Since 2016, in cooperation with GfK Nuremberg , digital consultancy etventure has been conducting an annual digitalization survey of German companies with an annual turnover of more than 250 million. The findings of the latest survey are surprising: In contrast to the previous year, just 54% of companies consider digital transformation to be one of their key corporate goals, down from 62%. Only 21% are planning to develop new, digital business models, compared with 28% in 2018.

This could be interpreted as meaning that more large companies have already started to implement their digital strategies. Alternatively, a second observation from the etventure study might ring true: that management teams are shifting their focus to providing their workforce with digital training. For 76% of respondents, employees’ lack of digital know-how is the biggest obstacle to digital transformation. Overall, the confidence of large companies in the skills of their own workforce appears to be waning: Two years ago, almost one in two survey participants thought their employees were sufficiently qualified; in 2019, this figure has dropped to 28%. At the same time, there are complaints that strong investment in further training measures is going up in smoke, without any measurable effect. Against the background of the ever-increasing shortage of skilled workers , it is unclear for the time being just how companies intend to counter this increasingly worrying trend.