Stability Benchmarks for Manufacturing Businesses
In February 2026, Rightworks surveyed 733 decision-makers from small and medium-sized businesses to find out what it really takes to build stable, resilient infrastructure. Here’s how manufacturing companies stack up against the broader SMB landscape.
Manufacturing stability snapshot
Manufacturing businesses outperform the broader SMB landscape—particularly in security and IT management. With an overall stability score of 53%, the industry sits in Stage 2 of the 5 Stages of Business Stability.
Here’s what stands out:
Strength: External IT support
65% use some form of outsourced IT—well above the 46% of total SMBs.
Trending: Cloud migration
Remote access (39%) and data backups (29%) were the top-rated cloud benefits.
At risk: Security
27% percent have had a data breach, notably higher than the SMB average (18%).
Where manufacturing businesses would like to level up
When asked what would have the biggest impact, three themes emerged.
- Growing revenue without adding headcount (49% vs. 36% for SMBs overall)
- Know we’re safe from hackers and breaches (34% vs. 27% for SMBs overall)
- Work from anywhere, not tied to the office (27% vs. 19% for SMBs overall)
What’s keeping them up at night?
We asked manufacturing businesses to share their top concerns over the past year. The top three selected include:
51% of manufacturing SMBs ranked “growing revenue and/or their customer base” as a top concern—compared to SMBs overall, where it ranks third (40%).
46% flagged profitability as a concern, which is not far off from the SMB average of 41%.
43% are concerned about the overall economy, closely mirroring the broader SMB landscape (41%).
Cloud migration: A great fit for manufacturing operations
Top cloud challenge: Lack of technical expertise (35%). Top benefit: Remote access from anywhere (39%).
Security: High Breaches, Steady Confidence
Twenty-seven percent of manufacturing businesses have experienced a cybersecurity incident or data breach, notably higher than the 18% SMB average. Yet confidence remains strong—72% feel “very or moderately confident” in their current security measures, closely mirroring the total SMB average of 70%.
1 in 4 manufacturing businesses has suffered a security breach.
Rightworks’ 2026 Business Stability Report
AI adoption: Manufacturing is on pace
Top concerns: Inaccuracy (60%) and data privacy (47%). Top benefits: Time savings (56%) and automation of tasks (53%).
Business management: Strong growth ambitions
Manufacturing companies have room to grow in business management planning. While strategic growth planning is a relative strength, documentation gaps remain.
- Strategic growth plan: 48% have a documented plan, slightly above the 43% SMB average.
- Data security plan: only 39% have one in place, below the 44% SMB average.
- Succession plan: 37% have a documented succession plan, in line with the 39% SMB average.
Resources for Manufacturing Businesses
Find out if you’ve got everything you need to keep your business going strong.
Explore the full findings from Rightworks’ 2026 SMB Technology Survey.
