UK businesses continue to rank highly in their adoption and use of information and communications technologies (ICT), and their derived benefits, according to extensive research performed by Durham Business School on behalf of Microsoft. In international comparative studies, the UK is found in the top two quartiles for nearly all measures of ICT adoption, the research suggests.

In Europe, the UK comes 10th in terms of adoption of ICT technology by businesses, scoring above the average of European Union countries, although it remains some way behind the Scandinavian leaders.

For the ‘effective and efficient use of ICT’, the UK does better against its European counterparts, claiming the number seven spot, Durham Business School further reveals.

Among the rest of the world, the UK leads in the proportion of businesses with a website, while it lags behind in terms of the value of purchases made over the Internet but remains equal in terms of the value of online sales. ICT adoption rates in different industrial sectors also remain generally above those of all other countries. In particular, the research notes, adoption within the UK construction industry is well above the global average.

In terms of IT capability across functional areas of the business, measured as a percentage contribution, the UK is ahead in marketing and sales, and enjoys a high ranking in the areas of empowerment and IT infrastructure.

While the UK technically ranks below the US, Germany and Brazil in the use of ICT in the areas of finance and operations, the margin of difference between the UK and the leading nation, Brazil, is negligible, Durham Business School notes.