BUSINESS USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Business Use of Information Technology, selected indicators(a), 2009 - 10 and 2010 - 11
			2009-10	2010-11
Estimated number of businesses (b)		'000	776	764
Businesses with:
	internet access	%	90.1	91.2
	web presence	%	40.0	43.1
Businesses with internet access:
	broadband as main type of connection	%	97.1	99.1
Businesses which:
	placed orders via the internet	%	46.5	50.8
	received orders via the internet	%	24.8	28.0
Internet income(c)		$b	142.8	188.7
(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each output category.
(b) Business counts are provided for contextual information only, please refer to Explanatory Notes 20 and 21.
(c) Please refer to Explanatory Notes 16 and 17.

Between 2009-10 and 2010-11, the results for all key indicators of IT use rose.

During the year ended 30 June 2011, over half of Australian businesses (51%) reported placing orders via the internet, a five percentage point increase from 2009-10. The proportion of businesses reporting receiving orders via the internet increased three percentage points to 28% and the income resulting from orders received over the internet increased by approximately $46 billion from 2009-10.

Business Use of Information Technology, selected indicators, by employment size(a), 2010 - 11
			0-4 persons	5-19 persons	20-199 persons	200 or more persons	Total
Estimated number of businesses (b)		'000	464	238	58	4	764
Businesses with:
	internet access	%	89.1	93.3	98.2	100.0	91.2
	web presence	%	33.2	53.8	73.9	97.3	43.1
Businesses with internet access:
	broadband as main type of connection	%	99.0	99.2	99.0	99.7	99.1
Businesses which:
	placed orders via the internet	%	43.8	59.5	68.7	81.1	50.8
	received orders via the internet	%	24.4	32.3	38.4	38.2	28.0
Internet income(c)		$b	^14.1	31.1	^43.3	100.2	188.7
^ estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each output category.
(b) Business counts are provided for contextual information only, please refer to Explanatory Notes 20 and 21.
(c) Please refer to Explanatory Notes 16 and 17.

Internet Access

Overall, 91% of business reported having internet access as at 30 June 2011. The likelihood of a business having access to the internet was greater for each successive employment size range. For example, 89% of businesses with 0-4 persons employed reported having internet access, compared to 100% of businesses with 200 or more persons employed.

The Information media and telecommunications and Professional, scientific and technical services industries recorded the highest proportion of businesses with internet access (both 99%). The industry least likely to have internet access was Accommodation and food services (73%).


Broadband Use

Businesses with internet access were asked to identify the main type of internet connection used as at the end of June 2011. Broadband was identified as the main connection type by 99% of Australian businesses with internet access. The ABS defines Broadband as an 'always on' internet connection with an access speed equal to or greater than 256kbps. The proportion of businesses with internet access and broadband as the main type of internet connection has been at near saturation for the past two years.

For businesses with internet access, broadband as the main type of internet connection was reasonably homogenous across employment size groups and industries.


Web Presence

A web presence was reported by 43% of Australian businesses as at 30 June 2011. The reported figure includes businesses with a website, home page or other web presence but not those listed solely as part of an online listing or web directory.

A strong relationship exists between the employment size range and the likelihood that the business has a web presence. At the end of June 2011, a web presence was reported by 33% of businesses with 0-4 persons employed, compared with 97% of businesses with 200 or more persons employed.

Arts and recreation services and Information media and telecommunications industries had the highest proportion of businesses with a web presence (both 67%), followed by Wholesale trade (65%). Businesses in Agriculture, forestry and fishing were the least likely to have a web presence (13%), followed by businesses in Transport, postal and warehousing (22%).


Internet Commerce

Internet commerce is the term generally used in respect to the placement and receipt of orders via the internet. The ABS defines an order via the internet as a transaction where the commitment to purchase goods or services is made via the internet regardless of how it was commenced. The commitment to purchase is the agreement to purchase whether or not the payment is made via the internet. The scope of receiving orders is not limited to orders solely received from Australian households, businesses or government but also includes orders received from overseas customers. Income from the receipt of orders is referred to as internet income.


Placing orders

The proportion of all businesses placing orders via the internet during 2010-11 was 51%.

The proportion of businesses placing orders via the internet increased with each successive employment size range, from 44% for businesses with 0-4 persons employed to 81% for businesses with 200 or more persons employed. A similar pattern was observed in previous releases of these data.

Businesses in both Information media and telecommunications and Professional, scientific and technical services were the most likely to place orders via the internet (72%) followed by Wholesale trade and Arts and recreation services (both 61%). By contrast, Transport, postal and warehousing had the lowest proportion of businesses placing orders over the internet (28%).


Receiving orders

Measures of receipt of orders via the internet exclude transactions where the commitment to purchase is not made via the internet. For example, regular orders made via the internet for goods or services, for which the original commitment to purchase was made using other arrangements, are excluded. The proportion of all businesses reporting receipt of orders via the internet during 2010-11 was 28%, with income obtained from these orders totalling an estimated $189 billion.

Businesses with 20-199 persons employed and businesses with 200 or more persons employed were most likely to receive orders via the internet (both 38%), while businesses with 0-4 persons employed were the least likely to receive orders via the internet (24%).

The Wholesale trade and Manufacturing industries, that are traditionally associated with physical goods, recorded the highest proportion of businesses receiving orders over the internet, at 52% and 50% respectively. Agriculture, forestry and fishing had the lowest proportion of businesses reporting receipt of orders via the internet (12%).

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