Press Release 18/07/2017
In the Basque Country almost half of businesses have free software in 2017
Mobile connections, which are used by 84.6% of businesses, serve as the main access to the Internet
45.8% of Basque companies have free software in 2017, such as Internet browsers, office programs, free or open operating systems (Linux..), etc., according to data prepared by Eustat. In companies of 10 or more employees the percentage increases to 61%.
Generally speaking, Basque companies are continuing to increase their use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) equipment as well as the percentage of their employees using this technology in 2017. Currently, 88.6% of establishments have a computer, an increase of 1.0 percentage points on the previous year. Establishments with email access make up 86.7% of the total, an increase of 1.6 percentage points, and 87.8% have access to the Internet, a figure that has also grown by 1.6 points. As for mobile phones, these are still the most widespread item of ICT equipment, being used in 89.7% of Basque businesses, although, in this case, they have decreased by 2.6 percentage points in the last year.
Furthermore, over half of companies, 51.4%, have a website, a repeat of the percentage from the previous year. This figure rises to 58.5% if only companies with an Internet connection are taken into account.
By Province, although the differences are not very significant, the establishments in Gipuzkoa had the greatest implementation of these technologies, followed by those in Álava. Bizkaia, for its part, obtained slightly lower figures.
Companies of 10 or more employees have increased their usage of ICT equipment very slightly, having already nearly reached the availability threshold
These equipment percentages were higher in establishments of 10 or more employees. However, despite their extensive use - 99.5% with a computer, 98.7% with e-mail, 98.8% with internet access, 95.3% with a mobile phone and 89.1% with a website - their growth rate is much more limited than in small establishments.
Regarding the percentage of employees using these technologies, there has once again been a rise compared to the previous year. Thus, 71.3% of personnel in work use a computer, 65.0% have e-mail and 64.3% have access to the Internet.
Unlike in equipment, the percentages of employees using this technology are very similar, regardless of the size of the establishment, due, amongst other reasons, to the greater progress in small establishments and to the fact that, in large ones, not all employees have access to this equipment.
Moreover, 86.4% of companies use some form of computer security measure, particularly antivirus software, firewalls, secure servers and authentication mechanisms, or subscribe to security services. In the case of companies with 10 employees or more, almost all of them (99.2%) use some form of computer security measure.
Connections via fibre optics continue to increase, with this technology positioning itself to replace ADSL
Basque companies with Internet access currently stand at 87.8% of the total, after those connected rose by 1.6 percentage points the previous year.
Connections via mobile phone, 82.5%, and ADSL, 60.7%, are the most common ways of accessing the Internet. However their evolution is opposed. It can therefore be seen that, while the first method grew by 2.9 points this year, the second option, ADSL, continues to decrease, 14 points in the last year.
Optical fibre connections (by cable, FTTH etc.), on the other hand, are still increasing in a significant manner, having undergone growth this year of 9.1 percentage points. Hence 57.8% of companies who access the Internet currently use this method to do so, which means it is this technology that will gradually replace ADSL.
Mobile connections, whether through mobile phone (Smartphone, PDA, ...), 82.5%, or through laptop computer (Tablet, netbook, etc), 60.4%, are currently used by 84.6% of companies, after increasing by 3 percentage points.
In companies with 10 or more employees, 98.8% have access to the Internet. 84.9% of these companies also have connections by mobile phone, the main method of access after increasing by 3.5 points. Furthermore 72.2% continue using ADSL lines, although in this case their use has reduced by 7 points.
Once again, for companies of this size, connections via optical fibre (by cable, FTTH etc.) have increased the most, going up by 7.9 percentage points and currently accounting for 68.1% of total connections. In terms of mobile connections, Internet access via laptop computer is particularly prevalent at 71.3%, after rising by 6.2 percentage points last year.
On the other hand, 94.8% of companies with 10 or more employees with access to the Internet carry out procedures with the Public Administration via this method. Specifically, they use the Internet to obtain information, collect and fill in various forms, declare social security contributions, pay corporate taxes, VAT, and present proposals and tenders, among other things. The total percentage of companies, regardless of size, that interact with Public Administration via the Internet is 89.9%.
51.4% of Basque companies, 89.1% in those with 10 or more employees, had an online presence via a website
Companies are increasingly aware of the importance of maintaining a presence on the Internet via a website. Thus, in the last year, those that had a web presence accounted for 51.4% of the total, following a constant maintaining of this percentage, whilst in companies of 10 or more employees this figure stood at 89.1%, after growing 0.3 points. If we take into account solely those companies that have an Internet connection, these percentages rise to 58.5% for the total and 90.2% in those with 10 or more employees.
These websites provide general information on the company, a list of products and services offered, a data privacy statement, job offers and after-sale services.
Regarding languages that they can be accessed in, Spanish particularly stands out, available in 98.7% of cases; Basque was available in 38.0% of cases; English, 28.9% and other languages, 11.9%.
Internet access and online presence in Basque companies of 10 or more employees exceeded the EU-28 average
At an international level, and for a perfect comparability with the EU-28, as well as employing the data of companies with 10 or more employees and the activities that Eurostat gathers (the financial sector, public administration, etc. are not taken into account), information from the year prior to the one currently being published must be used, i.e. from 2016, where Basque companies obtained Internet access percentages (98%) higher than the European Union 28 average (97%), as well as having a greater percentage of businesses with Internet presence, 88% in the Basque Country in 2016, compared with the EU-28 average of 77%.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62