We live in a digital society: new technologies have spread at breakneck speed and, today, Digitalization is present in all our activitiesboth in everyday life – in a social and relational sense – and professionally. Our daily life is based on technologies, and the commercial fabric Spain is no stranger to this reality: its growth and competitiveness too They depend on their level of transformation and adaptation to the digital age.
Spain has made a lot of progress in recent years in terms of digitalization thanks to different recovery programs and aid such as European Funds. New generation; However, there are still many areas for improvement. According to the State of the European Commission Digital Decade 2023which integrates the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)Our country has taken significant steps to advance its digital transformation and is devoting a significant part of its recovery and resilience plan to it.
The DESI indicators summarize the performance of European countries in various areas. Regarding the digitalization of companies, 67.5% of Spanish SMEs have at least a basic level of digital intensitymeaning that they use at least 4 of the 12 technologies selected for the study. The EU average is slightly higher, at 69.1%. 20.7% of Spanish companies offer ICT training to their employeesslightly below the EU average (22.4%). In the area of Electronic information exchange, domestic companies rank fourthwith a percentage significantly higher than the European average: 49.1% against 38%.
Regarding digital skills, 64.1% of Spaniards have a basic level, which places them sixth in the EU, where the average is 53.9%. In addition, 38.1% have technological skills above primary skillsoccupying fourth place in the European ranking, where the average is 26.5%. Although Spain exceeds the European average, We need to move forward in the training of professionalssince the lack of advanced IT knowledge becomes, in many cases, the greatest difficulty for companies to stimulate their growth and increase their competitive capacity in the market.
In this context, the competitiveness of companies in a fully digital society requires three fundamental elements: training, a corporate mentality open to change and the ability to detect the innovations necessary for progress.
Therefore, promoting adequate training of professionals in the The use of technological tools is essential in any business today. Likewise, attracting and retaining digital talent is part of a strategy that Human Resources departments must take into account in order not to miss the digitalization train. Therefore, technological training of workers, as well as hiring professionals already trained in this field, offer advantages over the competition.
Secondly, it is important that companies adopt a mentality that is open to changes and technological innovations, that they know how to see opportunities in transformations and that they want to seize them quickly to be even more competitive. The traditional thinking of many Spanish SMEs constitutes a handicap when it comes to adapting to a new scenario that requires new capabilities and another type of talent and business design to be competitive and even survive. In this sense, DESI indicators indicate that Spanish companies can still improve their digital intensity or improve their systems to accelerate the exchange of electronic information.
Finally, the ability to detect innovations that add value to the company and allow it to stand out in an increasingly competitive market is another important factor for thriving in the digital society. For example: not so long ago, you could still see the surroundings cloud as something distant and not so necessary for businesses; on the other hand, cloud migration has now become an imperative for all businesses, regardless of size and industry, and we have fully immersed ourselves in so many other technologies that may seem disruptive now and will not be in the near future. . they will be.
Technology companies We must lead and take a leading role in this path of digitalization of SMEs. On the one hand, transferring the improvements that technology brings to your daily management; and, on the other hand, helping them find the solution that really meets their needs and is compatible with their development. It is a journey that we must undertake together, always making sure not to leave anyone behind so that we can all benefit from the opportunities that progress offers us.
