Electronic services available to SMEs are often too expensive. In Hungary, for example, telebanking is so costly, that small companies still send a clerk to the bank and keep books in paper form. Costs are prohibitive for small companies to access foreign databases, which is possible but currently viewed as uneconomic. SMEs do not know how to design and carry out marketing plans. To improve access, training or young people is considered a high priority in building basic involvement in IT by SMEs.
Present laws create barriers to accessing alternative networks and value added services.
In the use of electronic messaging, signatures are valid on paper or fax but not if E-mail is used. Further, E-mail is considered too costly for most small companies. SMEs believe innovations in providing telecom services can bring practical results, but little is known or shared in this regard. Providers need to lower thresholds to small users of services. Due to the well-educated workforce and relatively open markets that characterize Central and Eastern European regions, SMEs in this region are especially well poised to capitalize on the benefits of telematics.