Technology has become essential for 59% of Valencian companies.

October 19, 2023 – SEIDOR, a consulting firm specialized in technology services and solutions, has presented in Valencia the II IT Barometer of digital transformation in companies in the Valencian Community. This study was conducted by the Chair of Business and Humanism at the Universitat de València, based on the opinions and expectations of General Management and IT managers from companies of different sizes, revenue levels, and sectors within the private sector in the region.

The main conclusion of the study is that for 59% of Valencian companies, technology has become an essential factor in driving their businesses. This reality is particularly relevant among larger companies, where technology reaches a strategic value equivalent to the economy and competition from other companies.

Specifically, for larger companies (more than 250 employees), critical factors are technology (in 56% of cases), the economy (60%), and competition (52%). On the other hand, for companies with fewer than 50 employees, the most relevant critical factor is the economy (65%), while for those with 51 to 250 employees, the economic variable was chosen by 80%.

Process optimization and innovation, key vectors

Companies continue to focus on process optimization (32%) and innovation within the company (27%), considering both as factors that will condition competitiveness and are a prerequisite for the effectiveness of digital transformation.

On the other hand, aspects such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or sustainability represent only 7% of the factors that companies consider conditioning their competitiveness. Therefore, they are not yet considered critical factors of competitiveness, remaining far behind other factors such as process optimization or innovation.

Cybersecurity takes priority

Among the technological projects carried out by Valencian companies in the last year, the study shows great homogeneity in the priorities given to technologies considered transversal. Thus, 52% of companies have invested in cybersecurity projects; 44% in collaboration; 45% in Cloud infrastructure, and 37% in CRM.

It is noteworthy that 42% of Valencian companies have continued to invest in ERP projects, and 35% in Analytics, revealing that organizations in the region are still seeking to improve agility and efficiency through digitization and intelligent data management.

On the other hand, the study also highlights a significant increase in projects related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and RPA, which, moreover, is one of the main novelties of this II Barometer compared to that of 2021, with a prominent presence in executed projects, but especially gaining weight among those scheduled for 2024.

Strategic value of digital

The deficiencies in the digitization of companies are decreasing, although there are still relevant gaps in certain sectors, such as the agri-food and transportation-logistics sectors. Specifically, the surveyed companies assign a strategic value of 8.6 out of 10 to digitization. However, these same companies consider that the effective level achieved is 7.2.

This gap between the assessment of digitization and the actual level achieved highlights a strong recognition of the importance of digitization. Comparing it with the effective level achieved shows that there is room for improvement and full utilization of digital capabilities.

Digitization is transversal throughout the company

The study also highlighted that digitization has become a critical factor in all areas of the company, from commercial to production, including HR and marketing. Thus, it is evident that digitization is not limited to a particular department or area, emphasizing the importance of promoting digital transformation organization-wide.

The main barriers that Valencian companies face when competing through technology are their own resistance to change, lack of budget, and the complexity of transformation processes. Although these three variables already appeared in the 2021 Barometer, the percentage has decreased in all three cases.

In contrast, the perception of a lack of suitable talent has increased compared to the data from the 2021 Barometer, representing a growing challenge for Valencian companies in the current era of digital transformation. As technology becomes a fundamental pillar for competitiveness and business growth, the demand for highly skilled professionals has skyrocketed, without a corresponding increase in availability in the market.

Technological providers as operational partners

Among all the criteria that entrepreneurs use to select their technology providers, technical knowledge is the most relevant, followed by proximity in dealings and the security they provide. While larger companies are more satisfied with the services provided (being more mature in their management models), the study reveals that overall satisfaction can be improved.

The relevance of proximity in dealings is explained by the fact that companies seek providers who play a role as operational partners and, therefore, are closely tied to the real issues of each situation.

On the other hand, awareness of the importance of digital and technological transformation processes has reduced the importance of price as a condition for hiring a service.