IT helps small business growth.

Most small business executives believe that IT is a key contributor to their business's ability to succeed and grow.

Information technology (IT) helps small businesses survive and grow, according to a recent report of a study conducted by CDW Corporation, a provider of technology and services for business, government, and education. The 2008 CDW Small Business Driver's Seat Study examines the role of technology in small businesses (companies with between 5 and 99 employees).

The study asked 555 small business executives to share their attitudes, challenges, and achievements and to identify the technology trends they think will be most important for their businesses as they grow. The study also identified some significant differences in technology strategy, experience, and plans among minority-and women-owned businesses.

The IT hill climb

The study found that the growth period of a company from 50 to 100 employees is a time of dynamic--often dramatic--IT evolution. As a company gains traction, its networks grow in size and become more complex, its applications become more sophisticated, and it hires more IT professionals.

During this time, executives' attitudes towards technology seem to influence business growth rates: 68% of study respondents who "consider IT a strategic investment" experienced 10% or more average annual growth during the preceding five years, compared with 36% of respondents who decided to "stick with technologies that are proven useful and cost effective."

External costs and intense competition drive small business executives to acquire technology that can help...