There’s no doubt that IT support is rapidly becoming the business world’s number one concern.

The trouble is, it can be easy to overlook, especially for businesses that are looking to save money. What percentage of small businesses hire an IT staffer as opposed to outsourcing their IT? What do small businesses want in an IT professional? We decided to find out.

Small businesses prefer budget stability

The Groff NetWorks’ 2017 Capital Region IT Support Services Climate Survey focused on businesses with less than 50 employees. What we found is that these businesses don’t have massive budgets, which means most prefer budget stability.

Because of this, only 7 percent have a dedicated IT person. Outsourcing was the overwhelming preference among small business owners. In addition, only about 20 percent of the survey respondents maintain hourly contracts. A fixed monthly contract was greatly preferred.

Not just IT support

It’s obvious that a small business would hire a team of IT professionals to guard against security breaches and malware, but it turns out that they’re looking for a bit more.

A full 66 percent of respondents shared that their choice to outsource IT was because they were looking for a way to simplify IT management. What’s even more surprising is that they reported needing assistance understanding technology concerns. They were looking for a trusted partner who could keep them up to date and tell them what they don’t know, in addition to guarding their systems.

Learn more

We’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our small business IT findings. To learn more about how much small businesses are willing to spend on IT, how satisfied they are with their IT choices, and more, make sure you check out the Groff NetWorks 2017 Capital Region Small Business IT Survey.


If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to tell you more about our survey. We’d also love to tell you how we can help you streamline your IT management needs with unbeatable protection and support.