As part of the work conducted at the e-Business Observatory since 2002, the European Commission has been monitoring the development of ICT applications and their impact on the economies of EU countries. Each year, this monitoring allows for the calculation of indicators across countries, sectors, and enterprises of various sizes.
As the Union expands to include more countries, the quantitative scope of the surveyed objects is being limited. This mainly concerns sectors –
for 3 years, 10 sectors have generally been selected, and some indicators concern groups of fewer than 25 countries. The article presents selected indicators for 2006, calculated based on surveys conducted in March and April of that year. They covered enterprises using computers. This population was divided into strata differing in size, and it was assumed that the surveyed sample must include at least 10% of large enterprises (over 250 employees), 30% of medium-sized enterprises (50-
249 employees), and 25% of small enterprises (10-
49 employees). Two features of the surveyed e-economy were immediately noticeable: the value of ICT indicators in 2006 was mainly influenced by the construction and tourism sectors, while their levels were highest in the northern countries and lowest in the southern countries of the Union. For example, the value of the e-Business indicator in Finland was 100, while in the Czech Republic it was 68, and in Hungary 56.
Infrastructure
The advancement of ICT technology saturation in the economy has recently been presented using the indicators shown below. Although almost all enterprises had access to the Internet, the use of more advanced technologies was still low. While on average in the 29 surveyed countries, 65% of firms connected their computers to a LAN, only 35% had wireless access. The level of VoIP usage was particularly low; on average, only 13% of enterprises used it. However, it is precisely for this medium that rapid growth in applications is expected in the coming years. The use of computers for internal work organization in companies was also relatively lower. While the use of the Internet took place in almost half of the surveyed enterprises, other possibilities created by ICT technologies were still poorly utilized. For example, an ERP system, which integrates almost all areas of economic activity and always ensures benefits, was effectively used by an average of only 11% of enterprises. The use of accounting software enjoyed the greatest popularity; it was used by 57% of firms and covered almost 70% of employees working in this field.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2007.