NZ Businesses Rush Online

New Zealand has experienced a surge in business use of the Internet over the last two years or so. This is according to a new survey commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The survey shows that three of every four large firms (those with more than 50 full-time staff) now have their own website and almost all (95 percent) have a domain name. Of the firms surveyed, 56 percent have their own website and 91 percent are e-mail users. The 2002 survey is based on a sample of 726 firms with six or more full-time staff.

However, there are differences in the ways large and small firms connect to the Internet in New Zealand. Of smaller firms, 61 percent use dial-up; 25 percent of large firms use frame relay or ADSL. Some 22 percent of the firms using dial-up indicated that they would prefer to use another connection, with 27 percent indicating that no alternate service was available in their area and 24 percent considering the available alternatives as being too expensive

The research found that amongst larger NZ firms, two thirds do not host their own website and almost one in five of these host their website offshore. Overall, 9 percent of firms host their websites overseas. Almost all firms use their site to advertise and promote products; 37 percent can take orders on their sites and 11 percent can take payments online. Overall, one fifth claim to allow some form of secure transaction online.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.