Digital maturity of SMEs: High readiness for digitization - but with caution
The Corona pandemic is forcing all companies to come to terms with new, digitally driven work models. Where do companies stand in terms of digital maturity? What issues are SMEs most concerned about? The software manufacturer ABRA explored these questions.
What is the state of "digital maturity" in Swiss companies? The international software manufacturer ABRA addressed this question. More than 60 companies from various industries participated in a survey conducted for this purpose. Around 90 % of these were Swiss companies in the German-speaking economic area. The company sizes varied from commercial enterprises to medium-sized companies. The survey covered 11 topics such as strategy, organization, customer experience, product innovation and collaboration. External factors and the effects of the pandemic were also taken into account.
Digital maturity: still a lot of work to be done on processes
The survey shows that the majority of Swiss companies are aware of the importance and urgency of digital change. 73 % of the companies surveyed consider digitization to be crucial for future economic success. However, there is still a need for action with regard to process integration, system-supported evaluations or the use of digital opportunities for interaction with customers - e.g. social media, marketing automation.
Effects on business models
The topics of strategy and organization, with an assessed relevance of 84 % and 79 %, respectively, reflect the awareness that digital topics and digital projects must find their way into business models. Of the SMEs surveyed, 71 % are aware that products and services must also be digitized. However, they are cautious when it comes to process digitization (see chart below).
Transformation is a matter for the boss
Almost 80 % of the companies are clear that the digital challenges of the future cannot be mastered without information technology and appropriate transformation management. However, one-third of respondents feel that the influence of digitization in business plans is still too low. Overall, however, management is given a good report card on the extent to which it deals with digital transformation.
Source and further information: ABRA Software AG
