Internet in hearts of the Dutch

The Internet has captured the hearts of the Dutch. A 2002 study by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the Netherlands second in e-readiness, after the United States. E-readiness refers to the measure in which a country’s business environment is conducive to Internet-based opportunities. In the private sector, 68 percent of Dutch companies have an Internet connection and about 36 percent are active in e-commerce. The Netherlands also have the most private internetconnections (on a per capita basis) in Europe: 65 percent of all families is connected. It makes Holland an ideal location for ICT companies that want to initially reach and ultimately retain customers throughout Europe.

Already an increasing number of North American Internet related companies are choosing the Netherlands as their European home base. In the past the Dutch welcomed such companies as Cisco Systems, Fujitsu Network Services, Unisys, IBM, Sun Microsystems, LookSmart, Clickcommerce and Interland.

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