If the 4,300 companies surveyed had to give themselves a school grade for digitalization, the average grade would be 2.9, according to a DIHK survey. This value has not changed compared to the previous year, although companies have intensified their efforts. The issue of data security has also become more important, which is why companies have invested in technical precautions over the past year. Nevertheless, there is a lack of organizational measures for IT security. Less than a third of companies have a fixed schedule of what to do in the event of a security breach.
There are also some regional differences in broadband coverage. While 80% of companies in the southwest of Germany stated that they had broadband coverage that met their needs, this figure was only 54% in the northeast. The connection to fast internet also correlates with the size of the company. Large companies with more than 1,000 employees were more likely (85%) to be well supplied than SMEs with fewer than 20 employees (68%).
Motives and outlook
The main motives for digitalization are making work more flexible (51%), increasing customer loyalty (40%) and saving costs (39%). The potential of digital technologies is also recognized by companies: 67% have installed cloud applications, edge computing is on the rise (28%) and almost one in four companies is planning to use AI in the next three years.
Challenges
Internal challenges: Companies see the reasons for the faltering development in digitalization as including the high complexity of converting existing systems and processes (39 percent), the limited time (36 percent) and financial (34 percent) resources and the lack of IT specialists. However, they see it as their responsibility to promote the digital mindset (66%) in the company. This includes training employees in the areas of data literacy, data protection and IT security.
External challenges: Despite an improvement in broadband expansion, 29% of companies (previous year: 35%) still see a deficit in this area. Companies also face uncertainties with regard to regulatory requirements (17%) and would like clarity from politicians in this area.
Overall , the companies see a great need for political action. Above all, they want an efficient broadband infrastructure, followed by easier access to funding and the expansion of support services. In addition, almost a third of companies want the teaching of basic digital skills to be promoted.
To the results (PDF)