The very first wave of the Digimeter research serial was successfully completed, during which companies behind Digimeter wanted to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While teleworking and digitization have gained tremendous momentum, the weaknesses of domestic SMEs have also become apparent during the coronavirus. Most of the enterprises had mainly work organization problems, and there is a big gap in digital readiness between the individual sectors and the enterprises operating in Budapest and the rest of the country.

The first research wave of the Digimeter project was originally planned for March 2020, but in response to the emergence of the coronavirus, we introduced a phase zero to assess the impact of the pandemic on the SME sector and the business and organizational responses of entrepreneurs.

Sudden epidemic restrictions in mid-March 2020 forced domestic SME managers to make quick decisions, depending on the nature of their activities, primarily towards home office and digital customer acquisition channels. 65% of the companies surveyed used teleworking after the restrictions were introduced (94% for companies operating in the infocommunications sector, while only 58% in the commercial sector - although latter was where the growth rate was the highest).

More than half of the companies introducing / expanding telework due to the pandemic plan to maintain it even after the restrictions are lifted.

The spread of home office is accompanied by the advancement of the corporate application of online communication tools, as well as the scope of modern file sharing and the application of the cloud-based server. While it is a fact that SMEs in the infocommunications sector are at the forefront of change, the digital wave is reaching almost all SME segments in Hungary.

In response to radically changed circumstances, one-fifth of SMEs have introduced a new digital customer acquisition channel. In addition to web 2.0 content marketing, the launch / development of newsletters and webshops came to the fore. However, uncertainty is indicated by the fact that two thirds of businesses would need professional support to improve their digital competitiveness.

The Digital Competitiveness Index (Digimeter) research series aims to set a benchmark for the SME sector that will help entrepreneurs improve their digital readiness. The members of the research consortium are Reacty Digital, Smart Commerce Consulting, eNET and Virgo. The main sponsor is Számlázz.hu, other major sponsors are the SimplePay online payment system and the Cégjelző Céginformációs Rendszer.

Briefly about the background of the Digimeter coronavirus research:

The online data collection took place in late May-early June 2020. After data cleansing, the results are based on the responses of 201 SME managers. The sample is not considered representative, the results can only be applied to the sample of this research.