SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: According to the latest SMB Online Experience research from Compass Intelligence, small businesses are negatively affected, but not defeated, by the current US recession.  The survey also revealed that leading ICT players like Dell, AT&T and IBM were truly "SMB-savvy" online.

One of the key findings  is that the majority of small business IT buyers have remained positive about their IT spending during the most troubling and uncertain months of this recession, with 42 percent per cent of those surveyed in March of this year expecting to keep their ICT spending unchanged in 2009, while another 20 per cent expect ICT spending to increase. This is slightly down from research completed in November of last year.  

They predict that as the economy stabilizes and the various stimulus packages do their job, the SMB spirits and spending will start to rise later in 2009.

"Our research shows that roughly 60 per cent of US SMBs have been negatively affected to some degree by this recession. But, most still expect to invest in technology this year. That's because the spirit of the American entrepreneur is not easily broken – they are a powerful force of economic recovery and, in good years, a catalyst for growth," said Kneko Burney, chief strategist of Compass Intelligence. 

"Understanding this uniquely indomitable spirit will help larger companies, like those in this research, tap into the massive and growing SMB market opportunity," he added.