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For more information on this release:
E-mail: barry.kelleher@cso.ie Barry Kelleher (+353) 21 453 5208
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5791
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Information Society Statistics - Enterprises

2018

Enterprise use of paid advertising on the internet, 2016 and 2018
   %
  Ireland 2016Ireland 2018EU-28 2016EU-28 2018
Any use of paid advertising on the internet33342526
Based on webpages' content or keywords searched by users26261921
Based on tracking of internet users' past activities or profile131378
Based on geolocation of internet users1418710
Based on any other method of targeted advertising1516910
Enterprises can use more than one type of paid advertising, hence the sum of the different types does not equal the total figure.

One third of Irish enterprises paid to advertise on the internet in 2018

Figure 1: Enterprise use of paid advertising on the internet, 2016 and 2018
go to full release

 

34% of Irish enterprises reported to have paid to advertise on the internet in 2018, such as on search engines, social media and other websites. See Headline Table.

The most popular advertising method was based on webpages' content or keywords searched by users, with 26% paying for this method. 18% opted for advertising based on the geolocation of internet users, with 13% based on tracking of internet users' past activities or profile. 16% opted for other targeted advertising methods. 

In terms of enterprises using paid advertising, Ireland ranked joint seventh in the EU-28. Denmark and Malta had the largest percentage of enterprises in the EU-28 using paid advertising at 47%, while Romania had the lowest usage at 15%. See Figure 1 and Table 1.

 

20162018
Enterprise purchase of
any cloud computing services		3645
00
Storage of files2735
E-mail2535
Office Software1728
Hosting the enterprise's databases1624
Finance or accounting software applications1320
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) software		1116
Computing power to run the
enterprise's own software		810

Purchase of cloud computing services by Irish enterprises increased in 2018

In 2018, 45% of Irish enterprises employing 10 or more persons purchased cloud computing services. This increased from 36% in 2016 and compared with an EU-28 average of 26% in 2018. Finland had the largest percentage of enterprises in the EU purchasing cloud computing services at 65%, while Bulgaria had the lowest take up rate at 8%. The most popular cloud computing services purchased by Irish enterprises in 2018 were the storage of files and e-mail, both at 35%. See Figure 2 and Tables 2(a) and 2(b).

2018
Big Data using any source20
0
Enterprise's own data from
smart devices or sensors		8
Geolocation data from
the use of portable devices		6
Data generated from social media13
Other Big Data sources6

20% of enterprises used Big Data analysis in 2018

20% of Irish enterprises reported that they used Big Data in 2018. The most popular method was analysing data generated from social media, with 13% of enterprises using this method, while 8% opted for analysing their enterprise's own data from smart devices or sensors. See Figure 3 and Table 3.

Other salese-Commerce sales
Small (10 to 49)7624
Medium (50 to 249)7129
Large (250+)5842

Over half of large and medium sized enterprises conducted their sales electronically

In 2018, 61% of large enterprises had e-Commerce sales which accounted for 42% of total sales of such enterprises. 31% of small enterprises had e-Commerce sales which accounted for 24% of all sales in this size class. 53% of medium sized enterprises had e-Commerce sales which accounted for 29% of their total sales. See Figure 4 and Table 4.

Other purchasese-Commerce purchases
Small (10 to 49)6931
Medium (50 to 249)7129
Large (250+)5743

75% of large enterprises made e-Commerce purchases in 2018

In 2018, 75% of large enterprises made e-Commerce purchases which accounted for 43% of all purchases made by enterprises that employed 250 or more persons, while 63% of medium sized enterprises made e-Commerce purchases which accounted for 29% of total purchases for this size class. 49% of small enterprises made e-Commerce purchases which amounted to 31% of their total purchases. See Figure 5 and Table 4.

Percentage of enterprises with e-Commerce purchasesPercentage of enterprises with e-Commerce sales
Small (10 to 49)4931
Medium (50 to 249)6353
Large (250+)7561

More enterprises engaged in e-Commerce purchases than sales

Across all size classes, the proportion of enterprises that have made e-Commerce purchases is higher than those enterprises who have made e-Commerce sales. Small enterprises had the greatest difference between e-Commerce purchases and sales. See Figure 6 and Table 4.

e-Commerce purchases as a percentage of total enterprisese-Commerce purchases as a percentage of total purchases
Manufacturing 4837
Construction 383
Selected services 5237

Enterprises in the Services sector had largest share of e-Commerce purchases

In 2018, Services sector enterprises reported that 52% of enterprises had made e-Commerce purchases which accounted for 37% of total purchases in that sector. Comparable figures for Manufacturing enterprises indicated that 48% of enterprises also made e-Commerce purchases which accounted for 37% of total purchases. When looking at the Construction sector, 38% reported making e-commerce purchases which accounted for just 3% of all purchases made in this category. See Figure 7 and Table 5.

e-Commerce sales as a percentage of total enterprisese-Commerce sales as a percentage of total turnover
Manufacturing 3839
Construction 103
Selected services 3534

Manufacturing sector had the largest share of e-Commerce sales by turnover

Looking at the detailed sectors shows that 38% of Manufacturing enterprises reported e-Commerce sales which accounted for 39% of total turnover for that sector. The Services sector reported that 35% of enterprises had e-Commerce sales which accounted for 34% of all turnover generated in that sector. Just 10% of Construction enterprises made e-Commerce sales which accounted for 3% of total Construction turnover. See Figure 8 and Table 5.

Table 1 Enterprise purchase of internet advertising, 2018
     %
 Pay to advertise on the internetBased on webpages' content or keywords searched by usersBased on tracking of internet users' past activities or profileBased on geolocation of internet usersBased on any other method of targeted advertising
EU-28262181010
Belgium3021101113
Bulgaria2116567
Czech Republic3127101113
Denmark4733152119
Germany 2723798
Estonia2821151117
Ireland3426131816
Greece2823111214
Spain251810912
France1916668
Croatia2719867
Italy2115589
Cyprus332716183
Latvia2620356
Lithuania352813915
Luxembourg362391213
Hungary2117678
Malta4734192232
Netherlands3430141517
Austria322310129
Poland2623879
Portugal1612779
Romania1513656
Slovenia2220771
Slovakia25198610
Finland3731181612
Sweden4427101412
United Kingdom3224121513
Source: Eurostat
Enterprises could purchase more than one type of advertising method, hence the sum of the different types does not equal the total figure.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 2(a) Enterprise purchase of cloud computing services, 2016 and 2018
  %
  20162018
Purchase of any cloud computing services3645
of which - Storage of files2735
E-mail2535
 Office software1728
Hosting the enterprise's database(s)1624
 Finance or accounting software applications1320
 Customer Relationship Managemant (CRM) software1116
 Computing power to run the enterprise's own software810
Enterprises could purchase more than one type of cloud computing service, hence the sum of the different cloud computing services type does not equal the total figure.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 2(a) (XLS 12KB)
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Table 2(b) EU enterprise purchase of cloud computing services, 2016 and 2018
 %
 20162018
EU-282126
Belgium2840
Bulgaria78
Czech Republic1826
Denmark4256
Germany1622
Estonia2334
Ireland3645
Greece913
Spain1822
France1719
Croatia2331
Italy2223
Cyprus1527
Latvia815
Lithuania1723
Luxembourg1925
Hungary1218
Malta2837
Netherlands3548
Austria1723
Poland811
Portugal1825
Romania710
Slovenia2226
Slovakia1821
Finland5765
Sweden4857
United Kingdom3542
Source: Eurostat
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 2(b) (XLS 14KB)
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Table 3 Use of Big Data analysis, 2018
 %
Analysing Big Data using any source20
     analysing enterprise's own data from smart devices or sensors8
     analysing geolocation data from the use of portable devices6
     analysing data generated from social media13
     analysing other Big Data sources6
Enterprises can use more than one type of Big Data analysis, hence the sum of the different types does not equal the total figure.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 3 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 4 ICT usage by size of enterprise, 2018
     %
 Small (10 to 49) Medium (50 to 249) Large (250+)
Enterprises with e-Commerce sales 31 53 61
e-Commerce sales as a % of total sales24 29 42
      
Enterprises with e-Commerce purchases49 63 75
e-Commerce purchases as a % of total purchases 31 29 43
      
Enterprises using broadband 95 98 99
Enterprises using mobile broadband connection 69 85 96
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 4 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 5 Purchases and sales via e-Commerce, 2017 and 2018
         %
  Manufacturing sectorConstruction sectorSelected services sectorsTotal
   20172018201720182017201820172018
Use of e-Commerce for purchases (as % of total enterprises)  
 by internet or EDI 4848373848524852
Use of e-Commerce for sales (as % of total enterprises)        
by internet or EDI  4238181032353335
by internet 202211727312629
by EDI 32288615131614
Percentage of purchases by e-Commerce (as % of total purchases)        
by internet or EDI 36374334373436
Percentage of sales by e-Commerce (as % of total turnover)        
by internet or EDI 35392333343435
by internet 7100120181615
 by EDI 28292314161821
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 5 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 6 Purchases and sales via e-Commerce by sector, 2018
                    %
  Manufacturing sector Construction sector Selected services sectors  
NACE Division110-1819-2223-2526-33Total 41-43 45-4749-5355-5658-636869-7477-82Total Total
Use of e-Commerce for purchases (as % of total enterprises)                   
by internet or EDI 4164455348 38 5745416757584852 52
Use of e-Commerce for sales (as % of total enterprises)                   
by internet or EDI  4851222938 10 3743423630192235 35
by internet 2733102022 7 3338413024131831 29
by EDI  3831162128 6 152081513111013 14
Percentage of purchases by e-Commerce (as % of total purchases)                   
by internet or EDI  63655837 3 4049223527181537 36
Percentage of sales by e-Commerce (as % of total turnover)                   
by internet or EDI  253544639 3 385220326131834 35
by internet 7411410 1 1643142067918 15
 by EDI  193133229 3 229512161016 21
1 See Background notes for NACE Rev.2 classification.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 6 (XLS 40KB)
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Table 7 Purchases via e-Commerce by enterprises, EU-28, 2016 - 2018
   %
 201620172018
EU-284245:
Belgium404449
Bulgaria111317
Czech Republic625761
Denmark::66
Germany:56:
Estonia252526
Ireland464852
Greece151114
Spain323231
France5551:
Croatia232637
Italy4143:
Cyprus434134
Latvia413145
Lithuania262836
Luxembourg423845
Hungary373841
Malta:::
Netherlands525766
Austria6663:
Poland353334
Portugal272528
Romania141214
Slovenia29::
Slovakia252227
Finland:::
Sweden375678
United Kingdom545153
Source: Eurostat
: indicates no figure available.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 7 (XLS 78KB)
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Table 8 Sales via e-Commerce by enterprises, EU-28, 2016 - 2018
   %
 201620172018
EU-28202020
Belgium262630
Bulgaria9108
Czech Republic272425
Denmark293032
Germany282622
Estonia181920
Ireland303335
Greece121212
Spain212120
France212119
Croatia191818
Italy111314
Cyprus131314
Latvia101213
Lithuania202322
Luxembourg151316
Hungary151615
Malta201822
Netherlands252627
Austria192118
Poland121214
Portugal191819
Romania789
Slovenia202525
Slovakia151816
Finland222424
Sweden283132
United Kingdom222322
Source: Eurostat
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 8 (XLS 77KB)
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Table 9 General findings of enterprise ICT survey, as a percentage of all enterprises, 2017 - 2018
            %
  Manufacturing sector Construction sector Selected services sectors Total
  20172018 20172018 20172018 20172018
General information about ICT systems  
 Using a computer100100 9999 9997 9997
Use of the internet           
 Using the internet10099 9999 9696 9697
 Have a website or homepage9190 7579 7377 7479
Purposes of using the internet (as provider)           
 Providing links or references to the enterprise's social media profiles5146 3531 5251 5250
 Facilitating access to online ordering or reservations1617 95 2731 2529
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 9 (XLS 39KB)
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Table 10 General findings of enterprise ICT survey, as a percentage of all enterprises, by sector, 2018
                    %
  Manufacturing sector Construction sector Selected services sectors  
 NACE Division110-1819-2223-2526-33Total 41-43 45-4749-5355-5658-636869-7477-82Total Total
General information about ICT systems                   
Using a computer 99100100100100 99 991009199100989897 97
Use of the internet                   
Using the internet 999810010099 99 991009098100979896 97
Have a website or homepage 9082929390 79 6981789084888277 79
Purposes of using the internet (as provider)                   
Providing links or references to the enterprise's social media profiles  4649474346 31 4644547352544851 50
Facilitating access to online ordering or reservations 2024131317 5 3334462028102031 29
1 See Background notes for NACE Rev.2 classification.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 10 (XLS 40KB)
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Table 11 External connection to the internet, as a percentage of all enterprises, by sector, 2017 - 2018
           %
   Manufacturing sectors Construction sector Selected services sectors Total
   20172018 20172018 20172018 20172018
Type of external connection to the internet           
 Broadband10098 9997 9695 9696
 Mobile broadband connection7778 7774 6671 6872
Enterprises with broadband        
 Purchases by internet or EDI4849 3739 5055 5053
 Sales by internet or EDI4239 1810 3437 3436
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 11 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 12 External connection to the internet, as a percentage of all enterprises, by sector, 2018
                    %
   Manufacturing sector Construction sector Selected services sectors   
 NACE Division 110-1819-2223-2526-33Total 41-43 45-4749-5355-5658-636869-7477-82Total Total
Type of external connection to the internet                   
      Broadband 97989610098 97 98988895100969795 96
      Mobile broadband connection 7687758078 74 7179538478828771 72
Enterprises with broadband                   
      Purchases by internet or EDI 4264475349 39 5846467057594955 53
      Sales by internet or EDI 5052232939 10 3844473730192337 36
1See Background notes for NACE Rev.2 classification.
Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics 2018 Table 12 (XLS 40KB)
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Background Notes

Background Notes 2018

Introduction

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.

Summary of survey methodology

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 2018 response rate was 40.5%. 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 6,000 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 2018 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 m, water supply, sewerage and waste management)

Results

Results are based on the survey of Survey on e-Commerce and ICT by an enterprise, which was conducted in the first half of 2018. This survey covers enterprises with 10 or more persons engaged in the manufacturing, construction and selected services sectors.

Eurostat tables

The Survey on e-Commerce and ICT usage is carried out across all member countries of the EU-28. 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-28 are available online at

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Digital_economy_and_society_statistics_-_enterprises

 

Glossary of Terms

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
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E-Mail:
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