Based on a recent survey conducted by the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) on IT spending of 500 Taiwanese SMBs (Small- and Medium-sized Business) employing between 20 and 199 people, it is expected that the average IT spending per Taiwanese SMB in 2009 will amount to NT$2.78 million (US$84,524.2; US$1=NT$32.89), down NT$320,000 (US$9,729.4) compared to 2008. The main reason for this decline is the continuing impact of the global financial crisis. 56% of SMBs lean towards reducing IT expenditures. Only 2% of Taiwanese SMBs plan to increase their IT spending.

Desktop PCs are the most adopted PC type among Taiwanese SMBs. As for storage equipment, optical disk drives and disk arrays are used the most. Network storage applications have significant potential. Regarding network communications equipment, the establishment rates of WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) are the highest. In the future, Taiwanese SMBs are expected to have significant demand for video-conference systems and IP phones.

In 2009, average spending on IT software among Taiwanese SMBs is expected to reach nearly NT$400,000 (US$12,161.8). Enterprise software applications are still mostly basic applications such as HR, PSI management, and ERP. Open-source adoption rates are relatively high among server systems and database systems. More than 80% of Taiwanese SMBs have already set up websites for external visitors. Cloud computing and e-commerce transactions, however, are still not prevalent among Taiwanese SMBs.

As for the number of IT personnel employed by Taiwanese SMBs, more than 90% of SMBs employ fewer than five. IT outsourcing among SMBs focuses on mainframes and e-mail management, website design and set-up, and application system maintenance. Outsourcing items with future growth potential include application system establishment and IT security.

Large amounts of spam email and PC virus infections are currently the most problematic IT security threats for Taiwanese SMBs. The majority of SMBs have already installed anti-virus systems and firewalls. In the coming three years, there will be considerable demand for intrusion detection and protection systems and data leak protection systems.

According to MIC Senior Analyst Victor Weng, "IT spending of Taiwanese SMBs in the future will focus on strengthening IT security and integrating existing application software."