So much Artificial Intelligence such as Big Data contribute decisively to economic development and to the creation of wealth. In addition, they help increase human capital with technological capabilities, reduce environmental impact and, consequently, improve productivity and sustainable growth, increasing the level of well-being in society and favoring quality employment.
However, the number of digital profiles continues to be insufficient which generates difficulties to advance at the appropriate pace in the digitization processes.
This is shown in the II Observatory on digital education of the valley, which carries out an x-ray of the labor market for specialists in digital and technological positions, who are increasingly in demand and whose training and incorporation into the labor market will mark the process of digital transformation of the Spanish business fabric.
Juan Luis Moreno, partner and CIO of The Valley highlights the need to integrate disruptive technologies such as AI and Big Data in the Spanish business fabric and points out as key the “training in digital skills and the constant updating of knowledge and tools of professionals to implement improvements that transform the economy”.
Currently, 36% of the Spanish population lacks basic digital skills. In this sense, despite the fact that Spain is positioned as the seventh most advanced digital economy in the European Union, according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI 2022), this lack of digital skills is a brake on digital transformation. at the national level.
In this regard, the European Union stresses the importance of implementing digital technologies in order to promote a fair and competitive economy, an open and sustainable society and thus improve the quality of life of citizens.
Productivity increase
In order to implement a digital transformation at the national level and reinforce the digital capacities that are currently critical, the Spanish Government launched the strategy “Digital Spain 2026”, whose objectives for 2025 include that Spain continues to lead the implementation of 5G technology in Europe (encouraging its contribution to increasing economic productivity and social progress), that 25% of Spanish companies use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data and manage to incorporate 20,000 specialists in AI, cybersecurity and data into the economic system.
In this sense, disruptive technologies (internet of things, AI, Big Data, cloud, cybersecurity, robotics, blockchainvirtual and augmented reality, etc.), as well as 5G technology, play a key role in digitization, as a consequence of the need for a constant and dynamic technological transformation.
Low integration of digital technology
Spanish companies continue to have low levels of integration of new and advanced technologiessuch as the cloud, AI and Big Data. In fact, only 8% of companies use AI and 9% Big Data. Currently, Spain occupies the eleventh position in relation to the integration of digital technology in companies, according to the DESI Index 2022 and only 17% of Spanish companies have professionals with digital skills incorporated into their teams, as shown by the National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI).
In relation to Artificial Intelligence, the adoption of this type of technology in the European Union is quite low, in general; For this reason, Europe has set a goal for 2030 that more than 75% of European companies adopt AI technologies. Furthermore, in 2021, AI adoption by large companies was three times higher than that of SMEs (29% and 7%, respectively). Specifically in Spain, although the adoption of AI is equal to the European average (8% of companies), there are certain advanced technologies whose implementation is low, such as big data or the cloud.
This situation highlights the need to have this type of profile in companies, since the lack of specialists with advanced digital training limits productivity and economic growth and hinders the integration of technologies in companies in general and, especially, in small and medium-sized companies.
On the other hand, it must be taken into account that there is still a significant gap between large companies and SMEs, not only in the use of advanced technologies, but also in the implementation of basic solutions. In this way, only 60% of Spanish SMEs have a basic level of digital intensity, falling short of the European objective of achieving 90% of them by 2030.
