SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.: According to new research from Compass Intelligence, consulting and market research firm, big ICT vendors are starting to "get" Small and Mid-Sized Business customers online.

Compass' latest rankings of ICT vendors' capability to build relationships with Small and Mid-sized (SMB) customers online, said that from Microsoft to Dell, the top vendors are using multimedia and interactive learning experiences to build relationships with these highly sought-after SMB customers.

The research shows that SMBs rely on the Internet to guide their technology purchasing decisions (for home and office) - thus Web channels are a must have.

Additionally, SMB decision-makers expect their businesses to grow in 2010 and believe in the value of investing in high-tech now.

"We estimate that SMBs represent more than $300 Billion in ICT spending - including telecom, computer systems and personnel. This BIG number is expected to grow between 5 per cent and 8 per cent over the next five years, making the SMB market one of the last, best growth opportunities for ICT vendors in the long-term," says Kneko Burney, chief strategist of Compass Intelligence.

She added that with a surge in ICT spending expected from this market and others in 1Q 2010, building effective web channels now means garnering profitable and potentially fast-growing revenue from this segment in the not-so-distant future.