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Tuesday
- May 30, 2000
Half of US Small Businesses
Embrace the Web
The Internet is changing the way companies do business,
and small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) are no exception.
According to results from IDC's 1999 U.S. Small Business
Survey, the percentage of small businesses accessing
the Internet surpassed 52% in 1999, and that number will
climb to over 70% by 2003. Once confined by geographical
constraints, small businesses are now leveraging the Internet
to expand beyond local boundaries.
In addition to accessing the
wealth of information the Web has to offer, a number of
small businesses are recognizing the benefit of promoting
themselves via the Web. In 1999, 2.1 million U.S. small
businesses had a home page or Web site. That number will
increase 30% to 2.7 million in 2000. "Although more
small businesses are experimenting with Web promotion of
their products and services, the market is far from saturated,
and there is still plenty of room to grow," said Raymond
Boggs, IDC's vice president of Small Business research. "Almost
13% of U.S. small businesses have yet to invest in a PC,
never mind add Internet capability."
At this point, ecommerce presents
the most significant growth opportunity for a wide range
of U.S. small businesses. The number of these companies
selling goods and services online will grow from 850,000
at the end of 1999 to 2.9 million in 2003. "The Internet
has tremendous reach, and small businesses are beginning
to realize the potential of this channel. By 2003 nearly
half of online small businesses will be selling over the
Internet," Boggs said.
Key Findings
The growth in the number of new small businesses online is evident across all
company size categories. Even the smallest of firms are stepping up to
the Internet opportunity.
The majority of small businesses
still access the Internet through a single PC shared by
all users. This sets the stage for local area network growth,
especially as small firms seek the benefits of high-speed
broadband Internet access.
Small businesses that use the
Internet tend to be more advanced users of computer technology
in general. The technology "heat seekers" are
paving the way, as they advance through an ever-growing
number of available Internet services.
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