2025: Top 10 SMB and Midmarket Business Issues, IT Priorities and Challenges

Techaisle has released its annual infographics detailing the Top 10 IT Priorities, Challenges, and Business Issues for SMBs, Core Midmarket, and Upper Midmarket firms. In its 15th year of global tracking, Techaisle surveyed over 5000 businesses across various employee segments to provide a comprehensive overview of the IT market. The survey reveals key business goals, technology priorities, and IT challenges for the upcoming year, offering invaluable insights to IT vendors, channel partners, and media.

Business Issues

In 2025, Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) will encounter several significant challenges. Attracting and retaining top talent will be crucial, necessitating adaptation to technological advancements. This effort extends beyond recruitment, encompassing the attraction of skilled workers in a competitive market that demands remote work options, flexibility, and competitive benefits. It is not merely about reducing IT costs but strategically integrating new technologies such as AI and automation to enhance efficiency, customer service, and potentially product or service offerings.

Financial resilience will require meticulous financial management and risk mitigation strategies. With increasing reliance on digital tools and data, robust security measures and compliance with evolving regulations will be essential to address data security and privacy concerns. Protecting sensitive information from cyber threats will be paramount.

Meeting customer expectations will demand a focus on personalized experiences and omnichannel engagement, where customers anticipate seamless interactions both online and offline. Additionally, there will be an expectation for more sustainable and ethical business practices. Innovation and differentiation will be imperative to remain competitive, necessitating a culture of experimentation and unique offerings.

Reaching target audiences in a fragmented digital landscape will require sophisticated marketing and sales strategies. Digital marketing and sales optimization will be critical for engaging customers effectively. Building resilient supply chains will help mitigate disruptions and ensure business continuity. Compliance with regulatory requirements will be necessary to avoid penalties and maintain a positive reputation. Finally, integrating sustainability and social impact into business practices will be important for attracting and retaining both customers and investors.

Technology Priorities

Technology will be essential in overcoming the challenges facing SMBs. Advanced AI and automation will streamline operations and enhance efficiency. Beyond basic AI assessment, SMBs will explore more sophisticated applications, such as automating complex business processes using AI and machine learning. They will leverage AI to deliver personalized customer experiences and recommendations. Furthermore, predictive analytics will empower SMBs to forecast trends and make data-driven decisions.

Cybersecurity will take precedence, necessitating robust security measures and a proactive stance on data privacy. With increasing cyber threats and stricter data privacy regulations, SMBs will need to invest in robust security measures. This includes implementing a "never trust, always verify" approach to security known as Zero Trust, implementing Data Loss Prevention (DLP) measures to protect sensitive data from leaving the organization's control, and conducting comprehensive Security Awareness Training to educate employees about cybersecurity risks and best practices.

Optimizing cloud computing will be crucial for unlocking value and reducing costs. Cloud adoption will continue to mature, with a focus on managing cloud spending effectively to avoid overspending. SMBs will increasingly adopt multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies, utilizing multiple cloud providers or combining cloud and on-premises infrastructure for flexibility and resilience. Serverless computing will also gain traction, allowing SMBs to reduce operational overhead and improve scalability.

Enhanced collaboration and communication tools will be vital for supporting remote work and improving productivity. Data analytics and business intelligence will be pivotal in making informed business decisions. SMBs will increasingly rely on data to drive decision-making, utilizing real-time analytics to gain immediate insights from data and respond to changing market conditions. Data visualization and storytelling techniques will be employed to present data in a clear and compelling way to facilitate understanding and action. Finally, robust data governance and quality measures will be implemented to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and compliance.

Customer experience (CX) optimization will remain critical, focusing on personalized interactions and omnichannel engagement. Delivering exceptional customer experiences will remain a key focus. This will involve providing seamless customer interactions across all channels (e.g., online, mobile, in-store) through omnichannel CX strategies. Furthermore, personalized CX will be crucial, tailoring customer experiences based on individual preferences and needs. Customer Journey Mapping will be employed to understand and optimize the customer journey to improve satisfaction and loyalty. Unified experience platforms will gain importance over siloed customer and employee experience platforms, enabling a more holistic and integrated approach to enhancing the overall user experience.

IT Challenges

IT departments are expected to face numerous challenges. Effectively managing and integrating Generative AI will require meticulous planning with a focus on data privacy and security. While 2024 witnessed a surge in AI adoption, 2025 will emphasize its effective integration into existing workflows. Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) will grapple with identifying practical AI applications, ensuring ethical and unbiased AI usage, and addressing the growing skills gap in AI expertise.

Cybersecurity and data privacy remain paramount concerns for SMBs. The ever-evolving landscape of threats such as ransomware and phishing attacks, coupled with increasing regulatory compliance requirements like GDPR and CCPA, make safeguarding data and systems increasingly challenging. This complexity is further heightened by the rise of hybrid work models, necessitating robust security measures for remote access and endpoints.

Addressing the skills gap and sourcing qualified IT professionals will be a significant hurdle. The ongoing challenge of finding and retaining skilled IT professionals persists. The competition for talent is fierce, and the rapid pace of technological advancements demands continuous training and upskilling. To address this, SMBs may increasingly rely on outsourcing and managed services.

As cloud adoption accelerates, optimizing cloud spending and avoiding overspending will be critical. This involves managing cloud sprawl, ensuring efficient resource utilization, and maintaining security and compliance within cloud environments.

The complexities of data management and analytics will increase, requiring robust solutions for data collection, storage, and analysis. Adapting to remote and hybrid work models will demand investments in technology and support mechanisms for employees. Lastly, effective budget management and demonstrating return on investment (ROI) will be crucial for securing future funding. Demonstrating the value of IT investments and managing budgets effectively are ongoing challenges. Prioritizing IT investments that deliver the greatest return, measuring IT ROI, and exploring cost-effective solutions will be essential for SMB success.

To download the 2025 Top 10 Small Business infographic, click here.

To download the 2025 Top 10 SMB infographic, click here.

To download the 2025 Top 10 Core Midmarket infographic, click here.

To download the 2025 Top 10 Upper Midmarket infographic, click here.