There has been a widespread adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by business. In 2005, 93 per cent of businesses in the UK with ten or more employees reported using personal computers or similar devices. Among the largest businesses (those with 1,000 or more employees) nearly 100 per cent used computers. This compares with 92 per cent of businesses with between 10 and 49 employees.
For many businesses, websites have become an essential means of communicating with customers. In 2005, 70 per cent of businesses reported having a website, while one in three (31 per cent) had an intranet, and 8 per cent had an extranet.
An increasing number of businesses are selling and buying products or services over the Internet. The proportion of businesses that sold over the Internet doubled between 2002 and 2005, from 7 to 15 per cent. There is a clear divide between small and large businesses, as nearly four in ten businesses with 1,000 or more employees sold over the Internet in 2005, compared with slightly over one in ten of the smaller businesses, with between 10 and 49 employees.
In 2005 the value of sales over the Internet was £103 billion. This accounted for 34 per cent of sales across all kinds of ICT by non-financial sector businesses. The post and telecommunications sector had the largest proportion of businesses selling over the Internet (23 per cent). However, the wholesale, retail, catering and travel sector reported the highest value of sales over the Internet at £49 billion, representing £47 of every £100 sold over the Internet in 2005.
Businesses also trade through forms of ICT other than the Internet, such as Electronic Data Exchange, email, computer-based faxes and automated telephone entry (like the type used for ordering cinema tickets). Nearly 17 per cent of businesses sold products and services through these other forms of ICT, with a total value of sales of £204 billion in 2005.
Nearly four times as many businesses purchased than sold over the Internet - 56 per cent compared with 15 per cent in 2005. The proportion of businesses that purchased through ICT, other than the Internet, was 18 per cent.
The value of purchases over the Internet was £73 billion in 2005. The wholesale, retail, catering and travel sector had the largest online spend, with £59 of every £100 spent, followed by the manufacturing sector with nearly £22 of every £100 spent online.
Source: e-Commerce Survey, Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Data for businesses relate to UK businesses with ten or more employees, including the owner, unless otherwise stated.
An intranet is a private network for internal use inside an organisation.
An extranet is part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company, such as suppliers, customers, partners and other businesses.
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