Spain is one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of the application of the three most popular technological solutions in 2017. This is not our opinion, but rather the conclusion of the European Commission in its Digital Transformation Scoreboard, which was recently published. The body places Spain at the top of the list, alongside countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Luxembourg, at a time when cybersecurity,blockchain, and artificial intelligence are setting the agenda for the unstoppable phenomenon of digital transformation.
The data analysis in this document suggests that EU member states in the north and west are performing best, while countries in the east and south are lagging behind and therefore have the most room for improvement.
This is the third consecutive year that Europe has produced this Digital Transformation Scoreboard. The extensive 138-page study provides data and analysis on the adoption of digital technologies in businesses across the EU, with the aim of better informing and helping policymakers and industry stakeholders to move forward. The 2018 scoreboard is based on surveys of EU companies in strategic sectors, as well as projections of national policies and macro-level analysis of a wide range of national data from Eurostat, national statistical offices, and international organizations.
In this edition, the Scoreboard also debuts its "digital pulse results." The new feature consists of a Digital Intelligence platform that analyzes information collected online from open sources, including online press, blogs, corporate websites, social networks, forums, broadcast television, etc. The data collected covers billions of web conversations from 150 million sources in 187 languages.
In addition, this year's Scorecard used two sectors as case studies for the adoption of Industry 4.0: Construction and Food. Despite their different nature and degree of digital adoption, the results of the survey show that in both sectors, more than 70% of companies have invested in digital technologies to improve their production processes. At the same time, almost nine out of ten say they are fully aware of the new prospects offered by the digital revolution.
According to information provided by the Commission, a total of 19 national Digital Transformation policies and programs were analyzed, and stakeholders were identified as key players in all industry and research roles. Almost two out of three EU Member States have stated that they have prioritized the digitization of their industries, adopting large-scale policies and related initiatives to increase productivity and competitiveness and improve the digital skills of their workforce.
However, it should be noted that all policies have common objectives but differ in many aspects, such as design, funding approach, financial size, and implementation strategies, among others.
The document is closely related to the European Commission's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), a composite index that summarizes relevant indicators on Europe's overall digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness. The full DESI 2018 results are available at this link.
