Increasing efficiency vital for SMEs

Midsized businesses are most concerned with Information Management

A study by IBM of midsize organizations in 17 countries shows that companies have not been deterred from their plans for strategic IT initiatives, which range from information management and security management to social media and cloud computing.

The highest-priority technology solution, chosen by 75 percent of respondents, is Information Management, which translates data.

The most pressing business challenges include increasing efficiency and productivity (80 percent), improving customer care (74 percent) and better use of information (72 percent).

The impact of the economy on IT budgets has caused 53 percent to actually increase or re-prioritize their spending, with 37 percent reporting a decrease .

Despite the economy, more than two-thirds of those surveyed are planning or currently implementing their top IT priorities.

“Midmarket organizations openly acknowledge the challenges posed by the current economy, but they aren’t paralyzed into inaction. In spite of tough economic conditions and concerns about lack of implementation skills, they are continuing to invest and plan against their key IT projects to support their business goals,” said Marc Dupaquier, general manager, IBM Global Midmarket.

“This study clearly shows that midsize companies, which we believe will be the engines that lead us back to economic growth, are being cautiously optimistic and proactive.”

In spite of the current economic climate and concerns about barriers to successful implementation of IT projects, more than two-thirds are planning or currently implementing their top IT priorities, led by Infrastructure Reliability (75 percent), Disaster Recovery (72 percent), Information Management (71 percent) and Security Management (68 percent).