The ICT industry has long recognised the value of the SME market - most vendors have specific products and programmes targeting this sector - but reaching this vast and scattered market has always been a challenge.
 
Meanwhile, SMEs themselves have not always perceived ICT as a core need for their business and have traditionally not been fast technology adapters.
 
However, this could be changing, as a number of factors influence the future of both technology and the small business in SA.
 
While technology has become more affordable, it also allows small companies to achieve a global footprint never before possible, says Jo Melville, MD of Futurex & Equip organiser Exhibitions for Africa.
 
Meanwhile, the promise of a massive influx of tourists for the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be a major boost to SMEs around the country - but only if they seize the opportunities.
 
"The hospitality industry is one of the largest in terms of SMEs," says Melville, "and it is also one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country.
 
"Even without 2010, people do still visit the country - and how many more will 2010 attract? It is important for SMEs involved in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries to be online and to be efficient - and that means that they have to be looking at how ICT can help them."
 
This years Futurex & Equip, which will be held in Johannesburg in May, will make it easy for SMEs to find literally everything they need under one roof, from office furniture to stationery, from mobile communications to fully-fledged IT solutions.
 
"SMEs need technology, but they also need other things, so we are going to provide them with everything, from the basics right up to the high-tech servers," says Melville.
 
ICT will be available in the form of mobile devices, notebook computers, PCs, servers, networking, printers and other office equipment, she says.