Businesses in the European Union are getting bridge the digital divide with respect to the US. The trend since the declaration of the pandemic has been clearly upward, although the old continent is still not well positioned in digital investment and is at risk of developing heavy dependencies on some critical technologies.
This conclusion is reached as a result of the report ‘Digitalization in Europe 2022-2023: Evidence from the EIB Investment Survey’ published by the European Investment Bank. It states that there are differences within the EU in terms of digital infrastructures, innovative environments and workers with digital skills, although it still lags behind the US in the adoption of advanced digital technologies in the business community.
Spain is situated in a prominent position, specifically, in the second place when incorporating these digital technological solutions into their processes and operations. And it is that a high percentage of Spanish companies have incorporated them into the data management, digital marketing, e-commerce and process automation.
The EIB report shows that digitization has helped European companies to adapt in a key moment of numerous and continuing economic shockssuccessfully managing the digital transition and taking advantage of all its long-term benefits beyond the adoption of technology, assuming this a profound social change.
Digitization depends on several factors such as a adequate digital infrastructurea regulation favorable to competition and implant a series of skills in the labor market, looking for highly qualified personnel.
The EIB’s own report states that 53% of companies took steps to improve their digital presence by 2022, with 69% of European companies incorporating advanced digital technologies such as robotics, big data analytics and AI, far exceeding the 71% of US entities that opted for it. Such is the progress that the digital divide has narrowed considerably in the last four years.
For their part, US companies have made progress in terms of digitization in response to the pandemic, making less investment in small companies in the EU, where only 30% prioritized digitization compared to 62% of medium and large companies.
Spain, one of the countries that is most committed to digitization
The commitment and willingness of Spanish companies to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital transformation allows them to improve both the efficiency and the productivity as the competitiveness in an increasingly digitized business environment.
The solutions incorporated by Spanish companies have allowed them streamline your operationsgiving them greater efficiency and effectiveness, as well as improve customer experience. With all this, it contributes to the economic development of the country, since innovation, job creation and the growth of companies are encouraged, generating a very positive impact on the economy in general.
Differentiated situation within the EU
14% of EU companies considers that the limitations of access to digital infrastructures represent a major obstacle to investment, denoting large differences between the regions of the continent. Those territories in which the citizens have higher digital skills above average tend to implement advanced digital technologies. For all this it is essential improve training systems and provide online learning opportunities.
Digital technologies are also a greater resilience in the face of environmental challenges such as smart urban mobility, precision agriculture and sustainable supply chains. The most digitally advanced companies invest in more measures against climate change, that is, 57% in 2022 compared to 43% who are not in favor of incorporating digitization.
challenges on the horizon
The EIB report also points out that there are companies that have not yet fully embraced digital technologies or that have a lowest implementation level. Everything happens because companies are aware of the importance of digital transformation and its benefits in terms of efficiency and competitiveness, in favor of a business innovation culture.
