The State of SME IT in the U.S. 

The United States has faced some significant economic headwinds and shifts in the last few years. Even the geographical spread of wealth in the U.S. economy has shifted considerably since the pandemic. Now, an already struggling economy is forecast to continue to slow. What does this mean for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S.? 

In a recent survey, JumpCloud asked this question to over 300 IT professionals working at SMEs in the U.S.

Read on to learn the results. 

What Current Affairs and Cultural Trends Are Impacting IT?

Addressing the U.S. Gender Gap in Tech 

The gender gap in tech is nothing new, although it’s something schools, organizations, and activists have been working to close for decades. Despite these efforts, however, the gender gap maintains a strong hold on the U.S. According to JumpCloud’s 2024 survey, only 27.6% of IT professionals working at SMEs in the U.S. are women. By contrast, 37.3% of SME IT professionals in the U.K. are women. While neither country reaches an equal 50/50 split, it seems the U.S. still has significant ground to cover when it comes to the representation of women in tech.

How Are Upcoming Elections Affecting SMEs in the US? 

According to JumpCloud’s study, larger political events seem to be seeping their way into IT professionals’ work. About half (50.2%) of SMEs believe that upcoming elections are adding uncertainty to their organization’s future success. Only 7.6% of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement. 

Political leanings aside, it seems that IT professionals in the U.S. see the national impact of elections as something that is likely to spill over into their work. This will be something to keep in mind and potentially plan for as we look ahead to Q4. 

What’s the Latest on IT Layoffs in the US?

The U.S. has faced a tumultuous last few years when it comes to work stability. The number of layoffs in the U.S. rose by nearly 200% from 2021 to 2022, and then nearly doubled (rose by 98%) from 2022 to 2023. The IT sector was one of the hardest hit, and IT professionals in the U.S. are still wary of their job outlooks. According to the JumpCloud survey, nearly half of U.S. SMEs went through layoffs in the last six months, and 44.8% of U.S. IT professionals expect to see layoffs at their companies in the next six months. 

How Do US SMEs Feel About Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is a global problem, and the U.S. is not immune to the risks. Over half (58.5%) of SME IT professionals in the U.S. said security was their biggest challenge, and just about half (50.2%) are more concerned about security than they were six months ago. And these worries aren’t unfounded: nearly half (45.8%) of respondents’ organizations fell victim to a cybersecurity attack in the first half of 2024. Of the SMEs that have been attacked, 58.7% of them have been hit more than once.

Fortunately, SMEs seem invested in supporting IT teams as they work to protect their organizations. Over 70% of U.S. SMEs expect to see IT budget increases over the next six months. IT professionals see these investments as mission-critical: 73.5% say any security-related budget cuts would increase their risk. 

What Devices Does the Average SME in the US Use? 

The average SME in the U.S. has a rather heterogeneous device environment. 

Windows accounts for 63% of devices in the average U.S. SME, and nearly half of IT professionals expect their Windows device usage to increase over the next year. 

Macs account for nearly a quarter of the average device environment, and 35.9% of SMEs expect to increase their Mac usage. 

Finally, Linux makes up 18.5% of the average SME’s devices. A quarter of respondents expect their Linux usage to increase.

In general, most U.S. IT pros seem to anticipate device usage growth, regardless of the device type. This is likely due to the increasing need for flexibility and mobility in SMEs: employees need to be able to do their work from anywhere, and they want to be able to work on the machines that best serve them. That means SMEs are increasingly offering different operating systems for different roles (i.e., Linux for developers; macOS for creatives). In addition, it means businesses are increasingly implementing mobile devices for work. 

As hybrid work solidifies itself as the new norm moving forward, this trend of device heterogeneity is likely to continue. 

How Are SMEs Approaching AI in the US?

JumpCloud’s 2024 SME IT report showed that only 10% of global SMEs aren’t using AI and don’t plan to. With the remaining 90% on board, choosing to ignore AI would be choosing to fall behind.

U.S. SMEs seem to be embracing this development. About 83% of U.S. IT professionals say that their organizations should be investing in AI, and nearly 80% believe that AI will be a net positive for their organization.

Nearly half (45.5%) of U.S. SMEs are moving even faster than they planned to when it comes to AI, and another 30.2% are keeping pace with what they planned. Regardless of these pace changes, however, the majority (64.5%) of U.S. IT professionals think their organizations are moving at just the right speed when it comes to AI adoption. 

Despite this avid adoption and positive outlook, nothing in technology is truly black or white, and AI is no exception. SMEs in the U.S. are concerned about AI’s long-term (and current) effect on cyberattacks. About 58.8% of IT professionals in the U.S. think AI is outpacing their organization’s ability to protect against threats.

How Are U.S. SMEs Engaging with MSPs?

SMEs’ relationships with managed service providers (MSPs) in the U.S. seem to be going strong. Over three-quarters (77.4%) of U.S. SMEs use an MSP for at least some functions. Cloud storage was the most popular service from MSPs (56.2%), followed closely by system security (51.5%), system management (50.6%), and system monitoring (46.4%). 

What’s more, SMEs’ MSP engagements seem to be strengthening: over two-thirds (68.2%) expect to increase their MSP investments over the next year.

Notably, the cost of MSPs appears to be critically important. The most common reason U.S. SMEs say they use MSPs was because they are cost-effective (60%). Of the 22.6% of U.S. SMEs that don’t use MSPs, cost was the most common reason cited, clocking in at 45.6%. 

In addition, U.S. SMEs have indicated that security is a significant factor to them when it comes to MSPs. Over 40% of U.S. SMEs said they have concerns about the ways MSPs handle security. 

U.S. MSPs, take note: cost and security will be important factors — perhaps deciding factors — when it comes to winning new business and retaining your current customers.

Examining Global Trends

The statistics and trends presented here are just a regional slice of the full data presented in the July 2024 edition of JumpCloud’s biannual report. In the full report, JumpCloud explores critical topics for SMEs globally, including job outlook, specific attack vectors, and how larger macroeconomic trends are affecting SMEs. Download the full report.