Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1515 of 31 August 2017 implementing Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on the information society for the reference year 2018 (Text with EEA relevance. )

A. SUBJECTS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

1. The subjects to be covered for the reference year 2018, drawn from the list in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 808/2004, shall be as follows:

   1. ICT systems and their usage in enterprises;

   2. use of the internet and other electronic networks by enterprises;

   3. e-commerce;

   4. e-business processes and organisational aspects;

   5. ICT competence in the enterprise unit and the need for ICT skills;

   6. access to and use of technologies providing the ability to connect to the internet or other networks from anywhere at any time (ubiquitous connectivity).

2. The following enterprise characteristics shall be collected:

   1. ICT systems and their usage in enterprises

      1. for all enterprises:

         • computer usage;

      2. for enterprises using computers:

         • (optional) persons employed or percentage of the total number of persons employed who use computers for business purposes.

   2. Use of the internet and other electronic networks by enterprises

      1. for enterprises using computers:

         • internet access;

      2. for enterprises with internet access:

         • persons employed or percentage of the total number of persons employed who use computers with access to the internet for business purposes;

         • internet connection: any type of fixed connection;

         • internet connection: provision of portable devices that allow a mobile connection using mobile telephone networks, for business purposes;

         • having a website;

         • paying for advertisements on the internet;

      3. for enterprises having any type of fixed connection to the internet:

         • maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed internet connection in Mbit/s in the ranges: [0, < 2], [2, < 10], [10, < 30], [30, < 100], [≥ 100];

      4. for enterprises that provide their persons employed with portable devices that allow a mobile internet connection using mobile telephone networks, for business purposes:

         • persons employed or percentage of the total number of persons employed using a portable device provided by the enterprise which allows internet connection via mobile telephone networks, for business purposes;

         • provision of portable devices to access the enterprise's email system;

         • provision of portable devices to access and modify the enterprise's documents;

         • provision of portable devices to use dedicated business software applications;

      5. for enterprises having a website, information about the provision of the following facilities:

         • description of goods or services, price lists;

         • online ordering, reservation or booking;

         • possibility for visitors to customise or design online goods or services;

         • tracking or status of placed orders;

         • personalised content on the website for regular/recurrent visitors;

         • links or references to the enterprise's social media profiles;

      6. for enterprises that pay for advertisements on the internet, use of any of the following targeted advertising methods:

         • advertising method based on webpages' content or keywords searched by users;

         • advertising method based on the tracking of internet users' past activities or profile;

         • advertising method based on geolocation of internet users;

         • any other method of targeted advertising on the internet not specified above.

   3. E-commerce

      1. for enterprises using computers:

         • receipt of orders for goods or services placed via a website or apps (web sales), in the previous calendar year;

         • receipt of orders for goods or services via EDI-type messages (EDI-type sales), in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) placement of orders for goods or services via a website, apps or EDI-type message, in the previous calendar year;

      2. for enterprises having received orders for goods or services placed via a website or apps in the previous calendar year:

         • value of the turnover, expressed in absolute figures or as a percentage of total turnover, of e-commerce sales resulting from orders received via a website or apps, in the previous calendar year;

         • percentage of turnover from orders received via a website or apps, broken down by sales to private consumers (Business to Consumers: B2C), and sales to other enterprises (Business to Business: B2B) and to public authorities (Business to Government: B2G), in the previous calendar year;

         • receipt of orders for goods or services via the enterprise's own website or apps (including those of parent or affiliate enterprises, extranets), in the previous calendar year;

         • receipt of orders for goods or services via an e-commerce marketplace website or apps used by several enterprises for trading products, in the previous calendar year;

         • percentage of turnover from orders received via a website or apps broken down by orders received via the enterprise's own website or apps (including those of parent or affiliate enterprises, extranets) and by orders received via an e-commerce marketplace website or apps used by several enterprises for trading products, in the previous calendar year;

      3. for enterprises having received orders for goods or services via EDI-type messages, in the previous calendar year:

         • value of the turnover or percentage of the total turnover of e-commerce sales resulting from orders received via EDI-type messages, in the previous calendar year;

      4. for enterprises having placed orders for goods or services via a website, apps or EDI-type message (excluding manually typed emails), in the previous calendar year:

         • (optional) placing orders for goods or services via a website or apps, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) placing orders for goods or services via EDI-type messages, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) placing orders via a website, apps or EDI-type message for goods or services to the value of at least 1 % of the total value of purchases, in the previous calendar year.

   4. E-business processes and organisational aspects

      1. for enterprises using computers:

         • use of the enterprise's 3D printers, in the previous calendar year;

         • use of printing services provided by other enterprises, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) use of industrial robots;

         • (optional) use of service robots;

         • (optional) analysis of Big Data using the enterprise's own data from smart devices or sensors as a data source, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) analysis of Big Data using geolocation data from portable devices as a data source, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) analysis of Big Data using data generated from social media as a data source, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) analysis of Big Data using other data sources not specified in this point, in the previous calendar year;

         • invoices sent in electronic form, in a standard structure suitable for automated processing (eInvoices), excluding the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year;

         • invoices sent in electronic form, not suitable for automated processing, including the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year;

         • invoices sent in paper form, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) receipt of invoices in electronic form, in a standard structure suitable for automated processing (eInvoices), excluding the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) receipt of invoices in electronic form, not suitable for automated processing, including the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) receipt of invoices in paper form, in the previous calendar year;

      2. for enterprises using 3D printing, in the previous calendar year:

         • printing prototypes or models for sale;

         • printing prototypes or models for internal use;

         • printing goods for sale excluding prototypes or models;

         • printing goods to be used in the enterprise's production process excluding prototypes or models;

      3. for enterprises using service robots:

         • (optional) use for surveillance, security or inspections tasks;

         • (optional) use for transportation of people or goods;

         • (optional) use for cleaning or waste disposal tasks;

         • (optional) use for warehouse management systems;

         • (optional) use for assembly works performed by service robots;

         • (optional) use for robotic store clerk tasks;

         • (optional) use for construction works or damage repair tasks;

      4. for enterprises that analyse Big Data, in the previous calendar year:

         • (optional) use of enterprise's own employees for performing Big Data analysis, in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) use of external service providers for performing Big Data analysis, in the previous calendar year;

      5. for enterprises having sent invoices in electronic form, in a standard structure suitable for automated processing (eInvoices), excluding the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year:

         • (optional) percentage of eInvoices out of all invoices sent, or percentage of eInvoices out of all invoices sent in the following ranges: [0, < 10], [10, < 25], [25, < 50], [50, < 75], [≥ 75], in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) eInvoices sent to other enterprises (Business to Business: B2B), in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) eInvoices sent to public authorities (Business to Government: B2G), in the previous calendar year;

         • (optional) eInvoices sent to private consumers (Business to Consumers: B2C), in the previous calendar year;

      6. for enterprises having received invoices in electronic form, in a standard structure suitable for automated processing (eInvoices), excluding the transmission of PDF files, in the previous calendar year:

         • (optional) percentage of eInvoices out of all invoices received, or percentage of eInvoices out of all invoices received in the following ranges: [0, < 10], [10, < 25], [25, < 50], [50, < 75], [≥ 75], in the previous calendar year.

   5. ICT competence in the enterprise unit and the need for ICT skills

      1. for enterprises using computers:

         • employment of ICT specialists;

         • provision of any type of training to develop ICT-related skills for ICT specialists, in the previous calendar year;

         • provision of any type of training to develop ICT-related skills for other persons employed, in the previous calendar year;

         • recruitment of or the attempt to recruit ICT specialists in the previous calendar year;

         • performance of the following ICT functions in the previous calendar year, broken down into ‘Mainly by own employees, including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprises’, ‘Mainly by external supplier’, or ‘Not applicable’:

           • maintenance of ICT infrastructure (servers, computers, printers, networks);

           • support for office software;

           • development of business management software/systems;

           • support for business management software/systems;

           • development of web solutions;

           • support for web solutions;

           • ICT security and data protection;

      2. for enterprises using computers and which have recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in the previous calendar year:

         • vacancies for ICT specialists that were difficult to fill.

   6. Access to and use of technologies providing the ability to connect to the internet or other networks from anywhere at any time (ubiquitous connectivity)

      1. for enterprises with internet access:

         • use of cloud computing services, excluding free-of-charge-services;

      2. for enterprises with internet access that purchased cloud computing services:

         • use of email as a cloud computing service;

         • use of office software as a cloud computing service;

         • hosting the enterprise's database(s) as a cloud computing service;

         • storing files as a cloud computing service;

         • use of finance or accounting software applications as a cloud computing service;

         • use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM, software application for managing information about customers) as a cloud computing service;

         • use of computing power to run the enterprise's own software as a cloud computing service;

         • use of cloud computing services delivered from shared servers of service providers;

         • use of cloud computing services delivered from servers of service providers exclusively reserved for the enterprise.

3. The following background information shall be collected from all enterprises, or obtained from alternative sources:

   • the enterprise's main economic activity in the previous calendar year;

   • the average number of persons employed in the previous calendar year;

   • the total value of turnover, excluding VAT, in the previous calendar year.

B. COVERAGE

The characteristics specified in headings A(2) and (3) shall be collected for the following categories of enterprises:

1. Economic activity: enterprises classified by the following NACE Rev. 2 categories:

   NACE Rev. 2 category	Description
   Section C	Manufacturing
   Section D, E	Electricity, gas and steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
   Section F	Construction
   Section G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
   Section H	Transportation and storage
   Section I	Accommodation and food service activities
   Section J	Information and communication
   Section L	Real estate activities
   Divisions 69-74	Professional, scientific and technical activities
   Section N	Administrative and support service activities
   Group 95.1	Repair of computers and communication equipment;

2. Enterprise size: enterprises with 10 or more persons employed. Enterprises with less than 10 persons employed may be covered optionally;

3. Geographical scope: enterprises located in any part of the territory of the Member State.

C. REFERENCE PERIODS

The reference period is 2017 for the characteristics referring to the previous calendar year. The reference period is 2018 for the other characteristics.

D. BREAKDOWN OF DATA

The following background characteristics shall be provided in respect of the subjects and their characteristics listed in heading (2) of Part A:

1. Economic activity breakdown: according to the following NACE Rev. 2 aggregates:

   NACE Rev. 2 aggregation

   for possible calculation of national aggregates

   10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18

   19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23

   24 + 25

   26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 + 33

   35 + 36 + 37 + 38 + 39

   41 + 42 + 43

   45 + 46 + 47

   47

   49 + 50 + 51 + 52 + 53

   55

   58 + 59 + 60 + 61 + 62 + 63

   68

   69 + 70 + 71 + 72 + 73 + 74

   77 + 78 + 79 + 80 + 81 + 82

   26.1 + 26.2 + 26.3 + 26.4 + 26.8 + 46.5 + 58.2 + 61 + 62 + 63.1 + 95.1

   NACE Rev. 2 aggregation

   for possible calculation of European aggregates

   10 + 11 + 12

   13 + 14 + 15

   16 + 17 + 18

   26

   27 + 28

   29 + 30

   31 + 32 + 33

   45

   46

   55 + 56

   58 + 59 + 60

   61

   62 + 63

   77 + 78 + 80 + 81 + 82

   79

   95.1

2. Size class breakdown: data shall be broken down according to the following size classes by number of persons employed:

   Size class

   10 or more persons employed

   10 to 49 persons employed

   50 to 249 persons employed

   250 or more persons employed

   Where covered, a breakdown of the data shall be provided in accordance with the following table:

   Size class

   0 to 9 persons employed (optional)

   2 to 9 persons employed (optional)

   0 to 1 persons employed (optional)

E. PERIODICITY

The data stipulated in this Annex shall be provided once for 2018.

F. DEADLINES FOR TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS

1. The aggregate data referred to in Article 6 and Annex I (6) of Regulation (EC) No 808/2004, where necessary flagged for confidentiality or unreliability, shall be transmitted to Eurostat by 5 October 2018. By that date, the dataset shall be finalised, validated and accepted.

2. The metadata referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 shall be sent to Eurostat by 31 May 2018.

3. The quality report referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 shall be sent to Eurostat by 5 November 2018.

4. The data and metadata shall be supplied to Eurostat, using the Single Entry Point services, in accordance with the exchange standard specified by Eurostat. The metadata and the quality report shall be provided in the standard metadata structure defined by Eurostat.