Upc report on ireland's digital future

3

www.upc.ie

Researched & produced by

The UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future

Driving Economic Recovery

Designed by

UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future

Contents

Foreword

Dana Strong, Chief Executive, UPC Ireland 2

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 6

Chapter 1: Life Online 9

Chapter 2: The Digital Consumer 24

Chapter 3: The Digital Business 33

Conclusion: Towards a Digital Future 45

© 2012 UPC Ireland and Amárach Research, the content of this report may be used

and republished freely once The UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future is credited.

2 UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future

Foreword


The shared goal of transforming Ireland into

a knowledge based society and a competitive

economy is critically dependent on our

capacity not only to deliver a world class digital

infrastructure but also on our ability to maximise

engagement with that infrastructure.

For the past 3 years, UPC has been a key change agent in Ireland

leading a surge in broadband adoption and raising awareness of the

benefits of going digital for households and businesses.

This independently conducted research, commissioned by UPC, is

part of our continued contribution to transforming Ireland into a

global digital leader. The report presents findings of surveys across a

sample of the Irish consumer and business population. It provides a

comprehensive snapshot of Ireland’s current position and seeks to look

ahead to the future where digital uptake can drive economic recovery

and create new jobs which will underpin national competitiveness.

The Internet is clearly having a profound impact on the way we live

and work. The Amárach research shows that Irish society is ready and

confident for the digital future. Ireland performs well in many criteria

in comparison with OECD and EU indicators. Consumer investment in

digital products and services is strong and is equally matched by the

skills to use them.

Crucially, Irish businesses are already making strong progress towards

the digital future and they are very aware of the opportunities it

presents for efficiencies and growth. Most telling is the firm belief on

the part of the majority of companies that getting their online strategy

right will translate into real and significant revenue growth.

The report puts current online consumer spending at €3.7 billion and

forecasts it to rise to €5.7 billion, an increase of more than 40% by

2016. It also predicts a doubling of Ireland’s ‘Internet economy’ by 2016

bringing its total value to €11.3 billion. A challenge for Irish businesses

will be to ensure that these increases are met by Irish based productivity

and innovation with a corresponding benefit for jobs and the economy.

The evidence is clear. Ireland is well capable of grasping the

opportunity presented by new media, digital developments, broadband

and the Internet and this will contribute to restoring the health of

our economy. In turn, all stakeholders must play their part in the

development of our digital economy to create jobs growth, economic

growth, and enhanced competitiveness.

I would like to thank Amárach for their research expertise and

everyone who has participated in this groundbreaking report for

Ireland. UPC is proud to be playing its part in delivering the digital

future and we will continue to work with Government, business and

society in general to ensure that we all collectively realise this potential

for Ireland to succeed to the maximum extent possible.

Why not help us track Ireland’s progress? We would like to invite all

individuals and businesses to participate in the UPC Digital Index at

www.upc.ie/digitalindex

Dana Strong

Chief Executive Officer, UPC Ireland

UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future 3

€11.3Bn Projected Value of the Irish Internet Economy (Ireland 2016)

€5.7BnProjected Online Consumer Spending (Ireland 2016)

€3.7Bn Online Consumer Spending (Ireland 2012)


Executive Summary

Seize the Future

Ireland is in the middle of a revolution – a digital revolution. For all

the economic difficulties and challenges we have faced in recent

years, the story of digital technology in Ireland is a story of success.

Comparisons with other countries show that Ireland is on par or

even ahead of OECD and EU nations when it comes to several key

measures of digital adoption.

Ireland’s future progress towards the digital future will help us solve

some of the economic problems we now face. Improving access to

higher broadband speeds in households and businesses opens up new

opportunities for citizens, consumers, employers and employees. By

seizing the digital future, Ireland can secure a higher standard of living

through faster economic growth, as well as tackling the scourges of

unemployment and emigration through the creation of new jobs, new

services and new businesses.

The Size of the Prize

If Ireland simply follows the trend in other countries at a similarly

advanced stage of digitisation, then the Internet’s contribution to our

economy will grow from about 3% of GDP at present to 6% by 2016.

That’s an increase in the value of Ireland’s digital economy from under

€5 billion this year to over €11 billion in 2016, creating new jobs and

new businesses along the way.

As for jobs potential, raising the level of digitisation in Ireland to that of

our nearest neighbour, the UK, would reduce the numbers unemployed

in Ireland by nearly 18,000; with even bigger reductions possible if the

level rose to that of the leading Scandinavian countries.

The Surveys

UPC commissioned Amárach Research to carry out two, parallel

surveys in August 2012: the first was an online survey comprising

1,000 adults aged 16 and over, representative of Ireland’s population;

and the second comprised a telephone and web survey of 201

IT decision-makers in Irish SMEs and larger corporations, with quotas

to ensure a cross-section of companies by size. The surveys were

carried out on an entire market wide basis and included customers

of all telecommunications providers.

Life Online

Already, 8 in 10 adults use the Internet in Ireland, up from fewer than

5 in 10 in 2007. Indeed, broadband take-up in Ireland matches the EU

average at two thirds of homes.

The Internet is now a vital part of our everyday lives, and shapes how

we work, relax, learn and shop. Internet users spend 156 minutes

(2.6 hours) online on a typical weekday, rising higher at the weekend. On

average there are two or more people using broadband in every home,

with two or more devices connected at the same time – as smartphones

become more common, more people and devices will be connected.

Shopping and social networks are the most popular online activities,

while a third of adults already use the Internet at home for work

purposes. 6 in 10 workers are expected to work from home some or

all of the time by 2016.

The Irish are digital optimists, and look forward to a host of new

services that will enable them to study, shop, work and share from

the comfort of their home in future. Indeed, half of all adults would be

interested in running their own business from home at some stage,

facilitated by digital technologies.


The Digital Consumer

The impact of digital technology on the Irish economy is significant.

Already there are 2.6 million online shoppers in Ireland, who will spend

€3.7bn in 2012 across a range of product and service categories. Irish

consumers will spend €5.7bn online by 2016, or 7% of all consumer

spending in the economy.

Some 8 in 10 Internet users use the web to research products they are

interested in buying, but then buy them locally in Irish shops. It goes

the other way too: 6 in 10 Irish Internet users use their local shops to

research products they are interested in, but then buy them online,

often at significant cost savings.

There are significant opportunities for Irish businesses – including

retailers – to respond to these trends. Over 6 in 10 online shoppers

would buy from an Irish website if they knew about one that matched

equivalent offers from international sites.

The UPC Digital Consumer Index – specially created for this study –

tells us that some 30% of Irish adults are ‘Digital Leaders’, while 8%

are ‘Digital Laggards’: the balance are what we call ‘Digital Followers’.

The Digital BusinessIreland’s digital revolution is not just good for consumers, it’s

good for business. It appears that Irish businesses have ‘moved

on’ from the recession, with 8 in 10 now optimistic about their

growth prospects for the next 2 years. Two thirds expect to expand

in Ireland in the coming years, and nearly half plan on expanding

abroad. Furthermore, a majority of businesses intend hiring

new staff in the next 2 years, with a strong emphasis on IT and

digital skills.

Digital technology has delivered productivity increases and cost

savings to a majority of businesses. One key area for future

improvement is the application of digital technology to employee

engagement and management. Already, 6 in 10 companies enable

their staff to work from home to varying degrees during contracted

hours – a practice that is expected to grow.

The UPC Digital Business Index – also created for this study –

tells us that 3 in 10 Irish businesses are ‘Digital Leaders’, while 1 in 7

are ‘Digital Laggards’; with the balance falling into the category of

‘Digital Followers’.

We have much to gain from the digital future in terms of higher

standards of living, a better quality of life, improved consumer welfare,

greater business productivity and lower unemployment. This report

shows the road ahead to the digital future: together we must take the

next steps.


Introduction

What is the one service in your home that you couldn’t live without?

The number 1 choice, for over a third of Irish adults in 2012, is

broadband. Number 2 is electricity (for over a fifth of adults),

with television in the number 3 position. These findings are a

remarkable indication of how embedded the Internet has become

in our daily lives (leaving aside the matter of how broadband could

work without electricity!).

But even more remarkable is just how quickly the ‘digital revolution’

has happened in Ireland, and how much more we have to look forward

to in the years ahead. This report is designed to help Irish citizens and

businesses prepare for the digital future. We think you will be surprised

and inspired by the findings from our research and by the changes

we can expect in how we live, work and play. The good news is that,

despite the tough economic challenges we face, Ireland is well placed

to be a winner on the road to the digital future.

Our SurveysUPC commissioned Amárach Research to carry out two, parallel

surveys in August 2012: the first was an online survey comprising

1,000 adults aged 16 and over, representative of Ireland’s population;

and the second comprised a telephone and web survey of 201 IT

decision-makers in Irish SMEs and larger corporations, with quotas

to ensure a cross-section of companies by size.

The key findings from both surveys are explored in the rest of this report.

Digital Targets for a Digital FutureThe importance and benefits of being digitally connected and engaged

along with having access to high speed broadband services are

globally recognised. Given this, there is growing interest in measuring

the performance of countries in terms of digital trends and their

economic and social impact.

From a European standpoint, the EU has identified a number of Digital

Agenda targets (EU Targets) aimed to “help reboot the EU economy and

enable citizens and businesses get the most out of digital technologies”.1

More locally, the Irish Government recently published its National

Broadband Plan which aims to better the EU’s broadband speed targets

during the lifetime of the current government.2

1 EU Digital Agenda scoreboard for Ireland: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/

scoreboard/ireland

2 ‘Delivering a Connected Society: A National Broadband Plan for Ireland’, Department

of Communications, Energy and National Resources, http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/

rdonlyres/1EA7B477-741B-4B74-A08E-6350135C32D2/0/NBP.pdf

EU Digital Agenda targets

By 2013

Basic broadband for all

By 2015

50% of population to buy online

33% of SMEs to make online sales

60–75% of the population to use the Internet regularly

By 2020

30Mbps for all citizens

50% of population to subscribe to 100Mbps

Ireland’s National Broadband Plan targets

70Mbps for 50% of population

40Mbps for 70-85% of population

30Mbps for 100% population


The good news is that Ireland rates very favourably not just among its

EU counterparts but also at a global level. Irish consumers are broadly

equal to their OECD and EU counterparts when it comes to measures

such as the percentage of households with broadband – in fact Ireland

has already met the first of the EU’s Targets, universal broadband. 3, 4

Ireland also compares very well in relation to other indicators such as

the percentage of Irish consumers who shop online (slightly above the

OECD average and significantly in excess of future EU Targets).

With respect to the availability of high speed broadband services the most

recent Akamai State of the Internet report shows that Ireland ranks 15th in

the world – and 9th in Europe – in terms of average measured broadband

speed 5. The Akamai report shows that Irish households are surfing faster

than advanced markets such as the UK and Germany. Indeed, in the two

year period from Q2 2010 to Q2 2012, the share of residential broadband

subscribers with contracted download speeds greater than or equal to

10Mbps tripled: from 7.3% to 22.9%6. As a result, not only has the first

of the EU Targets been met but with 35% of Irish households already

today able to receive 150Mbps7, Ireland is well on its way to meeting its

ambitious targets as set out in the National Broadband Plan.

3 Available from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

http://www.oecd.org/sti/Interneteconomy/ieoutlook.htm

4 National and Rural Broadband Plans:

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Communications/Communications+Development/

National+Broadband+Scheme/National+Broadband+Scheme.htm and

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Communications/Communications+Development/

Rural+Broadband+Scheme/

5 Akamai State of the Internet: http://www.akamai.com/stateoftheInternet/

6 ComReg’s latest commentary: http://www.comreg.ie/publications/quarterly_report_

q2_2012.583.104195.p.html

7 UPC Press Release http://www.upc.ie/pdf/UPCbreaksIrishInternetSpeedBarrier.pdf

The comparative picture for Irish businesses is, if anything, even more

positive.

The percentage of businesses (employing 10 or more) with broadband

in Ireland is slightly over the OECD average (90% vs 88%), as is the

proportion of employees using the Internet at work. The biggest

(positive) gap in terms of these businesses relates to selling online,

where Irish businesses are nearly 30% more likely to sell online than

the OECD average.

International targets and comparisons are an important indicator

of Ireland’s progress. There have been several efforts to gauge the

progress of nations towards the digital future:

» IBM and the Economist Intelligence Unit have published a report

on Digital Economy Rankings 20108 which places Ireland 17th in

the world, based on a composite score across six indices, including

broadband speeds as well as consumer and business digital

adoption.

» The World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report

20129 ranks Ireland 25th in the world in terms of a Networked

Readiness Index (derived from economic, social, political as well as

technological measures).

Both reports help us track our digital progress and the strength of our

digital economy.

It is important to stress, however, that Ireland still has some way to go in

terms of securing the maximum benefits for its citizens and businesses

from digital technology. One indication of the ‘digital gap’ is measured

8 IBM/EIU: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/html/ibv-digitaleconomy2010.html

9 WEF: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-information-technology-report-2012


by Booz & Company’s Digitisation Score10. Their measure is a composite

index, derived from national data for the ubiquity of digital services

and products, affordability, usage and broadband speeds, etc. Although

Ireland scores well in terms of its Digitisation Score – putting it in the

advanced group of countries among the 150 surveyed – we clearly have

room for improvement. Booz estimates a score of 47 for Ireland while

the highest scoring nation is Norway at 6411.

The crux of the Digitisation Score is that it shows a clear relationship

between higher scores and higher economic growth – and lower

unemployment. The Booz analysis of the links between digitisation and

the wider economy shows that among digitally advanced countries like

Ireland, every 10 point increase in digitisation scores increases GDP per

capita by 0.62%.

Furthermore, an increase of 10 points in digitisation reduces a nation’s

unemployment rate by 0.84%. To put this in context, simply raising

Ireland’s digitisation score from 47 to the equivalent UK score of 54

(a 7 point increase) would reduce the numbers unemployed in Ireland

by nearly 18,000 – based on the Live Register in September 201212.

10 Booz & Co: http://www.booz.com/global/home/what_we_think/digitisation/megatrend

11 Booz & Co article on Digitisation and Prosperity: http://www.strategy-business.com/

article/00127

12 Central Statistics Office: http://cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/labourmarket/


1 | Life Online

» 8 in 10 adults use the Internet in Ireland,upfromfewerthan5in10in2007

» BroadbandtakeupinIrelandmatchestheEUaverageattwo thirds of homes

» Onaveragetherearetwo or more people using broadbandineveryhome,withtwoormoredevicesconnectedatthesametime

» Broadbandusersspend2.6 hoursonlineonatypicalweekday

» Shopping and social networksarethemostpopularonlineactivities

» AthirdofadultsusetheInternetathomeforwork purposes

» Halfofalladultswouldbeinterestedinrunning their own business from homeatsomestageinthefuture


Cast your mind back five years to 2007. It was the height of the Celtic

Tiger in Ireland, following a decade of remarkable growth, and we

had one of the highest standards of living in Europe. Nowadays we

are painfully aware of what has been lost since the peak, but we are

perhaps less aware of what we have gained. Take digital technology

- the table below contrasts the % of Irish adults owning and using

each technology then and now (Fig 1).

Fig 1: % of Irish adults owning and using digital technology since 2007

% of All Irish Adults* 2007 2012

Internet at Home 48 78

Broadband at Home 24 65

Shopping Online 15 59

Banking Online 18 42

Mobile Phone 90 98

Smartphone 5<** 34

Using Social Networks 10<** 52

* Sources: ComReg & Amárach Research data ** Amárach estimates

Despite a decline in consumer spending, falling house prices and rising

unemployment, Irish consumer adoption of digital technologies has

risen steadily through the recession. Consumer investment in digital

products and services - and the skills to use them - tells us something

very important about the shape of the recovery when it comes,

namely that Ireland’s next phase of economic growth will be driven

more by ‘clicks’ than by bricks.

Connected Nation

But before we look ahead to the digital future, let’s take a closer a look at

the digital present. The UPC consumer survey shows that Irish people are

confident users of digital technology already. Indeed, there is widespread

ownership of a range of technologies, as summarised in Fig 2:

Fig 2: Digital Technologies at Home: % of Irish Adults

0 20 40 60 80 100

Digital Technology in the Home %

%

Laptop 85

Digital Camera 75

Landline Telephone 71

Flat Screen TV 70

Paid for TV Service 67

Ordinary Mobile Phone 64

Smartphone/iPhone 61

WiFi 60

MP3/iPod 57

PC 50

HDTV 45

Portable Games Console 37

GPS Device 37

Internet Enabled Games 29

Tablet/iPad 19

eReader 17

Home Surveillance System 10

Smart TV 5

3D TV 4


Ownership and adoption is not evenly distributed, however, and some

significant differences emerge from our study:

» Laptop ownership declines with age, after peaking among 25–34s

» Landline phone ownership rises with age, peaking among over 55s

» Smartphone ownership is highest among 25–34s, and higher for

men than women

» HDTV ownership peaks among 45-54s

» Internet enabled games peak among under 24s; tablets/iPads

among 35-44s

Broadband is a key enabling technology facilitating a diverse number

of digital devices in the home. To put Ireland’s performance in a

European context, the chart below (Fig 3) shows the percentage of

households with broadband across the European Union. Average take-

up runs at 67% in the EU, with Ireland just slightly below at 65%.

Among those with broadband at home, almost half in our survey

(49%) say that broadband access is more important than having a

telephone, and 1 in 5 (19%) say broadband is more important than TV

(rising to 31% of under 25s). Though only 1% considered their home

broadband more important than their car!

One of the key reasons for the appeal of broadband is that it enables

multiple users in a household to benefit from the technology at the same

time. Indeed, our research shows that only 1 in 4 broadband users is the

sole user in their household; while among the 76% with multiple users,

there are typically two or more other users as well (Fig 4).

Fig 3: Broadband take-up: % of Households having a Broadband Connection

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Source: Digital Agenda for Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/scoreboard


Fig 4: Number of Broadband Users in the household

Of course, it is not just people who connect to broadband in the

home - it’s devices as well. The average broadband household has

two devices connected at the same time, rising to three devices in

households containing 16-24 year olds, and falling to under two

devices in broadband households among over 55s.

Speed Check

But we are only at the beginning of a user and device explosion. The

average number of users and devices connected to broadband in Irish

homes will grow sharply in the near future, thanks to smartphones,

tablets and the emergence of the ‘Internet of things’ (e.g. your fridge

connected over the web to your online shopping list). This raises a

fundamental question about broadband capacity.

In our research we asked broadband users whether the speed of their

broadband was a) sufficient for their current needs and b) sufficient

for their likely future needs (Fig 5, on facing page). At present some

69% of home users consider their broadband speed to be sufficient.

However, looking to the future, only 44% of home users expect their

existing broadband speed to be sufficient for their likely future needs.

One key gap in evaluating broadband speed sufficiency is that a

significant minority of Irish broadband users simply don’t know their

home broadband speed. Indeed, almost 1 in 4 (23%) home broadband

users is unsure of the speed they are supposed to have at home (rising

to a third of under 25s). The picture that emerges from our research

shows future room for improvement: typical broadband speeds are, on

balance, not considered sufficient for the future.

Digital Time Use

Inevitably, access to and usage of digital technologies have resulted

in profound shifts in how Irish people spend their time. In the UPC

consumer survey we asked broadband users about the amount of

time they spend accessing the Internet a) on a typical weekday, and

b) on a typical weekend day. The answers by demographic groups are

summarised in minutes per day in Fig 6 below.

Fig 6: Minutes per day spent online

Weekday

Weekend

Day

Increase at

Weekend

All Adults 156 167 11

15-24 179 187 8

25-34 173 189 16

35-44 155 166 11

45-54 147 160 12

55+ 133 140 7

Higher Income 152 166 14

Lower Income 159 168 9

No76%

Yes24%

Only userNumber of users

Two 42%

Three 26%

Four 19%

Five or more 13%


Fig 5: Sufficiency of Broadband Speeds: Present & Future

Is your broadband

speed sufficient?

Sufficient for future

likely needs?

Is your broadband

speed sufficient?

Sufficient for future

likely needs?

Yes No Don’t Know

Only

44%of people feel their broadband speed is sufficent for future needs

28%

39%

17%

69%

44%

3%


63% Bank online

69% Use Soclal Networks

44% Use On Demand TV

55% Read the news

33% Play games


Fig 6 indicates that age is an important driver of time spent online,

though at an average of over 2.6 hours per weekday it is clear that

Internet usage now occupies a lot of people’s leisure and work time.

Accessing the Internet at home is the main way in which people access

the web. On a typical weekday, consumers say that over three quarters

(79%) of their access takes place at home, only 13% at work and the

balance while out and about (e.g. via their mobile phone). Nowadays,

Irish people use the Internet for a wide range of activities and services,

ranging from entertainment to work to simply keeping in touch. Fig 7

shows the proportion of adults who use broadband at home for

each activity.

Fig 7: Online Activities and Services used at Home

The Broadband Explosion UPC Insight

The consumption of data and content has exploded around the world

and no less so in Ireland. Data from INEX shows an 800% increase

in total traffic per month in Ireland since 2009. While all forms of

data consumption are going up, the largest driver of this increase is

coming from the continuing massive growth in video viewing across

the web – from professional output to self-published content. In

meeting these changing demands, UPC is enabling consumers to

access increasing volumes of content at higher speeds and at a

constantly reducing cost per megabit ratio. The market has been

responding to affordable broadband and UPC is leading this change.

Fig 8: Ireland Year-on-Year Traffic Growth – Petabytes*

65% Irish households have a broadband connection

70% Reduction in the price per Mbps in UPC’s service since 2010

50 Mbps The entry level speed for UPC broadband customers

1.4 Gbps The record breaking consumer Irish Internet speed set by UPC

(September 2012)

Total Users: source Comreg quarterly reports (www.comreg.ie)

Peering Traffic Volume: source INEX (www.inex.ie)

Total Traffic: assumption that 20% of total broadband traffic is INEX peering while

remaining 80% is Transit

* 1 Petabyte = 1 million gigabytes

Sept 09 Sept 10 Sept 11 Sept 12

40

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10

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

% Shopping online 70 Social networking 69 YouTube 68 Search/research 63 Banking 63 News 55 Music 46 On demand TV 44 Skype/video conversation 39 Movies 33 Sports 33 Games 33 Instant Messaging 30 iTunes 25 Streaming TV 24 Education 23 Streaming radio 21 Betting 14


Of course, there aren’t enough hours in the day to fit in all of the

above activities. Sure enough, many people are now doing different

activities in tandem with one another. Some 3 in 10 in our consumer

survey are surfing the web while watching TV. And young people are

leading this trend (Fig 9).

Fig 9: Media Multi-Tasking in Ireland: % using laptop/tablet/smartphone all the time/almost always, while watching TV

0

10

20

30

40

50

%

30 43 44 31 27 13

Total 15–24s 25–34s 35–44s 45–54s 55+

Indeed, the Irish generally are leading the way, as the incidence of

what some call media multi-tasking in Ireland is already above the EU

average as reported in a recent IAB Europe survey (Fig 10).

We can expect media multi-tasking to grow in future as more users

with more devices - linked to faster broadband - enjoy the benefits of

a more interactive TV experience, enhanced by the capabilities of real

time participation, feedback and commentary via Twitter etc.

0

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UK

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Fig 10: Media Multi-Tasking: EU countries % incidence

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47

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Source: IAB Europe: http://www.iabeurope.eu/research/mediascope-europe/

media-multi-tasking-means-more-active-consumers-bulletin.aspx


Digital Entertainment

Television, as we have seen, is still the dominant leisure time activity

in the home for most Irish people. But television is no longer confined

to the television set. In our survey we found that significant minorities

of adults use their TV - or a device connected to their TV - to access a

range of web services:

» Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) have used their TV to watch YouTube

(35% of under 25s)

» Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) have used their TV to view Facebook

(27% of under 25s)

» Nearly 1 in 2 (44%) use On Demand TV (such as RTÉ and TV3 Players)

One activity that has traditionally combined the television set with

another device has been gaming. 1 in 3 (33%) of all those with

broadband in the home use the Internet to play online games. Most

play alone or with other household members, but over a third play

with players elsewhere in Ireland or even abroad (Fig 11).

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Gaming Partner %

Device Used %

Fig 11: Online Gamers: Players and Devices


The Digital Viewer – On Demand UPC Insight

There is an ongoing proliferation of information devices in Irish

homes. Consumer bandwidth and content requirements are growing

constantly and this is being driven primarily by an explosion in video

content, ranging from the use of iPlayers to all other streaming,

viewing and downloadable content.

These trends are also impacting across wider society as social

networking communities grow specifically around TV and online

content. TV itself is being totally transformed where the advent of

On Demand TV is changing habits by putting viewers in full control

of their personal TV schedule. They can watch whatever they want,

whenever they want it.

Since launching our free On Demand TV service, UPC has gleaned

some unique insights into this “anytime” phenomenon.

8m

The number of views of UPC On Demand content in 5 months

77% The percentage of UPC’s On Demand capable customers who have

used the service since launch

45% of the 8 million views of On Demand TV to date are views of

domestic Irish TV

70% The proportion of Irish households with a pay TV subscription

Working from Home

Of course, people use the Internet at home for work purposes as well -

and the incidence is quite remarkable, as illustrated in Fig 12.

Fig 12: Incidence of Working from Home

Do you use the Internet

at home for work?

For what activities?

Yes 34% Check Emails 89%

No 40% Work on reports/

Don’t Know 26% presentations 56%

Planning/scheduling 48%

Skype with colleagues/

clients 21%

Research 3%

Other 6%

A third of adults in our survey are already working from home to

varying degrees, rising to 46% of 35-44 year olds. Although most

are using it for ‘bandwidth-lite’ activities such as checking email, a

minority are also using it for more collaborative work such as video-

conferencing and report preparations.


Knowledge vs Benefits

All of us use many different technologies – and most would struggle

to explain how they work, even though we benefit every day from

their capabilities. In our research we asked consumers to rate a)

their knowledge of digital technology, and b) the benefit from digital

technology on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is low and 10 is high. Fig 13

summarises the overall findings, and points to a clear difference

between knowledge and benefits.

Fig 13: Digital Technology: Knowledge & Benefits

Rating ofknowledgeof digital

technology

Rating ofbenefits

from digitaltechnology

Low 11% Low 4%

Medium 42% Medium 30%

High 47% High 67%

A recent report by IDC forecasts that mobile workers will

represent 57% of the total Irish working population – or 1.4

million workers – by 2016*, driven by the communications tools

and channels now increasingly available. This future dynamic

between home and work is a theme we return to in Chapter 3

when we explore how Irish businesses are responding to the

digital opportunity.

* Source: IDC Report for O2 Ireland: http://www.o2online.ie/o2/uploads/pdfs/

terms/business/O2-7801-G-Joined-Up-IDC-Inserts.pdf


There are a number of demographic differences in relation to the

digital knowledge/benefit gap, as summarised in Fig 14.

Fig 14: The Digital Knowledge/Benefit Gap – Mean Score out of 10

Digital

Knowledge

Digital

Benefits

Digital

K/B Gap

TOTAL 6.2 7.2 1

15-24s 7.2 7.7 0.5

25-34s 6.6 7.3 0.6

35-44s 6.2 7.3 1.1

45-54s 5.6 6.9 1.3

55+s 5.3 6.8 1.4

Higher Income 6.3 7.2 0.9

Lower Income 6.0 7.1 1.1

The gap is bigger for some than for others, but most people clearly

feel they benefit from digital technologies, indicating a generally

positive, even optimistic outlook on the contribution of digital

technology today and in the future.

Digital Optimists

Given the positive dynamic in consumer adoption of digital technology

– despite weak domestic demand – we might assume that Irish people

are optimistic about the digital future. Indeed they are, and not just

the future. In our survey we asked people about the impact of digital

technologies on their lives today – whether they agree or disagree

about the different impacts of technology. The responses overall are

very positive (Fig 15).

» Nearly 3 in 4 agree the Internet allows them to make smarter

purchasing decisions (rising to 77% of 35–44s)

» Nearly two thirds agree the Internet opens up new career,

educational and social opportunities (rising to 69% of under 25s)

» Over half agree they wouldn’t be able to buy many of the things

they want without the Internet (rising to 60% of 25–34s), and 4

in 10 say they wouldn’t be able to afford many of the things they

want without the Internet (also higher for 25–34s)

» Over 4 in 10 (44%) agree their family life is better because of

the Internet (rising to 50% of 35–44s)

» Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) agree they wouldn’t be able to do their

job without the Internet (rising to 45% of 25–34s)


Fig 15: Life Online: Impact of Digital Technology Nowadays

The Internet allows me to make smarter purchasing decisions

The internet opens up new career opportunities, educational

opportunities, social opportunities

I wouldn’t be able to buy many of the things I want without the Internet

My family life is better because of the Internet

I wouldn’t be able to afford many of the things I want without the Internet

I wouldn’t be able to do my job without the Internet

My internet speed at home isn't fast

enough for all my family requirements

Disagree Agree

0% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

7

73

8

64

22

52

23

44

26

41

28

38

46

28

Irish people look forward with considerable optimism to the future

effects of digital technologies.

In our survey we asked people to consider a range of possible future

trends driven by technology. They were asked to say a) to what extent

they thought each trend is likely or unlikely to happen; and b) whether

or not they would welcome each trend in the future. The results are

summarised in the chart on the right (Fig 16).

Fig 16: The Digital Future: Likelihood and Appeal

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

People will get more of their shopping delivered to their home after ordering

it online, including groceries

People won’t need to go to the

cinema or rent DVDs. They will pay to watch movies using online services

available via broadband

Faster Internet services will have improved my life

People will be able to work abroad and not have to leave Ireland because

technology will enable them to stay at home while doing their job

People won’t need to physically go to universities/colleges because they will

be able to do all course work online

People won’t need to go to work in offices because they will be able to work from home most of the time

13 58

15 49

21 5127 35

10 60

19 49

19 48

24 45

31 4033 34

28 41

29 39

Unlikely Likely Unwelcome WelcomeLikelihood of future outcome Appeal of future outcome

%


» Home Shopping: the majority (58%) of consumers think it likely

that people will use the Internet to do more shopping, with

deliveries to their home, while almost half (49%) would welcome

such a scenario.

» Home Movies: just over half of all adults (51%) expect that movies

via broadband will replace going to the cinema, though fewer

welcome this development (35%).

» Faster Services: just under half of all adults (48%) expect faster

Internet services to improve their lives in future, and even more

(60%) would welcome such improvement.

» Migration: under half (45%) of people in Ireland think it likely that

we will be able to become ‘virtual emigrants’, using technology

to work abroad but stay at home, while nearly half (49%) would

welcome this.

» College: some 4 in 10 (40%) think it likely that future students will

do all their course work online.

» Working: 4 in 10 (39%) think that office work will become a thing

of the past, with the same proportion welcoming such a trend.

One interesting demographic difference that emerges in our study

is that over 55s are typically more positive and welcoming about the

potential changes that the digital future might bring – suggesting that

the ‘generation gap’ in relation to technology will soon be gone.

When asked, more people were interested in availing of lifestyle,

learning and employment changes if technology made it possible

(Fig 17).

The most popular change is that of working from home for 1 to 2 days

per week. Over 6 in 10 (62%) of all adults are interested in such an

arrangement, rising to 67% of 25–34s. This is followed by the prospect

of running your own business from home: attractive to half the

population (51%). Moving to the countryside while still working from

home also has broad appeal for 43% of all adults (and even more so

among 25–34s).

In terms of expected and welcome futures, over half of Irish

adults (53%) think it likely that ‘the adoption of better digital

technologies will speed Ireland’s economic recovery’. An even

bigger majority (63%) would welcome the digital-led recovery.


Fig 17: The Digital Home: Interest in Future Services

Working from home 1 or 2 days a week

Running your business from home

Receiving full medical diagnoses/treatment by world class health/medical experts in different

hospitals and centres around the world

Getting further qualifications from an Irish university

Using your skills/experience to coach/advise young people in other parts

of the world or even business/ organisa-tions like ones you have worked in

Learning a foreign language by receiving lessons via Skype from a native speaker

Getting further qualifications from a European University

Moving to the countryside while still being able to work from home

Not interested Interested

0% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

15

62

20

51

23

51

25

50

24

45

26

45

30

44

29

43

One area that will see considerable change being driven by digital

technology is that of health care and medical services. Half the

population (51%) is open to diagnoses and treatments by foreign

experts, delivered via digital technology, rising to 57% of over

55s (inevitably a key target market).

Exploiting the full capacity of the web to create fulfilling lives and

satisfying work is not all a one way street. Our assessment of future

scenarios included the idea of ‘digital mentoring’ – enabling people to

use their skills and experience to coach and advise young people and

even businesses in Ireland and in other parts of the world. There is

very considerable interest in this idea: with 45% of adults expressing

an interest. This type of initiative is indicative of the transformative

potential of the web, and another sign of how Ireland’s economic

recovery might come about.


2 | The Digital Consumer

The previous chapter examined

technology usage and time spent online

by Irish consumers. In this chapter we

focus on money.

» 2.6millionIrish online shoppers will spend €3.7bnin2012

» Travel relatedspendingandclothing and footwear arethebiggestpurchases

» 8in10Internetusersusetheweb to research productsbut buy in local shops

» 6in10Internetusersuse local shopstoresearchproductsbut buy online

» Over6in10onlineshopperswouldbuyfromanIrish websiteiftheyknewaboutit

» Irishconsumerswillspend€5.7bn online by 2016,or7%ofallspending

» 30% of Irish adults are ‘Digital Leaders’,while8%are‘DigitalLaggards’


Online Spending

Fig 18 summarises the current state of play of the online market in

Ireland. Irish consumers will spend €3.7 billion online this year. Just to

put that in context, total consumer spending is forecast to reach €80.9

billion in 20121, which means that nearly 5% of all consumer spending

will be online this year – compared to less than 1% in 2007.

We have profiled the market by age group – and it tells us something

very interesting about the distribution of digital spending power. For

example, 15-24s represent just 15% of the adult population but nearly

20% of Internet shoppers. However, when it comes to spending power,

their combined spending is just over 10% of the total. On the other

hand, over 55s make up 28% of the population but just 14% of Internet

shoppers. But their spending power is over 20% of the total.

Fig 18: Online Consumer Spending by Age Group

1 ESRI Quarterly Economic Commentary, Autumn 2012: http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/

publications/QEC2012AUT_ES.pdf

Our estimates for the value of online expenditure are derived from

answers to our consumer survey. We asked consumers to estimate

their average monthly expenditure online. The average stands at

€116 per adult per month, rising from €61 per month among 15-24

year olds to €168 per month among over 55s.

Online spending is driven by travel and hotels – as shown in the next

chart (Fig 19) – though other items also figure prominently, especially

clothing/footwear, and books and music.

Age GroupPopulation

000s 2012*

Internet Shoppers 000s

2012**

Online expenditure €m 2012***

Share of adult

population

Share of Internet

Shoppers

Share of online spending

15–24 553.4 509.1 €371.8 15.4% 19.8% 10.1%

25–34 733.5 669.0 €926.5 20.4% 25.1% 25.2%

35–44 700.0 604.8 €721.6 19.5% 22.5% 19.6%

45–54 586.3 418.9 €622.9 16.3% 15.9% 16.9%

55+ 1,017.8 369.2 €746.1 28.3% 14.2% 20.3%

Total 3,591.0 2632.9 €3,680.5 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

* QNHS CSO ** Amárach Survey *** Amárach Calculations


Fig 19: Items Purchased Online in past 6 months

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Travel/hotel related bookings 61

Clothing/footwear 53

Books 51

Music/CDs MP3 tracks 29

Movies/DVD/film rental 28

Electronic goods (e.g. ipod) 26

Medical/health related 21

Toys/baby products 19

Electrical goods (e.g. toaster) 19

Groceries 19

Perfumes/cosmetics 18

Flowers 10

Furniture 7

Tickets/concert tickets 1

Other 4

% of adults

Perhaps not surprisingly, price is a key motivation for Ireland’s 2.6

million Internet shoppers (45% of the total). The importance of price for

shopping online falls slightly with age, while convenience (32% of the

total) rises with age. A better range or selection is important too (21%).

Clicks & Bricks

Though nearly 5% of all Irish consumer spending is now online,

95% is not. However, a significant proportion of offline spending

is influenced by the web, even if that is not where the transaction

ultimately takes place. Indeed, most Irish Internet users use

the web to help find better deals and to inform their purchase

decisions; ‘always’ in the case of 41% of all users, and ‘often’ in

the case of an additional 50% of users.

Some consumers use the web to research products and choices online

but ultimately buy offline in local stores, perhaps because it is more

convenient (‘clicks and bricks’). Consumers also research products

and choices in local stores and then buy online, perhaps because it

is cheaper (‘bricks and clicks’). The chart on the next page (Fig 20)

summarises this situation: 8 in 10 (80%) Internet users research online

and buy local, while 6 in 10 (58%) research local and buy online.

How does this impact on different markets and sectors? The table on

the next page (Fig 21) shows the channel preferences of consumers

who have purchased online in each category over the past 6 months,

in terms of whether they prefer to buy in a shop or prefer to buy

online, or have no preference.

Clearly a number of markets have effectively gone ‘virtual’: booking

flights, buying music and ordering movies, to name the most obvious

from the chart. Others still show a strong preference for ‘bricks’:

clothing, groceries and furniture for example.


Fig 20: Clicks vs BricksYes No Don’t Know

Research online

buy locally

Researchlocally but buy online

80%

37%

15%

58%

5% 5%

Prefer to buy online

Prefer to buy in a

shop

Doesn’t matter or no

preference

Travel/hotel related services 87% 2% 11%

Music/CDs/mp3 tracks (e.g. iTunes)

67% 12% 21%

Medical and health related (e.g. insurance, equipment)

60% 14% 26%

Movies/DVDs/film rentals (e.g.iTunes)

59% 16% 25%

Electronic goods (e.g. iPad) 48% 19% 33%

Flowers 48% 19% 33%

Books 42% 28% 30%

Electrical goods (e.g. toaster) 40% 37% 23%

Perfumes and cosmetics 35% 33% 32%

Toys/baby products 30% 30% 40%

Clothing/footwear 19% 55% 26%

Furniture 19% 53% 28%

Groceries, food or alcohol 16% 55% 29%

67%Of people prefer to buy music online

Fig 21


If You’re Irish

There are, though, some interesting differences when it comes to the

provenance of websites themselves, specifically in relation to whether

a website is Irish or international. Fig 22 shows the location of websites

used by shoppers in each category.

Fig 22: eTailers: Irish Vs Foreign Websites

Groceries/food/alcohol

Medical/health related

Flowers

Furniture

Travel/hotel

Electrical goods

Toys/baby products

Clothing/footwear

Perfume/cosmetics

Electronic goods

Books

Movies/DVD/film rental

Music/CD’s/MP3 tracks

0% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Irish Website International website

65 11

46 12

44 15

33 17

30 19

23 23

17 23

17 25

7 29

13 31

12 42

9 47

8 47

Not shown is the percentage shopping across a mix of Irish/

international websites, which is the experience of nearly half of

shoppers in categories like baby products and cosmetics. Nevertheless,

there are some stark differences. When it comes to groceries, timing

is everything so a ‘local’ site is vital to ensure fresh produce is still

fresh when it arrives. On the other hand, the more digital a product

or service becomes then the less important would appear to be a

site’s provenance. Hence music and movies are predominantly being

purchased via international websites.

Over 55s tend to have a bias towards Irish websites – though it is by no

means uniform across all categories. Nevertheless, this is important

given their share of total online spending noted above. Of course,

many consumers may feel they simply have no choice about where

to buy products and services online. As Fig 23 shows, when those who

purchased from international websites were asked if they knew of any

equivalent Irish websites selling the same products, between half and

three quarters said no or simply didn’t know, depending on the category.

But sizeable minorities in most categories were aware of alternative,

Irish websites selling the products or services they were buying. They

chose not to ‘buy Irish’ mainly because of price, but also because

of perceptions about range and choice. Curiously, price tends to be

more motivating to middle aged shoppers (35-44s and 45-54s), while

range is more important to younger (under 25s) and older (over 55s)

shoppers.

However, a key finding for Irish website operators is that the majority

(61%) of those not aware of equivalent Irish sites when shopping would

purchase from an Irish site if they knew about it.


Fig 23: Deal or No Deal: Reasons for Choosing Irish

No Yes Don’t Know

Reason for Choosing

International Site

Price

Better/broader product range

Easier to search for/find individual products/services

Better/easier to use web site

Better delivery/return terms

Other

0%

%

20 40 60 80 100

Aware of Irish Site

Travel/hotel related services

Toys/baby products

Clothing/footwear

Books

Music/CDs/MP3 tracks

Movies/DVD/Film rentals

17 49 34

21 39 40

31 37 32

34 31 34

31 26 43

32 21 47

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

55

32

5

4

2

3

Bank & Switch

Spending nearly €4 billion online would not be possible without access

to payment and banking systems. Over three quarters (78%) of Irish

Internet users use Internet banking, ranging from 58% of under 25s to

86% of 35-44s.

Fig 24 shows that Internet banking is used for a variety of ecommerce

activities, including money transfers, bill payments and mobile phone

top-ups.

Fig 24: Main Internet Banking Activities

%

0 20 40 60 80 100

97

86

85

67

61

29

1

1

1

1

1

2

View bank balance/management

Money transfer

Bill payment

Mobile top-up

Savings

Account opening

Setting up direct debit/standing order

Credit card application

Purchased insurance/travel insurance

Viewed statements

Loan application

Other

There are few significant differences by age in relation to the type of

banking activity, though bill payment is more common among 35–44

users of Internet banking. This latter point is important, not least

because thirty-somethings and forty-somethings are under the


greatest financial pressure due to dependent children and high levels

of borrowings2.

Another consequence is that Ireland’s financially stressed consumers are

more willing than ever to switch suppliers for meaningful savings. Needless

to say, the Internet plays a key role in switching behaviour, with Fig 25

showing the percentage of Internet users who have used the web to switch

each type of service provider in the past 3 years.3

Fig 25: The Big Switch: Using the Internet to Switch Provider

%

Car insurance

Electricity/gas provider

Mobile phone network

Home insurance

Broadband provider

Landline telephone provider

TV service provider

Main bank

Refuse collection

Health insurance

Other

N/A None

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

56

40

40

39

38

27

22

18

1

1

1

22

2 For more information about the financial circumstances of Irish consumers see

Amárach’s monthly Economic Recovery Index: http://www.amarach.com/resources/

economic-recovery-index.htm

3 More detailed information on consumer switching behaviour is available from the

National Consumer Agency: http://corporate.nca.ie/eng/Research_Zone/Reports/

switching-behavour-aug-2012.html

Indeed, 35–44 year olds are the age group most likely in our survey to

use the web to switch in the majority of categories – in keeping with

their wider financial priorities and pressures. Furthermore, men are

significantly more likely to use the Internet to switch in virtually all the

categories covered in our survey.

Consumer Preferences UPC Insight

Increasingly, Irish consumers favour online interaction for

purchases of goods and services. It’s also a convenient way for

people to make personal changes to their account administration

requirements and overall it saves time and resources. UPC

changed its business model to meet the needs of customers

who prefer to interact online.

31% of all UPC customers purchase their products via our

online channel

47% choose to manage their UPC account online

19% of our digital cable customer base use the remote record app

150,000 Number of customers who have downloaded information and

support videos to help them in setting up their services in the

past 15 months


The Size of the Prize

We have established the significant scale of Internet shopping in

Ireland today. But we are only at the beginning of a major shift in

consumer spending patterns. Fig 26 shows Amárach’s forecasts for

the value of online spending to 2016. Despite weak growth overall,

the value of spending will grow from under 5% of total expenditure to

7% by 2016; an increase of €2 billion per annum in the value of online

spending by the end of the forecast period.

Fig 26: Online Consumer Spending

Value of online spending Share of total consumer spending

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

4

5

6

7

8

% €Bn

€3.7Bn €4Bn €4.5Bn €4.9Bn €5.7Bn

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Already, some markets such as the UK have seen online spending rise

to double digit figures relative to total retail sales (with forecasts by

the Economist Intelligence Unit suggesting that a third of retail sales

could be online in the UK by 20224). Ireland will undoubtedly follow this

trend, as consumers embrace the digital future and the better value

and choices it will bring.

But we must add a note of caution: there is no guarantee that Irish

product and service providers will benefit from this increase in online

spending. As we have seen, Irish consumers are open to shopping

online at Irish sites, but it is not necessarily their ‘default’ choice.

Therefore it will be vital for Irish businesses to scale up as appropriate

for the opportunities that lie ahead, in a timely and convincing manner.

UPC Digital Consumer Index

In order to measure our progress we need a benchmark against which

we can compare future performance. In this regard we have created

a UPC Digital Consumer Index which will track progress towards the

digital future, for individuals and for groups.

The Index is based on answering the following five questions for all

those with broadband in the home:

» whether or not you have wifi at home (score 0 if no, 20 if yes)

» average broadband download speed (scores 0, 10 or 20 depending

on speed)

» whether or not you ever do work from home (score 0 if no, 20 if yes)

» how often you use the web to help with shopping (score 0 if rarely,

10 if occasionally, 20 if regularly)

» average amount of time spent online on a typical weekday (scores

0, 10 or 20 depending on hours)

4 EIU Retail 2022: http://www.eiu.com/


The Index is based on the combined scores derived from the answers

to these questions, with the range running from a minimum of zero

to a maximum of 100. From this we have identified three groups using

the UPC Digital Consumer Index:

» Digital Leaders: those who score 70–100

» Digital Followers: those who score 30–60

» Digital Laggards: those who score 0–20

Based on the above, our analysis shows that just 30% of the adult

population are Digital Leaders in Ireland, while 8% are Digital Laggards.

The balance – 62% – are Digital Followers. The table on the right

(Fig 27), shows the average Index scores by different demographic

groups derived from our consumer survey.

The table tells us that only two demographic groups – under 25s and

25-34s – are in the Digital Leaders category (though individuals in all

other groups are as well), most segments are in the Digital Followers

group. Fortunately no one demographic group can be categorised as

Digital Laggards!

You can measure your own UPC Digital Consumer Index by answering

a few simple questions on our special website: www.upc.ie/digitalindex

Why not see how your family scores?

Fig 27: UPC Digital Consumer Index

Total 61.4

15-24 73.3

25-34 70.9

35-44 61.7

45-54 59.8

55+ 49.6

Male 60.9

Female 62.1

Higher Income 64.9

Lower Income 58.3

Digital Leaders 30%

Digital Laggards 8%

Digital Followers 62%


3 | The Digital Business

These are tough times for Irish businesses.

Weak consumer demand means challenging

domestic markets and the need to focus overseas

for growth. It wouldn’t be surprising to see

‘recession-fatigue’ setting in among Irish SMEs

and larger corporates. But this is not the case.

» 8in10businessesareoptimistic about growth prospects

forthenext2years

» 55%ofallbusinessesintendhiring new staff inthenext

2years

» Twothirdsexpecttoexpand in Irelandandnearlyhalfwill

expand abroad

» Nearlyhalfofallbusinesseshaveobservedan increase

in online feedback and/or complaintsfromcustomersin

recentyears

» Digitaltechnologyhasdeliveredproductivity increases

and cost savingstoamajorityofbusinesses

» 6in10companiesenabletheirstaff to work from home

duringcontractedhours

» Nearly 3 in 10 Irish businesses are ‘Digital Leaders’,

while14%are‘DigitalLaggards’


Growth Optimists

The UPC survey of 201 decision-makers and managers responsible

for IT among a cross-section of Irish businesses shows a high degree

of optimism about future growth prospects. We asked them about

growth prospects for the next 1-2 years; the answers are summarised

in Fig 28.

Fig 28: Growth Prospects for the next 1–2 years

Very Good Good Poor Very Poor

0% 20 40 60 80 100

Total

Business Type

B2B

Both

B2C

15 65 17 3

15 69 15 1

26 56 16 2

6 67 21 6

Just 1 in 5 businesses view their prospects as poor, 4 in 5 say they are

good. Inevitably the outlook varies by business type: those focusing

on consumers (B2C) view the future as more challenging than those

focused on businesses (B2B). Nor do the differences stop there: Irish-

owned businesses are more optimistic than foreign-owned businesses.

Business size (in terms of number of employees) does not influence

prospects – those in SoHos (under 5 employees), SMEs (5-250

employees) and corporates (250+ employees) are equally optimistic.

But there is one interesting difference: companies with some

employees who work from home as part of their regular working

hours are much more optimistic than those who don’t – 86% vs 72%

(combining good and very good prospects). This theme of the work-

home interface is one we will return to later.

The fact is that business sentiment is extremely important – it influences

everything from intentions to hire, to plans to invest to ambitions for

expansion. Take the first of these: recruitment. Over half (55%) of the

businesses in our survey expect to hire new staff over the next 1-2 years,

only 3 in 10 say they won’t be hiring. And as Fig 29 shows, IT skills will be

a vital qualification of most of those who will be hired.

Fig 29: Recruitment Plans & IT Skills

Yes 55%

Intend to Hire New Staff

in Next 1–2 Years

Importance of IT Skills for Recruits

Extremely Important 40%

No 30% Important 44%

Don’t Know 15% Not Important 15%


Hiring intentions rise to 67% of those businesses whose staff work

from home (compared to just 37% among those who don’t). Hiring

plans are higher among SoHos and SMEs than among corporates

– though a majority of businesses in all three categories intend

hiring. Ownership (Irish/foreign) doesn’t influence hiring plans, but

B2B focused businesses are more likely to hire in future than B2C

businesses.

Why such confidence and optimism in the face of a still gloomy

economy? The answer, as with consumers, is that businesses have

moved on. Just as we noted in Chapter 1 the extraordinary adoption of

digital technologies by Irish consumers despite the recession, so also

are Irish businesses adapting to the new digital realities that they face.

Fig 30 shows the current usage of digital products and services in

Irish businesses – indeed, many are now ubiquitous throughout the

business community.

Mobility is a clear driver of technology provision – e.g. smartphones

and laptops – while internal and external communications are similarly

important. Even relatively ‘new’ technologies such as social networks

(e.g. LinkedIn) and mobile apps have significant penetration across

Irish businesses today.

Fig 30: Digital Technologies in Irish Business

%

0 10 20 30 40 5060 70 80

79

77

70

65

53

50

46

43

38

33

33

33

32

32

22

21

Company supplies smartphones to staff

Company supplies laptops to staff foruse outside office

Intranet for staff

Customer email/ezine

Business website

Business Facebook page

CRM system

Online staff training

Linkedin account

Extranet for customers

Business Twitter account

Data analytics

Online ordering/purchasingservice for customers

Online ordering/purchasingservices for suppliers

Mobile phone apps for business

Business blog


There are, of course, significant differences in the adoption of digital

technologies by different types of businesses. Though not all the

differences are obvious. Larger businesses, for example, are more likely

to have intranets, operate CRM systems and provide online training

for their staff. However, smaller businesses are significantly more likely

than larger businesses to have a Facebook page for their business, use

twitter and even write a blog. The barriers to entry in relation to mass

communications have fallen in an age of social media and Web 2.0 and

Irish SoHos and SMEs are grabbing the opportunity.

The scale of digital adoption by Irish businesses is impressive. As of 2012:

» One quarter of employees (26%) on average are provided with

standard mobile phones by their employers

» Over one third (36%) are provided with smartphones

» The same proportion are provided with laptops by their employers

» 1 in 7 (14%) are provided with tablet/iPad devices

» Three quarters (76%) of employees have access to the Internet

at work

» 7 in 10 businesses allow their staff to use the Internet for

personal purposes

Of course, investing in digital technology is not just a ‘good’ thing to

do: for many businesses it is a ‘necessary’ thing to do simply in order

to survive. Already, 1 in 5 Irish businesses is seeing some shrinkage in

their revenues due to online competition. SMEs are nearly three times

as likely as corporates to be experiencing revenue pressures from

online competition. While those selling mainly in the Irish market are

twice as likely to feel the pressure as those selling abroad.

Online competition doesn’t necessarily mean competition from

abroad. While those affected (the 1 in 5 businesses referred to above)

see slightly more pressure coming from overseas, the majority see

competition coming from both local and overseas sources. This is an

important point in relation to our discussion of Irish vs international

websites in the previous chapter.

It would appear that the ‘problem’ with falling barriers to entry (via

online competition) is that it is easier for new entrants and start-ups to

do just that – hence the higher pressure on smaller businesses. Indeed,

businesses are already experiencing significant changes to the way

their customers interact with them, thanks to digital technology.

Fig 31 shows the incidence of specific changes to the online behaviour

of businesses’ customers over the past three years.

Fig 31: Changes in Customer Behaviour Online

More complaints/customer feedback

More online purchases

More social media commentary about your business

Customers use web to get better deals

More use of online resources

None/Not relevant

0 10 20 30 40 50

47

40

34

32

1

19

%


Nearly half (47%) of all businesses have observed an increase in

customer feedback (and not all of it positive) in recent times. This rises

to a majority of foreign owned companies (56%), but even 45% of

Irish owned businesses have witnessed the trend.

Some 4 in 10 businesses have seen an increase in online sales of

their products and services (driven, no doubt, by the level of online

purchases analysed in the previous chapter); rising to 50% of those in

B2C markets.

Only 1 in 5 firms say there has been no change in the online behaviour

of their customers – or it is not of relevance to their business. This rises

to 23% of those with poor growth prospects, which begs the question,

have they been paying attention to their customers in recent times?

Digital Growth

What will drive growth and job creation in the future? Clearly, digital

technology will play a crucial part. But it is no longer about simply

acquiring the technology. As we’ve seen, many technology-based

products and services are now common place in Irish businesses.

Rather the key challenge will be to maximise the value of digital

technologies throughout businesses, both internally and externally.

One indication of the digital potential is shown in Fig 32, in which

businesses score their performance out of ten in relation to the

adoption of digital technology around each of nine operational

applications.

Fig 32: Digital Adoption Score

High Low Mean Score (10.0)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Maximising productivity

Delivering customer service

Minimising costs

Managing staff

Maximising sales

Managing suppliers

Managing the supply chain

Training and developmentof staff and recruits

Managing recruitment

72% 28% 6.71

69% 31% 6.5

66% 34% 6.63

63% 37% 6.14

60% 40% 5.83

59% 41% 6.02

54% 46% 5.69

54% 46% 5.84

47% 53% 5.43

Clearly the IT decision-makers in our survey feel that they are

performing better on some measures than on others. Boosting

productivity and serving customers does well relative to HR-focused

activities such as training and recruitment. Not surprisingly, there are

significant differences across the business community in terms of their

digital performance.

We have calculated a Digital Adoption Score (an ‘average of the

averages’ across nine statements illustrated in the previous chart) by

type of company. This tells us that the average Irish business achieves

just over 6 out of 10 in terms of their average performance across

nine applications (internal and external). That certainly leaves room

for improvement, and it is clear from Fig 32 that, while some types of


businesses do better than others, there are relatively few ‘stand out’

business types when it comes to digital adoption.

Note, it is their self-reported performance we are recording, some may

actually be doing better – or worse – than they think.

That said, those with staff who work from home some/all of the time

as part of their contracted hours appear to do considerably better than

others. Note also that foreign owned firms do better than Irish owned,

though the superior performance of SoHos suggests that indigenous

business might succeed in closing the gap sooner rather than later.

Taking each of the nine areas of digital technology adoption in turn,

we find that:

» Productivity: those with ‘home workers’ score considerably higher

in terms of adopting digital technology to maximise productivity

(7.3) than those who don’t have staff working from home (5.8)

» Customer Service: those companies with good growth prospects

score higher on using digital technology to deliver customer

service (6.7) than those with poor prospects (5.9)

» Costs: SoHos are better at using digital technology to minimise

costs (6.8) than larger corporates (6.5)

» Staff: those with staff working at home use technology more

effectively to manage staff (6.6) than those without (5.4)

» Sales: companies with good growth prospects do better at using

digital technology to maximise sales (6.0) than those with poor

prospects (5.1)

» Suppliers: here the corporates in our survey do better – scoring

their use of technology to manage suppliers higher (6.3) than

SMEs (5.9)

» Supply Chain: foreign owned companies score higher applying

digital to their supply chain management (6.4) than Irish owned

firms (5.6)

» Training: as with staff management, those firms with staff working

from home score higher applying digital technology to staff

training and development (6.3) than those without (5.2)

» Recruitment: though all firms have room for improvement, those

with good growth prospects report a significantly higher level of

adoption for the management of recruitment (5.6) than those with

poor prospects (4.7).

It is clear from our analysis that those firms adopting digital

technology to the benefit of their staff are already reaping significant

benefits. Indeed, nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of the companies we surveyed

already have permanent staff working from home to varying degrees

during contracted hours. Among such companies, an average of 16%

of their staff work from home, though there is considerable variance

as illustrated on the following page (Fig 33).

Companies with poor growth prospects have fewer staff working from

home than those with good prospects.

Among firms with staff working from home, over half contribute the

cost of broadband usage at home by their staff, with smaller firms

more likely to adopt such an arrangement.


Companies with permanent staff working from

home

50% of companies have up to 5% of staff working from home*

6% 50%+

14% 20-50%

11% 11-20%

18% 6-10%

50% Up to 5%

1% Don't know

% working one day or more from home

1 Day 25%

2 Days 24%

3 Days 18%

4 Days 6%

5 Days 9%

6 Days 1%

7 Days 3%

Varies 14%

Fig 33: Home Working: Incidence

No 41% Yes 59%

25%* of staff that work from home do so one day per week

*Base: Those companies whose staff work from home.


Path to Recovery

Clearly Irish businesses are well down the path to the digital future

– out of necessity as much as desire. This is very good news for

Ireland’s economy; for recovery will mostly be driven by increases

in productivity, investment and employment facilitated by digital

technology.

Already we can discern some of the new ways of working, selling and

performing that will help businesses survive and thrive in the years

ahead. For example, 40% of businesses in our survey expect that more

of their staff will work from home in the future. It’s even higher among

those whose staff already work from home (47%) in comparison to

those that don’t (30%). Likewise, those with good growth prospects

also anticipate more staff working from home (41%) than those with

poor prospects (35%).

Beyond new ways of working, businesses will have to innovate in terms

of how they sell, what they sell and to whom they sell. The businesses

in our survey have ambitious plans: nearly two thirds (65%) expect

to expand the number of customers they have in Ireland over the

next three years, while just under half (45%) expect to expand their

customer base abroad over the same period (Fig 34).

Those seeking domestic expansion include corporates (69%), those

already selling both at home and abroad (74%), and 83% of those

whose businesses have been affected by online competition already.

Those expanding abroad include companies with staff working from

home (55%), foreign-owned businesses (58%), and those already

selling outside Ireland (73%).

Fig 34: Expansion Plans for next 3 Years

Yes 65%

plans toexpand tocustomersin Ireland

plans toexpand tocustomers

abroad

Yes 45%

No 28% No 49%

Don’t Know 7% Don’t Know 6%

Expanding sales will be challenging enough in the weak economic

environment likely to prevail for some time in Ireland – and even in

our larger export markets. So securing sales growth against a difficult

background will require a range of initiatives and innovations by Irish

businesses if they are to succeed. The good news is that they know this

and are prepared to do so.

The next chart (Fig 35) shows the relative importance of potential

initiatives by businesses over the next 2-3 years. We have differentiated

between initiatives affecting sales, and those affecting customer

services. Obviously sales are important in terms of winning customers,

and service in terms of keeping them. All the initiatives involve the

adoption and use of digital technologies.


Two initiatives in particular stand out: the better use of CRM, and

website improvements. In both instances, the majority of Irish firms

see them as important to both future sales and future customer

service. Although most firms see these initiatives as important, those

with better growth prospects and those that are smaller see them as

key to future success.

The same goes for the other potential initiatives. Though minorities

consider them to be important for future sales and customer service,

most don’t – either because they feel they are sufficiently invested in

such initiatives, or they simply aren’t sure about the potential value

of the initiatives to the business. However, given the value of Irish

consumer spending online over the next few years, the case for some

of the initiatives will become clearer.

0 %102030405060

28

62

36

54

48

44

51

35

54

34

53

32

56

31

% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Better use of CRM

Improved website

Offer more offline products/services online

Launch/expand social media

Offer new digital products/services online

Move to cloud computing

Develop mobile apps for customers

Importance to sales Important Not important Importance to customer service

29

57

35

55

42

44

48

41

50

36

51

32

55

31

Fig 35: Importance of Business Initiatives over next 2–3 Years


Sizing the Prize

What is the growth potential for Irish businesses if they ‘get it right’?

In our research we asked businesses to say how much ‘extra’ revenue

growth they could achieve – beyond what they will likely achieve anyway

over the next three years – if they got their online strategy ‘right’.

A minority are unsure, but a larger minority have some inkling of the

size of the prize. In fact almost one in four (23%) businesses think they

could achieve an extra 5% growth on top of their current prospects

with the right online strategy. A further 18% reckon it could even be an

extra 15% on top of their current growth prospects for the next three

years. Here, those businesses with poor growth prospects actually

foresee a much bigger growth prize from getting it right compared to

those with good growth prospects.

No business is an island – especially when it comes to digital

technology. We asked businesses what interventions they consider

most likely to boost their growth beyond expected levels over the next

three years. The results are summarised in Fig 36 – clearly partnership

with specialists in digital technology is considered the most likely

source of added growth, followed by tax incentives that take some of

the risk and uncertainty out of digital investment.

Likewise high speed broadband is viewed as an important contender

for added growth: especially among those with staff working from

home (37%), and those businesses on low broadband speeds –

under 8 Mbps – at 51%.

The message is clear: Irish businesses are ready for the digital future –

and they are prepared to invest even more in the services, skills and new

ways of working that will help contribute to Ireland’s economic recovery.

Fig 36: Intention to Initiate Growth Boosting Interventions

Partnership with technology specialists

Tax incentives for digital investment

Access to superfast broadband speeds

Advice on online sales opportunities in Ireland

Technical support for digital capacities

Advice on online sales opportunities outside Ireland

Access to employees with relevant digital skills

0 10 20 30 40 50

46

38

35

32

31

30

26

%

UPC Digital Business Index

In order to measure the progress of businesses towards a digital-led

recovery, we need a benchmark against which we can compare future

business performance.

For this, we developed a UPC Digital Business Index, which we created

based on answers to the following five questions for all Irish businesses:

» whether or not your business engages in ecommerce

(score 0 if no, 20 if yes)

» whether or not you have staff working from home

(score 0 if no, 20 if yes)


» average broadband speed (scores 0, 10 or 20 depending on speed)

» your digital adoption score for productivity (score 0 to 20)

» whether or not your customers are buying more of your products

online (score 0 if no, 20 if yes)

We have created an Index based on the combined scores derived

from the answers to these questions, with the range running from

a minimum of zero to a maximum of 100. We have identified three

groups using the UPC Digital Business Index:

» Digital Leaders: those who score 70-100

» Digital Followers: those who score 30-69

» Digital Laggards: those who score 0-29

Fig 37 shows the average Index scores by different firmographic

groups derived from our business survey.

The distribution of scores across our sample of businesses tells us

that just over 1 in 5 (31%) of Irish businesses is a Digital Leader, while

14% are Digital Laggards. The balance of 55% of businesses are

Digital Followers.

As with the UPC Consumer Index, no one business segment is in the

Digital Leaders category (though undoubtedly individual firms in all

the groups may well be) - most are in the Digital Followers group. Only

those with no staff working from home come closest to falling into the

Digital Laggards category.

You can measure your own UPC Digital Business Index by answering a

few simple questions on our special website: www.upc.ie/digitalindex

Fig 37: Digital Business Index

UPC Insight

SMEs55.3

Corporates58.2

Both B2B and B2C

54.5

Good Growth

Prospects58.2

Irish owned55.7

Sales mainly in

Ireland55.8

B2C54.7

B2B59.1

Mix of sales

locations56.8

Foreign owned59.3

Staff working

from home68.2

All Businesses56.4

Sales mainly outside Ireland58.6

Staff not working from home

39.1

PoorGrowth

Prospects48.9

Sohos54.9

Digital Leaders 31%

Digital Laggards 14%

Digital Followers 55%


Enabling Business UPC Insight

For an open economy like Ireland, having a powerful broadband

network is essential to national and international success.

Broadband enables connectivity, commerce and a better quality

of life for Irish citizens and industry. It attracts foreign direct

investment and supports indigenous growth - from global data

centres to local garden centres. It carries vast amounts of

vital business information, global accessibility and content for

thousands of businesses the length and breadth of the country.

» 1 in 5 companies with new or expanded FDI in 2010 and 2011

chose UPC to deliver their network services.

» UPC itself is a large FDI investor with its €500M investment

in next generation infrastructure, directly employing over 800

people and a further 700 indirectly throughout Ireland.

Case Study: 11890

11890 is the only Directory Enquiries service

in Ireland to provide customers with a free

text-back that includes a link to a map with the

exact location of your enquiry listed on it.

Call 11890 Ltd employs 73 staff across its call centres in Dublin and

Galway and contributes €3.5 million to the Irish economy annually.

In 2010 the company signed a multi-million euro contract with

UPC Business. The contract involves UPC hosting all of Call 11890’s

services including bandwidth for Internet and data traffic and

the trafficking of all 11890 directory enquiry calls across UPC’s

network.

“The telecommunications solution provided

by UPC has enabled 11890 to enhance our day

to day service and crucially provides us with

the flexibility to grow our service locally here

in Ireland. As a consequence of the savings

made since 2010 we have been able to honour

our commitment of pledging to create on

average 2.5 new jobs for every additional 1,000 calls we receive

per day. Since moving to UPC, we have also won business with the

Department of Communications and the French Embassy based

on our infrastructure. Over the past two years we have created

an additional 9 jobs which we are very proud of in the current

economic environment.”

Nicola Byrne, Managing Director, Call 11890 Ltd

Directory Enquiries

New colour: 100% Cyan 50% Magenta


Conclusions – Towards A Digital FutureEurope is on a journey towards the digital future and Ireland plans

to be at the forefront of that journey. As we saw in the introduction,

we already perform very well on many indicators in comparison with

other OECD and EU countries. Indeed, Ireland has already surpassed,

by some margin, a number of the EU’s future Digital Agenda Targets

and this before work has commenced in earnest with respect to the

Government meeting the targets as set out in the National Broadband

Plan (which are even more ambitious than the EU’s).

By achieving these goals, there is a real opportunity for Ireland to

secure a higher standard of living and lower level of unemployment

than will be the case if we lag behind.

The Digital Multiplier

How do we measure the scale of the opportunity? Perhaps the

most useful in terms of sizing the prize for digital success is Boston

Consulting Group’s analysis of and forecasts for the Internet Economy5.

The chart overleaf (Fig 38) shows their perceptions of Ireland mapped

in terms of GDP per capita versus the BCG e-Intensity Score. The latter

measures each country’s level of enablement (the amount of Internet

infrastructure that it has in place), expenditure (the amount of money

spent on online retail and online advertising) and engagement (the

degree to which businesses, governments and consumers are involved

with the Internet), several aspects of which have been explored in this

report. Ireland is what they call a ‘Player’ when it comes to the Internet

Economy, doing well but still some way behind the ‘Natives’.

5 BCG: https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/media_entertainment_strate-

gic_planning_4_2_trillion_opportunity_Internet_economy_g20/

Broadly speaking there is a positive impact on GDP per capita from

increased e-Intensity. Moreover, the Internet Economy in the G20

economies surveyed by BCG is expected to nearly double by 2016,

growing at a far faster rate than G20 GDP over the same period.

Indeed, the Internet Economy’s share of total GDP for ‘Players’ like

Ireland will rise from about 3.0% of GDP to nearer 6.0% by 2016.

Most of the increase in the Internet Economy is expected to come

from an increase in online consumer spending: a trend evident in

Ireland, as reported in Chapter 2.

To put these trends in perspective, a doubling in the share of GDP

of Ireland’s Internet Economy between 2010 and 2016 would equate

to an increase in the value of the Internet economy from €4.7 billion

in 2010 to €11.3 billion in 2016 (using IMF forecasts for GDP6). Also

as noted in the Introduction, even modest gains in the level of

digitisation of Ireland’s economy can reduce unemployment by

tens of thousands over time.

Clearly, digital technology will play a growing (maybe dominant)

role in securing economic growth, improving productivity in our

businesses and the creation of new jobs in Ireland. But we cannot

take such gains for granted. As noted in this report, Irish consumers

are switching and as a consequence, the share of online spend is

growing. Irish businesses can potentially benefit from this trend, but

this is not guaranteed. Our report, nevertheless, shows a high degree

of optimism among Irish businesses, fuelled by the operational and

revenue generating benefits of digital technology.

6 IMF World Economic Outlook database: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/

weo/2012/02/weodata/index.aspx


This report has captured Ireland’s digital economy and society

at a vitally important moment. Despite years of recession, Irish

consumers and businesses have embraced digital technologies and

services and benefited enormously already. But we have some way

to go before we realise the true potential of digital technology.

We have much to gain from the digital future in terms of higher

standards of living, a better quality of life, improved consumer

welfare, greater business productivity and lower unemployment.

This report has shown the road ahead to the digital future: together

we must take the next steps.

BCG e-Intensity Score

200

150

100

50

020 40 60 80

2010 GDP per capita ($ thousands)

l South Korea

l UK

l Hungary l Slovakia

l Chile l Columbia

l Venezuela l Mexico

l South Africa

l Indonesia l Egypt

l Russia l Brazil

l Sweden

Denmark l

Japan l l Finland l USA

l Singaporel Canada

l Australia

l Switzerland

l Norwayl

Luxembourg

l IRELAND

Germany l Hong Kong l

Estonia l

Turkey l Malaysial

Argentina l

China l

Portugal l Poland l

New Zealand l Slovenia

l Czech Republic

l

l Italy l Greece

l Saudi Arabia

l United Arab Emirates

France l

Belgium l Austria l

Spain l

Israel l

l Iceland Netherlandsl

Indial

Moroccol

NascentNatives

Natives Players Laggards Aspirants

Fig 38: Developed Markets Score Significantly Higher in BCG’s e-Intensity Index


UPC Tech Box

Enabling BusinessFor an open economy like Ireland, having a powerful broadband

network is 100% essential to national and international success.

Broadband enables connectivity, commerce and a better quality of

life for Irish citizens and industry. It attracts foreign direct investment

and supports indigenous growth - from global data centres to local

garden centres. It carries vast amounts of vital business information,

global accessibility and content for thousands of businesses the

length and breadth of the country.

» 1 in 5 companies with new or expanded FDI in 2010 and 2011 chose

UPC to deliver their network services.

» UPC itself is a large FDI investor with its €500M investment

in next generation infrastructure, 829 employees and €309M

in revenue

About 11890

11890 is the only Directory Enquiries service in Ireland to provide

customers with a free text-back that includes a link to a map with the

exact location of your enquiry listed on it.

Call 11890 Ltd employs 73 staff across its call centres in Dublin and

Galway, contributes €3.5 million to the Irish economy annually.

In 2010 the company signed a multi-million euro contract with UPC

Business. The contract involves UPC hosting all of Call 11890 Ltd

services including bandwidth for Internet and data traffic and the

trafficking and all 11890 directory enquiry calls across the UPC’s

network.

The telecommunications solution provided by UPC has enabled

us to enhance both our day to day service and crucially provides

us the flexibility to grow our service locally here in Ireland. As a

consequence of the savings made since 2010 I have been able to

honor my commitment of pledging to create on average 2.5 new

jobs for every additional 1,000 calls it receives per day. We also

since moving to UPC have won business with the Department of

Communication and the French Embassy based on our infrastructure

provided by UPC. Over the past two years we have created an

additional 9 jobs which we are very proud of in

the current economic environment.

Nicola Byrne, Managing Director, Call 11890 Ltd

A Digital World For Everyone UPC Insight

UPC supports the EU’s Digital Agenda for Europe which includes

increasing trust and security, delivering ultra-fast broadband

speeds, enhancing digital literacy, skills and inclusion and

developing ICT solutions for social challenges.

Digital Inclusion

Digital technology drives the modern world: fact. Regardless

of culture or country, the television, telephone and Internet

unites and connects people. Our business connects thousands of

customers to the digital world.

Building Digital Confidence

Building digital confidence and inclusion is at the heart of our

corporate responsibility strategy. In Ireland, for the past five years

UPC has been actively involved in Safer Internet Day. This year, the

company launched the UPC Magic Desktop, an innovative piece of

software which will help parents by encouraging children to play

and learn in a safe computing environment. We also introduced

Internet Buttons, which is designed to simplify Internet access

for digital novices.

Find out more by downloading these free services.

The Magic Desktop is located at www.magicdesktop.ie

Internet Buttons is located at www.Internetbuttons.ie


About UPC

UPC is the European division of Liberty Global Inc., the world’s second

largest cable operator. Through its UPC operations, Liberty Global offers

television, broadband, Internet and telephone services to approximately

20 million customers in 13 countries.

UPC is one of Ireland’s leading long-term multinational investment

partners. Through its parent company, UPC has invested in excess of

€500m in upgrading its cable infrastructure to a world class fibre network

that is capable of delivering new and innovative services to Irish consumers

and businesses. This investment in its infrastructure represents UPC’s long

term strategic commitment to Ireland and the company’s contribution to

helping the country secure its digital future.

UPC TV, broadband & phone services

Approximately one-third of all Irish homes are UPC customers. UPC is the

leading broadband and TV innovator. UPC was the first provider of “triple-

play” services in Ireland and the first to offer speeds of up to 150Mbps with

an entry level of 50Mbps. In 2012, UPC pioneered the launch of Ireland’s

first true On Demand TV service, offering customers the benefit of seven

day catch-up TV from the RTÉ Player and 3player, over 1,400 hours of the

best box sets and series and Movies On Demand.

The UPC Business division provides tailor-made telecoms services

to meet the needs of all businesses from SMEs to multinationals, and

services both the public and private sector. UPC Business is committed

to supporting the communication and entertainment needs of business

customers.

The company’s national contact centre is located in Limerick and its

HQ is based in Dublin. UPC is locally-managed and employs over 800

people and has created a further 700 additional jobs for Irish contractors.

Mark of approval

In September, UPC was named a finalist in the ninth annual Chambers

Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility Awards and at the same time its

parent company, Liberty Global announced its inclusion on both the

Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes.

www.upc.ie

About Amárach

Amárach Research is an independent market research agency,

providing a full range of research services to its Irish and international

clients. Amárach specialises in turning information into insight; and

insight into foresight.

Amárach’s experienced team of 30 directors and executives manage

online, face-to-face and cati surveys (through its call centre); as

well as qualitative research including focus groups, in-depths and

ethnographic studies. The agency also delivers a world class field-only

service to universities and international agencies.

Over nearly 25 years, Amárach has pioneered innovative research

techniques and reported on digital and technology trends since the

earliest days of the Internet.

Amárach invests heavily in understanding current Irish consumer and

business trends, and shares numerous, free reports and presentations

via its blog and slideshare sites, linked via its main website.

www.amarach.com

Designed by

3

www.upc.ie

Researched & produced by

The UPC Report on Ireland’s Digital Future


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