O.C. Companies Jump on Internet
In the first measure of the commercial use of the Internet in Orange County, a whopping two-thirds of county businesses reported that they have access to the worldwide computer network.
A survey by UC Irvine, released Friday, also found that half of about 300 firms polled in Orange County had created their own Web page, so people browsing the Internet can learn about their firms.
“I’m surprised at how high the usage is,” said Kenneth Kraemer, director of UCI’s Center for Research on Information Technology. “It means Orange County is certainly among the leading places in the country in terms of Internet usage.”
In one of the few national studies on the subject, San Jose-based Dataquest last fall surveyed 100 companies and found that almost 60% had access to the Internet. But that survey polled medium and large companies in aerospace, communications and other industries that are more likely to use the latest information technologies.
UCI’s survey, conducted by telephone between September and December of last year, polled top executives of 291 firms in the county--half of them large, half small--in a variety of industries.
The survey found that 40% of the companies actually do business on the Internet, using it mostly to advertise or market products and services. Researchers said large firms and those doing business internationally were more likely to use the Internet.
Analysts said the survey findings were a reflection of Orange County’s strong high-tech climate. Numerous computer and biotechnology firms operate here, and previous studies have shown that one out of every two households in Orange County is equipped with a personal computer, compared with one of three nationwide.
Genovation Inc., an Tustin supplier of computer peripherals, set up its Web page on the Internet last September.
Joseph Meshi, Genovation’s executive vice president, said he and his co-workers designed their own Web page, and it costs the company $100 a month to maintain and operate the service.
“It’s a very economic way of making yourself known,” Meshi said. “This thing is paying for itself many times over,” he added, noting that his Web page is being looked at an average of 400 times a day.
John Sawa is a consultant at Anaheim-based Delta Internet Services, which designs Web pages and serves as a computer host to companies eyeing the Internet.
“It’s growing by leaps and bounds at the present time,” he said of commercial use of the Internet. Sawa said his firm charges anywhere from $1,500 to $25,000 for a Web page, and it typically costs $50 to $400 to maintain and operate the page monthly.
Even companies that currently aren’t on the Internet are thinking about jumping aboard. UCI’s survey found that 20% of the companies polled were planning to link up to the Internet this year.
Ray Dellerba, president of Eldorado Bank, said he just established a task force to put his community bank on the Internet. Dellerba said that will allow people to get basic information about the bank’s branches and hours as well as enable customers to apply for loans over the computer.
“We’ll be on it,” Dellerba said. “I think we have to be.”
