This report shows how business registers employ information and communication technology (ICT) to perform their functions more efficiently while at the same time providing businesses with more user-friendly services. Particular attention is paid to achieving innovative solutions, that is, solutions using ICT as a catalyst for re-engineering the registration process to improve users experiences and to provide useful services and high-quality information for both the private and the public sectors. In addition, this analysis demonstrates that business registers play an increasingly important part in e-Government solutions. Aimed at integrating services, e-Government solutions build on information sharing. This underscores the importance of business registers as master data sources. This analysis is based on data from the following sources: a 2011 survey of 41 business registers conducted by the Bronnoysund register centre in cooperation with the World Bank Group
case studies undertaken in 2011 in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Italy, Vietnam, and Norway
the 2011 World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) doing business report
the 2011 World Bank Group study of ICT solutions in 34 company registers
the 2011 European commerce registers forum report
and the International Council On Archives (CIA) factbook.