To a large majority of German companies a web presence has become a matter of course. 78% of these have their own internet site on which they at least present themselves and provide contact details. Many businesses, however, also offer goods and services online, provide online assistance or even look online for new staff.
All this really seems to pay off given that in the course of one year the number of German businesses having their own website increased by 5 percent, as was announced by the German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM). “German companies are currently on their way to reaching the top position among those European countries with most company web sites“, comments Prof. August-Wilhelm Scheer who is BITKOM president on the increase. Thus, Germany moved upwards from rank 7 to rank 5 and is currently placed ahead of Great Britain and France. Only in the Scandinavian countries which are in general very enthusiastic about internet use there are more companies having their own websites. At the lower end of the table are the new member states of the EU as well as countries from the south of Europe.
According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), the highest growth rates in this respect are currently registered in central-east Europe. Thus, in Slovakia the number of companies with internet presence increased by 9 percent to 70%, in Slovenia by 5 % to 67% and in Estonia by 4% to 62%. 