THE GO-ONLINE TRAINING SUPPORT GRNET - Greek Research and Technology Network www.grnet.gr Xenophon Tsilibaris Athens, EVITA kick-off meeting, 9/12/2008

obtained through Internet usage The GO-ONLINE Programme An Initiative of the Greek Ministry of Development   An action of the Operational Programmes "Information Society" and "Competitiveness" funded by the 3rd Community Support Framework of the European Union. Its main objectives are to support SMEs to connect to the Internet to inform SMEs of the benefits that will be obtained through Internet usage

History The Go-online Programme was originally conceived at the Ministry of Development and then passed on for implementation to the Secretariat for the Information Society, Ministry of Economics and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology, Ministry of Development. The implementing authorities of Go-Online are:   The Hellenic Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Handicraft SA (EOMMEX SA). EOMMEX operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Development and has been responsible for the administration and management of the Financial Support Scheme. The Greek Research and Technology Network SA (GRNET SA). GRNET operates under the supervision of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology and has been responsible for the administration and management of the Training Support Scheme.

The GO-ONLINE Programme consists of: Funding covers 40% of the total cost and cannot exceed 700 euros. Financial Support Purchase of basic terminal equipment, internet connection for two years and technical support for three years Development of a simple commercial web-page, maintenance and virtual hosting in an ISP for two years Implementation: The Hellenic Organization of Small Medium sized Enterprises and Handicraft S.A (ΕΟΜΜΕΧ) Training Support Implementation: The Greek Research and Technology Network (GRNET S.A)

SME target groups Beneficiaries of the Programme are Greek enterprises with up to ten employees less than 587,000 €, annual turnover except for joint stock companies (S.A.'s) and self-employed professionals Go-Online supports: SMEs with no Internet access to obtain one (basket 1) and SMEs that already use the Internet to create their own corporate presence on the web (basket 2)

Go Online Training Support Goal to develop skills to 50,000 Greek SMEs in using Internet and e-business techniques in their daily operations to train and support SMEs in adopting e-business practices It consists of Actions 1 & 2 For Training Support are also eligible: All SMEs - without having to apply first for the “Go-Online” Financial Support – as long as they own IT equipment and are connected to the Internet, given that they meet similar to the Go-Online eligibility criteria.

Actions 1 & 2 Action 1 Educational material Portal for continuous information & support Help-Desk for continuous assistance Implemented by one consortium for the whole country Action 2 Training and support at each SME’s premises by Consultants of Training & Support Implemented by 16 regional consortia covering the whole country

Project Partners Consortia of Academic and Technological Institutions, Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Private sector have undertaken the tasks of supporting the SMEs. This implementation procedure includes: Three visits from a Consultant of Training and Support at each eligible SME for a total duration of seven hours each, (3x7 hours) Operation of a call centre and a web-based help-desk serving the country as a whole Production of informational and educational material The organisation of information days in every major city in Greece, taking into account the specific characteristics of the local economy

Consultants of Training & Support Consultants of Training & Support are: - Unemployed university graduates - University students close to graduation - High school tutors, etc Consultants come from the region so that a relationship to the SME can be achieved Consultants participate in training seminars in order to be able to transfer their forehand knowledge concerning the use of the Internet services. Personalized support Customized service

Results 34.688 SMEs have been visited > 50.000 SMEs applied for the Programme 34.688 SMEs have been visited 1.800 active e-business consultants 100 new full time jobs 1000+ promotional activities all around Greece 28 hours of multimedia educational content release of an “SME specific” portal (http://www.go-online.gr/)

www.go-online.gr

www.go-online.gr Billingual on line-glossary of e-business terminology 32 hours of information and multimedia educational material (429 flash files) 1200 suppliers of internet technology and computer equipment > 250 how to-do-guides, special reports on e-business and best practices 56 e-learning modules formed by 887 html pages More than 4.000 news items FAQs on the programme On-line directory of more than 1.000 ICT suppliers all over Greece

SMEs / Sector

Web site statistics www.go-online.gr Home page vistis > 1.500.000 Ιούλιος ’02-Μάρτιος ’06 Home page vistis > 1.500.000 All visits > 18.000.000 Registered users > 29.000 html pages (dynamic) > 900.000

Management information system

Management information system Access is available through the Internet (browser), with a protected password Total of 1862 users 1702 Consultants of Training and Support 90 partners (universities, chambers of commerce, etc) GRNET Consists of 4 modules Help Desk programming of visits/time/availability financial information/Cost statements Management of workpackages/ deliverables etc

Regional Dimension Regional Consortia shape the regional development  they consist of local educational, commerce and society partners (Universities, Chambers of Commerce and local enterprises) Establishment of a local pool for Consultants for Training and Support Dissemination of e-business results to local SMEs outside the centers of Athens and Thessaloniki

Key processes Go-Online established many value creating partnerships, within the regions’ academic and trade institutions, but also with “suppliers” like e-banking providers.   Regional and local focus to take into consideration the local needs. Half-yearly information and practice exchange between regions Professional development of a national-wide network of e-business consultants that offered the on-site training to SMEs Continuous Interaction with the Go-online Programme. Feedback from the stakeholders and intensive day to day communication with the consortia were undertaken, in the early phase, for improvement purposes. Detailed descriptions of core processes (e.g. training) are laid down in a manual.

Policy and strategy The programme follows EU policy / national policy. Policy and Strategy are based on the present and future needs of the stakeholders Some specific and major application areas were selected together with industry partners (tax/fiscal, e-mail, e-banking).   The first one year of project implementation served as a pilot stage required to improve the full scale implementation. There was intensive regard of local situations and actors. Local relationships are generated, respectively supported (SME/trainer/consultants) with the intention to create a sustainable e-business community. The design to make use of available competencies and to address the targeted beneficiaries is well cascaded to local clients, using synergies with Chambers of Commerce and other stakeholders.

Programme Adaptation to evolving needs Implementation is based on information from performance measurement, research, learning and external related activities   GRNET studied worldwide existing comparable programmes and sought to exchange information with them. The communication with Chambers of Commerce and the involvement of young professionals from regions are a good example of mutual interest design. Policy and Strategy are developed, reviewed and updated. Continuous experience and feedback information is available from the trainers and the beneficiaries through structured online questionnaires. In addition, consideration of good practices and exchanges or structured feedbacks from regions was constantly sought after to encourage regional consortia to adjust to project’s evolving needs (e.g. be entitled or obliged to take part in improvement activities).

programme management Measures to reduce the bureaucracy to coordinate large consortia were successfully undertaken.   The MIS is a considerable strength, making project progress transparent to all involved parties and serving as a good tool to monitor contractual obligations which are base for financial transactions. The project website www.goonline.gr demonstrates professional competency and trust to all consortia, beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the project. It also gives the basis for interaction (and it was e.g. used for the online questionnaires as an initial application for the trained clients). Financial auditing was regularly executed assuring a clear and undisturbed role allocation between GRNET and the regional consortia.

Impact assessment The overall impact of the programme on e-business use from the target group and related quantitative results are well covered in 2 multi annual studies.   The majority of small businesess found the opportunity through the programme to purchase IT infrastructure at low cost kai get some basic trainining on aspects related to IT-enable business. SMEs that were reluctant initially to embark in e-business, realized the potential to become more efficinet and custom oriented. Technofobia, particularly predoninant ini small businesses was addressed effectively and SMEs became more IT friendly.

intensity – usage of ICT by the company (2nd level) The majority of the companies use the PC (86.50%) and the internet (72.74%) on a daily basis. On the contrary, there is a relatively low percentage of companies (28.74%) that use some kind of special software for their business (ERP, CRM, ASP, MRP, MIS), and it varies relatively to the company size. The percentage of companies with presence in the web, is 41.16%. The percentage of companies making transactions with banks and the public sector online is only 34.36%. Even lower is the percentage of companies that offer their clients the possibility of placing orders on-line, which is 18.49%, while the percentage of companies that offer their clients the possibility to make online payments is only 4.85%. Moreover, only 4.99% of the companies participate in e-market places. Also, for those who offer some kind of service to their clients online, only 22% said that the share of online sales as a percent of their total sales is above 5%. So, not only a small number of companies are making online sales, but those who do, evaluate them as a minor portion of their income. Finally, when the companies were asked to state the problems that they are dealing with in the adoption of e-business activities, the most common problem appeared to be the lack of knowledge and information about the new technologies.

intensity – usage of ICT by the company (2nd level) From the above it is obvious that even if the majority if the companies have the necessary equipment, yet the intensity of advanced ICT usage remains at low levels. E-commerce is not a common practice among the very small companies, but an exception. Moreover, only one third of them have online dealings with banks or the public sector. Very small companies are not familiar with the usage of new technologies, as they themselves admit, and remain hesitant to incorporate the new technologies into their daily functions. However, it is positive that the companies are using the computer and the internet on a daily basis.

impact of e-business processes (3rd level) The companies have improved their capabilities in terms of using the PC and the internet after the Training Support. For instance, while before the Training Support, a total percent of 14% of the companies said that the grade of familiarisation of their employees with the ICT is “low” or “very low”, that percent falls to 6% after the Training Support. Also, the percentage of the companies that use the PC on an daily basis increased from 79% to 87% and the percentage of those who never use the PC fell from 8% to just 0.40%. Similarly, the percentage of the companies that use the Internet on an daily basis increased from 62% to 73% and the percentage of those who never use the PC fell from 16% to 6%. Yet, the main reasons for using the PC after the Training Support remain the office automation and general usage of the internet, and the main reasons for using the Internet after the Training Support is the information about the market trends and the communication.

Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) The general conclusion is that e-business activities are yet in a quite early stage for the very small companies even after the Training Support.   The answers of the companies as well as of the e-Business Consultants indicate that the programme intrigued the companies towards the new technologies and gave those who were not familiarised the boost to deal with these new tools. Those who were reluctant were given the opportunity to see the possibilities that the new technologies can offer, especially in terms of prompt communication, access to information and better organisation of their daily routine. A large part of hesitations and fears were overcome and the first steps were taken. But, on the other hand, in many cases the size of the company and the old-fashioned family character of a large portion of the companies is yet an obstacle to the introduction of more advanced practices of e-business, such as online sales and purchases and participation in e-marketplaces.

component indicators In order to compare the situation among sectors and districts, two component indicators were produced:   A. ICT Infrastructure & Usage, that is composed by the following elements: Percentage of companies having an internal PC network Percentage of companies connected to the internet Percentage of companies having a website Percentage of companies that use some kind of special software (ERP, CRM, ASP, MRP, MIS) Percentage of companies using the PC in an daily basis Percentage of companies using the Internet in an daily basis

component indicators Β. e-Procurement, e-Marketing/Sales & e-Transactions, that is composed by the following elements: Percentage of companies making transaction with banks and the public sector online Percentage of companies that offer their clients the possibility of placing orders on-line Percentage of companies whose share of online sales counts for more than 5% of their total sales. Percentage of companies that purchase on-line. Percentage of companies whose share of online purchases counts for more than 5% of their total purchases. Percentage of companies which take part in e-marketplaces.  

Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among sectors: Before the programme

Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among sectors: After the programme

Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among districts Comparison among districts Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among districts: before the programme

Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among districts Comparison among districts Programme Evaluation impact of e-business processes (3rd level) Comparison among districts: after the programme