Background to the Information and Communication Technology Supply Survey release
The Information and Communication Technology Supply Survey: 2005/06 is the second of a new time series based on recently developed OECD definitions to measure the ICT industry. The need for a new survey is recognition that these two technology categories are converging at a fast rate and are also becoming widespread.
Statistics in this release are drawn from the ICT Supply Survey: 2005/06. The objectives of this survey are to provide information on the total income, export income and domestic income from sales of ICT in New Zealand.
IT Survey 1993–2004
Although the previous Statistics New Zealand IT Survey (1993–2004) measured some of the commodities included in the new ICT Supply Survey, they are not directly comparable. The ICT Supply Survey has a much wider population base. It now includes businesses associated with the electronics and other ICT industries that were not in scope for the IT Survey. Commodity classifications are also different between the two surveys. There is a greater variety of commodities in the new ICT Supply Survey and existing commodity classifications have been redefined.
ICT Supply Survey: 2004/05 revision
The inclusion of industry lists and minor changes to the questionnaire, together with updated 2004/05 respondent data, has led to the revision of the ICT Supply Survey: 2004/05, to maintain consistency with the 2005/06 survey and future surveys in the time series. The revision has resulted in an increase of $907 million in total ICT sales, made up of $563 million of ICT goods sales and $344 million of ICT services sales.
Reference period
The reference period for the survey was the 2006 financial year. For enterprises with balance dates falling between 1 January and 30 September, this is financial data for the year ending 2006. For enterprises with balance dates falling between 1 October and 31 December, this is financial data for the year ending 2005.
Population
The ICT Supply Survey is a census of all enterprise units with 2.0 or more rolling mean employees (RME) engaged in ICT activity in New Zealand. RME is the average size of the enterprise employment count over the past 12 months. The population for the ICT Supply Survey: 2005/06 was 2,618 enterprises.
All units with greater than 2.0 RME, and classified on the Statistics NZ Business Frame to the following ANZSIC codes, are included in the survey:
C283900 Professional and scientific equipment manufacturing not elsewhere classified (nec)
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing draughting, meteorological, surveying or other professional or scientific instruments or equipment nec, or watches, clocks or other timing instruments.
C284100 Computer and business machine manufacturing
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing computers or business machines.
C284200 Telecommunication, broadcasting and transceiving equipment manufacturing
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing telecommunications, broadcasting or transceiving equipment.
C284900 Electronic equipment manufacturing nec
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing radio receiving sets (except radio transceivers or radio telegraphic receivers), television receiving sets, sound reproducing and/or recording equipment, headphones, hearing aids or electronic equipment or components nec.
C285200 Electric cable and wire manufacturing
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing electric or telephone cable, wire or strip, including stranded, braided or insulated non-ferrous wire, cable or strip.
F461200 Professional equipment wholesaling
Units mainly engaged in wholesaling scientific, medical or other professional equipment.
F461300 Computer wholesaling
Units mainly engaged in the wholesaling of computers or computer peripheral equipment.
F461400 Business machine wholesaling nec
Units mainly engaged in the wholesaling of office or business machines or equipment nec.
F461500 Electrical and electronic equipment wholesaling nec
Units mainly engaged in the wholesaling electrical or electronic equipment nec.
J712000 Telecommunication services
Units mainly engaged in providing telecommunication services to the public by wire, cable or radio.
L783100 Data processing services
Units mainly engaged in providing data processing services. Also included are units mainly engaged in providing time-sharing services.
L783200 Information storage and retrieval services
Units mainly engaged in providing information storage and retrieval services (other than library and bibliographic services).
L783300 Computer maintenance services
Units mainly engaged in providing computer maintenance or repair services.
L783400 Computer consultancy services
Units mainly engaged in providing computer consultancy services, computer systems analysis or computer programming services.
A keyword search was used on the Statistics NZ Business Frame to find ICT units from the following two ANZSIC codes. These units also had to have greater than 2.0 RME to be included in the survey:
C283200 Medical and surgical manufacturing
Units mainly engaged in manufacturing medical, surgical or dental equipment, including dentures.
L774300 Plant hiring or leasing
Units mainly engaged in the leasing, renting or hiring of industrial machinery, plant or equipment (except transport equipment) without operators, from stock physically held for that purpose.
In addition, enterprises are also added if they have greater than 2.0 RME and are a member of one of the following lists:
- New Zealand Software Association
- Information Technology Association of New Zealand
- Companies identified by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise as the ICT industry
Also included are any other enterprises that have more than 2.0 RMEs and are known to be significant participants in the ICT industry outside the above sources and which are not classified on the Statistics NZ Business Frame to any of the above ANZSIC codes. Known information communication and technology retailers were also added to the population.
Data collection
The ICT Supply Survey: 2005/06 is a postal survey to all organisations meeting the population criteria.
Response rate
A target overall response rate of 75 percent was specified in terms of the number of enterprise units from the survey population. Key businesses were also identified and targeted with a response rate of 95 percent. These key businesses were identified as those having the highest total GST sales in the 2006 financial year, or which were significant contributors to commodity or export totals in the ICT Supply Survey: 2004/05.
An overall response rate of 83 percent was achieved, including 96 percent of key businesses.
Imputation
Imputation is used to obtain data in cases of unit or item non-response. A unit non-response is calculated when the business did not return a form. An item non-response is calculated when a business returns an incomplete form
Non-sampling error
Non-sampling error occurs for reasons such as respondent error, frame quality and errors in processing. While every effort is made to minimise these types of error, they may still occur. It is not possible to quantify their effect.
Statistics New Zealand has used standard procedures in attempting to control non-sample error. This includes pilot testing of questionnaires and survey quality control procedures.
Analysis of results
The survey results have been compared with industry data, export trade data and the ICT Supply Survey: 2004/05 published by Statistics NZ. Where the survey results differed substantially, more detailed analysis of the data was made.
Confidentiality
Data published from the ICT Supply Survey must conform to the provisions of the Statistics Act 1975, which requires that all statistical information published by Statistics NZ shall be arranged in such a manner as to prevent any particulars belonging to any respondent from being identifiable. Cell suppression has been used to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information.
Concepts and terms
ANZSIC
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).
Business Frame
A register of all economically significant businesses operating in New Zealand, maintained by Statistics New Zealand from which the survey population is drawn.
Enterprise
A single business entity operating in New Zealand either as a legally constituted body, such as a company, trust, local or central government trading organisation, incorporated society, or self employed individual.
Rolling mean employment (RME)
The average size of the enterprise employment count over the past 12 months. This number is sourced from the Statistics New Zealand Business Frame which is updated on a monthly basis by employers.
Business size
Small business: between 2 and less than 20 RME
Medium business: RME between 20 and less than 50
Large business: 50 or more RME.
OECD definition of ICT goods and services
ICT goods and services fulfil or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means. Alternatively, ICT goods may also use electronic processing to detect, measure and/or record physical phenomena or control a physical process.
ICT commodity definition
The following is a list of ICT commodity categories used in the ICT Supply Survey questionnaire, and examples relating to each category. ICT goods commodities are defined by the internationally recognised Harmonized System (HS).
Telecommunications equipment
- telephones, facsimile machines, answering machines
- telephone and data switching and transmission equipment
- radio frequency (RF) and fixed-line equipment
- radio and television transmitting equipment
- television cameras and radar apparatus
- burglar alarms, fire alarms or similar
- optical and coaxial fibre cables
- telecommunications aerials, connectors and conductors.
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Computer and related equipment
- computers and other data processing machines
- computer printers, scanners, other peripheral units
- magnetic or optical storage units (eg CD- or DVD-drives)
- servers, routers, switches, structural cabling systems
- barcode scanners, EFTPOS machines
- computer parts and accessories (including printer cartridges; not including covers,
carrying cases or similar).
Audio and visual equipment
- radio and television sets
- monitors, video recorders, video or digital cameras, projectors
- CD players, DVD players/recorders, MP3 players
- microphones, earphones, loudspeakers, amplifiers
- magnetic tapes or disks and other unrecorded media.
Electronic components
- electrical transformers, conductors, power supplies or parts thereof
- capacitors, resistors, inductors, printed circuits
- semiconductor devices including diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits
- television picture tubes, microwave tubes, other tubes or parts
- electronic subassemblies and parts thereof
- magnetic stripe cards, recorded or unrecorded.
Electronic devices and equipment
- navigation apparatus and devices
- scientific instruments and appliances
- industrial measurement and process control equipment
- electro-diagnostic medical equipment (eg ECG, MRI, ultrasound, CT, X-ray etc)
- electronic gas, liquid and electricity meters
- marine and aeronautical instruments and devices
- electronic calculating and accounting devices and office machinery.
Published software
- off-the-shelf (packaged) software developed for wide distribution and produced for multiple sale or licensing
- limited end-user licences as part of packaged software
- licensing services for the right to use computer software
- PC and gaming console games.
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Telecommunication and program distribution services
- carrier services
- fixed or mobile services
- private network and data transmission services
- telecommunication repair and maintenance services
- audio/video broadcasting on a subscription or pay-to-view basis.
Internet access and Internet telecommunication services
- connections to, and carriage of, traffic on the Internet
- carrier services of Internet traffic by one ISP for another ISP
- telecommunication services on the Internet.
IT technical support services
- IT hardware repair and maintenance, routine testing of hardware
- providing technical expertise to solve IT-related problems
- maintenance and troubleshooting of software or hardware
- provision of software patches and upgrades
- management and monitoring of a client’s IT infrastructure (ie hardware, software, networks)
- day-to-day management and operation of a client’s computer system
- transforming information from one format or media to another
- data or disaster recovery services.
IT design, consulting and development services
- design and development of IT solutions
- creating and/or implementing software applications, custom programming, customisation and integration of packaged software
- developing and implementing client-specific networks
- developing client-specific computer systems.
Hosting and IT infrastructure provisioning services
- website or email hosting with or without integration of applications (online storefronts, order processing, data warehousing)
- supporting, hosting and managing business processes for a client (financial transaction/credit card processing, payroll processing, personnel administration, logistics services, help desks, call centre
- provision of leased software applications from a centralised, hosted and managed computing environment
- data storage and management services, co-location services
- video and audio streaming services, computer time share.
Renting or leasing services
- computers, printers, peripheral units
- telephones, fax machines, pagers, cellphones
- radio and television equipment
- scientific, measuring or control apparatus.
Training and education in ICT
- post-school technical and vocational education
- in-house training services
- other education and training services.
Sales
Sales in New Zealand dollars for each ICT category.
Exports
Excludes goods sold to other New Zealand businesses who will export the goods at a later stage.
Sales to New Zealand end-users
Sales to those purchasers who buy goods for their own use, rather than for selling.
Sales to other New Zealand customers
Sales not classed as exports or sales to New Zealand end-users. This category includes sales to businesses that sell the ICT goods or services.
Goods and services pricing
The data reported in the ICT Supply Survey: 2005/06 is collected and reported in nominal dollar values at time of sale. These nominal sales figures combine price and volume movements. Price movements of these goods and services may disguise the volume or quantity change in goods and services sold.
Copyright
Information obtained from Statistics NZ may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases Statistics NZ must be acknowledged as the source.
Liability
While care has been used in processing, analysing and extracting information, Statistics NZ gives no warranty that the information supplied is free from error. Statistics NZ shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of any information, product or service.
Timing
Timed statistical releases are delivered using postal and electronic services provided by third parties. Delivery of these releases may be delayed by circumstances outside the control of Statistics NZ. Statistics NZ accepts no responsibility for any such delays.
Next release ...
Information and Communication Technology Supply Survey: 2006/07 will be released in April 2008.