Greece risks failing to meet the European Commission’s Digital Decade 2030 target for the digital readiness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), despite progress made in recent years.
Based on research by the E-Commerce Laboratory (ELTRUN) of the Athens University of Economics, in collaboration with Cosmote, “The Digital Readiness of Small and Medium Enterprises in Greece – 2024” the main inhibiting factor in the use of digital technologies is financial resources (70%).
The paradox, however, is that only 25% of SMEs used the relevant subsidies – grants.
Commenting on the lack of interest in subsidies, Thanos Falangas, Director of B2B Marketing, CRM and Channel Management at OTE Group during the presentation of the research in question yesterday, highlighted that the “Digital Tools for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” programme provides 90% of the costs. “This is a particularly high percentage that does not exist in other European countries, as I have discussed with my colleagues at Deutsche Telekom Group,” he highlighted.
As recorded in the survey, 1 in 3 did not know about the existence of the relevant programme and 2 in 10 did not participate due to bureaucracy. These are responses that should concern the bodies that develop the programmes.
According to Giorgos Doukidis, professor at the University of Economics of Athens and founder of ELTRUN, based on initial estimates and projected data for the coming years, Greece, which currently ranks last in relation to the European average in terms of digital maturity of SMEs, appears to be falling short of the EU target for 2030 (90% of SMEs with at least a basic level of digital maturity).
The Digital Readiness Index captures the degree of digital maturity of SMEs (companies with 1 to 50 employees) based on the adoption and use of 10 important digital systems and infrastructures for each business, in terms of digital presence and communication (website, communication tools), digital transactions and promotions (online store, digital campaigns, social networks), digital infrastructures (digital security, Cloud) and administrative resource management systems (ERP, CRM, IoT or data analysis or AI). Companies are classified, according to their digital maturity, into five evolutionary stages: 1-2 elementary stage (Elementary), 3-4 basic (Basic), 5-6 medium (Medium), 7-9 advanced (Advanced) and 10 ideal (Ideal).
17% progress
Based on the results of the survey, there is a 17% increase in the average digital readiness index compared to 2022, from 4.49/10 to 5.24/10 in 2024. Compared to the MO of the corresponding survey index of 2020 (4.06/10), the increase reaches 29% in four years. According to the survey, 39% of small and medium-sized enterprises in Greece are still in the first two stages of the index (Elementary and Basic), while 33% are classified in the two advanced stages (Advanced and Optimal), with SMEs belonging to the advanced stage (Advanced), using 7 to 9 digital tools, increasing from 12% in 2020 to 18% in 2022, reaching 32% in 2024. In other words, we have seen a tripling of the percentages in a four-year period, however, this is not enough.
The survey was conducted using the telephone interview method in May 2024. Similar surveys were conducted in 2022 and 2020. In this year’s survey, a total of 400 small and medium-sized enterprises across the country were interviewed.
From the research data, it appears that digital readiness is affected by size, but also by the business sector. Larger companies (with more than 10 employees) and service companies occupy higher positions in the index (with MO 5.76), with the sectors of commerce (MO 5.37), science (MO 5.31) and industry – manufacturing (MO 5.26) following. For example, 47% of SMEs with 10 to 50 employees are at an advanced stage, and only 26% of SMEs with 1 to 10 employees.
However, despite a significant increase in the digital readiness index between 2020 and 2022 and 2024, small and medium-sized companies use, on average, only 50% of the digital systems and technologies available.
At the same time, the lack of digital skills and insufficient attendance of educational programmes remain important issues for companies, as 1 in 2 does not have digital skills, but only 1 in 3 attends educational programmes.