Signs are generally pointing in the right direction for an economic recovery, and businesses are preparing to open their wallets to refresh tired, old systems. That's good news for solution providers and, in particular, security resellers who will be dragged into nearly every system purchase.

A new survey by Spiceworks, the global community of IT professionals and service providers, found that two out of three SMB IT decision makers plan to add new hardware to their networks within the next six month. On average, SMBs are allocating 37 percent of their IT budgets to hardware purchases in the coming year. This is welcomed news, since these same businesses had been sitting on aging infrastructure and extending the service life of hardware to 50 months or longer.

Roughly one-half of SMBs say they'll add new software to their inventory, too. Security tops the list of software purchases, with 32 percent of the survey respondents saying they'll add protective measures such as anti-virus, anti-spam and other software packages to their IT investments. An additional 25 percent plan to add backup and recovery capabilities to their mix. Roughly one-quarter to one-third of those adding these technologies will opt for a cloud-based service.

Sounds like pure goodness, but the truth is that solution providers will need to push security rather than expect SMBs to simply ask for it. Earlier this year, Channel Insider's 2009 Market Pulse Report noted that end users are actively seeking new offerings such as smartphones, virtualization, handheld and mobile devices, and productivity software. Security didn't even make the top 10.

End users are conditioned to ask for applications and security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, anti-spam solutions and, perhaps, wireless security. But those security measures are pretty much table stakes. What the Spiceworks survey indicates is that solution providers must impress upon SMBs the importance of comprehensive security measures that are tailored to their risk exposure and operational threats.

Surprising from this survey is that only a fraction of SMBs are considering cloud-based security and backup services. Managed and hosted services are, in many cases, perfect fits for SMBs, since they don't require infrastructure investments or significant staffing support. The recent Channel Insider/CompTIA Security Assessment Study found that solution providers have a roughly equal chance of selling a managed services or on-premises technology during a security sale.

If SMBs are truly getting ready to open their wallets, don't expect the dollars to flow fast or easy. While it takes time to design systems that are right-sized to the threat, it will be well worth the effort. Solution providers that devise sound security systems with a demonstrable benefit will win the lion's share of the SMB security spend.