A recent government commissioned study ranked the UK third in Europe, and Ireland second in Europe in their use of Information and Communication Technology.  UK e–commerce minister Mike O’Brien enthused that UK firms are embracing internet trading opportunities like never before.

The report, implemented by Booz Allen Hamilton and HI Europe suggests that 69% of UK firms are using broadband and 30% of micro businesses are trading online. 

The comprehensive study, based on more than 8000 interviews outlined key findings:

• Proportion of smaller businesses with a website up 16% on previous year
• 73% of business provide products & services information online
• 44% of employees use email daily, up 9% on previous year
• Proportion of business that saw benefits of technology rose from 8% to 53% on previous year

Broadly, these findings are to be welcomed.  Depending on your business and political priorities, Northern Ireland is uniquely relevant to the findings for UK and Ireland and in any case being in two of the top three spots is to be celebrated.

Northern Ireland is uniquely placed for another reason, and that is that amount of government money that has been made available for the deployment of broadband throughout the province.  We hope that this investment continues to be well stewarded by those who have been put in charge of its distribution as we seek to become the first 100% broadband coverage area in the UK.

That the popularity of email is on the rise is of no surprise to any of us.  Perhaps the only surprise is that the official numbers are 44% and not higher.  These figures refers to personalised business email use, and so companies who have one email address / email computer where emails are printed out and distributed only have one employee included in the figures.  I expect these numbers will continue to rise year on year, with the only barrier to growth being the management of emails and accounting for the huge amount of executive time now invested in reading, writing and replying to emails.

It is very difficult to comment on the 16% rise on smaller businesses who have a website.  Having a website is an entirely neutral position, the real measurement of the site lies with its worth to the business, the quality of its content and amount of sales resulting from it.  A website can be anything from a home made one page, to a complex content managed portal of information.  Some small businesses just don’t need websites, and other small business will stagnate or grow depending on them.  The number is disappointingly meaningless.

Mr O’Brien’s summary of the report, whilst typical of a government soundbite, contains some truth “We are not at the finishing line yet and many challenges remain if the UK is to reach its aim of becoming a world–leading e–economy.”  Here in Northern Ireland development agencies and European funding have provided us with the infrastructure to give us every chance to compete with the very best on electronic platforms.  This report should be a timely shot in the arm reminding us that we have the tools, the expertise and the experience to make a positive impact on our businesses by embracing the internet as an integral part of working life.