The latest market surveys point out that the mentality of Romanian companies regarding the Internet has changed. Managers seem to become increasingly aware of the advantages the web brings to their businesses, even if their core activity is rather related to the traditional economy.
According to a survey conducted by Mercury Research for MobiFon, 90% of the Romanian companies consider that the financial effort needed to invest in the Internet access services is not high, with 49% of them saying that it is a low effort and 40% saying that this effort is medium.
In other words, net-related expenses are not regarded as extravagancies or exorbitant costs.
"On one hand, the Romanian companies are more aware of the competitive edge the Internet brings to their businesses. On the other hand, I think that competition on the Romanian market had a say, as services have improved and prices are more affordable," Alexandru Hurdubaie, XNET manager, maintained.
Furthermore, 42% of the Romanian companies that were polled said they were willing to increase the budget allotted to Internet services, which goes to show that companies are now mature and quite aware of the need to be online, Hurdubaie commented.
While the number of dedicated Internet networks accounted for 36% of the total in March, this share increased to 40% in October. The share of dial-up connections simultaneously decreased from 64% to 60%.
"This is a natural shift, as company needs are now focussed on permanent and dedicated networks, while a dial-up connection is more suitable for individual users or start-ups that are not aware of their Internet needs yet," Alexandru Hurdubaie added.
Romanians are using the Internet for email (40%) and for information (37%), says the survey conducted by Mercury Research. Only 1% of the Romanian web surfers access the Internet to conclude transactions.
The share of users is the same in the case of VoIP services, which are currently used only within the private virtual networks.
The potential of the data transmission market is mainly linked with the number of subsidiaries of a certain company and with the way they are spread across the country.
"Certain data are private and, consequently, they cannot be sent and received by the Internet. Therefore, the companies need VPNs (Virtual private Network) allowing them to send or receive information that is relevant for their business," Alexandru Hurdubaie said.
Over 30% of the companies included in the survey drafted by Mercury Research have more than six subsidiaries throughout the country, which actually suggests the high potential of the data transmission market.
The survey also points out that 60% of the Romanian companies prefer a sole communication service provider. 13% of them have already concluded a contract with such a provider, while 47% are willing to sign a contract with companies providing complete communication services (voice, data transmission, and Internet connections).
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