Over 80% of firms offer remote working

More than 80% of businesses with ten or more employees provided mobile devices with access to the internet and business email, according to a survey on information and communication technologies (ICT).

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

During 2022, 85.9% of enterprises 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% of all enterprises provide remote access to their email system, 68.7% to their documents, including spreadsheets, presentations, or other files, and 64.8% provide remote access to business applications or software used.

Also, 59% of all enterprises have conducted remote meetings via the internet (e.g., Skype, Zoom, MS teams, WebEx).

Internet Connection Speed

According to the survey, the demand for high-speed internet connections (100 Mbit/s or more) has increased significantly over the years.

In 2022, six out of ten enterprises (61.2%) have internet connection speeds higher than 100 Mbit/s compared to 10.2% in 2018.

The most popular contracted download speed among enterprises in Cyprus was at least 100 Mbit/s but less than 500 Mbit/s (39.2% of all enterprises).

The second most popular download speed was at least 30 Mbit/s but less than 100

Mbit/s (22.7%), followed by download speeds of at least 500 Mbit/s but less than 1 Gbit/s and more than 1 Gbit/s, with 11%. Finally, the least favourite download speed was less than 30 Mbit/s with 8%.

E-Commerce Sales

One in five enterprises (22%) received orders for goods and services via computer networks, while 21.2% received orders via websites or “apps” and 3.3% via EDI – type messages. Also, 17.8% of all enterprises received orders for goods and services via their own websites or “apps”. In comparison, 11.9% received orders via e-commerce marketplace websites or “apps” used by several enterprises for trading products.

Some 19.6% of enterprises received orders via websites or “apps” from private customers compared to 12.7% of enterprises which received orders from other businesses and/or from the general government.

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

ICT skills

One in four enterprises (24.5%) employ

ICT specialists. That percentage reaches 73.3% in large enterprises compared to 20.1% in small enterprises.

The percentage of enterprises that provided any training to develop ICT-related skills to either ICT specialists or other persons employed remains low at 13.9% and 25.6%, respectively. However, the corresponding percentages in large enterprises are 51.1% for ICT specialists and 65.7% for other persons employed.

Finally, 10.5% of enterprises with 10 or more staff recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in 2021, with 5.7% facing difficulties filling vacancies.