Disaster recovery a top priority for New Zealand SMBs

According to a study by AMI-Partners, New Zealand's small and medium businesses' (SMBs) spending on IT will jump 8 percent, to $1.5 billion in 2006.

Top priorities for spending will include enhancing data security and privacy via firewall deployment, implementing data back-up and disaster recovery solutions and interconnecting branch offices and customer locations using extranets and wide area networking (WAN).

"Businesses around the world have made security a top priority and New Zealand SMBs are no exceptions. Ever-increasing Internet use and high speed access, and the need to extend IT systems to external suppliers, vendors and customers make security a lucrative, expanding market," says Sau Lam, New York-based Research Analyst at AMI-Partners.

AMI-Partners estimates that New Zealand SMBs will invest $40 million on security-related products and services such as anti-virus and anti-spam software, intrusion detection programs, firewalls and other IT security measures this year. 93 percent of small businesses and virtually all New Zealand medium businesses have installed anti-virus protection, and more than 93 percent of MBs are using network-based firewalls. SMBs will also invest more in storage, business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.

•Date: 3rd March 2006• Region: New Zealand • Type: Article •Topic: BC markets
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