G20 SMBs: PCs and Servers will be the top areas of IT investment as Economy Improves

G20 SMBs to spend US$455 Billion on IT in 2010 accounting for 89 percent of Global SMB IT spend
G20 Consumer/Households will Likely Spend US$96 Billion on IT in 2010 with a Household PC Penetration of 44 Percent

Small & Mid-Market Businesses (SMBs with 1-999 employees) in G20 countries are expected to spend US$435 Billion on IT in 2009. This represents a little over 89 percent of global SMB IT spend in 2009. In contrast the G20 are expected to account for 87% of global GDP in 2009. While 2009 has been a slow growth year with pace picking in the latter half of the year, G20 SMBs IT spend is forecast to grow by 4.5 percent in 2010 to US$455 Billion. The forecast growth rate is weighed down by the slow growth within established countries that are members of G20.

The G20 comprises the USA, Japan, China, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Africa and the rest of the EU (represented by the European council president).

There are a total of 48 million SMBs in the G20 member countries that represent 67 percent of SMBs globally. The PC penetration among the G20 SMBs is 70 percent. This results in over 33 million SMBS that have at least one PC representing 83 percent of global SMBs that have a PC. Similarly, Internet penetration is 65 percent and broadband penetration is 59 percent among the G20 SMBs. However, the server penetration among G20 SMBs is only 20 percent.

 In a survey of SMBs across several countries, when businesses were specifically asked which areas of IT were they planning to invest in when the economy in their respective countries improved, the following priorities emerged:

1. Purchasing new PCs


2. Purchasing new servers


3. Upgrading business productivity software (Office)


4. Upgrading network hardware (switches, routers)


5. Upgrading existing servers


6. Investing in Unified Communications


7. Implementing new networks


8. Upgrading line of business software (LOB)


9. Others


10. Upgrading PC & network security software

 Similarly, there are 1,199 million or 1.99 billion households within the G20 member countries which represent 72 percent of total number of households worldwide. These G20 households are forecast to spend US$96 billion on IT in 2010 representing over 87 percent of worldwide consumer spending.  The PC penetration among households within G20 countries is only 44 percent but it constitutes over 86 percent of worldwide households that have at least one PC.

Anurag Agrawal
Techaisle