The U.S. economy is still a mess as debate continues to boil over in Washington about the debt ceiling, balancing the national budget, taxes, and spending cuts. For many people, their own personal economies are in just as much turmoil, with unemployment or fears of job losses, belt-tightening, and debt relief services on the minds of many.

But, there are signs of economic recovery, at least from corporate America. For one, companies are in the buying mode again: Just in the past month alone, we’ve seen Augme acquire JagTag, Verint Systems acquire Vovici, and, just yesterday, Oracle announced plans to acquire knowledge management solutions provider inQuira. Details of a few other high-powered deals have surfaced in the past few months.

And a new report from CompTIA, the non-profit trade association of the IT industry, released just yesterday brings possibly the greatest financial news of all, and gives a clear indication of where the economy might be headed.

According to CompTIA, small and midsized businesses (SMBs) intend to expand their use of technology to improve customer interactions, mobility options, and operational efficiencies. In fact, seven out of 10 SMBs surveyed said they expect to increase their technology spending during the next 12 months, and a full third expect to increase their IT budgets by 10 percent or more. Most companies expect a 5 percent increase this year, though some can expect to devote significantly higher percentages, while others will probably spend less.

It’s unclear whether this increase in spending will reflect large, one-time purchases or smaller purchases over time, but either scenario is still a good sign for technology vendors and solution providers.

SMBs cited a desire for better network efficiencies and robustness, improved connections with customers online and in mobile environments, enhanced resource management and tracking, and more business analytics as key motivators for their increased spending. That too is a good sign for vendors and solutions providers, and provides a wealth of opportunity for CRM vendors in particular.

Or it could just be that technology is more accessible, more affordable, and more available to SMBs than ever before, as Seth Robinson, director of technology analysis at CompTIA., suggests. “SMBs may not have an abundance of capital to invest, so they have to make every dollar count. But the majority is willing to spend money on new technologies, especially solutions that give them capabilities on par with a larger enterprise,” he said in a statement.

As for me, I’m a glass-is-half-full optimist, and I hope corporate buying behaviors are a sign of greater confidence in an economic recovery. Heaven knows we could all use some good economic news right about now.