The Cyprus Statistical Service has published the results of the Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and E-Commerce in Enterprises 2024, capturing the largest integration of digital technologies in the country's businesses.

REMOTE WORK AND USE OF MOBILE DEVICES

• 84.1% of enterprises with 10 or more employees provided their employees with mobile devices capable of connecting to the internet via mobile networks.

• 88.1% of enterprises allow remote access to e-mail, while 71.7% provide access to corporate documents and 66.3% to business applications (e.g. CRM, accounting programs).

E-COMMERCE: STEADY GROWTH

• 23.5% of businesses received orders through computer networks.

• 22.7% of businesses used websites or apps to sell products and services.

• 21.2% of businesses received orders from private consumers, while 11.4% from other businesses or public authorities.

ONLINE ADVERTISING: SIGNIFICANT GROWTH

• 49.4% of businesses paid for online advertising in 2024, twice as much as in 2016.

• The most popular strategies include geo-targeted ads (43.5%), user-search-based ads (38.4%), and ads based on browsing history (28.7%).

SPECIALISED ICT STAFF AND SKILLS

• 27.5% of enterprises employ ICT specialists, with the percentage reaching 85.8% in large enterprises.

• Only 15.3% of enterprises provided training to specialized ICT personnel, while 27.0% trained non-specialized personnel.

• 12.2% of enterprises tried to recruit ICT personnel, but 6.4% struggled due to a lack of available skilled workers.

ICT SECURITY

• 95% of businesses use strong passwords for system security.

• 90% apply data backup.

• 73.9% use network access control, while 67.3% have a VPN.

INCREASED USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN ENTERPRISES

• 7.9% of businesses used artificial intelligence in 2024, compared to 4.7% in 2023.

• AI is most prevalent in large enterprises (34.9%), followed by medium-sized enterprises with 14.3% and small enterprises with 6.3%.

• A I technologies adopted include text mining, machine learning and deep learning.

The digital transition of Cypriot businesses is accelerating, with an increase in the use of artificial intelligence, e-commerce and online advertising, although challenges remain in terms of the availability of skilled ICT personnel.