European businesses target digital transformation projects to boost productivity

Fresh research commissioned by Panasonic Connect Europe and carried out by Opinion Matters has identified optimism amongst European businesses regarding a boost in productivity. There is faith that this can arise from prioritising technological operations such as digital transformation projects.

This comes at a time when more productivity is needed as struggles do exist for businesses in Europe, with companies in the UK suffering from inflation and rising interest rates.

The research revealed that there is an expectancy amongst European businesses that productivity levels can be boosted by an average of 38 per cent in just three years. Also, projections from senior project managers reveal there is a Return on Investment for these projects in less than five years.

However, the worrying signs from this are that on average just 15 per cent of companies have finished working on their digital transformation projects. These struggles come amidst 40 per cent of respondents in the research detailing that the company they work for is falling behind competitor organisations in relation to digital transformation.

Marketing Director of Panasonic Connect Europe, Jan Kaempfer, addressed the obstacles getting in the way of potential success for the organisations, stating, "European businesses understand that the latest technology solutions can transform their business operations and help them take major strides forward in productivity but for many, there are still obvious barriers to overcome."

The pivotal barriers which are preventing effective digital transformation amongst European businesses were revealed to include the lack of internal knowledge (35 per cent) and also a lack of internal IT people with resources and skills (32 per cent).

The other barriers according to the respondents were concerns over interoperability with existing IT infrastructure (30 per cent) plus a lack of awareness of specialist providers or specialist IT support externally (30 per cent).

Kaempfer touched on how businesses in Europe are lacking in internal expertise and resources. They are also not able to go ahead with successfully carrying out their plans for digital transformation projects due to failing to find the necessary external specialist support.

Kaempfer adds that this is the reason why Panasonic Connect Europe was ultimately formed roughly a year and a half ago. It was with the precise idea of "bringing technology hardware, software solutions and service expertise together to help business-to-business organisations address their digital transformation challenges."

At the same time, European businesses are aiming to be protected by the EU by prioritising green technologies. This is part of the EU's strategy to go up against China and the US in regard to ever-increasing industrial competition.