Contents
- Small business computer use statistics: computer adoption in Hong Kong and Singapore
- Small business computer use statistics by firm size: internet and connectivity
- Small business computer use statistics for remote access and cloud services
- Small business computer use statistics: software and business applications
- Small business computer use statistics: computer-based work and online tasks
- Small business computer use statistics: microenterprise adoption barriers and outcomes
- Sources
Small business computer use statistics: computer adoption in Hong Kong and Singapore
Hong Kong’s 2025 business technology survey found that 91.8% of small companies used computers for business purposes. The small-company row represents 312,790 companies. In the same row, 98.7% used smartphones for business and 99.2% used computers and/or smartphones for business. These are company-level measures: they describe whether a company reported using a technology, not the number of devices or employees using it. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition, Table 2.2
Singapore’s enterprise survey reported that 90% of enterprises with fewer than 10 employees used computers in 2019. The survey’s computer definition includes desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablets, portable or handheld computers, minicomputers, mainframes and workstations. Its measure therefore covers more equipment types than desktop and laptop machines alone. Source: Infocomm Media Development Authority, Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises 2019, Chart 2.1
| Survey population | Year | Businesses using computers |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong small companies | 2025 | 91.8% |
| Singapore enterprises with fewer than 10 employees | 2019 | 90% |
Sources: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Table 2.2; Infocomm Media Development Authority, Chart 2.1
The percentages are close, but the populations and years differ. Hong Kong reports on small companies in 2025; Singapore reports on enterprises with fewer than 10 employees in 2019. The labels do not establish that the groups share the same size definition. These are separate survey snapshots, not points in a single trend.
Small business computer use statistics by firm size: internet and connectivity
In Hong Kong, 99.2% of small companies used the internet in 2025, according to the same survey row covering 312,790 small companies. A separate measure found that 54.4% had a web presence. Internet use and web presence are distinct indicators; the figures do not show that every company using the internet maintained a public website. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition, Table 2.2
Singapore’s 2019 survey breaks out internet and broadband use by employment size. The rates for both measures were 93% among enterprises with fewer than 10 employees, 98% among enterprises with 10–199 employees and 100% among enterprises with 200 or more employees. These are adoption rates; they do not describe connection speed, reliability or service quality. Source: Infocomm Media Development Authority, Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises 2019, Charts 2.2 and 2.3
| Singapore enterprise size | Internet use, 2019 | Broadband use, 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 10 employees | 93% | 93% |
| 10–199 employees | 98% | 98% |
| 200 or more employees | 100% | 100% |
Source: Infocomm Media Development Authority, Charts 2.2 and 2.3
Across all enterprise sizes in the Singapore survey, internet use was 95% and broadband use was 94%. Those totals give context for the size breakdown, but do not describe small firms specifically. Source: Infocomm Media Development Authority, Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises 2019, Charts 2.2 and 2.3
In Singapore, 16% of enterprises with fewer than 10 employees used cloud computing services in 2019. Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises 2019
Small business computer use statistics for remote access and cloud services
Statistics Netherlands published preliminary 2025 estimates for businesses in industries C–N and Q. Telework was reported by 51% of businesses with 2–10 employed persons and 76% of businesses with 10–50 employed persons. Here, telework means employees accessed company files or software from outside the business location; email access alone does not qualify. Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ICT-gebruik bij kleine bedrijven; bedrijfstak en bedrijfsgrootte, 2025, telework indicator
Paid cloud-service use was reported by 36% of businesses in the 2–10 employed-person band and 64% in the 10–50 band. For the website indicator, the respective rates were 69% and 91%. Although the indicator appears under a broader website-or-app heading in the source, these specific figures refer to businesses with their own website. Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ICT-gebruik bij kleine bedrijven; bedrijfstak en bedrijfsgrootte, 2025, cloud-services and website indicators
| Dutch business size | Telework, 2025 | Paid cloud services, 2025 | Own website, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–10 employed persons | 51% | 36% | 69% |
| 10–50 employed persons | 76% | 64% | 91% |
For each of these 3 indicators, the reported rate was higher in the 10–50 employed-person band than in the 2–10 band. The estimates record adoption, not its causes. Telework, paid cloud services and having a website are separate measures; one does not establish that a business also used the others.
Small business computer use statistics: software and business applications
The UK’s 2024 survey defines small employer businesses as those with 10–49 employees. Among businesses using technologies or web-based software to sell to customers or manage the business, 88% had used accountancy software, 74% used payroll software, 69% used electronic invoicing and 64% used videoconferencing software. These percentages apply to that technology-using group, not to all small employer businesses. Source: UK Department for Business and Trade, Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024: SME employers, Technology section
| Software or service | UK small employer businesses, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Accountancy software | 88% |
| Payroll software | 74% |
| Electronic invoicing | 69% |
| Videoconferencing software | 64% |
Hong Kong’s 2025 software results cover a broader population: companies of all sizes that used computers. Among those computer-using companies, 97.2% used an office suite for business operations, 45.5% used accounting and finance software, 25.1% used customer relationship management software and 6.0% used enterprise resource planning software. The table estimates 320,710 computer-using companies; it is not restricted to small companies. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition, Table 4.1
The UK and Hong Kong results have different denominators. The UK figures describe small employers within a group already using technology or web-based software for sales or management. The Hong Kong figures describe computer-using companies across sizes. Their percentages should be understood within those definitions, rather than treated as a direct ranking of equivalent businesses.
Small business computer use statistics: computer-based work and online tasks
Hong Kong’s 2025 internet-task measures cover companies of all sizes that used the internet. The estimated population was 344,125 internet-using companies. Within that population, 93.3% used the internet to send or receive email, 88.8% used internet banking and 87.9% used it to provide customer services. These figures concern internet-using companies, not small companies alone. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition, Table 4.3
Telephoning over the internet or video conferencing was reported by 55.3% of those internet-using companies. Together, the 4 indicators cover communication, financial administration and customer service. They record whether a company reported using the internet for a task; they do not quantify time spent, the number of employees involved or frequency of use. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition, Table 4.3
Small business computer use statistics: microenterprise adoption barriers and outcomes
An International Finance Corporation analysis published in 2023 examined a survey of 3,325 microenterprises in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. Fewer than 7% of the surveyed microenterprises said they used digital technologies for business. The article also describes fewer than 7% as using smartphones and computers for business. These findings refer to microenterprises in the 7 named countries, not to small businesses everywhere. Source: International Finance Corporation, Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises, “At a Glance” and “Key Findings”
In that survey, 71% of respondents reported “no need” for digital technologies. The IFC article also identifies 93% of respondents as non-users when discussing reasons for non-use. Among those non-users, 35% said technologies were too expensive, 34% said they did not know how to use them and 20% cited lack of availability. Those reason percentages apply to non-users, not to all surveyed microenterprises. Source: International Finance Corporation, Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises, “Key Findings” and discussion of non-user responses
The IFC article also reports that men working at small businesses were 3.3 times more likely to use computers than women. This is an association described in the African microenterprise research; the reported figure does not explain why the difference occurred. The article discusses links between technology use and business outcomes, but those associations do not establish that technology use caused an outcome. Adoption and barrier results describe the study population and should not be generalized to other business groups without additional evidence.
Sources
- Report on the Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector, 2025 Edition
- Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises 2019
- Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises
- ICT-gebruik bij kleine bedrijven; bedrijfstak en bedrijfsgrootte, 2025
- Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024: SME employers (businesses with 1 to 249 employees)