Small and medium-sized enterprises have been called upon to digitization, but according to the latest data released by Unioncamere only 2 out of 5 companies they promptly responded to the call.
The latest digital era is that of industry 4.0 in which a technological mix of robotics, sensors, objects connected to the internet will intervene in the management of the company and new production models.
In Italy, a network of 88 "Digital Enterprise Points" (Pid) was created by the Chambers of Commerce with the aim of making small and medium-sized enterprises more aware of the growth opportunities linked to the changes triggered by digitalisation. The PIDs intervened in support of over 30 entrepreneurs in familiarization with the advantages of 4.0 technologies, while over 20 thousand participated in the courses and thematic events organized by the PIDs.
On the other hand, almost 8 thousand companies measured their digital maturity online for free with the self-assessment test SELFI4.0. The result of the self-evaluation shows that “three out of five companies are still in an early stage of digitalisation. This is why the awareness-raising action we carry out through the PIDs for the transition to 4.0 is important. A year and a half from the start of the activities, the numbers highlight, on the one hand, the strong interest of companies in these issues and, on the other, the role conquered in the field by this network which has quickly become an authoritative point of reference in the area alongside entrepreneurs”, as explained by the general secretary of Unioncamere, Giuseppe Tripoli.
What causes the digital development of small and medium-sized enterprises to lag behind is above all the absence of trained figures, capable of introducing them into the era of the fourth industrial revolution. For this reason, Unioncamere has identified a system for certifying the skills of digital innovation managers, i.e. professionals who ensure the company the diffusion of innovative thinking, the change of processes in key enterprise 4.0, the creation of "business models ” in a 4.0 key.
The Italy of small and medium enterprises photographs a country where their digital maturity is still immature: 60% of companies are in the early stages of the digitization process and the adoption of the most modern technologies, while 30% have embarked on the path towards digitization and only 10% can be considered truly aware of the opportunities offered by the fourth industrial revolution .
In detail, from the 7.808 self-evaluation tests performed by companies: 11% say they are beginners, because they are linked to a still traditional management of information and processes; 49% say they are apprentices and concern those companies that use basic digital tools; 30% classify themselves as specialists, i.e. with a large part of the digitization processes started; 7% are experts as they successfully apply the principles of Enterprise 4.0; while only 3% fit into the sample category, which includes companies with good process digitization and use of 4.0 technologies.
The digital maturity map of companies underlines the gap between the North and South of the country and explains how entrepreneurs in the North East and North West are the most advanced in the digitization process, in particular those of Trentino Alto Adige. 70% of entrepreneurs in the South, on the other hand, are still in the initial phase of the process.
