News & events

08/12/08

ICT is often Chinese for entrepreneurs

Ghent, 8 December 2008 – ICT specialists and entrepreneurs speak a different language. This was revealed in a study conducted by the knowledge centre KMO-IT (www.kmo-it.be) and web hosting specialist Combell (www.combell.com). Together, they tested the ICT fitness levels of 1900 entrepreneurs, i.e. their knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as the way they use the Internet and web-related applications.

The study was conducted in two phases. During events, entrepreneurs received a multiple-choice questionnaire. This questionnaire concerned the meaning of typical ICT terms such as ERP, Skype, 3G, CRM, SaaS, shared hosting or CMS – and the intention was not only to know what the abbreviations stand for. The second phase of the study was conducted via the Internet. On www.fitopinternet.be, an online quiz determined the way entrepreneurs use the web and web-related applications.

A knowledge gap

The results revealed an enormous gap between the ICT sector and the business world in terms of terminology and knowledge. Here are some striking results:

• Seven out of ten entrepreneurs have difficulties with a term such as ERP.
• About half of them do not know what a CRM software exactly does.
• Seven out of ten do not know what SaaS (Software as a Service) stands for.
• Two out of three do not use 3G cards – one out of five does not even know what 3G is.
• More than 40% never made a call with Skype.
• Six out of ten do not have a profile on B2B network sites such as LinkedIn. One out of five does have one, but is not really satisfied about the results.

KMO-IT bridges the gap

The study stimulated KMO-IT to keep doing its job:

• Road shows make the ICT sector aware that an adequate use of language is very important for SMEs. And during many other events such as the recent “KMO-IT Inspiratiedagen”, KMO-IT focused on explaining the basics of ICT to entrepreneurs, without beating around the bush.
• www.kmo-it.be/ictkennis compiles useful information for the ICT sector to reach SMEs optimally.
• The KMO-IT knowledge centre keeps informing SMEs of the possibilities of ICT.

Combell makes entrepreneurs understandable offers
“At Combell, we are very well aware of the fact that not all entrepreneurs are ICT professionals. The study that we conducted in collaboration with KMO-IT confirms this once again. We do our utmost best to present our products and services in the most understandable way ”, says Tom De Bast, Business Developer at Combell. “Especially since the modern entrepreneur cannot be competitive without Internet and other new media”.

About Combell

Combell (www.combell.com) is Belgium's largest independent hosting company. It provides many Internet services, such as domain names, e-mail hosting, shared hosting, dedicated servers, virtual servers, fax services, online backup, co-location and SharePoint hosting. Since its foundation in 1999, we manage 60,000 domain names, 20,000 websites and 800 servers for 25,000 customers, ranging from individuals to multinationals. Our customers includes KBC, eBay, Roularta, IKEA, Q8, Hubo, Bikkembergs, Pizza Hut, Sodexho, etc.

About KMO-IT vzw

KMO-IT vzw is an independent organisation that stimulates Flemish SMEs to integrate ICT systems in their company. Since its foundation in 1998, a couple of hundred SMEs already called upon the services of our organisation. KMO-IT is a valuable partner for both small and medium companies within various sectors. In this framework, KMO-IT is supported by the Flemish Government (via IWT)

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