SMEs planning 'significant investment' in technology this year, research suggests 01 Jun 2023Research carried out by consumer electronics company Sharp has suggested that nearly half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are planning on increasing their investment in business technology this year. Sharp revealed that many firms are planning on investing in technology despite the current challenging economic climate. 45% of SMEs plan to invest more than they did in 2022, and 56% are looking to invest more than £20,000 on new IT technology this year. The research also showed that 31% of SMEs are planning to invest in digital cloud products, whilst an additional 32% are focusing on upgrading or replacing IT servers. 'Despite understandable concerns about rising costs in the UK, businesses here are investing strategically in technology and seeing its value, even at a time of uncertainty,' said Stuart Sykes, Managing Director at Sharp. 'Organisations of all sizes are dealing with a host of issues in a hybrid working environment such as IT and security challenges, ensuring that technology is planned to support these issues now and in the future.'