According to statistics released by the ABS today, in the 12 months to June 2002, the proportion of businesses accessing the Internet increased by a mere three percent to 72 percent. The number of businesses with a Web presence also grew slightly, up two percent to 24 percent.
In their report, Business use of IT Technology the ABS claims that for larger businesses consisting of 20 or more employees, "The adoption of computers, access to the Internet and Web presence appear[s] to have reached saturation".
The statistics reported today are vastly different to those of the previous reporting period, with the 2000/01 technology adoption statistics dwarfing the numbers just-released. Growth in the proportion of businesses with Internet access fell from 13 percent in 2000/01 to three percent last year, while growth in businesses establishing a Web presence fell from six percent to two percent.
Forty one percent of businesses had reported a security incident of some kind in the 12 months to June 2002. Thirty-eight percent of these incidents were related to computer viruses, 15 percent to a Trojan or worm, and two percent of businesses surveyed reporting unauthorised network access.
However not all trends were downward, the estimated income earned by Australian businesses on the Internet increased by over 20 percent from AU$9.4 billion to AU$11.3 billion, representing a total of 0.8 percent of total business income. Use of online banking was up; businesses with access to the Internet increasing their use the service by 10 percent.
Interestingly, the number businesses receiving orders for online goods was actually down, despite the increase in online income, suggesting there is some consolidation taking place in the e-commerce industry despite the growth.
