Cypriot businesses have accelerated their digital transformation efforts in 2024, according a study on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and e-commerce.

Conducted by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), the study revealed the widespread adoption of such technologies in order to stay competitive and drive growth.

Specifically, 84.1 per cent of businesses now provide employees with company-funded mobile internet-enabled devices to support remote work, AI integration, and e-commerce.

The shift to remote work is evident, with 88.1 per cent of enterprises providing access to email systems, 71.7 per cent enabling employees to work on shared documents, and 66.3 per cent providing access to essential business applications or software related to accounting, sales, CRM or other business software.

Virtual meetings are now commonplace, with 59.1 per cent of enterprises using platforms like Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebEx.

E-commerce continues to gain traction, with 23.5 per cent of businesses receiving online orders in 2023.

Of these, 17.1 per cent used their own websites or apps, while 14.2 per cent relied on e-commerce marketplaces.

Orders from private customers accounted for 21.2 per cent, demonstrating the growing consumer demand for digital shopping, compared to 11.4 per cent from businesses, the government or public authorities.

Paid digital advertising has surged, with 49.4 per cent of enterprises investing in online ads in 2024—nearly double the figure in 2016.

Location-based targeting was the most popular, used by 43.5 per cent of businesses, while 38.4 per cent targeted users based on keyword searches and 28.7 per cent used personalised ads based on online activity.

The role of ICT specialists is becoming increasingly crucial, with 27.5 per cent of enterprises employing such professionals in 2024.

Large businesses lead the way, with 85.8 per cent employing ICT specialists, compared to 49.6 per cent of medium-sized firms and 22.8 per cent of smaller ones.

However, recruitment challenges persist, as 12.2 per cent of enterprises tried to hire ICT specialists in 2023, and 6.4 per cent reported difficulties due to skill shortages, lack of experience or high salary demands.

In addition, ICT security remains a key focus, with 95 per cent of businesses adopting strong password authentication and 90 per cent implementing data backups, including cloud solutions.

Other measures include network access controls (73.9 per cent), virtual private networks (67.3 per cent) and monitoring systems to detect suspicious activity (56 per cent).

What is more, artificial intelligence is making steady inroads across Cyprus businesses, with 7.9 per cent integrating AI technologies in 2024, up from 4.7 per cent a year earlier.

Large enterprises are leading the charge, with 34.9 per cent adopting AI for tasks like text mining, speech recognition and predictive analytics, compared to 14.3 per cent of medium-sized companies and just 6.3 per cent of smaller ones.

AI systems, which rely on machine learning, deep learning and technologies like natural language generation and computer vision, are helping businesses analyse data, predict outcomes, and make decisions with varying levels of autonomy.

Among large enterprises, usage has surged from 13 per cent in 2021 to 15.5 per cent in 2023 and 34.9 per cent this year.