Compared to Estonia, IT is less spread in Latvian and Lithuanian companies. Three fourths of companies in Estonia use a computer in their business operations while in Lithuania two thirds and in Latvia a half of companies have a computer.

At the same time, large companies in all the Baltic States have a similar development level of IT – a computer is an everyday working tool in these companies. However, 60 % of small companies with up to 9 employees in Latvia and correspondingly 49 % in Lithuania do not own any computer yet.

The Internet usage goes hand in hand with computer owning in all the three Baltic States. 66 % of companies in Estonia, 49 % in Lithuania and 36 % in Latvia have Internet connection. Enterprises in Lithuania and Estonia use more dedicated connection than dial-up service for their Internet connection, while companies in Latvia use mostly dial-up Internet connection. The smaller share of dedicated line usage in Latvia is probably due to a relatively higher price of the service. The Internet in Latvian and Lithuanian companies is mostly used for looking for information and communicating with clients. Using Internet bank for financial transactions, which is widely spread in Estonia, has not yet reached all the companies in Latvia and Lithuania. Internet bank is mostly used there by larger enterprises.

18 % of companies that own a computer in Latvia and respectively 17 % of them in Lithuania have hired an IT specialist or team. These companies have mainly one IT specialist, 6 % of Latvian and 7 % of Lithuanian companies with a computer have hired two or more specialists. In Estonia there are less IT teams and they tend to be smaller, instead IT service outsourcing is more widely used.

A wider usage of outsourced IT services is one reason why relationships between companies and their IT partners in Estonia are longer and more close than those of the neighbouring countries. In the survey Estonian companies expressed more loyalty to their IT partners than companies in Latvia and Lithuania. 75 % of Estonian companies definitely intend to continue cooperation with their main IT partner, the respective share of loyal companies in Latvia is 53 % and in Lithuania 48 %. The Estonian IT market is also better developed concerning the supply of services.

Latvia and Lithuania have still partly to undergo the development that has already taken place in Estonia. The rate of growth in these markets will probably be higher during the few coming years. At the same time the differences between the companies in the Baltic States today are remarkably smaller than the differences between the Internet and computer usage of the population. Companies in Latvia and Lithuania are becoming powerful engines of IT development in these countries, through which Internet and computer usage will reach wider public.

The source of the data is a survey that TNS Emor / TNS Baltic Data House / TNS Gallup conducted in February-March. During this survey 500 companies with at least one computer were interviewed in all Baltic countries, respondent was a person responsible for IT in a company.

The survey "IT and Internet Usage in Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Companies"

31.05.2002

Ilva Pudule
Phone: +371 67096300
E-mail: ilva.pudule@tns.lv