Blog

Survey about the Status Quo of Digitalization

Customer Experience

Digital Transformation

December 16, 2020

Three images show a man and a woman in front of a computer monitor working in a restaurant, a mobile device and some bottles of wine

Share this article

The Survey
How far along are German companies with the implementation of the digital transformation and what challenges do they encounter in the process?

This was the topic of the survey on the status quo of digitalization that valantic conducted in cooperation with the Services and Consulting Department of the Hochschule Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Visitors were surveyed at DMEXCO in Cologne and the DSAG annual congress in Bremen. The focus was on four areas: digital customer experience, digitalized services, digital business models, and digital workplaces.

The results: Digital customer experience is foremost
The survey showed that digital customer experience is the most digitalized area at companies. At approximately 70% of the companies, there are ongoing pilot projects or large or completed projects. In the area of digitalized services and digital business models, the companies are generally in the implementation or completion phase.
The greatest development potential is in digital workplaces. Here, 18% of the companies stated that they have not yet taken any actions.
For the comprehensive analysis of digitalization across all four areas, the majority of the companies surveyed demonstrated a middling degree of digitalization; they already have their first projects underway in at least three areas. More than one-third of the companies are only somewhat digitalized, since previously they have undertaken no digitalization activities or they have only approved initial concepts.

Small Companies are out in front
With distinction by company size, it emerged that small companies with fewer than 100 employees are more advanced with respect to digitalization than medium-sized or large companies. Most of these are in the planning or implementation phase.

There is no overall concept
The three most frequently named digitalization challenges are a lacking overall concept, a different understanding and company-political obstacles. With values between 36% and 43%, these aspects are close together as digitalization obstacles. The value potential of the digital transformation was recognized by most companies and is only an obstacle for one-quarter of those surveyed.

The responsibility lies with the CEO
The responsibility for a company’s digitalization is borne by the CEO at more than one-third of the companies, which underscores the significance of this topic. Other important positions were the COO and the CIO. At small companies with up to 100 employees and medium-sized companies with up to 500 employees, responsibility is frequently not clearly defined. However, this does not impede the implementation of digitalization.

More on this topic

Inside the Heavy Industry Factory Female Industrial Engineer Works on Personal Computer She Designs 3D Engine Model, Her Male Colleague Talks with Her and Uses Tablet Computer with SAP Service and Asset Manager

Artificial Intelligence June 25, 2026

AI Potential in Manufacturing: Which Use Cases are already live – and what pays off?

In the manufacturing industry, AI is already one of the most important technologies. Yet there is a significant gap between ambition and productive use with measurable results. Where will AI be worthwhile in the manufacturing industry in 2026, and which use cases are already making its potential tangible today?

Two employees are working intently at their desks on their computers.

Artificial Intelligence June 24, 2026

Model Context Protocol: MCP as an Infrastructure for AI Integration

The Model Context Protocol, or MCP for short, is increasingly coming up in strategic AI discussions. This open standard offers an efficient way to connect AI assistants with CRM, ERP, and internal systems. This article explains why MCP is relevant to decision-makers, what business opportunities it creates, and where caution is advised.

valantic Austria Mitarbeiterin, die in der Web-Programmierung arbeitet.

Customer Experience June 23, 2026

Digital Value Creation is changing: Customer Journeys, Platforms & Agentic Commerce

AI is reshaping the customer journey: making early decisions, redefining the role of platforms and driving the rise of agentic commerce. Read our blog to find out what this means for digital value creation and businesses.

Don't miss a thing.
Subscribe to our latest blog articles.