This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Information Note on Implications of COVID-19 on the Information Society Statistics- Enterprises 2020
| Purchase of Cloud Computing services by enterprises, 2018 and 2020 | ||
| % | ||
| 2018 | 2020 | |
| Purchase of any cloud computing services | 45 | 51 |
| of which - Storage of files | 35 | 44 |
| 35 | 43 | |
| Hosting the enterprise's database(s) | 24 | 30 |
| Office software | 28 | 28 |
| Finance or accounting software applications | 20 | 24 |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software | 16 | 18 |
| Computing power to run the enterprise's own software | 10 | 15 |
| Please note that enterprises may avail of more than one type of Cloud Computing service. | ||
| Source: CSO | ||
Results are based on the Survey on E-Commerce and ICT 2020, which was conducted in the first half of 2020. This survey covers enterprises with 10 or more persons engaged in the Manufacturing, Construction and Selected Services sectors.
Over half (51%) of enterprises in Ireland indicated that they purchased at least one type of Cloud Computing service in 2020. This compares to 45% of enterprises surveyed in 2018.
The most popular Cloud Computing services purchased in 2020 were the storage of files (44%) followed by E-mail at 43% and the hosting of enterprise database(s) at 30%. See Headline Table and Figure 1.
| 2020 | 2018 | |
| Analysing Big Data using any source | 22 | 20 |
| Analysing data generated by social media | 14 | 13 |
| Analysing geolocation data from the use of portable devices | 9 | 6 |
| Analysing enterprise's own data from smart devices or sensors | 6 | 8 |
| Other Big Data sources | 6 | 6 |
Over one in five enterprises using Big Data analysis in 2020
Over one in five (22%) enterprises reported using Big Data analysis in 2020. The most popular method used was analysing data generated from social media, with 14% of enterprises using this method, while a further 9% of enterprises opted for analysing geolocation data from the use of portable devices. See Figure 2 and Table 1.
| X-axis label | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprises which recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists | 10 | 11 |
| Enterprises which had vacancies for ICT specialists that were difficult to fill | 5 | 6 |
One in ten enterprises recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in 2019
In 2019, 10% of enterprises in Ireland (employing 10 or more persons) recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. In addition to this, 5% of enterprises reported having vacancies for ICT specialists in 2019 which were difficult to fill. See Figure 3 and Table 2
| Small (10 to 49 persons engaged) | Medium (50 to 249 persons engaged) | Large (250+ persons engaged) | |
| Enterprise with e-Commerce sales | 35 | 58 | 61 |
Over a third of small enterprises conduct sales electronically
An e-Commerce sale or purchase of goods or services can be conducted over computer networks via websites, apps or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).
In 2020, 35% of small enterprises (10 to 49 persons engaged) had e-Commerce sales. This compared to 58% for medium sized enterprises (50 to 249 persons engaged), whilst 61% of large enterprises (250 or more persons engaged) had e-Commerce sales See Figure 4 and Table 3.
| X-axis label | Small (10 to 49 persons engaged) | Medium (50 to 249 persons engaged) | Large (250+ persons engaged) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise with e-Commerce purchases | 49 | 59 | 70 |
Seven in ten large enterprises made e-Commerce purchases in 2020
In 2020, 70% of large enterprises made e-Commerce purchases, while 59% of medium sized enterprises and 49% of small enterprises made e-Commerce purchases respectively. See Figure 5 and Table 3.
| X-axis label | Percentage of enterprises with e-Commerce purchases | Percentage of enterprises with e-Commerce sales |
|---|---|---|
| Small (10 to 49 persons engaged) | 49 | 35 |
| Medium (50 to 249 persons engaged) | 59 | 58 |
| Large (250+ persons engaged) | 70 | 61 |
More enterprises engaged in e-Commerce purchases than sales
Across all size classes in 2020, the proportion of enterprises with e-Commerce purchases was higher than those enterprises with e-Commerce sales. Small enterprises had the greatest difference (14%) between e-Commerce purchases and sales. See Figure 6 and Table 3.
| X-axis label | e-Commerce purchases as a percentage of total enterprises | e-Commerce sales as a percentage of total enterprises |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing sector | 55 | 48 |
| Construction sector | 48 | 15 |
| Selected services sectors | 51 | 40 |
Manufacturing sector had largest share of both e-Commerce purchases and sales
In 2020, Manufacturing sector enterprises reported that 55% of enterprises had made e- Commerce purchases. This was slightly higher than the Services sector which indicated that 51% of enterprises made e-Commerce purchases. In the Construction sector, 48% of enterprises reported making e-commerce purchases.
When looking at e-Commerce sales for detailed sectors, 15% of Construction enterprises reported e-Commerce sales. Selected Services sectors reported that 40% of enterprises had e-Commerce sales, compared to 48% of Manufacturing enterprises. See Figure 7 and Table 4
| X-axis label | 2019 |
|---|---|
| 3D printing using any source | 2.4 |
| Using enterprise's own 3D printers | 1.6 |
| Using printing services provided by other enterprises | 1.6 |
3D printing used by 2.4% of enterprises in 2019
3D printing refers to the use of special printers for the creation of three-dimensional physical objects using digital technology.
In 2019, 2.4% of enterprises reported that they used 3D printing, with 1.6% of enterprises using their own printers and a further 1.6% using printing services provided by other enterprises. See Figure 8 and Table 5.
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| Providing links or references to the enterprise's social media profiles | 52 | 51 |
| Facilitating access to online ordering or reservations | 27 | 28 |
| Tracking/status of orders placed | 12 | 11 |
| Personalised content on the website for regular/repeat visitors | 11 | 11 |
| Possibility for visitors to customise or design online goods or services | 10 | 8 |
Over half of enterprise websites provided links to their social media profiles
In 2020, 79% of enterprises surveyed reported having a website. The most common facility provided were links or references to the enterprise’s social media profiles (52%), followed by facilitating access to online orders or reservations (27%). See Figure 9 and Table 6.
| X-axis label | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Broadband | 95 | 96 |
| Mobile broadband | 79 | 79 |
| Purchases by internet or EDI | 56 | 53 |
| Sales by internet or EDI | 41 | 41 |
Broadband used by 96% of enterprises in Ireland
In 2020, 96% of enterprises used a broadband connection to access the internet. The survey found that 53% of these enterprises used their broadband connection to make online purchases, with 41% of enterprises making online sales. See Figure 10 and Table 7.
| Table 1 Use of Big Data analysis by enterprises, 2018 and 2020 | ||
| % | ||
| 2018 | 2020 | |
| Analysing Big Data using any source | 20 | 22 |
| analysing data generated from social media | 13 | 14 |
| analysing geolocation data from the use of portable devices | 6 | 9 |
| analysing enterprise's own data from smart devices or sensors | 8 | 6 |
| analysing other Big Data sources | 6 | 6 |
| Enterprises can use more than one type of Big Data analysis, hence the sum of the different types does not equal the total figure | ||
| Table 2 Enterprise experience of ICT specialist recruitment, 2018 and 2019 | ||
| % | ||
| 2018 | 2019 | |
| Enterprise recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists | 11 | 10 |
| Enterprise had vacancies for ICT specialists that were difficult to fill | 6 | 5 |
| Enterprises were asked for their experience in the previous year i.e. the 2020 survey asked for their 2019 experience; the 2019 survey asked for their 2018 experience | ||
| Table 3 ICT usage by enterprise size class, 2020 | |||
| % | |||
| Small (10 to 49) | Medium (50 to 249) | Large (250+) | |
| persons engaged | persons engaged | persons engaged | |
| Enterprises with e-Commerce sales | 35 | 58 | 61 |
| Enterprises with e-Commerce purchases | 49 | 59 | 70 |
| Enterprises using broadband | 95 | 99 | 98 |
| Enterprises using mobile broadband connection | 77 | 91 | 95 |
| Table 4 Enterprise purchases and sales via e-Commerce, 2018 to 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| % | |||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturing sector | Construction sector | Selected services sectors | Total | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||||
| Use of e-Commerce for purchases (as % of total enterprises) | |||||||||||||||||
| by internet or EDI | 48 | 51 | 55 | 38 | 44 | 48 | 52 | 53 | 51 | 52 | 52 | 51 | |||||
| Use of e-Commerce for sales (as % of total enterprises) | |||||||||||||||||
| by internet or EDI | 38 | 46 | 48 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 35 | 39 | 40 | 35 | 39 | 39 | |||||
| by internet | 22 | 27 | 28 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 29 | 34 | 33 | |||||
| by EDI | 28 | 34 | 32 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 17 | |||||
| Table 5 Use of 3D printing by enterprises, 2019 | |
| % | |
| 2019 | |
| 3D printing using any source | 2.4 |
| using enterprise's own 3D printers | 1.6 |
| using printing services provided by other enterprises | 1.6 |
| Enterprises can use more than one source, hence the sum of the different types does not equal the total figure | |
| Table 6 General findings of enterprise ICT survey, as a percentage of all enterprises, 2019 and 2020 | |||||||||||
| % | |||||||||||
| Manufacturing sector | Construction sector | Selected services sectors | Total | ||||||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||
| Use of the internet | |||||||||||
| Have a website or homepage | 91 | 90 | 76 | 83 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 79 | |||
| Purposes of using the internet (as provider) | |||||||||||
| Providing links or references to the enterprise's social media profiles | 42 | 49 | 30 | 29 | 53 | 54 | 51 | 52 | |||
| Facilitating access to online ordering or reservations | 14 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 27 | |||
| Tracking/status of orders placed | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | |||
| Personalised content on the website for regular/repeat visitors | 7 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | |||
| Possibility for visitors to customise or design online goods or services | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 10 | |||
| Table 7 External connection to the internet, as a percentage of all enterprises, by sector, 2019 and 2020 | |||||||||||||
| % | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturing sector | Construction sector | Selected services sectors | Total | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||||
| Type of external connection to the internet | |||||||||||||
| Broadband | 98 | 99 | 96 | 98 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 96 | |||||
| Mobile broadband connection | 86 | 89 | 83 | 86 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 79 | |||||
| Enterprises with broadband | |||||||||||||
| Purchases by internet or EDI | 53 | 56 | 45 | 49 | 57 | 53 | 56 | 53 | |||||
| Sales by internet or EDI | 47 | 48 | 10 | 15 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 41 | |||||
The Survey on e-Commerce and ICT is conducted to provide harmonised enterprise statistics at EU level. The survey is carried out annually under EU Regulation (EC) No. 808/2004.
The Survey on e-Commerce and ICT was conducted as a wholly electronic survey for the first time in 2013 via the CSO’s e-form system, allowing sampled enterprises to complete and return the survey form electronically. Reminders are periodically sent to non-respondents throughout the year and a telephone campaign is also conducted to ensure that the response rate is sufficient for the survey. The 2020 response rate was 43.9%. Returned survey forms are verified and edited before the data is grossed up to the sample frame population.
A pilot survey was conducted in 2002 and a full annual survey began in 2003. Approximately 4,000 enterprises are surveyed in the first quarter of each year. The sample of enterprises is chosen from the CSO’s Business Register. The overall results are released by Eurostat on an EU-28-wide basis in December each year. The results presented in this release are from the 2020 survey. The results cover enterprises with ten or more persons engaged in the manufacturing, construction and selected services sectors. Enterprises operating in the following NACE Rev.2 classifications were included in the coverage of this survey. NACE coding is a classification system which groups enterprises according to their business activities. Each business activity category is assigned a unique NACE code.
NACE Rev.2 categories used in the ICT survey
| Section C (10-33) | Manufacturing: Food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, wearing apparel, leather, wood, printing and paper products (10 to 18); Petroleum, chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plastic products (19 to 22); Other non-metallic mineral products, basic metals and fabricated metal products (23 to 25); Computer, electronic and other equipment, repairs and installation, other manufacturing (26 to 33). |
| Section D, E (35-39) | Electricity, gas and steam, water supply, sewerage and waste management |
| Section F (41-43) | Construction |
| Section G (45-47) | Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
| Section H (49-53) | Transportation and storage |
| Section I (55-56) | Accommodation and food service activities |
| Section J (58-63) | Information and communication |
| Section L (68) | Real estate activities |
| Division M (69-74) | Professional, scientific and technical activities (selected sectors) |
| Section N (77-82) | Administrative and Support Service activities |
| Group (95.1) | Repair of computers and communication equipment |
Manufacturing sector: NACE 10-33
Construction sector: NACE 41-43
Selected Services sector: NACE 45-47, 49-53, 55-56, 58-63, 68, 69-74, 77-82
Results are based on the survey of Survey on e-Commerce and ICT by an enterprise, which was conducted in the first half of 2020. This survey covers enterprises with 10 or more persons engaged in the manufacturing, construction and selected services sectors.
The Survey on e-Commerce and ICT usage is carried out across all member countries of the EU. Each national country designs its own enterprise survey, using a template questionnaire issued by Eurostat, and incorporating some optional modules.
National results are transmitted to Eurostat annually and subsequently published by Eurostat in December of each year. Published results for Ireland may differ slightly from those in the Eurostat tables due to rounding. Further information on Eurostat tables and comparable results across member countries of the EU are available online at
Broadband: High-speed, always-on internet access running with a speed of greater than 128Kb/sec (Kilobytes per second).
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL): Digital Subscriber Line technologies are designed to increase bandwidth available over standard copper telephone wires. Includes IDSL, HDSL, SDSL, ADSL, RADSL, VDSL, DSL-Lite and xDSL.
Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce): Transactions conducted over IP (Internet Protocol) based networks and over other computer mediated networks. The goods and services are ordered over those networks, but the payment and ultimate delivery of the goods or service may be conducted on or offline. Orders received via telephone, facsimile and non-interactive e-mails are not counted as electronic commerce.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Electronic exchange of forms, such as for orders, between geographically dispersed locations.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Enterprise Resource Planning consists of one or a set of software applications that integrate information and processes across the several business functions of the enterprise.
Extranet: A secure extension of an intranet that allows external users to access some parts of an organisation’s intranet.
Intranet: An internal company communications network using IP-based communications within an organisation.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): Integrated Services Digital Network is the digital version of the old telephone system. ISDN offers many services such as private virtual networks, high-speed facsimile (fax), video-conferencing and most importantly, high speed communications.
LAN: Local Area Network. This relates to your company’s computer network, usually within an office, building or closed geographical area.
Modem: Device that converts outgoing digital signals from a computer to analogue signals which can be transmitted via a conventional copper telephone line and which converts incoming analogue signals to digital.
Social Media: Use of social media refers to the enterprise’s use of applications based on internet technology or communication platforms for connecting, creating and exchanging content online with customers, suppliers, partners or within the enterprise. Enterprises using social media are considered to be those that have a user profile, an account or a user licence depending on the requirements of the social media type.
Social networks e.g. Facebook, Linkedln, Xing, Viadeo, Yammer, etc
Blogs or microblogs e.g. Twitter
Multimedia content shared websites e.g. YouTube, Flickr, Picassa, SlideShare
Wiki based knowledge sharing sites e.g. Wikipedia
| Member states of the EU-28 |
|---|
| Austria |
| Belgium |
| Bulgaria |
| Croatia |
| Cyprus |
| Czech Republic |
| Denmark |
| Estonia |
| Finland |
| France |
| Germany |
| Greece |
| Hungary |
| Ireland |
| Italy |
| Latvia |
| Lithuania |
| Luxembourg |
| Malta |
| Netherlands |
| Poland |
| Portugal |
| Romania |
| Slovakia |
| Slovenia |
| Spain |
| Sweden |
| United Kingdom |
Hide Background Notes
Scan the QR code below to view this release online or go to
http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/iss/informationsocietystatistics-enterprises2020/
Show Table 1 Use of Big Data analysis by enterprises, 2018 and 2020
Hide Table 1 Use of Big Data analysis by enterprises, 2018 and 2020