Whether it’s the internet of things (IoT) or Industry 4.0, the digitalization of industrial processes is in full flow. Regarding these trends, however, German companies still need to up the ante or risk missing the boat. That is demonstrated by this study, for which 103 executives from business and IT were surveyed on their companies’ digital maturity.
Are you already digitalizing? – A benchmark for the digital agenda
The Lünendonk® study on digital maturity 2016
Companies between non-digital and digital leaders
The study asks a provocative question: “Are you already digitizing?” The question is well warranted, as every sector can benefit from an integrated digital concept that meaningfully connects people, products, machines and services. That applies particularly to the mechanical and plant engineering, automotive, and logistics and transport sectors.
The study clearly demonstrates how far the required digitalization processes surrounding big data analytics, social business collaboration and Industry 4.0 have come at German companies.
The result: most companies have a long way to go before they can be called digital leaders. Mario Zillmann, head of Professional Services at Lünendonk, gives a stark warning that it is five minutes to midnight on the digitalization clock. He believes that all sectors have to substantially accelerate their digitalization efforts.
The study contains
- detailed figures on how decision makers and IT experts from more than 100 companies regard the digital maturity of their company along with key findings collated in a management summary,
- findings on the relevance of digitalization in different sectors,
- information on which criteria are crucial in assessing digital maturity,
- tips on frequent errors made in digitalization projects, and
- an evaluation by a range of experts with key explanations for all companies that are not yet digital leaders.
How far along are your competitors in terms of digitalization? Find out in the “Are you already digitalizing?” study (only available in German).
The study was carried out by the Lünendonk market research and consulting institute in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Peter Buxmann (TU Darmstadt). The survey reached out to 103 decision makers and IT experts from the mechanical and plant engineering, automotive, and logistics and transport sectors. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is a partner of the study.
All key findings and additional study results can be found in their entirety in the study itself, which you can download for free (only available in German). Below are some of the study’s most important insights.
Digitalization is becoming more and more important
One in five of the companies surveyed say that digitalization is given a very high level of importance, while another 46 percent report its importance as “high”. A whole 9 percent say that digitalization is of low importance to their companies at the time of the study. The issue gains in importance when it comes to looking ahead to the future. Where the coming two years are concerned, 46 percent attribute very high importance to digitalization, and none of the companies surveyed report a low level of importance when looking forward. This implies that many companies already recognize its necessity, and all sectors will (have to) engage with digitalization over the next few years. The following averages show that there is not much difference between the sectors in this regard.
Digitalization not being systematically pursued across the board
Only 40 percent of companies report that digitalization is being systematically pursued at their business– too few considering the urgency of the matter and its relevance to companies’ competitive positions. In any case, 60 percent of respondents assume that digital innovations will be systematically pursued in future. This is already the case in the automotive sector at the time of the survey, with an above-average response of 59 percent.
IT has to be integrated into digitalization projects at an earlier stage
IT and business are already working closely together at 50 percent of companies. However, there is still a need for improvement. Only 30 percent of respondents said that IT departments are involved in individual specialist divisions’ digitalization projects at an early stage. At 21 percent, that figure is even more alarming in the logistics and transport sector. Communication difficulties can negatively impact digitalization projects and should not be underestimated.
Many digital followers, few digital leaders
The survey led to a division of companies by their maturity level: Non-Digital, Digital Beginner, Digital Follower, Digital Transformer and Digital Leader. One positive note is that Non-Digitals appear to be extinct. However, 15 percent of respondents are still classified as Digital Beginners. For these companies, there is a long road ahead to comprehensive digitalization, and it would be better for them to tackle this situation sooner rather than later. There is a lot of catching-up to do in the SME sector in particular. The largest group of companies are those in the middle, classed as Digital Followers. Five percent are Digital Leaders, and are optimally positioned where digitalization is concerned.
To view all the survey results, please download the free PDF of the Lünendonk® study: “Are you already digitalizing? on digital maturity in 2016" (only available in German) here.