UK drops to 13th in e-readiness study

The UK has dropped from eighth place to 13th in a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Research from the EIU found that the UK is no longer as able to as effectively harness IT for economic and social development.

Denmark has taken first place in the world e-readiness table.

However, Stephen Hearnden, director of telecommunications and technology at Intellect, said the research overlooks a number of developments which the UK has proved particularly effective at.

"Our broadband delivery is one of the most competitive in the world and it's one of the cheapest," he stated.

"Perhaps the rating for price reach and availability is not weighted very highly," Mr Hearnden suggested.

The UK is also one of the few countries to make a commitment to bring two megabits of internet speed into every home.

Furthermore, spokesperson for eBay Vanessa Canzini recently said the current recession is the best time for businesses to move online, with 70 per cent of firms confident about their business outlook over the next three months.

She stated that the internet is now a "serious trading channel". Enterprises wary of moving online during the recession could find that shared hosting proves beneficial because the technical side of running a server is left to the hosting company.

Written by Rachel Jones