Small and medium businesses turn to automation

May 18, 2021

One year after the pandemic hit many small and medium-sized businesses hard, a new global survey shows 80% of these companies consider the ability to automate tasks and processes key to surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey commissioned by Xerox says.

According to the survey, 85% of respondents were more reliant than ever before on communication technologies, remote IT support, and security hardware and software.

The Xerox State and Fate of Small and Medium Business survey conducted by Morning Consult polled 1,200 business decision makers from companies with 25 to 1,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Other key findings:

82% say digitizing paperwork is important to their survival.
75% are more reliant on workflow technologies, compared with their pre-pandemic setups.
88% view security software and hardware that protects business information as core to their longevity, with 75 percent likely to upgrade current solutions this year.
65% said remote IT support was a substantial pain point – and 74% are likely to invest in better solutions this year.

Survey respondents were optimistic: 64% anticipate emerging from the pandemic stronger. 81% acknowledge the health crisis has made them more reliant on technology – and they clearly see that reliance continuing in order to support and secure a distributed workforce. Compared to last year, 75% have increased their technology budgets by an average of 34%.

“Small and medium businesses are the foundation of the U.S. economy and are critical for sustained economic growth,” said Joanne Collins Smee, Chief Commercial, SMB and Channels Officer at Xerox. “They need technologies designed specifically for them with local service and support experts who understand unique business needs.”

The State and Fate of Small and Medium Business white paper is available for download here.