Study: One in two industrial companies is ramping up digitalization despite the economic crisis 

Industry managers in the German-speaking region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland agree: today, business success is more closely linked to the digital transformation than ever before. According to the current study “Digitalization 2024”, over half of the industrial companies are therefore intensifying their digitalization efforts despite an overall tense economic situation. However, at the same time, the tremendous pace of change and modernization is overwhelming many companies and resulting in a growing digital divide. For the study, the Staufen management consultants and AppliediT, a specialist for the real-time analysis of industrial data, surveyed more than 400 industrial companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

“Digitalization has become a driving force and an excellent tool for boosting performance during the crisis. Industry is increasingly becoming aware of this. Every second company has pledged to increase the speed of their digitalization. And rightly so,” says Dr. Michael Feldmeth, Head of the Digital & Industry 4.0 Practice Unit at Staufen.  He believes that this proactive and forward-looking approach is a glimmer of hope in the current market environment, because it shows that companies are aware of their potential and opportunities. 

Industrial expert Feldmeth calls for an ambitious and multidimensional transformation strategy over and above pure efficiency optimization. To date, 63% of companies have implemented cost-cutting measures in response to the global economic crisis, while 45% are focusing on their traditional core business. “New business models only come in third place, followed by collaborations or strategic partnerships. Courage is what is needed here”, Feldmeth continues. 

Understanding and analyzing interconnections between data 

Even for the companies that claim to be intensifying their digitalization efforts, optimizing the status quo is still at the top of the agenda. Currently, 82% are working on the “digitalization of processes”, while 57% are advancing their “cybersecurity measures”, and 48% are pushing “cloud migration”. 

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Ignacio Quiñonero Ferrer 

Managing Director

AppliediT S.L.

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Ignacio Quiñonero Ferrer 

Managing Director
AppliediT S.L.

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To fully exploit the potential of digitalization, Ignacio Quiñonero Ferrer, Managing Director of AppliediT, recommends a more comprehensive approach: “If data is only viewed separately, the company merely receives a snapshot. A more effective approach is to understand and analyze the interconnections between data. This significantly increases the information gain. This way, the factors with the greatest leverage in the process chain can be identified.” 

Digitalization expert Ferrer is confident that the prospects of technological change can be realized while avoiding dashed expectations: “While digitalization efforts have already substantially increased transparency in four out of ten companies, only around half as many have seen really noticeable positive effects in the areas of innovation, quality and costs. This suggests that while companies may be collecting a lot of data, their analysis has yet to yield any in-depth insights. So in short, now is the time to tackle the second part of the digitalization journey.”