Digital transformation: a horizon of opportunities

In a globalised world, there are fewer and fewer frontiers delimiting the market for products and services. This context offers a great opportunity for companies to try to access international markets and, in turn, allows the entry of new competitors in their geographical area. The need to implement improvements aimed at improving productivity, especially in the situation of crisis caused by the COVID-19, becomes apparent.

Optimization their processes and new opportunities

The digital transformation constitutes one of the main axes that allow companies to optimise their processes and become more competitive. Through the application of technological solutions, it improves the productivity and efficiency of companies and increases their capacity for analysis, which facilitates better decision making. This translates into greater operational availability, better risk management and finally into the creation of new opportunities to generate income.

This has been clearly identified in the various measures defined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. In the España Digital 2025 Plan we can find, among other measures, Accelerating the digitalisation of companies, with special attention to micro-SMEs and start-ups, Accelerating the digitalisation of the productive model through projects which are the driving force behind sectoral transformation and which generate structural effects and Favouring the transition to a data economy, guaranteeing security and privacy and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence.

IA to transform the economic fabric

Likewise, among the strategic axes of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy is Integrating AI into the value chains to transform the economic fabric.

Financing through public funds

The investment required to undertake this type of project can be a handicap for many companies. There are multiple mechanisms for financing these activities through public funds, which can facilitate their implementation.

There are financing programmes called by the different regional and national administrations, whose objective is to support projects whose aim is the digital transformation of companies through the integration of digital technologies or the implementation of new electronic, computer and communication technologies.

Also at a national level, companies can apply tax deductions for the implementation of innovative projects related to the development of new processes.

Digital transformation as is the key

At European level, the EU has clearly identified the digital transformation as one of the keys to the recovery of the European economy. In this way, the European Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (a central element of the NextGenerationEU, which has a budget of 672.5 billion) includes the objective of the digitalisation of companies. Spain, like the other Member States, will draw up its recovery and resilience plans to access the funds within this framework, devoting some 23,000 million euros to digitisation, which will be transformed into specific programmes for access to this aid.

The new framework of aid for R&D&I projects, Horizon Europe, also provides for the financing of actions in this technological field, in a transversal way to the different economic activities (agri-food, industry, etc.).

This opens up a horizon where we will find a wide range of financing options for carrying out digital transformation projects. This is a great opportunity to promote the Spanish productive sectors, positioning our companies in the international market.