Most companies employing ten or more geared up for remote working

More than 80 per cent of businesses with ten or more employees provided mobile devices with access to the internet and business email in 2022, according to the results the survey on information and communication technologies (ICT) usage and e-commerce, published by the statistical service.

The survey looked at the possibility of remote access for employees in businesses, internet connection speeds, e-commerce and percentages of specialized ICT staff in enterprises.

During 2022, some 86 per cent of enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, provided portable devices that allow a mobile connection to the internet using mobile telephone networks, for business purposes. The survey also shows that 81.4 per cent of all enterprises provide remote access to their e-mail system, 68.7 per cent to the enterprise’s documents, including spreadsheets, presentations, or any other files and 64.8 per cent provide remote access to enterprise’s business applications or software used by the enterprise. Also, 59 per cent of all enterprises have conducted remote meetings via the internet (e.g., Skype, Zoom, MS teams, WebEx etc.).

The demand for high-speed internet connections (100 Mbit/s or more) has increased significantly over the years, according to the survey. In 2022, six out of ten enterprises (61.2 per cent) have internet connection speeds higher than 100 Mbit/s compared to 10.2 per cent in 2018.

According to the data, the most popular contracted download speed among enterprises in Cyprus was at least 100 Mbit/s but less than 500 Mbit/s (39.2 per cent of all enterprises). The second most popular download speed was at least 30 Mbit/s but less than 100 Mbit/s (22.7 per cent), followed by the enterprises with download speeds of at least 500 Mbit/s but less than 1 Gbit/s and by the enterprises of more than 1 Gbit/s, with 11 per cent. The least favourite download speed was the less than 30 Mbit/s with 8 per cent.

During 2021, one out of five enterprises (22 per cent) received orders for goods and services via computer networks, while 21.2 per cent received orders for goods and services via websites or “apps” and 3.3 per cent via EDI – type messages.

Also, 17.8 per cent of all enterprises received orders for goods and services via the enterprise’s own websites or “apps”, while 11.9 per cent received orders via e-commerce marketplace websites or “apps” used by several enterprises for trading products. 19.6 per cent of enterprises received orders via websites or “apps” from private customers compared to 12.7 per cent of enterprises which received orders from other businesses and/or from the general government.

Moreover, 19.9 per cent of enterprises received orders via websites or “apps” from customers located in Cyprus, 9.6 per cent from customers from other EU countries and 8.2 per cent from customers from the rest of the world.

One out of four enterprises (24.5 per cent) employ ICT specialists. In large enterprises that percentage reaches 73.3 per cent compared to 20.1 per cent in small enterprises.

The percentage of enterprises that provided any type of training during 2021, to develop ICT related skills to either ICT specialists or other persons employed, remains low at 13.9 per cent and 25.6 per cent respectively. In large enterprises the corresponding percentages are 51.1 per cent for ICT specialists and 65.7 per cent for other persons employed.

Finally, 10.5 per cent of enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in 2021, with 5.7 per cent of them facing difficulties to fill the ICT specialist’s vacancies during 2021.