Welcome to the SearchSMB 50, a list of the top 50 small and medium-sized companies who get the best return on investment for IT.

With tight budgets, minimal staff and IT demands on overload, IT managers and CIOs are constantly faced with the challenge of balancing IT budgets and allocating the dollars where necessary.

The good news is, IT spending among SMBs has risen significantly this year, so IT budgeting may have become slightly easier. It's always a good sign when business budgets and spending are on the rise. It's even better when those budgets are IT budgets.

Still, IT managers and CIOs are wondering just how much spending is too much. How do you measure your return on investment? How do you balance your IT budget? What factors do you take into consideration?

The SearchSMB 50 is all about companies that excel in this area. Modeled after SearchCIO.com list of 200 large enterprises that excel in IT return on investment, the accompanying tables will show you the top small and midsize companies that are getting the IT budget balance right, and getting the most for their dollar. These companies are leveraging IT investments to get the best business results.

You may assume that these companies are well established and not like you. Yes, some are names you'll recognize, but there are more that you won't recognize. The 50 companies in 10 industries on the following charts spend anywhere from $4,000 to more than $30,000 per employee. The important thing here is that these top 50 companies spend their IT dollars wisely and deliver a higher business value than their competitors as a function of IT spending.

We partnered with researcher Alinean Inc. to measure this performance. The metric (explained in detail here) begins with Economic Value Added (EVA), a highly regarded measure of an organization's true profitability. The EVA is then divided by IT spending estimates drawn from industry averages and research conducted by research firm IDC and Alinean. The research was conducted in 2005, based on IT spending data for 2004.

The results? A list of the leaders who achieve the highest Return on IT, or ROIT. ROIT is Alinean's term used to describe the profitability and shareholder value that a company achieves from its IT investments. Click here for the Alinean's ROIT methodology.

What is driving their ROIT? Outsourcing? Offshoring? Better staff or management?

Take a look at the leaders in your industry and compare their budgets, company size, etc. with yours. The leaders are at the top of each industry, but do keep in mind that they are all leaders within their industry.

Once you've viewed the SMB 50, take a moment to calculate your own ROIT using Alinean's exclusive formula, detailed here.

We'll be profiling some of these ROIT achievers in the coming months, noting their secrets to ROIT success. Maybe you can model your IT organization after these companies' success stories. With a new look at your company's IT spending and investments, you'll be able to make wiser, more calculated choices and hopefully obtain and maintain even bigger IT budgets in the future.

Joyce Chutchian
Editor, SearchSMB.com
CIO Decisions Media Group, TechTarget
How do you compare to the SearchSMB 50?
Click here to find out.
Service provided by Alinean