International tensions, rising costs of raw materials and energy, supply problems: the crises that accompanied and followed the one linked to the Covid pandemic have put the Italian small and medium enterprises who, however, knew how to react to this context of instability, trying to get on the train of technological transition. Specifically, only 14% of SMEs said they were unable to take action to address rising energy prices, and only 10% lacked tools to respond to supply shortages. Also, 36% have increased investments in digital compared to the previous year, and 43% now declare that they are “forward in the digitization process” oh you “focus more and more on digital”.
Despite this commitment, the level of digitization of many Italian realities is unsatisfactory from some points of view, starting with the human capital and from digital culture: still too many companies (51%) do not carry out activities in the company to develop and enhance digital skills; moreover, only 8% of them aim to integrate figures with precise skills relating to the workforce discipline Stemacronym for Science, Technology, Engineering e Mathematicsor with high training.
To paint this picture is theDigital Innovation Observatory in SMEs of the Milan Polytechnic, which analyzed the level of digital maturity of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises on the basis of their approach to digital transformation, the level of digital transformation of processes and the degree of collaboration with external actors. It was thus possible to identify four profiles: just over half of them (54%) show a timid attitude towards this evolution, 16% even analogical: in these cases, a holistic method and a long-term strategic vision are missing. On the other hand, however, there are companies that continue along this direction in a convinced way (36%) and others are even more advanced (9%). External causes have also contributed to these differences: as the researchers of the Polytechnic University point out, the energy crisis and contingent situations have slowed down the process of transformation of some realities.
Digitization at different levels
According to the study, illustrated on the occasion of the conference “SMEs towards digital maturity: the compass is in the ecosystem”, there are over 211,000 small and medium-sized enterprises on the peninsula, they operate in many sectors and make up 5% of the companies active in Italy. Among the supply chains mapped this year by the Observatory, in collaboration with InfoRoomsthere are the pmi of mechanics and mechatronics (12 thousand, 19% of the total), dei road motor vehicles and related services (5,500, 5%), and of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (26 thousand, 3% of the entire sector). A great heterogeneity, which helps to explain the different degree of digital innovation achieved. Suffice it to say that 35% of small and medium-sized Italian enterprises find it difficult to recognize digitization as having a central role within their reference economic sector. Furthermore, even if there is attention to the topic of cyber securitythe gap between companies that adopting only basic solutions is significant cybersecurity (96%) and those that also adopt advanced solutions (28%).
In terms of digital culture, there is still a long way to go, given that more than half of SMEs do not organize in-company activities to enhance digital skills. The analysis contained in the report of the is also interesting on this point Desi, the digitization index of the EU economy and society: in measuring the performance relating to human capital, the study points out that in the peninsula, only 15% of companies provide their employees training in matters relating to Information and communication technologies, five percentage points below the EU average; moreover, the report recalls that in the labor market, the percentage of Ict specialists it is equal to 3.8% of total employment, below the Union average which is 4.5%.
As for the digitization of processes, the study by the Observatory underlines that companies still exploit tools that are not very advanced. In particular, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) technologies for data collection and analysis are implemented by less than half of SMEs (42%). Furthermore, in the human resources sector, four out of ten companies do not adopt digital solutions: here the most widespread applications are limited to the management of shifts and attendance. Furthermore, 40% of SMEs have introduced (or want to do so in the short term) an Erp (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, but the number of those who do not know or are not interested in this technology remains high.
The problem of the availability of funds, access to tenders to obtain funding and the absence of a digital strategy end up adding to the obstacles encountered by SMEs in their digitization journey. As the researchers point out, even when companies access incentives, they have difficulty defining a medium-long term plan, not knowing if they will also be able to benefit from it in the future.
Fewer businesses are born
Analyzes on the level of digitization of SMEs must be framed in the context of economic slowdown, inflation and rising interest rates which characterized the period between 2022 and 2023. A moment of uncertainty, which also had its repercussions on the level of the creation of new businesses.
Cerved
As the tech company points out Cerved, in 2022 only 89,192 new businesses were born in the Peninsula, 10.6% less (10,587) than in 2021 and down (-5.9%) also on 2019. Missed births which could lead to a drop of 2.5 billion in turnover, according to the study “Companies born in 2022 and the economic contribution of start-ups”. A decline that mainly concerned the utility sector (-28.9%) and affected the South and the islands more intensely.