Press Release 19/07/2018

INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. COMPANIES. 2018

In 2018 53.1% of Basque companies, 92.0% in those with 10 or more employees, had an online presence via a website

Online presence in Basque companies with 10 or more employees exceeded the EU-28 average

Companies are increasingly aware of the importance of maintaining a presence on the Internet via a website. Hence, over the last year, those that have had a web presence accounts for 53.1% of the total, following an increase of 1.7 percentage points, whilst in companies with 10 or more employees, this figure stands at 92.0%, up 2.9 percentage points, according to Eustat data.

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, amongst other options.

Regarding languages that they can be accessed in, Spanish particularly stands out, available in 98.8% of cases; Basque was available in 41.0% of cases; English, 30.7% and other languages, 12.9%.

Generally speaking, in 2018 Basque companies continued to increase their use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) equipment as well as the percentage of their employees using this technology. Currently, 92.4% of establishments have a computer, an increase of 3.8 percentage points on the previous year. Establishments with email access make up 89.6% of the total, an increase of 2.9 percentage points, and 90.0% have access to the Internet, a figure that has grown by 2.2 points. As for mobile phones, these are still the most widespread item of ICT equipment, being used in 94.2% of Basque businesses, having increased by 4.5 percentage points in the last year.

Furthermore, over half of companies, 53.1%, have a website, a rise of 1.7 percentage points compared to the previous year. This figure rises to 59.0% if only companies with an Internet connection are taken into account.

By province, although the differences are not very significant, businesses in Álava had the most widespread use of computers, e-mail and internet. Bizkaia had slightly higher figures for access to mobile phones and Gipuzkoa for websites.

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 businesses with 10 or more employees. However, despite their extensive use - 99.7% with a computer, 98.9% with e-mail, 99.3% with internet access, 96.1% with a mobile phone and 92.0% with a website - their growth rate is much more limited than in small businesses.

Regarding the percentage of employees using these technologies, there has once again been a rise compared to the previous year. Thus, 72.4% of personnel in work use a computer, 67.6% have e-mail and 66.4% 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.

On the other hand, 87.0% of companies use some form of computer security measure, particularly antivirus software, firewalls, secure servers and authentication mechanisms, or subscribe to security services, etc. In the case of companies with 10 employees or more, almost all of them (98.9%) use some form of computer security measure.

Furthermore, 39.0% of Basque companies had free software in 2018, such as Internet browsers, office programs, free or open operating systems (Linux..), etc. In companies with 10 or more employees this percentage increases to 54.2%.

Connections via fibre optics continue to increase, currently overtaking ADSL

Basque companies with Internet access currently stand at 90.0% of the total, after those connected rose by 2.2 percentage points the previous year.

In these companies with internet access, connections via mobile phone, 88.5%, and optical fibre connections (Cable, FTTH etc.), 65.6%, were the most common ways of accessing the Internet, having increased by 6.0 and 7.8 percentage points, respectively, over the last year. For the first time access to the internet via optical fibre connections, after several years of significant increases, was above access via ADSL.

ASDL connections were used by 59.9% of businesses, which represented a further drop, although this year the decrease was more moderate, 0.8 percentage points

95.0% of companies with internet access had fixed connections, be they via ADSL, Cable or Other connections, whereas 89.4% of connected companies had mobile connections, via mobile phones (Smartphone, PDA, …) or laptop computer (Tablet netbook, etc.).

In companies with internet access, fixed connections have remained close to 100%, although the technology has been being replaced by optical fibre connections, whereas mobile connections have increased, currently standing at 90%.

In companies with 10 or more employees, 99.3% have access to the Internet. The main method of internet access in these companies is via mobile connections, 88.3%, and optical fibre connections (Cable, FTTH...), 76.4%, following increases of 3.4 and 8.3 points, respectively.

Following these, in mobile connections, was access via laptop computers, 73.9%, following a 2.6 point increase in the last year and, in fixed connections, ADSL lines, 70.2%, although in this case their use has dropped 2.0 points.

On the other hand, 96.0% 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 93.0%.



Online presence in Basque companies with 10 or more employees exceeded the EU-28 average and was only higher in Denmark and Sweden

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 2017, where Basque companies obtained Internet access percentages (99%) 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 2017, compared with the EU-28 average of 77%. Only Denmark and Sweden had higher percentages.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62