Europeís SMEs finally embracing the Internet

Results from the Yankee Group''s second annual European Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Survey, indicate that European SMEs have made significant progress in adopting Internet technology, a substantial boost to European vendors and service providers that view the SME market as a potentially hot area for Internet services, but hard to crack due to its fragmented nature.

Data gathered in the survey shows that SMEs are demonstrating increased understanding of the Internet, and a willingness to spend on it. Most significantly, we have found that SMEs now allocate 10% of their total IT and communications budget for Internet access, said Andy Greenman, senior analyst for the Yankee Group''s Networked Business Strategies Europe research and consulting practice. In less than five years, the Internet has grown from early-adopter status to a mainstream business tool. Even more positive is the finding that one third of these SMEs expect to increase the speed of their connections within 2002, Greenman said.

The Report also highlights the key findings of the SME Survey, which include the following:
26% of SMEs are using either cable modem or ADSL broadband Internet connections;
The ability to sell products and services via the company website is the top priority for SMEs;
37% of SMEs expect to add customer support and supplier management tools during 2002.

The Yankee Group''s SME Survey was completed by 800 companies with between 2 and 499 employees across 13 countries in Europe. The respondents were IT/communications decision-makers. The SME Survey was also conducted in the United States, Latin America, and Asia, allowing for global comparisons.