BUSINESS USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
ABOUT BUSINESS USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STATISTICS
Key indicators of business use of IT include: internet access; the use of broadband; web presence; social media presence; and internet commerce (i.e. the placing and receiving of orders via the internet).
Detailed information on these indicators can be found via the Downloads tab.
BUSINESS USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - SUMMARY
Business Use of Information Technology, selected indicators(a) - 2013-14 to 2015-16 |
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| | | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
|
Estimated number of businesses(b) | '000 | 757 | 776 | 799 |
Businesses with(c): | | | | |
| internet access | % | 94.7 | 94.8 | 95.3 |
| web presence | % | 47.1 | 48.6 | 50.1 |
| social media presence | % | 30.8 | 34.0 | 38.2 |
Businesses with internet access(c): | | | | |
| broadband as the main type of connection | % | 99.2 | 99.2 | 99.3 |
Businesses that: | | | | |
| placed orders via the internet | % | 56.0 | 55.7 | 57.0 |
| received orders via the internet | % | 33.2 | 33.8 | 36.8 |
Internet income(d) | $b | 266.8 | 285.5 | 321.4 |
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(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each output category. |
(b) Business counts are provided for contextual information only. Refer to Explanatory Notes 20 and 21. |
(c) As at the end of the reference period, 30 June. |
(d) Refer to Explanatory Notes 16 and 17. |
§ For the first time, a web presence was reported by more than half of all Australian businesses (50%).
§ By industry, Arts and recreation services had the highest proportion of businesses with a web presence (76%), while the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry had the lowest proportion of businesses with a web presence (12%).
§ More than a third of Australian businesses had a social media presence (38%). The highest proportion of businesses with a social media presence was recorded in the 200 or more persons employed range (81%) followed by businesses with 20 to 199 persons employed (63%).
§ During the year ended 30 June 2016, over half of all businesses placed orders via the internet (57%).
§ The proportion of businesses that reported having received orders via the internet was 37%, with income obtained from these orders totalling an estimated $321 billion.
INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS - SUMMARY
Summary of innovative activity in Australian business, selected indicators(a) - 2013-14 to 2015-16 |
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| | | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
|
Estimated number of businesses(b) | '000 | 757 | 776 | 799 |
Businesses that introduced any new or significantly improved(c): | | | | |
| goods or services | % | 24.1 | 19.3 | 22.4 |
| operational processes | % | 17.9 | 15.6 | 19.1 |
| organisational/managerial processes | % | 21.7 | 17.4 | 22.6 |
| marketing methods | % | 20.3 | 16.5 | 19.7 |
Businesses that introduced innovation (innovating businesses) | % | 42.5 | 38.2 | 43.1 |
Businesses with innovative activity that was(c): | | | | |
| still in development(d) | % | 24.7 | 21.2 | 24.1 |
| abandoned | % | 8.4 | 7.7 | 6.7 |
Businesses with any Innovative activity (innovation-active businesses) | % | 48.3 | 45.0 | 48.7 |
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(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each output category. |
(b) Business counts are provided for contextual information only. Refer to Explanatory Notes 20 and 21. |
(c) Businesses may be counted in more than one category. |
(d) As at the end of the reference period, 30 June. |
§ The proportion of businesses that were innovation-active (i.e. those that undertook any innovative activity) in 2015-16 was 49%.
§ Manufacturing, Retail trade and the Arts and recreation services industries had the highest proportion of innovation-active businesses, all at 58%.
§ Overall, 43% of businesses introduced at least one type of innovation with organisational/managerial processes (23%) the most common type of innovation introduced.
§ Almost one in four businesses had innovation still in development (24%) as at 30 June 2016. New or significantly improved marketing methods was the type of innovation that was most likely to still be in development (12%).
INQUIRIES
Further information about these and related statistics is available from the ABS website www.abs.gov.au, or contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.