Why small and medium businesses are investing in tech

SMBs are banking on tech to help boost performance

Despite financial and operational pressures, it’s clear that small and medium business leaders are tuned in to the benefits of investing in technology.

At the end of 2025, we surveyed over 1,200 leaders of businesses with fewer than 500 employees to check in on their top concerns and how they’re feeling about tech. Financial fundamentals were unsurprisingly top of mind, but our research also highlighted:

• Widespread recognition of the opportunity to use tech to improve productivity.
• A heightened concern about cyber security risks.
• Belief in the potential for AI to level the playing field for smaller businesses.

Their priorities may differ, but most of the business leaders we surveyed said they plan to maintain or increase tech investment over the next two years.

Investing for CX, productivity and growth

Tech investment isn’t just discretionary spend. It can help boost performance by enabling you to respond to changing market demands and strengthen your position.

Our research revealed that SMB leaders planning to spend more on tech were also more likely to plan to:

• improve customer experience (CX)
• increase productivity
• grow their business.

Growth-focused SMBs are more likely than others to be planning to increase tech spend, but it’s not just about expansion. Tech can also help improve existing business operations.

Business tech is now a competitive issue

Widespread digitisation of business processes, has set a new baseline for tech as a key business enabler. The game has shifted to how tech can help improve your market position.

It’s not just about gaining advantage; it’s about avoiding disadvantage. Two-thirds of the SMB leaders we surveyed agree that staying up to date with the latest tech is important to staying competitive in business.

Getting tech right helps unlock productivity

Getting your tech tools to work well together can help you deliver a better customer experience, reduce risk and save time. Most SMB leaders we surveyed (73%) agree that investing in the right tech is key to helping businesses improve productivity.

Tech can help you become more efficient and competitive. But you need to take a proactive approach to get the most from it.

Cutting through IT complexity

Far from being set and forget, today’s business technology requires active management.

How complexity builds over time

For many SMBs, technology underpins multiple areas of business operations, including collaboration, customer service and data management.

Almost half of the business leaders we surveyed (44%) agree that the challenges of integrating new tech slow them down. And over time, lack of effective integration can cause fragmentation.

Ultimately your business can end up with a complicated IT set up that may slow things down and create extra risks. Complexity doesn’t arrive all at once. It creeps in quietly over time through reasonable, but short-term, decisions.

When tech starts competing for attention

Left unchecked, business tech can end up draining time and competing for your attention.

When you have limited capacity, the risk is that your focus is pulled away from spending time with customers, your people or on strategy. Tech is essential to your business but can start feeling like another full-time job.

It’s a sentiment echoed by the business leaders we surveyed with 40% of them agreeing they spend more time managing tech in their business than they’d like to.

The real issue SMBs are facing

The issue isn’t technology complexity itself. It’s the growing gap between what businesses adopt and what they can realistically manage.

The priority should be making sure you’re getting the full benefit of your investments and simplifying, not adding more complexity, as you make changes.

Regardless of business ambitions, many leaders are coming back to this key question: How can I ensure my business tech is operating efficiently, reliably and in the most secure way possible?

How managed IT services can help

To help manage tech more effectively, many SMBs rely on managed services. Many of the business leaders we surveyed (43%) agree that support from external IT experts helps them focus on running their business, not managing their tech.

A response to complexity, not a loss of control

Managed service providers (MSPs) can help with many aspects of business IT, from your business network and devices to cloud and collaboration solutions.

Learn more about what can be covered by managed IT services.

The aim isn’t to give up control. It’s to reduce operational burden, help boost overall security, and manage IT better as your needs change.

When external expertise becomes valuable

Managed IT services often enter the conversation when tech demands start creating barriers to efficiency or growth.

Used well, they can help reduce time wasted and strengthen security. And they can help you ensure tech stays aligned with current and future business priorities.

A key benefit noted by around half (44%) of the business leaders we surveyed was that outsourcing tech to an expert partner helps them make sure they get the most value from the tech they’re using.

Choosing the right managed service provider

At their best, managed IT services should help give you confidence that tech is supporting your business vision, not dragging your attention away from it.

Not all managed service providers are the same and the role of an IT partner is evolving.

Read about how to choose the right managed service provider.

Telstra Managed IT Services can help take your focus off IT and put it back on your business. Explore Telstra Managed IT Services.

About the research

In December 2025, we surveyed 1,240 owners and decision-makers from Australian businesses with fewer than 500 employees. We explored how they’re using and feel about technology in their business, where their concerns lie, and what their priorities are. The insights in this article are informed by their responses.