transformación digital

Digital transformation has become a fundamental pillar for the economic and social development of countries in the 21st century. In Spain, this process has become particularly relevant in recent years, driven by the need to adapt to an increasingly digitalised and competitive global environment. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst, accelerating the adoption of digital technologies in all sectors of the economy and society.

However, digital transformation involves not only the incorporation of new technologies, but also a profound change in the way organisations operate and relate to their customers, employees and partners. In this context, Spain has made significant progress, positioning itself as one of the leading countries in Europe in several aspects of digitisation.

The following are some of the most prominent reports analysing this phenomenon and its implications.

State of the Digital Decade 2024 report

The State of the Digital Decade 2024 report examines the evolution of European policies aimed at achieving the agreed objectives and targets for successful digital transformation. It assesses the degree of compliance on the basis of various indicators, which fall into four groups: digital infrastructure, digital business transformation, digital skills and digital public services.

Figure 1. Taking stock of progress towards the Digital Decade goals set for 2030, “State of the Digital Decade 2024 Report”, European Commission.

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has significantly improved its performance by adopting regulatory measures - with 23 new legislative developments, including, among others, the Data Governance Regulation and the Data Regulation- to provide itself with a comprehensive governance framework: the Digital Decade Policy Agenda 2030.

The document includes an assessment of the strategic roadmaps of the various EU countries. In the case of Spain, two main strengths stand out:

• Progress in the use of artificial intelligence by companies (9.2% compared to 8.0% in Europe), where Spain's annual growth rate (9.3%) is four times higher than the EU (2.6%).
• The large number of citizens with basic digital skills (66.2%), compared to the European average (55.6%).

On the other hand, the main challenges to overcome are the adoption of cloud services ( 27.2% versus 38.9% in the EU) and the number of ICT specialists ( 4.4% versus 4.8% in Europe).

The following image shows the forecast evolution in Spain of the key indicators analysed for 2024, compared to the targets set by the EU for 2030.

Figure 2. Key performance indicators for Spain, “Report on the State of the Digital Decade 2024”, European Commission.

Spain is expected to reach 100% on virtually all indicators by 2030.  26.7 billion (1.8 % of GDP), without taking into account private investments. This roadmap demonstrates the commitment to achieving the goals and targets of the Digital Decade.

In addition to investment, to achieve the objective, the report recommends focusing efforts in three areas: the adoption of advanced technologies (AI, data analytics, cloud) by SMEs; the digitisation and promotion of the use of public services; and the attraction and retention of ICT specialists through the design of incentive schemes.

European Innovation Scoreboard 2024

The European Innovation Scoreboard carries out an annual benchmarking of research and innovation developments in a number of countries, not only in Europe. The report classifies regions into four innovation groups, ranging from the most innovative to the least innovative: Innovation Leaders, Strong Innovators, Moderate Innovators and Emerging Innovators.

Spain is leading the group of moderate innovators, with a performance of 89.9% of the EU average. This represents an improvement compared to previous years and exceeds the average of other countries in the same category, which is 84.8%. Our country is above the EU average in three indicators: digitisation, human capital and financing and support. On the other hand, the areas in which it needs to improve the most are employment in innovation, business investment and innovation in SMEs. All this is shown in the following graph:

Figure 3. Blocks that make up the synthetic index of innovation in Spain, European Innovation Scorecard 2024 (adapted from the COTEC Foundation).

Spain's Digital Society Report 2023

The Telefónica Foundation also periodically publishes a report  which analyses the main changes and trends that our country is experiencing as a result of the technological revolution.

The edition currently available is the 2023 edition. It highlights that "Spain continues to deepen its digital transformation process at a good pace and occupies a prominent position in this aspect among European countries", highlighting above all the area of connectivity. However, digital divides remain, mainly due to age.

Progress is also being made in the relationship between citizens and digital administrations: 79.7% of people aged 16-74 used websites or mobile applications of an administration in 2022. On the other hand, the Spanish business fabric is advancing in its digitalisation, incorporating digital tools, especially in the field of marketing. However, there is still room for improvement in aspects of big data analysis and the application of artificial intelligence, activities that are currently implemented, in general, only by large companies.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Talent Report

IndesIA, an association that promotes the use of artificial intelligence and Big Data in Spain, has carried out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data and artificial intelligence talent market in 2024 in our country.

According to the report, the data and artificial intelligence talent market represents almost 19% of the total number of ICT professionals in our country. In total, there are 145,000 professionals (+2.8% from 2023), of which only 32% are women. Even so, there is a gap between supply and demand, especially for natural language processing engineers. To address this situation, the report analyses six areas for improvement: workforce strategy and planning, talent identification, talent activation, engagement, training and development, and data-driven culture .

Other reports of interest

 The COTEC Foundation also regularly produces various reports on the subject. On its website we can find documents on the budget execution of R&D in the public sector, the social perception of innovation or the regional talent map.

For their part, the Orange Foundation in Spain and the consultancy firm Nae have produced a report to analyse digital evolution over the last 25 years, the same period that the Foundation has been operating in Spain. The report highlights that, between 2013 and 2018, the digital sector has contributed around €7.5 billion annually to the country's GDP.

In short, all of them highlight Spain's position among the European leaders in terms of digital transformation, but with the need to make progress in innovation. This requires not only boosting economic investment, but also promoting a cultural change that fosters creativity. A more open and collaborative mindset will allow companies, administrations and society in general to adapt quickly to technological changes and take advantage of the opportunities they bring to ensure a prosperous future for Spain.

Do you know of any other reports on the subject? Leave us a comment or write to us at dinamizacion@datos.gos.es.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Bilbao City Council collaborate in the Bilbao Bizkaia Open Data Classroom an initiative that aims to develop the use of open data from the two Biscayan institutions (Provincial Council and City Council) for use in university projects. The ultimate goal is that, thanks to this re-use, public services can be improved and new knowledge can be generated to contribute to the resolution of social problems.

The initiative, aimed at university students as well as teaching and research staff, was born as a way to research staff, was born as a a collaboration agreement between the three administrations (Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Bilbao City Council and UPV/EHU). For this purpose, other agreements made with the Bilbao School of Engineering for the creation of Business Classrooms were taken as a reference, but in this case it will be an open data classroom, which will promote the opening of data generated and the reuse of public information.

The Bilbao Bizkaia Open Data Classroom has been in operation since 2022 and its operation is similar to that of the twelve Business Classrooms that were already in operation at the Bilbao School of Engineering. These company classrooms are laboratory-classrooms within the school, created and financed by companies and institutions to promote their innovation activities. In this sense, as the organisers of the Aula state, "they are an effective instrument of collaboration between the Departments of the Bilbao School of Engineering and the business world, both in activities related to research, technological development and innovation and in everything related to training".

Open data for innovation in the classroom

 In addition to developing projects based on the reuse of open data that improve the services provided by the regional and municipal authorities, the Aula also creates data visualisations based on open information processing initiatives proposed by the university community with the aim of improving the welfare of citizens. Another of its areas of work is the implementation of training activities that contribute to the improvement of the digital skills of the university community.

During the first edition of the Bilbao-Bizkaia Open Data Classroom, in the 2022-2023 academic year, the students developed projects on the reuse of data on recycling or outdoor activities, among others. All of them were created using regional data. You can consult the projects here: https://sites.google.com/view/opendatabilbaobizkaia/home?authuser=0.

How can I join Aula Open Data Bilbao-Bizkaia?

The Aula Open data Bilbao Bizkaia has its own space in the headquarters of the Bilbao School of Engineering, in San Mamés. This space has been fitted out thanks to a grant awarded by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the City Council of Bilbao, which also collaborate by financing the management costs of the classroom.

The programme is aimed at engineering bachelor's and master's degree students carrying out their bachelor's and master's degree final projects, respectively. However, it is not necessary to be in the final year of a Bachelor's or Master's degree to participate in the Aula. The initiative is open to anyone with an interest in data.

Training in Power BI and data analysis toolsis provided at the beginning of the course.

The programme is free of charge, and students working under the agreement are paid. The selection process is by CV.

In the following link you can find all the information about the Classroom.

https://www.aulaopendatabilbaobizkaia.eus/aula_es.html

The European Commission has published the first Report of the state of the Digital Decade. It takes stock of the progress of the European Union on its way to the success of the digital transformation, as set out in the Digital Decade Policy Agenda 2030. The document builds on the agreements and recommendations adopted at European level on digitization towards 2030, including the Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/2122 of 26 November 2021 on a Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe.  

Various studies and statistical sources, such as the Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade, the Strategic Foresight Report for 2021 and 2022, as well as different statistical sets from Eurostat on the state of technology, have been taken into account in compiling the report. It also includes the monitoring of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade, which translates the EU's vision on digital transformation into principles and commitments. 

According to the report, the success of the Digital Decade will be crucial for the future prosperity of the EU. Achieving the agenda could unlock more than €2.8 trillion in economic value, equivalent to 21% of the EU's current economy. To achieve this end, the text highlights the need to incentivize policies and investments in digital technologies, skills and infrastructure.   

On this basis, the report includes concrete recommendations to Member States prior to the adoption of their national strategic roadmaps and for their future adjustments. 

Spain, a major player  

The Commission has prepared a report for each member country in which it exhaustively analyzes its strengths and future duties. About Spain it points out that the country is "in an ambitious digital transformation of the economy" and high rates in connectivity: Spain is, according to the report, one of the EU states with the best results in digital infrastructure.  

The three key aspects analyzed in the report are: 

1. Connectivity and Public Administration  

In this regard, the report points out that Spain is "well above the EU average" in terms of very high capacity fixed networks, with 93% availability compared to 73% of the EU average. In fiber coverage "far exceeds" the EU average, with 91% connectivity compared to 56% of the EU average.   

In terms of other technologies such as 5G, Spain is at the European average, with 82% improved broadband access. In addition, the document reveals that 98% of all pioneering 5G bands have already been allocated in the country and that "appropriate measures are being implemented to achieve the objectives of the Digital Decade" such as the Telecommunications Law of 2022. 

The report also points out that Spain "is at the forefront of e-Government and digital public services in the EU". It also highlights the effort to update services and infrastructures to adapt them to the "rapid technological evolution" and the needs of companies. In fact, Spain is "well above the EU average" in indicators that measure the number of Internet users who use electronic administration services, with 84% compared to 74% in the EU or in digital public services for citizens, with 86% access, and companies, with 91%. In this sense, it highlights the work that has been done in the interoperability of digital public services at national, regional and local level.  

The report includes some recommendations on healthcare digitization and notes that the country should continue to implement its public service digitization policies to "connect more types of healthcare providers to medical records" and implement measures "to ensure regionally comparable quality of service and completeness of healthcare data." 

2. Economic development and companies  

 In terms of economic and technological development, the report praises the country's progress with PERTE Chip, whose objective is the development of semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies to strengthen their design and production in Spanish industry in order to "promote national and EU strategic sovereignty". In this field, it also highlights Spain's participation in the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies with 11 direct participants active in various fields (material, open source design, equipment, packaging, connectivity, photonics) and that "could help to achieve the first European computer with quantum acceleration by 2025". 

As for SMEs, the level of digital development is at the EU level (68%) and highlights the efforts "to improve the digitization of companies" that can be seen in figures: 12.3% of Spanish companies already use Artificial Intelligence and 14.3% use Big Data for analysis and internal use. In addition, it joins the Kit Digital initiative for the digital acceleration of SMEs and the Agents of Change program to hire experts in digital transformation in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, a type of company with a high number of companies in the country and a "significant participation in the Spanish economy", which makes them a target for reforms and investments that "will have an indirect multiplier impact". The report encourages the country to continue "implementing these policies" in the area of business digitalization, particularly in the case of SMEs. 

3. Citizen digitization  

In addition, at the citizen level, the report analyzes the digitalization of the Spanish population. In this sense, the document points out that Spain obtains good results in terms of digital skills with 64% and 38% of the population benefiting from these skills respectively. In both cases, the Spanish average is above the EU.  

Within the efforts being made when it comes to boosting ICT profiles both in the educational area and in the labor market, the report highlights measures to increase the number of ICT specialists, in particular a law to modernize the vocational education and training (VET) system, approved in March 2022, and a new VET specialization course on AI and big data that allows training in the new digital environment. 

The report, which analyzes the state of play in 2022, notes the importance of that year, which stands out as having been the period "of a further acceleration of key trends affecting the digital transformation of the EU digital EU" with increasingly rapid technological advances, such as AI, climate change and associated social and economic concerns, a growing demand for high-speed connectivity or the multipolarization of the global scene in the face of an ever-increasing technological race.   

The report concludes that the potential impact of technological change is significant and will require the EU to be agile and swift in its transformation. 

Since 2014, the European Commission has been monitoring Member States' digital progress through the annual DESI Digital Economy and Society Index. To do so, it analyses four digital performance indicators: human capital, connectivity, digital technology integration and digital public services.

In this year's edition, Spain is in seventh position, improving two places compared to 2021. It has gone from a score of 57.4% to 60.8%, which represents a growth of almost 6% (the EU average has grown by 3% in the same period). This puts Spain ahead of countries such as Germany, France and Italy. At the head of the EU-27 we find Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.

It should be noted that the DESI 2022 index is based mainly on data from 2021. Overall, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Member States have made progress in their digitisation efforts, thanks in part to the opportunity provided by the resources allocated by Europe through the NextGenerationEU recovery plan. However, there are still general challenges, related to digital skills gaps, the digital transformation of SMEs and the deployment of advanced 5G networks.

Digital progress in Spain

Spain is above the EU average in all four categories analysed:

• Human capital. Spain improves two positions with respect to 2021 and ranks tenth. It stands out mainly in basic digital skills, while it is only below the EU average in the proportion of information and communication technology (ICT) specialists and graduates. The report highlights that several of the measures outlined in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan aim to boost the acquisition of digital skills, especially for SME employees.

• Connectivity. Spain is one of the EU leaders in terms of connectivity, where it ranks third for the second year in a row. Our country performs particularly well in very high capacity fixed network coverage (94% compared to 70% of the European average), although it still has room for improvement in 5G coverage. In this regard, strategic reforms and investments are being carried out under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in order to achieve the Digital Decade connectivity targets and reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas.

• Digital technology integration. This is the area where most progress has been made, with an improvement of five positions. Spain is currently in eleventh place. It stands out especially in the percentage of SMEs with a basic level of digital intensity and which use social networks, online sales media and electronic information exchange systems. In the use of artificial intelligence, we are at the European average. On the other hand, technologies such as cloud and Big Data analysis are still not widespread. To improve these capabilities, professionals with digital skills are needed, something that will help to boost the SME Digitalisation Plan 2021-2025.

• Digital public services. Spain, which has traditionally been a pioneer in this field, is in fifth place, two places above 2021. One of the areas where it performs best is in open data, where it is in third place, well above the European average (95% vs. 81%). In addition, the report highlights how our country is proactively developing new services to respond to the needs of citizens in areas such as health, digital identification, cybersecurity, mobile applications and the integration of AI in the sector. Some examples of projects in which Spain is participating are Genome of Europe and European Self Sovereign identity (ESSIF).

If you would like to go deeper into the analysis of the results of Spain and the other European countries in the DESI index, you can download the reports by country on this website.  In addition, the Spanish e-Government portal provides users with various useful materials, divided by year.

Women in Digital (WiD) Scoreboard

Together with the DESI index, the EU has also published the 2022 edition of the "Women in Digital (WiD) Scoreboard", a report that assesses the digital development of women and their inclusion in areas such as employment and digital entrepreneurship.

In this ranking, Spain is in eighth position, also exceeding the European Union average (64.2% compared to 54.9%). Spanish women stand out especially in terms of Internet use skills, where they are in fourth position compared to European women.

All these data show how Spain continues to make progress in digital matters. Although there are still areas for improvement, investment from Spain's Recovery and Resilience Plan is expected to continue to drive progress, mainly in areas such as the digitisation of businesses, strengthening the digital skills of the population, improving digital connectivity and the digitisation of public administrations. All of this without neglecting support for digital-related research and development (R&D).

The AMETIC association represents companies of all sizes linked to the Spanish digital technology industry, a key sector for the national GDP. Among other issues, AMETIC seeks to promote a favorable environment for the growth of companies in the sector, promoting digital talent and the creation and consolidation of new companies.

At datos.gob.es we spoke with Antonio Cimorra, Director of Digital Transformation and Enabling Technologies at AMETIC, to reflect on the role of open data in innovation and as the basis for new products, services and even business models.

Full interview:

1. How does open data help drive digital transformation? What disruptive technologies are the most benefited by the opening of data?

Open data is one of the pillars of the data economy , which is called to be the basis of our present and future development and the digital transformation of our society. All industries, public administrations and citizens themselves have only just begun to discover and use the enormous potential and usefulness that the use of data brings to improving the competitiveness of companies, to the efficiency and improvement of services. of Public Administrations and to social relations and people's quality of life.

2. One of the areas in which they work from AMETIC is Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, among whose objectives is to promote the creation of public platforms for sharing open data. Could you explain to us what actions you are carrying out or have carried out for this?

At AMETIC we have an Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Commission in which the main companies that provide this technology participate . From this area, we work on the definition of initiatives and proposals that contribute to disseminating their knowledge among potential users, with the consequent advantages that their incorporation in the public and private sectors entails. Outstanding examples of actions in this area are the recent presentation of the AMETIC Artificial Intelligence Observatory, as well as the AMETIC Artificial Intelligence Summit. which in 2022 will celebrate its fifth edition that will focus on showing how Artificial Intelligence can contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and the Transformation Plans to be executed with European Funds

3. Open data can serve as a basis for developing services and solutions that give rise to new companies . Could you tell us an example of a use case carried out by your partners?

Open data, and very particularly the reuse of public sector information, are the basis for the development of countless applications and entrepreneurial initiatives both in consolidated companies in our technology sector and in many other cases of small companies or startups found in this source of information the motor of development of new businesses and approach to the market.

4. What types of data are most in demand by the companies you represent?

At present, all industrial and social activity data are in great demand by companies , due to their great value in the development of projects and solutions that have been demonstrating their interest and extension in all areas and types of organizations and users. usually.

5. It is also essential to have data sharing initiatives such as GAIA-X , built on the values ​​of digital sovereignty and data availability. How have companies received the creation of a national hub ?

The technology sector has received the creation of the GAIA-X national hub very positively, understanding that our contribution from Spain to this European project will be of enormous value to our companies from very different fields of activity. Data sharing spaces in sectors such as tourism, health, mobility, industry, to give a few examples, have Spanish companies and experiences that are an example and a reference at European and global level .

6. Right now there is a great demand for professionals related to data collection, analysis and visualization. However, the supply of professionals, although it is growing, continues to be limited . What should be done to boost training in skills related to data and digitization?

The supply of technology professionals is one of the biggest problems for the development of our local industry and for the digital transformation of society. It is a difficulty that we can describe as historical, and that far from going less, every day there is a greater number of positions and profiles to cover. It is a worldwide problem that shows that there is no single or simple formula to solve it, but we can mention the importance of all social and professional agents developing joint and collaborative actions that allow the digital training of our population from an early age. and cycles and specialized training and degree programs that are characterized by their proximity to what will be the professional careers for which it is necessary to have the participation of the business sector

7. During the last years, you have been part of the jury of the different editions of the Aporta Challenge. How do you think these types of actions contribute to boosting data-driven businesses?

The Aporta Challenge has been an example of support and encouragement for the definition of many projects around open data and for the development of its own industry that in recent years has been growing very significantly with the availability of data of very different groups, in many cases by the Public Administrations, and their subsequent reuse and incorporation into applications and solutions of interest to very different users.

Open data constitutes one of the pillars of the data economy, which is called to be the basis of our present and future development and of the digital transformation of our society.

8. What are the next actions that are going to be carried out in AMETIC linked to the data economy?

Among the most outstanding actions of AMETIC in relation to the data economy, it is worth mentioning our recent incorporation into the national hub of GAIA-X for which we have been elected members of its board of directors, and where we will represent and incorporate the vision and contributions of the digital technology industry in all the data spaces that are constituted , serving as a channel for the participation of the technology companies that carry out their activity in our country and that have to form the basis of the projects and use cases that integrate into the European network GAIA-X in collaboration with other national hubs.

Companies and public administrations in our country continue to advance on their path towards digitalization, with the opportunities that this entails: process optimization, improved user experience, and innovation in the products and services offered. This is reflected in several of the reports published during 2021, starting with the DESI index, prepared within the framework of the European Commission.

DESI Index

The DESI (Digital Economy and Society Index) tracks the progress made by EU Member States in digital competitiveness.  For the latest edition, published at the end of 2021, there has been a change in methodology in order to align with the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the objectives set out in the EU Digital Decade Digital Compass. In this way, 4 indicators have been changed to measure: human capital, broadband connectivity, integration of digital technologies by businesses and digital public services.

It should also be noted that the data in the report correspond mainly to the first half of 2020, so the effect of the pandemic is only partially reflected. Its consequences will become clearer in the next edition.

In this context, Spain is positioned in 9th position, improving two positions compared to the previous year.

Spain remains ahead of the European average in the 4 categories analysed, standing out especially in the dimensions of digital public services and connectivity.

• Digital public services. The category where our country scores best, especially in the subsection of open data, with a score (94%) 16 percentage points above the EU average. The report also highlights that 67% of Internet users actively participate in e-government services. Thanks to the Public Administration Digitalization Plan, it is expected that at least 50% of digital public services will be accessible via mobile by the end of 2025. This seeks greater personalization of services and improved effectiveness, efficiency and transparency in the public sector.
• Connectivity. Spain stands out in very high-capacity networks. The differences between rural and urban areas are being increasingly reduced, although they still exist. 99.9% of populated areas have 4G coverage, but 5G still only reaches a minority. To reverse the situation, the Plan for Connectivity and Digital Infrastructures and the Strategy to Boost 5G Technology is underway, a roadmap whose goal is for the entire population to have a connection greater than 100 Mbps by 2025.
• Human capital. The report highlights that 57% of the Spanish population has at least basic digital skills. To increase this figure to reach the European target of 80% by 2030, the Spanish government has included the promotion of the population's digital skills as one of the main lines of action of the Digital Spain 2025 strategy. In this regard, the National Digital Skills Plan has been launched with seven lines of action ranging from the digital training of citizens and the reduction of the digital divide to the promotion of ICT specialists, a field where there is still ample room for improvement. The report also highlights the launch of the Educa en Digital Program, which establishes measures to promote greater digitalization of the Spanish education system.
• Integration of digital technology. 62% of Spanish SMEs have at least a basic level of digital intensity and 24% have embraced e-commerce, but few companies are taking advantage of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data or cloud services. The response to improve this situation is the SME Digitalization Plan 2021-2025, which has five main lines of action: basic digitalization for SMEs; support for digital change management; promotion of disruptive innovation and digital entrepreneurship; support for sectoral digitalization (with a focus on industry, tourism and commerce); and coordination and efficiency.

Other reports related to digital transformation in Spain

In addition to the DESI index, some reports have also been published in our country during the last 12 months that refer to the current state of implementation of digital tools in different areas.

One example is "Sociedad Digital en España 2020-2021" (Digital Society in Spain 2020-2021), by the Telefónica Foundation. The report analyses the effects of the current healthcare situation on the technological habits of Spanish companies and citizens, globally and by autonomous communities. The COVID has driven the transformation, boosting teleworking and forcing many companies and public administrations to adopt digital tools both for their internal processes and for the relationship and provision of services to citizens. In this situation, the report highlights 3 key aspects:

• The importance of connectivity and the quality of the Spanish network, which faced a massive increase in traffic of almost 50%.
• The acceleration of the digitalization of individuals and companies, with the increase in the number of users connected to the network and consuming online services. It is estimated that digitalization could increase Spain's GDP by between 1.5 and 2.5 points each year until 2025 and improve the productivity of SMEs by between 15 and 25%.
• The need to put people at the centre of digital transformation. The pandemic has also widened the gap between those who have already embraced digital transformation and those who have not yet started. To alleviate this situation, it is proposed to rely on public-private partnership initiatives.

Last year also saw an update of the report The Digitalization of the Economy (originally published in 2017), by the Economic and Social Council of Spain. The debate on the impact of digitalization on productivity and employment has been joined by other new challenges related to the risk of technological hegemony of certain countries and companies, the deployment of 5G, the ethical limits to artificial intelligence or data ownership, among others.

Given that this is a situation in continuous evolution, the reports on the subject are constantly being updated. In the coming months, for example, we will be able to discover the conclusions of the new edition of "The Digital Economy in Spain", by the COTEC Foundation, currently under development.

What cannot be denied is that our country is advancing on its path towards digital opportunities. A path in which it is essential to continue promoting access to quality data and related capabilities to extract its full value.

We have been talking about the digital transformation for years, but perhaps it has been in the last few months when we have had to stay at home and resort to teleworking or e-commerce, that we have noticed the need for it the most. Many companies have had to transform quickly, adapting their internal processes, their relationship with customers and even their business models to new needs.

However, the digital transformation is nothing new, and before the health crisis there were already many organizations with a long way to go. This is reflected in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which each year measures the performance and evolution of the EU Member States in terms of digital competitiveness.

DESI INDEX

The DESI Index performs its analysis based on 5 indicators: Digital Public Services, Connectivity, Human Capital, Integration of Digital Technology and Use of Internet Services.

In this index, Spain is above the European Union average, occupying the eleventh position, with unequal scores in the various markers:

• The score where our country stands out the most is Digital Public Services, where it is in second place in Europe, improving its position with respect to last year, thanks to the application of a default digital strategy throughout its central administration. One of the indicators driving Spain's position in this dimension is open data, where we are in second place in terms of maturity in Europe. We are also above average in the availability and use of e-government services.
• Spain also performs well in the area of connectivity (5th place), driven by the good implementation of high-speed networks: 80% of households have fiber optic coverage, well above the EU average (34%).
• In contrast, Spain is below the EU average in the human capital indicator (16th place), with 43% of people between 16 and 74 years of age still lacking digital skills. It does improve on last year's percentage of ICT graduates and specialists in total employment. The report highlights the government's efforts to improve this situation, with actions such as the Strategic Plan for Vocational Training in the Education System 2019-2022, which seeks to create forty new degrees in different ICT fields.
• With regard to the integration of digital technology, Spain ranks 13th, in line with the EU average. Spanish companies take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technologies and are above Europe in the use of electronic information exchange systems (43% compared to 34%), although slightly below in access to macrodata analysis (11% compared to 12) and the use of the cloud (16% compared to 18%). With regard to emerging technologies, the report highlights that Spain has developed a significant number of coordination measures, especially in the field of cyber security.
• Finally, the use of Internet services has increased since the previous year, and the country has obtained results above the EU average. However, it is worth mentioning that it is still used more for leisure activities (consuming multimedia content), than for day-to-day business, such as banking or e-commerce.

The study was carried out before the pandemic, so the results do not include the actions carried out in recent months, such as the publication of the Digital Agenda 2025, which includes the promotion of a Data Economy. The measures to be developed include the implementation of an Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the development of a Data Office with a Chief Data Officer at the head and the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, among others.

OTHER REPORTS ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN SPAIN

In addition to the DESI index, in recent months two reports of particular importance when it comes to digitalization have been published in our country: the "Digital Society in Spain Report 2019" and the "COTEC 2020" report.

Digital Society in Spain 2019 Report

This report, published by the Telefónica Foundation, includes data and indicators that describe the state of Spanish society in relation to the media, uses and digital services. Specifically, it focuses on the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, the level of implementation of the most advanced technologies and the state of the art of Spanish digital life.

The conclusions of the report are very much in line with the DESI index, which it takes as a reference. It highlights that 9 out of 10 inhabitants are Internet users, and that the gender gap in cyberspace has been completely eliminated, although an age gap still exists. The report also highlights that our country has a very good connection, with ultra-fast network coverage in three out of every four homes.

The study indicates that the main technological currents that are shaping the digital transition in Spain revolve around artificial intelligence, industry 4.0 and cyber security, with the first one standing out above all: while in 2013 only one out of every fifty emerging companies focused its activity on artificial intelligence, now one out of every twelve do so.

The report ends with an analysis of the degree of digital development presented by the Autonomous Communities, describing the current situation and the challenges facing each region.

You can read the full report at this link.

COTEC 2020 Report

The COTEC report, on the other hand, focuses on a fundamental aspect to boost the digital transformation: the R&D+I. The report shows us the innovation map in Spain, through the analysis of the main indicators and national, regional and international strategies.

The report analyzes data from 2018 and shows that R&D has gained weight in the productive structure for the second consecutive year, driven mainly by private investment. However, we are still far from countries like France, Italy or Germany.

The autonomous communities maintain heterogeneous levels of effort. The five most advanced regions are the Basque Country, Madrid, Navarre, Catalonia and Castile and Leon).

The report also focuses on education, where it highlights that Spain has a higher rate than the European average in STEM graduates, but with a much wider gender gap than in most surrounding countries. It should be noted that our country has a low proportion of people with an average educational level, since we have a high rate of population that leaves school at an early age, and a high percentage of young people who graduate from university.

You can read the full report at this link.

After taking a look at these reports, we can conclude that both the public and private sectors are making an effort to promote the digital transformation of Spain in order to make the digital transformation and innovation a driver of economic and social development in our country. There are still areas for improvement, but there is no denying the interest in tackling the challenges ahead.