The Digimeter measured the digital economy

Most of the Hungarian SME sector has just embarked on digitization, although the bigger a company is, the further it goes - according to the Digimeter's 2020 research report, which was presented at the Internet Hungary online conference. We are doing quite well in the field of administrative processes, but sales and marketing in most domestic companies are still mostly done with the tools of the last century.

The aim of Digimeter's survey of about eight hundred Hungarian SMEs is to create a representative index (Digital Competitiveness Index) and to measure and publish it in the long term. The data collection, which started at the end of August 2020, assessed the digital capabilities of enterprises in six topics: digital presence, digital everyday life, business management, sales and marketing, digital finance, and IT security. 100-100 points could be obtained in each topic, the Digital Competitiveness Index was compiled based on their weighted values. According to this, the level of digital competitiveness of Hungarian SMEs currently averages 40 points in the six areas. We are best in digital finance (61 points), while weakest in the digitization of sales and marketing, with only 17 points. IT security received better than average values (57), while the results of the other areas were around the average.

In terms of areas of activity, it is not surprising that infocommunication companies are at the forefront (51), with the lowest values given to the construction industry (33). The company, which proved to be the most digitally competitive, received 91 points, standing out even of the top 10%, with an average of 69 points. 20 percent of those in this group have some form of online sales channel, and 15 percent also sell abroad.

“We’re not saying the results are good or bad, we just want to record what’s going on now, so we can measure the changes based on that,” said Ervin Egon Kis, a professional manager at Smart Commerce Consulting, one of the initiators of Digimeter. “For the economy digitalisation in the 21st century is like motorization was in the last century. With Digimeter, we want to help companies find effective development directions more easily. The pandemic has shown that it is not enough to want digitization, we also need the right tools and knowledge” - the expert added.

It is clear from the results that the bigger a company is, the more advanced it is expected to be in digitization - which can also mean that the further a company goes in digitization, the bigger it can grow! Organizations with more than 20 employees scored an average of 48 points, while companies with a smaller headcount scored 37-40 points, depending on their size. Businesses in Budapest and Pest County are at the forefront of almost every issue, yet their advantage is not significant, which shows that access to digitization typically has no regional barriers.

“Since the coronavirus, a lot of people have been thinking about launching a webshop fast, but in favour of the right customer experience, it is not worth rushing to enter the market. In the meantime, it is possible to focus on the online advertising of existing sales channels, such as physical stores, or to gradually digitize procurement and other processes, as this is also essential for online success” - said Róbert Pintér, Business Development Manager at Reacty Digital.

“The analysis immediately shows that areas related to the administration of companies performed better, probably the main reason being the developed market. Today, it is difficult to imagine the life of a decent company without online invoicing, banking, accounting system or even ERP, and the supply is strong in this field” - said Balázs Ángyán, the managing director of Számlázz.hu, the main sponsor of Digiméter.

About Digimeter

Digimeter - Digital Competitiveness Index is a multi-year research series launched in 2020 with the participation of professionals with two decades of digitization experience. In the implementation of Smart Commerce Consulting, Reacty Digital, eNET and Virgo, with the main sponsor, Számlázz.hu and key supporter, Simplepay by OTP Mobil. Other partners: Intren, Cégjelző - as sponsors; MKIK Modern Enterprises Program - as a professional partner, Digital Hungary and HVG - as media partners.