Only 37 percent of SMEs have a website?

Via Electric News:

O2 Ireland commissioned TNS mrbi to survey 300 owners, managers, or directors of Irish businesses employing less than 250 employees

According to the research, only 37 percent of SMEs have a website. “Twenty-eight percent of firms employing less than three people have a website which is perhaps understandable, but we were a little surprised that only 56 percent of those employing more than ten people possess a website,” commented Farrell.

Wuh? Are we still so far behind in these things that businesses don’t see the benefit of websites? That’s a very disappointing figure.

2 Responses to “Only 37 percent of SMEs have a website?”

  1. Damien,

    I do not think the figure is that bad: a lot of SMEs do not need a website. Think about your local butcher, your pub, your plumber… Sure, they could have a website but it wouldn’t make much of a difference to their bottom-line, would it?

    Btw, I’ve been silently reading your blog for a couple of months. So I’d just like to take the occasion to say thanks and keep up the good work!

  2. Kaushik says:

    Just saw that an Irish web design company has taken an extra initiative to eliminate this gap among Irish SMEs – acubesoftware.com (http://www.acubesoftware.com) – who are giving away 1 free website every month for one year to Irish SMEs. Surely a marketing gimmick but definitely worth appreciating – they are calling it “unique irish campaign” saw it here – http://www.acubesoftware.com/irish.html

    By the way – your blog is quite good!