{"id":1797,"date":"2025-12-02T14:43:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2025-12-02T14:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:43:56","slug":"accelerating-digital-transformation-how-european-businesses-are-adopting-technology-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/?p=1797","title":{"rendered":"Accelerating Digital Transformation: How European Businesses Are Adopting Technology in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Digital transformation is no longer optional \u2014 it is a fundamental driver of growth, competitiveness, and resilience. For companies across Europe, adopting digital tools means improving products and services, streamlining operations, and expanding reach through channels such as online sales. As businesses navigate an increasingly competitive landscape, the ability to integrate digital technologies is becoming a clear indicator of long-term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The EU\u2019s 2030 Digital Ambition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To support Europe\u2019s technological advancement, the European Union has set two strategic goals for 2030:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>More than 90% of SMEs should reach at least a basic level of digital intensity.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>75% of EU companies should be using advanced digital tools<\/strong>, including cloud computing, big data analytics, or artificial intelligence (AI).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These goals reflect the importance of adopting not only standard digital solutions but also more advanced technologies that can drive innovation and competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Measuring Progress: The Digital Intensity Index (DII)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To track digital transformation, the <strong>Digital Intensity Index (DII)<\/strong> measures the use of 12 key digital technologies by businesses \u2014 ranging from AI and cloud computing to digital communication tools and e-commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The index categorizes companies into four levels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>0\u20133: Very low digital intensity<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>4\u20136: Low digital intensity<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>7\u20139: High digital intensity<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>10\u201312: Very high digital intensity<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A company scoring <strong>4 or above<\/strong> is considered to have at least a <em>basic<\/em> level of digital intensity \u2014 meaning it uses a meaningful set of digital tools to support its operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">EU Results 2024: SMEs Making Progress, But Gaps Remain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, <strong>74% of EU businesses<\/strong> achieved a basic level of digital intensity \u2014 signaling solid progress toward the 2030 targets.<br>However, the picture changes when comparing SMEs with larger enterprises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>73% of SMEs<\/strong> reached basic digital intensity \u2014 still <strong>20 percentage points below the EU\u2019s 2030 goal<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>98% of large businesses<\/strong> achieved at least a basic level, with many moving far beyond the minimum threshold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Large companies significantly outperformed SMEs in advanced adoption:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>41%<\/strong> of large enterprises reached <em>very high<\/em> digital intensity, compared to just <strong>6% of SMEs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly <strong>27% of SMEs<\/strong> reached a <em>high<\/em> digital intensity level, while most remained in the <em>low<\/em> (40%) or <em>very low<\/em> (27%) categories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This gap demonstrates that while SMEs are progressing, many still lack the resources, skills, or infrastructure to fully leverage digital technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where SMEs Stand Across the EU<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The share of SMEs with a basic level of digital intensity varies widely across Europe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Finland (93%)<\/strong> and <strong>Denmark (90%)<\/strong> are leading the way, reflecting strong national support systems and a mature digital ecosystem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the other end of the spectrum, only <strong>50% of SMEs in Bulgaria<\/strong> and <strong>53% in Greece<\/strong> reach basic digital intensity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These differences highlight the need for targeted support, investment, and training to ensure a balanced digital transformation across the single market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means for NewCo and the Businesses We Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At NewCo, we work with businesses undergoing digital transformation \u2014 and the insights from the DII reinforce the challenges many organisations face:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SMEs often struggle with <strong>limited budgets, lack of digital skills, or fragmented digital strategies<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Many have begun adopting basic tools but have not yet transitioned to <strong>advanced technologies<\/strong> like AI, cloud, or data analytics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Companies that invest early in digitalisation gain <strong>efficiency, flexibility, and a clear competitive advantage<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As digital tools continue to evolve, supporting SMEs in adopting the right technologies is essential \u2014 not only to meet EU benchmarks, but to thrive in an innovation-driven economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Driving Europe\u2019s Digital Future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The EU\u2019s 2030 goals set an ambitious vision for Europe\u2019s digital transformation. Reaching them will require coordinated efforts \u2014 from policymakers, industry players, technology providers, and innovation-driven organisations like NewCo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By helping businesses integrate digital tools, strengthen their capabilities, and adopt advanced technologies, we can accelerate progress and shape a future where European companies remain competitive on a global scale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Digital transformation is no longer optional \u2014 it is a fundamental driver of growth, competitiveness, and resilience. For companies across Europe, adopting digital tools means improving products and services, streamlining operations, and expanding reach through channels such as online sales. As businesses navigate an increasingly competitive landscape, the ability to integrate digital technologies is becoming [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1799,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797\/revisions\/1799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newcotech.io\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}