Digital Readiness Monitor shows Irish websites have low level of sophistication
The national registry for more 330,000 domain names, .ie, has launched Ireland’s Digital Readiness Monitor, which analyses the level of digital sophistication of websites in Ireland, and has revealed that 36% of websites in Ireland have a low or very low level of sophistication.
Ireland’s Digital Readiness Monitor, which includes websites using the .ie domain, as well as those using .com, .co.uk or any other extension, presented a picture of Ireland’s digital readiness with research conducted by .ie in partnership with the Irish Institute of Digital Business, DCU and the JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics at University of Galway.
The report introduced a new national measure of digital readiness – the Web Technology Intensity Score (WTIS). The WTIS is comprised of eleven indicators that measure the digital readiness of organisations in Ireland including basic website; website with sophisticated functionality; websites with evidence of basic analytics, sophisticated analytics, social media integration, mobile optimisation, online advertising, sophisticated online advertising, internationalisation, selling online and cloud computing.
The Government’s digital strategy, Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework noted that SMEs made up the majority of Irish businesses and the ability of Irish SMEs to adopt sophisticated digital technologies will be fundamental to increasing Ireland’s digital competitiveness.
The report revealed that 36% of websites in Ireland have a low or very low level of sophistication despite various Government grants and programmes to support digital advancement. A website and associated technologies were a proxy for an organisation’s degree of digitalisation, so this statistic demonstrates that SMEs’ websites were under-developed.
At the other end of the spectrum, one in four websites (27%) had a high or very high level of sophistication, showing considerable room for improvement.
David Curtin, chief executive at .ie, said: “The development of the WTIS measure marks a significant step forward in understanding the levels of sophistication of websites in Ireland. Despite the many Government supports in place, it is dispiriting to see that 36% of websites in Ireland have a low or very low Web Technology Intensity Score.
“For Irish SMEs, digital technologies present the potential of the ‘death of distance’, overcoming the limitations of location for Irish rural and urban businesses. However, there is evidence of a digital divide based on location, sector and size. In order to drive increased adoption of digital technologies by all businesses, but specifically micro SMEs with less than 10 employees, a supportive digital ecosystem optimised for SMEs is going to be required and we need the financial support of Government and key stakeholders to help make that happen.”
Associate Dean of Research, DCU Business School, Professor Theo Lynn said: “The Digital Readiness Monitor is a critical methodology and tool for understanding the digital landscape in Ireland. By establishing the Web Technology Intensity Score (WTIS), we can now quantitatively assess and track the digital sophistication and evolution of organisations across the country and compare it with other countries.
“This study not only highlights the gaps in digital adoption but also provides a roadmap for improvement. In a rapidly evolving digital economy, such insights are essential for guiding SMEs and other businesses in leveraging technology to enhance their competitiveness, both locally and on the global stage.”
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