In the midst of a difficult economic climate, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Mexican fired in 2009 with the dilemma of either survive or die trying. And only those who are entrepreneurs willing to invest in tools such as information technology (IT) that generate long-term benefits will be those that remain on the market.

Eduardo Ruiz Esparza, president of the National Chamber of the Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology (Candiotti): “2010 will be a good opportunity for IT adoption, as companies are becoming more pressure to lower costs and improve efficiency.” “Especially in SMEs is essential to promote mass access to the Internet and the use of mobile devices,” he stresses.

According to estimates by consulting firm Select, in 2010, the market for Information Technology and Communications (ICT) will grow by 10% on average, driven by an increase of 12% in telecommunications, especially adoption of broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). However, this growth will be driven by the MSMEs.

“For the MiPymes take advantage of information technology in these times of crisis, not just simply buy solutions and devices, it is necessary to adopt best practices within their processes, otherwise it is useless spending” says Barbara Galvez, senior analyst Demand ICT consultancy Select.

While these companies represent nearly 98% of the over 4 million businesses in the country, its level of technological adoption is still nascent. In 2009, says Hiram Monroy, director of Intel Business Mexico, one of the priorities of technology adoption in SMEs was the purchase of laptops and mobile devices, via wholesalers and department stores, “and next year the trend will be similar”.

This phenomenon implies that mature as businesses use their PC or laptop as a server to store its databases, purchase orders and other important business information. According to Barbara Gales, the technological landscape in Mexico through 2010 will be oriented towards increasing adoption in the SOHO market, i.e. the small office and especially the work at home.
“The economic crisis facing the country require the proliferation of new models of work, with more professionals working from home, taking advantage of technologies and devices that allow the exchange of information remotely,” says the expert. Experts agree that the segment of micro, small and medium companies in Mexico at a disadvantage competing businesses of similar size in the world.

“We must recognize that Mexican SMEs are at a level of delay compared with the small and medium enterprises of the best countries and even lower than countries with less developed than ours. By contrast, large companies in Mexico can compete against anyone in the world, “says analyst Select. The challenge now, says Ruiz Esparza meanwhile, is to alert owners of SMEs that use of IT can bring efficiency to your business.