Press Release 27/07/2023

INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. COMPANIES. 2023

53.4% of Basque establishments used social media for business purposes in 2023

10.6% of people employed in Basque companies worked remotely in 2023

53.4% of Basque establishments used social media (social networks, company blogs, websites for sharing multimedia content, etc.) for business purposes, reaching three out of every four, 74.4%, in establishments with 10 or more employees, according to Eustat data.

As regards the digital transformation of companies, referred to as Industry 4.0, it was precisely social media that was the top indicator of the nine analysed, with 53.4% of companies using it for business purposes.

Next was Cloud Computing, with 31.0% of establishments paying for this service in order to access company information or services through an internet connection from any mobile or fixed device in any location. In third place was Cyber Security Activities, with 22.7%.

In addition, with percentages ranging from 10% to 15%, were Mobile Applications for clients, 14.8%; the Internet of Things (IoT), 12.6%; and Big Data Analysis, 12.2%. Finally, with percentages below 6%, were Artificial Intelligence, 5.9%; Robotics, 2.6%; and 3D Printers, 2.4%.

In the case of establishments with 10 or more employees, these percentages were significantly higher, particularly regarding the use of Social Networks for business purposes and the use of paid Cloud Computing Services. The former reached 74.4% of establishments of this size and the latter 55.6%.

Very close to the latter percentage was Cyber Security Activities with 52.8%. Some distance behind, but above 25%, appeared the Internet of Things (IoT), with 28.1%; Mobile Applications for clients, with 27.2%; and Big Data Analysis, with 25.5%. Finally, use of Robotics was present in 11.0% of companies (increasing to 19.7% in the Industry sector), while use of 3D Printers and use of Artificial Intelligence Systems featured in 10.5% and 9.3% of establishments with 10 or more employees.

More than half, 55.6%, of establishments with 10 or more employees used paid cloud computing services

55.6% of establishments with 10 or more employees used paid cloud computing services. Standing out among these services were: email (as a cloud computing service), 46.8%; file storage, 46.4%; and office automation programs (word processors or spreadsheets), 40.8%. Next, with more than 30%, we can also highlight security applications (antivirus or network access control programs), 37.7%; hosting company databases, 34.0%; and the computing capacity for operating the company’s own computer tools, 30.2%.

The use of Big Data reached 25.5% of establishments with 10 or more employees in 2023

Big Data analysis reached 25.5% of establishments with 10 or more employees. It is of particular note that it was used by a very high percentage of establishments in the services sector, 29.1%; industrial establishments, 14.3%; and construction, 21.5%.

Particularly noteworthy among the data analysed were those from operational registries (details of sales, payment registers), 17.0%; followed by client data (information regarding purchases, location, preferences, etc.), 15.7%. Next were data obtained on the website, 13.0%; and those gathered from social networks, 10.4%.

10.6% of people employed in Basque companies worked remotely in 2023

In 2023, 10.6% of staff at Basque companies worked off company premises for at least half of the working day on a regular basis, using telematic networks to connect to the company’s ICT (Information Communication Technology) systems, and can therefore be considered remote workers.

Furthermore, on average, we find that 77.9% of employees used ICT (Information & Communication Technology) systems and 10.2% were ICT specialists. Additionally, 41.8% had a remote connection via a portable device for professional use.

If these staff are analysed by gender, it is worth noting that, except for ICT specialists, where the percentage of men (65.7%) was higher than that of women, (34.3%), in the other categories mentioned the percentages were very similar, with a share of around 50%.

However, by sector of activity, excepting ICT specialists where the percentage of men is always higher, in the other sectors differences between gender were observed. In Industry and Construction there was a higher percentage of men, whereas by contrast, the percentage of women was higher in Services.

Basque companies have already almost reached the maximum availability of main ICT equipment

As regards ICT equipment in Basque companies, it is worth noting that they are becoming better prepared and the percentage of employees who use these technologies was also higher. Currently, 95.9% of establishments have a computer, 94.7% have Internet access and just over half of companies, 54.4%, have a website.

In establishments with 10 or more employees, these percentages in equipment have already almost reached their maximum. Thus, 99.4% have a computer, the same percentage, 99.4%, have internet access, and 92.3% have a website, so unlike smaller establishments, there is almost no growth margin left.

As regards the percentage of employees using these technologies, 75.7% use a computer and 73.2% have Internet access.

Computer security is very widespread among Basque companies

Furthermore, 90.5% of companies have some form of computer security measure. Standing out among these measures, above 30%, were updated software (86.5%), secure passwords (84.0%) and external backups (65.4%), network access control (41.7%) and data encryption (35.5%). In the case of companies with 10 or more employees, all these percentages were higher, with those using some form of computer security reaching 98.5%.

54.4% of all Basque companies, and 92.3% of those with 10 or more employees, had an online presence via a website

Companies are giving more importance to maintaining a presence on the internet via a website. In the last year, those that had a web presence accounted for 54.4% of the total, whilst in companies with 10 or more employees this figure rose to 92.3%.

These websites provide general information on the company, a catalogue of products and services offered, a data privacy statement, job offers and after-sale services, amongst other options.

Regarding the languages that they can be accessed in, Spanish particularly stands out, available in 98.6% of cases; Basque was available in 43.8% of cases; English, 30.1% and other languages, 14.9%.

Online presence and the use of social media in Basque companies with 10 or more employees exceeded the EU-27 average

At the international level, and for a perfect comparability with the EU-27, the data that has to be employed is that for of companies with 10 or more employees and the activities that Eurostat groups them into (they do not take into account the financial sector, public administration, etc.). It also has to be taken into account that, despite Eustat having more recent information available, information from the previous year, 2021, must be used This year, Basque companies with these characteristics obtained a higher percentage of companies with a website (90.5%) than the European Union 27 average (77.7%), in addition to making greater use of social media, 62.7% in the Basque Country in 2021, compared with the EU-27 average of 52.1%.

NOTE

Eustat would like to thank all the companies and institutions that have collaborated in preparing this survey, the information for which was gathered between January and May 2023 with a response rate of 82.5%.

Newly included in the dissemination this year are the use of social media, paid cloud computing services, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data.

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