Digital Entrepreneurship, Slovenia, 2021
Problems in the digital transformation of businesses and the use of AI technologies in enterprises
60% of enterprises with at least 10 employees and self-employed persons are hampered in digital transformation of business. Almost a third by lack of appropriate staff or knowledge and 31% by lack of financial resources. 12% of enterprises in Slovenia use artificial intelligence technologies.
Digitalisation is about the transformation of business processes, the development of employees’ knowledge about the use of ICT, a changed way of dealing with customers, e.g. use of social media, data analytics, use of digital channels for the purpose of marketing or selling products or providing services, and about developing new digitized products or services and new business models. The purpose is to increase competitiveness and productivity of enterprises. An important aspect of digitalisation is the use of artificial intelligence technologies.
Almost a third of enterprises are hampered by lack of appropriate staff or knowledge necessary for digital transformation
17% of enterprises with 10 employees and self-employed persons have a digital strategy for digital transformation of business that was approved by the management. Regarding the size of enterprises (number of employees and self-employed persons) 14% of small, 29% of medium-sized and 48% of large enterprises have it.
60% of enterprises are hampered by various problems in digital transformation of business: 58% of small, 68% of medium-sized and 73% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 63% of manufacturing enterprises and 57% of enterprises in service activities are hampered by various problems.
32% of enterprises are hampered by lack of relevant staff or knowledge and 31% by lack of financial resources, in 30% of enterprises rapid adjustment of the management or operations of the enterprise is not possible, e.g. rapid experimentation in the usage of digital technologies, adaptation to changes in the environment, 27% of enterprises have too many conflicting priorities, in 23% of enterprises executives in the enterprise who are responsible for key processes lack knowledge of the capabilities of digital technologies, in 22% of enterprises business processes within the enterprise are not connected and in 17% of enterprises employees or managers do not show a willingness to make changes in the enterprise.
28% of enterprises have no problems with digital transformation (29% of small, 27% of medium-sized and 23% of large enterprises) and 46% stated that digital transformation is not essential for the successful performance of the enterprise (49% of small, 33% of medium-sized and 19% of large enterprises).
All enterprises regardless of the size are most often hampered by lack of appropriate staff or knowledge: 30% of small, 42% of medium-sized and half of large enterprises. In small enterprises lack of financial resources also stands out (30%) and in medium-sized and large enterprises lack of possibility for rapid adjustment of the management or operations of the enterprise (in 37% of medium-sized and 43% of large enterprises).
Technologies for identifying objects or persons are most often used artificial intelligence technologies
Artificial intelligence, which can be just software (e.g. face recognition system) or built into a device (e.g. autonomous robot), allows systems to detect the environment, process what they detect, and solve a problem, acting on a specific goal. The computer receives data that are pre-prepared, or collects them itself with sensors, e.g. camera, processes them and responds based on the data. Systems operating on the basis of artificial intelligence can, to a certain extent, independently adapt their behaviour on the basis of an analysis of the effects of their previous actions.
12% of enterprises with 10 employees and self-employed persons use artificial intelligence technologies: 9% of small, 20% of medium-sized and 36% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 9% of manufacturing enterprises and 14% of enterprises in service activities.
The most often used artificial intelligence technologies are technologies for identifying objects or persons (e.g. computer vision, machine vision, video analytics) that based on a picture identify a product, a fingerprint, a face or an object. They are used by 8% of enterprises. 3% use machine learning (method used for analysis and data forecasting) and the same share of enterprises technologies generating written or spoken language (natural language generation), 2% of enterprises use technologies that automate different workflows or assist in decision-making. 1% of enterprises use the following technologies: technologies performing analysis of written language (text mining), technologies converting spoken language into machine-readable format (speech recognition) and technologies enabling physical movement of machines via autonomous decisions based on observation of surroundings, e.g. autonomous robots, self-driving vehicles, autonomous drones.
Artificial intelligence software or systems are most often used for ICT security
Enterprises are using artificial intelligence software or systems for the following purposes: 68% use them for ICT security (e.g. use of biometric methods, the use of machine learning to detect and prevent cyber-attacks), 26% for marketing or sales (e.g. customer profiling, market analysis), 25% for production processes (e.g. product classification based on computer vision, predictive maintenance), 20% for management of enterprises (e.g. sales or business forecasting), 14% for organisation of business administration processes (e.g. automated planning or scheduling), 9% for logistics (e.g. route optimization, stock forecasting) and 3% for human resources management or recruiting (e.g. candidates pre-selection screening).
Three quarters of enterprises purchased commercial artificial intelligence software or systems ready to use
Enterprises that use artificial intelligence software or systems have acquired them in the following ways: 76% of enterprises purchased commercial artificial intelligence software or systems ready to use (including examples where it was already incorporated in a purchased item or system), for 36% of enterprises external providers were contracted to develop or modify artificial intelligence software or systems, in 35% of enterprises commercial software or systems were modified by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise), in 27% of enterprises they were developed by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise) and in 27% of enterprises open-source software or systems were modified by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise).
High costs and lack of relevant expertise in the enterprises are the most common reasons for enterprises not using artificial intelligence technologies after considering the possibilities of their use
7% of enterprises with at least 10 employees and self-employed persons that do not use artificial intelligence technologies (there are 88% of them) ever considered possibilities of using any of the technologies: 6% of small, 10% of medium-sized and 19% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 7% of manufacturing enterprises and 7% of enterprises in service activities considered of using them.
Enterprises that have considered using artificial intelligence technologies are not using them for the following reasons. For 67% of enterprises the costs seem too high, in 63% of enterprises there is a lack of relevant expertise, for 58% of enterprises the reason is incompatibility with existing equipment, software or systems, 51% have difficulties with availability or quality of the necessary data that artificial intelligence technologies need, for 25% of enterprises there is a lack of clarity about the legal consequences (e.g. liability in case of damage caused by the use of artificial intelligence), 23% have concerns regarding violation of data protection and privacy, and the same share of enterprises think artificial intelligence technologies are not useful for the enterprise. 16% of enterprises have ethical considerations.
Almost six out of ten enterprises use social media
58% of employees and self-employed persons have access to the Internet in enterprises for business purposes: 58% in small, 56% in medium-sized and 60% in large enterprises. Enterprises provide to 36% of employees and self-employed persons portable devices for business purposes (e.g. laptop or tablet computer, smartphone) that allow connection to the Internet using mobile telephone networks.
94% of enterprises use fixed broadband Internet connections. 15% use Internet connections with maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed line of less than 30 Mbit/s, 30% at least 30 but less than 100 Mbit/s, 37% at least 100 Mbit/s but less than 500 Mbit/s, 7% at least 500 Mbit/s but less than 1 Gbit/s and 10% at least 1 Gbit/s.
59% of enterprises use social media: 56% of small, 68% of medium-sized and 90% of large enterprises. 57% of enterprises use social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), 29% multimedia content sharing websites or apps (e.g. Instagram, YouTube) and 11% enterprise's blog or microblogs (e.g. Twitter). In 68% of enterprises that use social media, the COVID-19 pandemic did not influence them to start or increase their use of social media. 15% increased their usage temporarily and 17% started to use or increased the usage of social media.
In 2020:
Almost a third of enterprises are hampered by lack of appropriate staff or knowledge necessary for digital transformation
17% of enterprises with 10 employees and self-employed persons have a digital strategy for digital transformation of business that was approved by the management. Regarding the size of enterprises (number of employees and self-employed persons) 14% of small, 29% of medium-sized and 48% of large enterprises have it.
60% of enterprises are hampered by various problems in digital transformation of business: 58% of small, 68% of medium-sized and 73% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 63% of manufacturing enterprises and 57% of enterprises in service activities are hampered by various problems.
32% of enterprises are hampered by lack of relevant staff or knowledge and 31% by lack of financial resources, in 30% of enterprises rapid adjustment of the management or operations of the enterprise is not possible, e.g. rapid experimentation in the usage of digital technologies, adaptation to changes in the environment, 27% of enterprises have too many conflicting priorities, in 23% of enterprises executives in the enterprise who are responsible for key processes lack knowledge of the capabilities of digital technologies, in 22% of enterprises business processes within the enterprise are not connected and in 17% of enterprises employees or managers do not show a willingness to make changes in the enterprise.
28% of enterprises have no problems with digital transformation (29% of small, 27% of medium-sized and 23% of large enterprises) and 46% stated that digital transformation is not essential for the successful performance of the enterprise (49% of small, 33% of medium-sized and 19% of large enterprises).
All enterprises regardless of the size are most often hampered by lack of appropriate staff or knowledge: 30% of small, 42% of medium-sized and half of large enterprises. In small enterprises lack of financial resources also stands out (30%) and in medium-sized and large enterprises lack of possibility for rapid adjustment of the management or operations of the enterprise (in 37% of medium-sized and 43% of large enterprises).
Technologies for identifying objects or persons are most often used artificial intelligence technologies
Artificial intelligence, which can be just software (e.g. face recognition system) or built into a device (e.g. autonomous robot), allows systems to detect the environment, process what they detect, and solve a problem, acting on a specific goal. The computer receives data that are pre-prepared, or collects them itself with sensors, e.g. camera, processes them and responds based on the data. Systems operating on the basis of artificial intelligence can, to a certain extent, independently adapt their behaviour on the basis of an analysis of the effects of their previous actions.
12% of enterprises with 10 employees and self-employed persons use artificial intelligence technologies: 9% of small, 20% of medium-sized and 36% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 9% of manufacturing enterprises and 14% of enterprises in service activities.
The most often used artificial intelligence technologies are technologies for identifying objects or persons (e.g. computer vision, machine vision, video analytics) that based on a picture identify a product, a fingerprint, a face or an object. They are used by 8% of enterprises. 3% use machine learning (method used for analysis and data forecasting) and the same share of enterprises technologies generating written or spoken language (natural language generation), 2% of enterprises use technologies that automate different workflows or assist in decision-making. 1% of enterprises use the following technologies: technologies performing analysis of written language (text mining), technologies converting spoken language into machine-readable format (speech recognition) and technologies enabling physical movement of machines via autonomous decisions based on observation of surroundings, e.g. autonomous robots, self-driving vehicles, autonomous drones.
Artificial intelligence software or systems are most often used for ICT security
Enterprises are using artificial intelligence software or systems for the following purposes: 68% use them for ICT security (e.g. use of biometric methods, the use of machine learning to detect and prevent cyber-attacks), 26% for marketing or sales (e.g. customer profiling, market analysis), 25% for production processes (e.g. product classification based on computer vision, predictive maintenance), 20% for management of enterprises (e.g. sales or business forecasting), 14% for organisation of business administration processes (e.g. automated planning or scheduling), 9% for logistics (e.g. route optimization, stock forecasting) and 3% for human resources management or recruiting (e.g. candidates pre-selection screening).
Three quarters of enterprises purchased commercial artificial intelligence software or systems ready to use
Enterprises that use artificial intelligence software or systems have acquired them in the following ways: 76% of enterprises purchased commercial artificial intelligence software or systems ready to use (including examples where it was already incorporated in a purchased item or system), for 36% of enterprises external providers were contracted to develop or modify artificial intelligence software or systems, in 35% of enterprises commercial software or systems were modified by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise), in 27% of enterprises they were developed by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise) and in 27% of enterprises open-source software or systems were modified by own employees (including those employed in parent or affiliate enterprise).
High costs and lack of relevant expertise in the enterprises are the most common reasons for enterprises not using artificial intelligence technologies after considering the possibilities of their use
7% of enterprises with at least 10 employees and self-employed persons that do not use artificial intelligence technologies (there are 88% of them) ever considered possibilities of using any of the technologies: 6% of small, 10% of medium-sized and 19% of large enterprises. As regards the activity of enterprises, 7% of manufacturing enterprises and 7% of enterprises in service activities considered of using them.
Enterprises that have considered using artificial intelligence technologies are not using them for the following reasons. For 67% of enterprises the costs seem too high, in 63% of enterprises there is a lack of relevant expertise, for 58% of enterprises the reason is incompatibility with existing equipment, software or systems, 51% have difficulties with availability or quality of the necessary data that artificial intelligence technologies need, for 25% of enterprises there is a lack of clarity about the legal consequences (e.g. liability in case of damage caused by the use of artificial intelligence), 23% have concerns regarding violation of data protection and privacy, and the same share of enterprises think artificial intelligence technologies are not useful for the enterprise. 16% of enterprises have ethical considerations.
Almost six out of ten enterprises use social media
58% of employees and self-employed persons have access to the Internet in enterprises for business purposes: 58% in small, 56% in medium-sized and 60% in large enterprises. Enterprises provide to 36% of employees and self-employed persons portable devices for business purposes (e.g. laptop or tablet computer, smartphone) that allow connection to the Internet using mobile telephone networks.
94% of enterprises use fixed broadband Internet connections. 15% use Internet connections with maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed line of less than 30 Mbit/s, 30% at least 30 but less than 100 Mbit/s, 37% at least 100 Mbit/s but less than 500 Mbit/s, 7% at least 500 Mbit/s but less than 1 Gbit/s and 10% at least 1 Gbit/s.
59% of enterprises use social media: 56% of small, 68% of medium-sized and 90% of large enterprises. 57% of enterprises use social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), 29% multimedia content sharing websites or apps (e.g. Instagram, YouTube) and 11% enterprise's blog or microblogs (e.g. Twitter). In 68% of enterprises that use social media, the COVID-19 pandemic did not influence them to start or increase their use of social media. 15% increased their usage temporarily and 17% started to use or increased the usage of social media.
In 2020:
- Almost a quarter of enterprises (24%) increased the number of employees and self-employed persons having remote access to the e-mail system of the enterprise. In 26% of those enterprises, this was fully the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic; in 60% partly and in 14% the pandemic had no effect on the increase.
- A quarter of enterprises (25%) increased the number of persons employed having remote access to the ICT systems of the enterprise, e.g. documents, software. In 33% of those enterprises, this was fully the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic; in 58% partly and in 9% the pandemic had no effect on the increase.
- Almost half of enterprises (48%) increase the number of remote meetings conducted by the enterprise, e.g. via Skype, Zoom, MS Teams. In 57% of those enterprises, this was fully the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic; in 41% partly and in 2% the pandemic had no effect on the increase.
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE
The published data are estimates derived from the survey on the sample that represents enterprises with at least 10 employees and self-employed persons. Enterprise can be comprised of one or more legal units. In 2021, enterprises in the activity 75 – Veterinary activities were also included in the survey. Therefore, the data are not comparable with the results from previous years, as this has led to a break in the time series of data.
The surveys is co-financed by the European Commission. However, the European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the material published in this document.
The surveys is co-financed by the European Commission. However, the European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the material published in this document.
When making use of the data and information of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, always add: "Source: SURS". More: Copyright.
.jpg)
