Verizon Enterprise has launched its fifth annual State of Small Enterprise Survey, highlighting important tendencies in expertise adoption amongst small and midsize companies (SMBs). Carried out by Morning Seek the advice of, the survey captures insights from 621 SMBs throughout the U.S. and underscores a rising reliance on expertise, together with synthetic intelligence (AI), to drive operations and overcome financial pressures.
The survey revealed that using AI amongst SMBs has greater than doubled, with 39% of respondents reporting energetic AI use in 2024 in comparison with simply 14% in 2023. Elevated familiarity with AI instruments has contributed to this surge, as companies discover automation to reinforce effectivity and streamline duties.
Know-how investments have additionally grown considerably, pushed by the necessity to assist increasing on-line operations. Up to now 12 months, 38% of respondents added digital parts to their companies, and 66% upgraded their web bandwidth to fulfill elevated calls for.
“Small enterprise house owners are getting the dangle of AI, discovering the way it can automate time-consuming duties and enabling them to focus extra on their core enterprise operations,” mentioned Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Income Officer, Enterprise Markets and SaaS, Verizon Enterprise.
Regardless of financial challenges, together with rising inflation and considerations about monetary safety, SMBs stay optimistic about their future. Whereas 83% of respondents expressed nervousness about inflation, and 62% voiced considerations about their companies’ monetary stability, over half consider their monetary state of affairs will enhance within the coming months.
Brick-and-mortar retailers are additionally anticipating a robust vacation season, with 52% getting ready for an in-store-first method—up 13 factors from final 12 months. Many are banking on elevated demand throughout Small Enterprise Saturday (59%) and all through the vacation season (73%).
The survey discovered that SMBs are more and more leveraging social media to have interaction prospects and drive gross sales. Fb stays the main platform, with 84% of respondents utilizing it for promotion and buyer interplay. Different platforms gaining traction embody Instagram (67%), LinkedIn (64%), YouTube (64%), TikTok (57%), and X/previously Twitter (54%). Moreover, 39% of SMBs now function social media storefronts.
To assist SMBs, Verizon Enterprise is providing a free “tech verify” throughout Small Enterprise Days from October 14-20. These one-on-one consultations purpose to assist companies assess their expertise wants and establish tailor-made options. Promotions throughout this era embody free 5G telephones for switching to Verizon Enterprise and as much as $300 off for bringing an present quantity.
Moreover, Verizon’s Small Enterprise Digital Prepared platform offers free digital expertise coaching and sources for SMBs, together with over 50 programs on AI, advertising, and monetary planning. This system, a part of Verizon’s aim to assist a million SMBs by 2030, has already helped over 360,000 companies.
