New Study from GTIA Shows SMBs in the U.S. are Hungry for Technology and Focused on Growth, Efficiency, and AI

Research from the industry association highlights SMB's willingness to invest more in the technology and talent needed to help advance customer experience, worker productivity and innovation

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) today released new B2B market research and intelligence that reveals how and why small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. are leaning into technology and leveraging the talent of ITSPs to solve for real business outcomes.

Unveiled during ChannelCon 2025, GTIA's annual end-user research focuses on three key business and technology trends. These include:

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• An increasing awareness of the need for greater alignment between business goals and tech spending, with 65% identifying technology as a "primary factor" in attaining business goals.
• A strong and growing interest in AI adoption among SMBs, with more than 6 in 10 noting a moderate or significant increase in AI spending in 2025.
• A wake-up call about cybersecurity diligence with only 4 in 10 SMBs surveyed identifying cybersecurity as a strategic tech area they prioritize and spend on in 2025.

"Today's SMBs are prioritizing growth, operational efficiency and increasingly AI," said Carolyn April, VP of Research and Market Intelligence, GTIA. "And with 80% of SMBs acknowledging they have "some or a lot of room" for improvement with respect to vision and strategy for use of tech, the time is now for IT service professionals to step in and get IT done right." 

Other notable insights revealed in the 2025 study:

• 99% of U.S. businesses have fewer than 500 employees and employ 45% of the total workforce, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Nearly two-thirds of SMBs are set to spend between $25K and $1M on tech this year, with many investing a higher share of revenue on technology than large enterprises.
• AI is leading the way as the most impactful new or emerging technology over the next two years, named by almost two-thirds of SMBs.

"SMBs and the channel partners who support them are stepping into a new era of technology leadership and B2B growth," said April. "The future is now as SMBs and ITSPs forge stronger partnerships and work together to enhance security, scale efficiently, and apply AI in meaningful ways to improve upon the customer experience, productivity, and innovation, while operating secure by default."

To learn more about technology's impact on today's SMBs, download the 2025 GTIA SMB Technology & Buying Trends Research at no cost, click here.

About the Global Technology Industry Association
The Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) is a vendor-neutral, 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership community connecting and representing the worldwide IT channel. We set our members up for success by providing benefits that include trusted resources and networking opportunities. In addition, the association sets industry standards that enable companies to build sustainable, secure and profitable businesses in an ever-changing technology landscape. Internationally, GTIA represents tens of thousands of professionals from more than 2,000 MSPs, solution providers, vendors, distributors and other companies serving the IT channel. For more information, visit gtia.org.

SOURCE Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA)