Top Investment Driver: Retiring Old Equipment

Seven of every 10 survey respondents cited technology "end of life" as the top purchase driver, followed by additional technology needs due to company growth (63 percent), and technology upgrade and refresh cycles (59 percent).

Looking into 2017, Spiceworks noted that both Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista will reach the end of their support next year, even though Office 2007 remains installed at 51 percent of businesses surveyed. Vista runs in only 10 percent of businesses, while Windows XP is still running in 56 percent of businesses, even though support for it ended in 2014, according to Spiceworks.

The takeaway: The survey also noted that budget and time constraints could delay upgrades, which means solution providers shouldn't necessarily count on a boatload of new revenue at this point.