Telekom is satisfied with the numbers provided by the SME digitization index : Overall, companies now attain 54 out of 100 possible index points in techconsult’s system. Industry has increased by two points to 58 points and although well-positioned does not come out on top - financial services providers (63 points), information and communication companies (62 points) as well as transport and logistics (61 points) have an even higher level of digitization.

Both their experience with automation technologies and their international orientation has prompted many industrial companies to digitalize strategies at an early stage - and as a result, manufacturing companies soon realized that they needed to secure their market position. Small industrial companies (up to 49 employees) are nevertheless still rather hesitant (51 points), while companies with more than 50 employees are the drivers of innovation (over 60 points).

Industry’s two major arguments in favor of digitalization are increased productivity and cost reduction. In fact, 88% of businesses that rely on predictive maintenance say that it has had a positive impact on sales performance. However, only 33% of industrial companies feature individualized products and services based on big data analytics in their portfolio.