The two-month survey was conducted last year by the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Technology in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The survey targeted members of the business community and sought to determine how computers and the Internet are used and the level of electronic commerce activity in the private sector.
The results of the survey are intended to help the government and the private sector develop strategies to maximise the economic benefits that accrue from using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
ICT Consultant for the Commonwealth Secretariat Roger de Peiza prepared and analysed the data.
While only 102 companies of the 743 that were enlisted responded, it was concluded that almost every company had a computer and there was a high level of Internet penetration and application to e-business.
Of particular interest, over 62 per cent of respondents indicated that their company owned a Web site, the majority of which were set up to provide general information about companies and their products.
Companies within the tourism industry were primarily the ones that set up their Web sites to do e-business.
Also, the majority of companies indicated that doing business on the Internet increased their revenue by an additional ten per cent.
Despite the positives, many respondents indicated that they were worried about doing business on the Internet as a result the companies employ firewalls and other security measures to protect their networks and computer resources. Their main concerns were how to protect their online financial transactions and how to go about setting up reliable payment systems.
As per computer usage, the survey revealed that they were used more by senior management than any other category of employee. Office and administrative applications were the most frequently used while software development was low.
The majority of businesses indicated that they have high speed Internet access, and its use was primarily for sending and receiving e-mail and for searching for information.
Several companies were found to engage in e-business, specifically in procuring materials online and customer relationship management activities, but not so much to access e-government services, which were among the least frequently accessed Internet activities by those businesses.
It was recommended that the survey be left on the government’s Web site and conducted on an annual basis while a review of the dated survey results done to compare results from different time periods.
De Peiza said this would allow the government and private sector to judge the effectiveness of their ICT programmes and to make adjustments where needed.
“In this constantly changing technology landscape, it is imperative to constantly measure the impact of initiatives taken to boost technology usage,” de Peiza. said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Nikisha Smith
Quelle/Source: AntiguaSun, 13.03.2008
