Information and communication technologies (ICT) Methods

To measure the level of information and communication technology usage indicators, INSTAT conducted the survey on "The Use of Information and Communication Technology" in 2026 among economic enterprises with 10 and more employees.
The objective of the survey "On the Use of Information and Communication Technology" is to collect and disseminate harmonized and comparable information on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in enterprises.
For the first time, the results of the survey on "Information and Communication Technology (ICT)" in economic enterprises with 10 and more employees are published according to the Nomenclature of Economic Activities, NACE Rev. 2.1. This change in the classification of economic activities applies to the reference year 2026, in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1322. To ensure data comparability with the previous year and accurate analysis of changes over time, data for 2025 have also been reclassified according to NACE Rev. 2.1. Consequently, both data series, for the years 2025 and 2026, are presented according to the same nomenclature.

According to enterprise size, they are classified as follows:
•    10–49 employees
•    50–249 employees
•    250 and more employees
According to economic activity "Nomenclature of Economic Activities, NACE Rev. 2.1":

NACE Rev. 2.1 Section with Description: 
| C | Manufacturing
| D, E | Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply and Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities
| F | Construction
| G | Wholesale and Retail Trade
| H | Transportation and Storage
| I | Accommodation and Food Service Activities
| J | Publishing, Broadcasting, Content Production and Distribution
| K | Telecommunications, Computer Programming, Consultancy, Computer Infrastructure, and Other Information Service Activities
| L | Financial and Insurance Activities
| M | Real Estate Activities
| N | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities
| O | Administrative and Support Service Activities
| T | Other Service Activities

Data Collection
Data collection is carried out using the CAPI method, through face-to-face interviews with interviewers using tablets.
The reference period for main variables is the data collection time. For questions regarding ICT Specialists and Online Sales/Purchases, the reference period is the previous year.

Definitions:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunication. The term ICT is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses on communication technologies including the internet, networks, mobile devices, and other communication media.

Internet Access: Refers to an external connection to the Internet through a company operating as an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Website: A website is a document with HyperText. The existence of a website offers the enterprise the potential for better performance, new opportunities for presenting the enterprise and products, greater recognition, and at the same time access to new markets and consequently higher revenues. Websites can feature text, HyperText links, images, video, and sound.

Social Media: The use of Social Media such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, etc., refers to the enterprise's use of applications based on Internet technology or communication platforms to connect, create, and share content online with customers, suppliers, and partners, outside or inside the enterprise.

Online Sales: Sales made via an internet shop (web shop), via web forms on a website or extranet, or applications regardless of how the web is accessed (computer, laptop, mobile phone, etc.). Payment can be made online or offline (cash on delivery). Until 2022, this indicator calculated sales where payment was made exclusively online.

ICT Specialists: Employees whose primary task is to develop, operate, or maintain ICT systems and applications, such as database specialists, ICT support specialists, etc. ICT specialists have the relevant skills to specify, design, install, support, manage, evaluate, or conduct research activities.

Cloud Services: Refer to Information and Communication Technology services used over the internet to access computer programs, storage capacities, etc. Cloud Computing is a model enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Consists of one or a group of software applications that integrate information and processes across all different business functions of an enterprise. Typically, an ERP integrates planning, procurement, sales, marketing, customer relationship management, finance, and human resources.

Artificial Intelligence: Refers to systems using technologies such as text mining, computer vision, speech recognition, natural language generation, machine learning, and deep learning to collect, use, and/or produce data; for example, to make predictions, recommendations, or decisions, with varying degrees of autonomy.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A management methodology that places the customer at the center of business activity, based on the intensive use of information technologies to collect, integrate, process, and analyze information related to customers.