The European e-Business Report The European e ... - empirica

The European E-Business Report 2005
Open standards allow the implementation of open source software or proprietary software. However,
to guarantee flexibility in assessing the best technological solution to enhance interoperability, the
choice as to which standard and, especially, which software is to be used must not be imposed by
government.
1.5.3 Survey results on interoperability and standards
SMEs are not a homogenous set. The analysis of the survey data on the take up of standards and
technology clearly shows that the adoption rates and future plans are highly dependent both on the
sectors and the size of the companies involved. One of the basic premises underlying the research is
that a sector led approach to implementation, that meets national business and cultural requirements,
is required to achieve the maximum benefits. This must include mechanisms to help SMEs set
challenging and realistic targets for their B2B implementations, for accelerated development and
harmonisation of sectoral standard roadmaps, and for the adoption of all relevant business and
technology agreements.
Exhibit 1.5-1: Standards are taken into account in new products,
services and processes (% of Firms)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Food Textile Publish Pharma Machine Auto Aero Constr IT Serv
s1-micro s3-small s2-medium s4-large
Food Textile Publish Pharma Machine Auto Aero Constr IT Serv
Micro 19 20 33 32 33 21 23 20 59 30
Small 26 29 49 42 44 42 35 28 71 41
Medium 58 44 61 8 60 63 - 44 75 59
Large 80 59 76 71 77 77 - 68 87 74
Percentage (rounded) of firms by size-band within sector that take technology or data standards into account in new product,
service or process development. Base: All firms, excluding tourism sector and "Don’t Know". Cells with insufficient observations
to indicate accurate % within size-band are left blank (-). Caution advised when interpreting the corresponding data in graphic.
Source: e-Business W@tch (e-Business Survey 2005)
As shown in Exhibit 1.5-1, the importance of standards in innovation increases by enterprise sizeband.
About 60-85% of all large firms, depending on the sector, said that they take industry standards
and specifications into account when deciding which technology and data standards to use for new
products, services or business processes. However, excluding the IT Services sector, only about 20-
45% of micro and small enterprises gave the same response. Sectoral differences for medium sized
companies are less pronounced, with the exception of IT Services industry on the one hand (higher
importance) and the construction industry on the other hand (low significance, see chart).
Despite the variation, there is solid evidence of a high level of commitment and practice across all of
the enterprise size-bands that standards play a critical role, and are taken into account, when making
decisions on what technology to use in the introduction of new products, services and processes.
Sizeband
39