Brief: Europages Survey shows Internet to be Key Tool for SMEs

76% of SME managers in the European Union consider the internet to be an essential tool, whilst 84%of European countries outside the EU see it as an opportunity to catch up at reduced cost, according to a unique survey carried out by Europages on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, reveals Europemedia.

The European business directory's survey consulted 500,000 decision-makers from 33 European countries. It found that the internet is increasingly used as a tool for both internal company management and external development:
* a third of companies claimed to have modified their internal organisation with the arrival of the internet;
* 63% said the internet had modified their relationship with banks;
* 54% said it had done so with suppliers,
* 60% added that the internet had significantly changed their relationship with customers: with three out of four companies having a website, 92%of which were being used expressly to promote products, though only a third of sites offered trading online as yet and only a tenth were offering the possibility of paying online.

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.