Irish SMEs losing online business to UK and US competitors

Pro

20 May 2011

There has been a massive push from the Irish IT sector and government to urge Irish small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to create an online presence.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny recently launched ‘Getting Irish Business Online’ a national campaign aimed at encouraging Irish firms to exploit the economic potential of the internet. The campaign has garnered considerable support from the IT sector as Google, Blacknight Internet Solutions, An Post and the County & City Enterprise Boards have entered into a partnership to support it. Getting Irish Business Online aims to entice the 40% of SMEs to embrace the potential of the internet and create websites for their businesses for free on www.gettinbusinessonline.ie.

Research by Google has revealed the extent of the detachment from the internet by Irish companies. Google has stated that as much as 60% of SMEs do not have a listing in an online directory and a further 40% do not have a website. Considering that over 75% of Irish customers use the internet for searching for goods and services means that the 79% of businesses who are not e-commerce enabled are losing out on potential revenues to their US and UK competitors.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has observed that Irish businesses needed to gain a foothold in the online market in order to help preserve Irish jobs and companies. Taoiseach Kenny remarked that “having a presence online is no longer an optional extra; it’s an essential part of business in the twenty first century.” He added that “the presence of Google and other technology companies here forming a digital services hub is a very real asset to the Irish economy. This new innovation will help get more Irish small business online – so that they can sell their goods and services from Ballina to Beijing.”

Karrie Kehoe

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