Setapp survey: software usage in small and medium-sized companies

At Setapp today the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Tools Report 2021 presented. In the study, which is the analysis of a survey in the USA and the UK, various aspects of working with software offerings are broken down. It is also about the division of work in the office, in the home office and in the hybrid model. The last two forms in particular have become increasingly important due to the Covid 19 pandemic since the end of 2019. Working on the computer requires certain software - but what is it, how is it obtained and how is the overall offer assessed? Here are a few numbers from the research.

In the following you will find a few key statements from the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Tools Report 2021 from Setapp. You can find more details about the survey and evaluation on the Setapp website.

Setapp evaluation: Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Tools Report 2021

The “Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Tools Report 2021” can be roughly translated as “Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Tools Report 2021”, which is of course about digital tools for working on the computer. Questions were asked about the use of operating systems, apps, their number, the evaluation of the offer and more.

For this purpose, people from different industries and in different employment relationships were surveyed in the USA from September 6 to 8, 2021 and in the United Kingdom from September 17 to 20, 2021. Many areas were covered, from teaching and tourism to finance and business management to software development and medicine. 

Here is a few individual and very interesting information from the evaluation (rounded values):

• In the USA 65% and in the UK 76% of the respondents use a Windows computer for work
• 39% of all respondents said that they use apps from the company's “internal app stores”
• More than 60% use up to six different programs on their computer / laptop every day
• Half of the US and UK SMEs use Microsoft's offerings for teamwork
• A quarter of employees find the number of usable apps in their area overwhelming

Hybrid work or the concentration on office work and home office was also asked. It found that around 39% of respondents in the US and around 48% in the UK work in the hybrid model. On average, around a quarter of those surveyed stated that they only work from outside the company. By contrast, around 26% in the US and around 22% in the UK stated that they only work in the office. In between there were also the answer options that you work mainly from home or mainly in the office, as you can see in this overview:

As mentioned above, most employees use a Windows PC in their office or home office work. Apple computers with macOS make up the lion's share of the remaining shares. In the US, 30,59% of respondents use macOS and in the UK it is 21,86%. Linux is represented with 2,3% and 1,5% respectively. At 1,64%, a larger proportion in the US use a “different operating system” than they use Linux in the UK. The “others” account for only 0,9% in the UK.

It was also asked whether desktop apps or web applications in particular are used, how often the apps are updated or replaced for work, which apps are used for team work, which sources of supply are preferred and whether the number of used apps is seen as expedient. A few key statements from these additional questions and answers are these (with rounded percentages):

• Desktop apps are preferred by 62% in the US and 72% in the UK
• The preferred or exclusive use of web applications is in the single-digit range
• Around two thirds in both regions stated that they were satisfied with the number of apps used 
• Around a quarter thinks that too many apps have to be used for work
• Around half said that the programs preinstalled on their computers were being used
• When it comes to choices, the majority stated that they primarily choose from the set of apps specified by the company
• Further answers for reference channels were: own research and purchase recommendations for the company, use of test versions, independent purchase of apps, and others

Survey: Mac Apps Report 2021 - Software and what users want from it

Summary and further information

The first Setapp survey to date on software use in small and medium-sized companies (in the USA and UK) gives a comprehensive insight into the topic. If this interests you and you want to know which questions and possible answers there were, then you can visit the blog of the Setapp website drop by. I do not yet have an exact link to the survey, as I am writing this post as part of the embargo and planning to publish it. At this point, thanks to Setapp for allowing me to take a look at the analysis of the survey in advance. What do you think of the results? Feel free to leave a comment!

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.