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Telecom.IT : Internet usage by individuals in 2014 :One out of every five individuals in the EU28 used the cloud to save files
Free-of-charge services prevail
Internet usage has become very widespread amongst the EU population, and not only are more and more people using the internet, but they also use it more and more often, with almost two-thirds (65%) of individuals aged 16 to 74 in the EU28 using the internet daily in 2014, compared with less than a third (31%) in 2006. During the same period, the percentage of individuals in the EU28 that have never used the internet dropped from 43% in 2006 to 18% in 2014.
A relatively new form of web service has developed in recent years: cloud services. Services using cloud technology offer opportunities for storing and sharing large files or using software on a server run over the internet. In 2014, one in five (21%) individuals aged 16 to 74 in the EU28 used internet storage space for saving files (e.g. photos, documents, music or videos). Not surprisingly, the largest proportion of individuals in the EU28 using the cloud in 2014 was found amongst young people (35% of people aged 16 to 24 saved files on internet storage space).
Only a minority of the users of cloud services (11%) in the EU28 used paid-for services. Using files from several devices or locations, easily sharing files with other persons and getting protection against data loss were the main reasons for using cloud services in 2014.
These data come from a publication issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, and represent only a small part of the results of a survey in 2014 on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) usage in households and by individuals. The findings are used for monitoring several EU policies, in particular the Digital Agenda for Europe.
One in three people have never used the internet in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece
In 2014, the share of the population that had no experience of internet use (whether at home, at work or elsewhere) was highest in Romania (39%), Bulgaria (37%), Greece (33%), Italy (32%) and Portugal (30%). At the opposite end of the scale, less than 10% of the population had never used the internet in Denmark (3%), Luxembourg (4%), the Netherlands (5%), Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (all 6%).
The share of daily users among the population ranged in 2014 from 32% in Romania to 85% or more in Denmark (85%) and Luxembourg (87%). Compared with 2006, the share of daily internet users has considerably increased in 2014, rising by at least 20 percentage points in all Member States.
Cloud services mostly used in Denmark and the United Kingdom
In the EU28, 21% of the population aged 16 to 74 has used internet storage space to save files. Cloud services were particularly popular for file saving in Denmark (42% of individuals), the United Kingdom (38%), Luxembourg and Sweden (both 35%) and the Netherlands (34%), while this share was less than 10% in Lithuania, Poland and Romania (all 8%).
Use of free-of-charge cloud services most common in all Member States
Looking at age groups, in all Member States the use of cloud services was most common in 2014 among the youth population, with more than half or half of individuals aged 16 to 24 saving files on internet storage space in Denmark (63%), the Netherlands (51%), Luxembourg and Malta (both 50%). On the other hand, the use of cloud services for storing files was least common for individuals aged 55 to 74 in every Member State, with shares ranging from 1% in Lithuania and Poland to 22% in Denmark, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
A large majority of EU28 cloud users used free-of charge services in 2014. Only 11% of users paid for internet storage space. Among Member States for which data are available, the share of cloud users paying for this service varied from below 5% in Cyprus and Slovenia to nearly 20% in both Denmark and Sweden.
Use largely motivated by the ease of sharing and accessing files from several devices
The possibilities to use files from several devices or locations and the ease of sharing files with other persons (both 59%) were the most common reasons reported by individuals for using cloud services in the EU28 in 2014. Protection against data loss (55%) was also mentioned by more than half of cloud users, while the use of a larger memory space (44%) and access to large libraries of music, films or TV programmes (22%) ranked fourth and fifth among the main reasons for using the internet cloud in the EU28 in 2014.