Nearly all SMEs now use the internet

Ninety eight per cent of Australia’s small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with an internet connection use their online service to communicate with customers and suppliers and more than 95 per cent are connected to some form of broadband service, according to an Australian Communications and Media Authority report released recently.

The report, Take-up and use of communications by small and medium enterprises, confirms that ongoing technological innovation, particularly in the areas of broadband internet and wireless communications, is providing SMEs with a wider variety of communication options.

‘As you would expect, evolving technology is providing greater flexibility in meeting business operational needs, with 78 per cent of SMEs reporting efficiencies and time savings from broadband internet,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.

‘Business communication is now the largest single business activity undertaken by SMEs using the internet,’ Mr Chapman added. ‘SMEs see the internet as a critical business tool for the purposes of dealing with customers, managing supply chains and undertaking activities such as banking and selling products or services,

The report also found that while there has been a shift from 2G to 3G technologies, and a wholesale shift from dial-up to broadband internet, 85 per cent of SME still consider the fixed- line telephone to be an important feature of SME communications.

The report also found that 16 per cent of SMEs now used voice over internet protocol (VoIP). The take-up of VoIP, however, was significantly higher for certain industry sectors such as finance and insurance (29 per cent) and the communications, property and business services sector (26 per cent).

‘SMEs in the finance sector in general also had the highest level of adoption of communication technologies such as 3G, VoIP and broadband internet,’ Mr Chapman said.

The report is available on ACMA’s website.

. 

Short URL: http://www.thefilipinoaustralian.com/news/?p=224

Posted by TFA News Research on Mar 16 2009. Filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry