%
Yes
50%
No Don’t know
Worldwide
EMEA
“
FROM THE COMMUNITY
We have departments going out and spending thousands of dollars to develop mobile apps without approval from IT and keeping the devices away from IT’s hands.
“
Does any of the spending on IT technologies or devices for your company happen outside of the IT department?
J Barnett Sharepoint Designer community.spiceworks.com
Respondents: Worldwide (926) - EMEA (198)
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SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013
4% 5% When to plan?
10% 6%
27% 31%
26% 28%
There is not a whole lot of lead time in developing the IT budget for SMBs. Over half (53%) of respondents At least 1 year 6-12 months 3-6 months 1-3 months 2013 in advanceonly 6 months in advance in advance advance start planning out from when it is time to start spending. inAnd a quarter of respondents worldwide do not have any formal budget planning.
25%
9%
Don’t know
Wetodoplan not do any EMEA IT pros are only slightly more likely budgets at least 6 months in advance (59% vs. 53% of formal budget planning Don’t know 22% 9% worldwide IT pros). Worldwide
EMEA
IT Budget Planning When does your company start planning for next year’s budget?
6-12 months in advance
10% 6%
3-6 months
31%
in advance
27%
2013 1-3 months in advance
At least 1 year
26% 28%
in advance
4% 5% Worldwide
EMEA
25% 9%
22% 9%
We do not do any formal budget planning Don’t know Worldwide
EMEA
We do not do any formal budget planning Don’t know
Respondents: Worldwide (939) - EMEA (197)
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Does your company have a “use it or lose it” policy for your department’s annual budget? SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013
14%
17%
23%
27%
Yes
Outside Factors Impacting IT Spend.
No Don’t know
63% 56% While IT pros do their best to develop a budget to meet their company’s needs, a variety of corporate policies or practices go about managing and spending their budget throughout the Worldwide can impact how they EMEA year. Two specific areas we asked about were the likelihood of getting additional budget during the year and whether or not their company supports a “use it or lose it” policy. The results show a good amount of IT departments anticipate receiving extra funds headed their way with Does company have “use itthey or lose policy for your department’s budget? nearly half your of respondents (45%)astating are it” likely to receive additional budgetannual throughout the year worldwide and 42% in EMEA. Worldwide
63% of Receiving Additional Budget During Year Likelihood
23%
14%
EMEA
How likely is it that your department will receive additional budget throughout the year?
56%
27%
11%
Yes
9%
17%
Very likely
13%No
Don’t know
32%
19%
45%
Likely to receive additional budget
12%
10% 11% 31%
21%
42%
Likely to receive additional budget
Somewhat likely Neither Not very likely
Does your company have a “use it or lose it” policy for your department’s annual budget?
17%
16%
Not at all likely
Worldwide Worldwide
23%
Don’t know
EMEA
63%
14%
Respondents: Worldwide (938) - EMEA (200)
EMEA
27% of respondents have 56%a “use it or lose it” policy and need to make sure all dollars 17% are unloaded by Only 23% year end. EMEA shows similar results with 27% having a “use it or lose it” policy. Yes
No
Don’t know
“Use it or Lose it” Budget Policy
Worldwide
23%
63%
14%
EMEA
27% Yes
56% No
17%
“
FROM THE COMMUNITY
I’ve found that the budget process is an ongoing process not a once a year event.
“
Does your company have a “use it or lose it” policy for your department’s annual budget?
Birdra IT Manager community.spiceworks.com
Don’t know
Respondents: Worldwide (937) - EMEA (196)
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SMB IT SPENDING: HOW IT PROS ARE ALLOCATING AND MANAGING BUDGETS IN 2013
Survey Methodology The results in this report are from a recent Voice of IT® survey conducted with 942 SMB IT pros worldwide from companies with less than 1000 employees. Nearly two-thirds of respondents are from North America and close to a quarter are from EMEA. By company size, over half (54%) are from companies with less than 100 employees.
Company Size
Region Latin America
250+ employees
17%
1-19 employees
19%
11%
EMEA
23%
29% 100-249 employees
Asia Pacific
4%
48% 63%
North America
35% 20-99 employees
About Spiceworks Voice of IT® The Spiceworks Voice of IT® market Insights program publishes stats, trends and opinions collected from small and medium business technology professionals that are among the more than 2M users of Spiceworks. Survey panelists opt-in to answer questions on technology trends important to them.
About Spiceworks Spiceworks™, the world’s largest social business platform for IT, connects 2 million IT professionals with more than 1,200 technology brands. By combining a Facebook-like community with free IT management software, Spiceworks helps businesses to discover, buy and manage $350 billion worth of technology products and services each year. To learn more, visit: http://www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it
Be first to hear about Spiceworks Voice of IT® insights, email: marketresearch@spiceworks.com
The contents in this report are a result of primary research performed by Spiceworks. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents distributed as part of this report are copyrighted by Spiceworks. As such any information made available by any means in this report may not be copied, reproduced, duplicated, published, displayed, transmitted, distributed, given, sold, traded, resold, marketed, offered for sale, modified to create derivative works or otherwise exploited for valuable consideration without prior written consent by Spiceworks. For more information visit www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it/terms. This report contains information of fact relating to parties other than Spiceworks. Although the information have been obtained from, and are based on sources that Spiceworks believes to be reliable, Spiceworks does not guarantee the accuracy, and any such information might be incomplete or condensed. Any estimates included in this report constitute Spiceworks’ judgment as of the date of compilation, and are subject to change without notice. This report is for information purposes only. All responsibility for any interpretations or actions based on the information or commentary contained within this report lie solely with the recipient. All rights reserved. 2012.
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