SMEs – Stay innovative with digitalization

Small and medium-sized German companies are famous for their technical solutions, inventive spirit and global market leadership in numerous subject areas. In the analogous world back then, these concepts worked very well for exporting companies, in particular. German SMEs became strong brands in the international concert. But the cards have been remixed. In the course of advancing digitalization, medium-sized enterprises are forced to optimize not only existing processes with the help of technology. They see themselves under increased pressure to develop new products and services if they want to stand up to the competition. The ability to innovate in a whole company category depends on the smart use of ones and zeros.

Without digitalization far below the possibilities

Digitalization is still highly expandable in medium-sized companies in Germany. This is evidenced by a study conducted by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft GmbH on behalf of KfW Bankengruppe. Only one-fifth of medium-sized companies have begun to digitally link products and services and can thus be counted as “pioneers.” If the public discussion talks about terms such as “Industry 4.0” and “digital platforms,” one should not forget that a large share of the medium-sized companies still have potential for expansion at basic levels of digitalization. Only about one-fifth of German small and medium-sized enterprises have an overarching strategy on digitalization. On the positive side, however, this statement also means that the German middle class has not yet lifted its true potential and only needs to be “kissed” awake.

Digital platforms bring medium-sized businesses forward

When we refer to the lack of a digitalization strategy in medium-sized companies, this basically means that it is difficult to define visions and goals. Many companies shy away from the perceived costs of financial and human resources to build a digital infrastructure. The solution approach is to bring the right partners and consultants to the table. Together with them, workable projects can be defined that can push forward visible developments with scalable resource application. Digital evolution providers such as DARZ are the basis for this because they provide access to infrastructure, technology, know-how and cooperation partners with their innovation platforms.

Successful digitally – from the first step to the integrated concept

DARZ offers the perfect modular system for implementing digital strategies with its modular service portfolio. Our company has its own high-security data center in the former building of the Landeszentralbank Hessen in Darmstadt. Thus, the storage, processing and transport of data all over the world with the lowest latency is possible without any problems. Your data is very secure. All DARZ services are certified according to ISO 27001 so that we can meet all requirements in this area without any problems. And as a medium-sized German company, we have created a perfect Data Centric Universe for small and medium-sized German companies that is powerful, scalable and flexible.