-SMEs that capitalized on technology during the pandemic saw a 48% increase in telephone and online orders and a 50% increase in remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic
-2020 is seeing increased use of e-shops, digital campaigns, videoconferencing tools, CRM systems and IoT by SMEs, which, however, often resort to non-professional solutions
According to a survey carried out by the ELTRUN lab of the Athens University of Economics and Business for COSMOTE, 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) in Greece are in the Elementary stages of digital development. The survey, carried out
[1] throughout Greece in 2019 and 2020, of aprox 1,500 enterprises in all sectors,
[2] documents the impact of the pandemic crisis on Greek enterprises, revealing that 8 in 10 SMEs were forced to significantly alter their operations, with 1 in 3 completely suspending their operations, while 70% capitalized on digital technologies to respond to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
ELTRUN’s survey was the first to focus on Greek enterprises with 1 to 50 employees and creates a Digital Readiness Index of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to ascertain the digital maturity of SMEs based on the adoption and use of 10 key digital applications and digital infrastructure: websites, e-shops, social media, digital campaigns, cloud infrastructure, digital security, digital communication tools, ERP, CRM and IoT systems.
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SMEs are the backbone of the Greek economy, accounting for 99% of all enterprises. Their transition to the digital age and adoption of the appropriate “smart” tools is a matter of survival for these businesses – a fact that was even clearer during the health crisis. At COSMOTE, we want to support the growth of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship and the country’s digital progress. That’s why we needed to carry out this survey, which provides us with important quantitative data and points to SMEs’ need for support, with these enterprises now recognizing the importance of digital tools. Together with ELTRUN, we want to repeat this survey every two years, tracing the progress of Greek enterprises on their digital journey,” said Thanos Falangas, the OTE Group’s Enterprise, Business Marketing & CRM Director.
SMEs’ use of digital media improved in 2020, but they often opt for non-professional solutions
SMEs’ use of digital tools and infrastructure showed improvement in 2020, mainly with regard to e-shops (+18%), digital campaigns (+18%), videoconferencing tools (+20%), CRM systems (+26%) and IoT (+70%). However, the survey reveals that, in a number of cases, enterprises have opted for non-professional solutions, mainly due to a lack of resources.
Some of the findings highlighted by the survey:
- 70% of Greek SMEs have a corporate website, but 1 in 3 of these sites was constructed by non-professionals.
- 17% of businesses have e-shops, with 48% of these seeing a significant increase in use in 2020.
- 36% of SMEs have ‘run’ a digital promotion campaign, but only 17% with professional assistance, while social media are a major means of promotion and communication for 2 out of 3 enterprises.
- Call centers are vital to the operations of 1 in 2 enterprises, and there is a slight trend toward use of cloud-based centers (10% of users).
- 2020 has seen a 20% increase in the use of teleconferencing solutions, mainly due to Covid-19, with Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams being the most popular platforms.
- 40% of enterprises use customer relationship management (CRM) systems to bolster customer satisfaction, while 2020 has seen an increase (to 43% of SMEs) in use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for managing all of an enterprise’s operations.
- 90% of SMEs regard digital security as important. But 9 in 10 opt for simple antivirus software for fixed devices.
- Use of servers is fairly widespread at SMEs, with 1 in 2 having a central server. In fact, 25% of users have opted for a cloud server.
- IoT use is up in 2020. 22% of SMEs say they use IoT systems, but this use is basic, with 80% being monitoring of company facilities. Very few SMEs are seeking advanced solutions (energy, asset management, etc.).
Based on the Digital Readiness Index ranking, 1 in 2 Greek SMEs is currently in the Elementary/Basic stages, while just 1 in 8 is Advanced – with none ranked Ideal.
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We are very pleased to have carried out this survey – on COSMOTE’s initiative – compiling the digital profile of small and medium-sized enterprises in Greece. With the pandemic crisis and the new index we are proposing for the digital readiness of SMEs as our frame of reference, we believe that the comparative results of the survey can prove very useful to all market players,” said Giorgos Doukidis, professor at the University of Economics and Business & Director of ELTRUN. Commenting on the results, Mr. Doukidis added that “
it is clear from the survey’s findings that the digital maturity of some SMEs protected them from the catastrophic repercussions of the crisis. Enterprises that had already adopted digital tools before the arrival of Covid-19 managed to recover more easily and to a greater degree.”
Digitally mature SMEs made more effective use of technology to overcome the problems caused by Covid-19
80% of Greek SMEs were significantly impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, as the ELTRUN survey shows. Specifically:
- 21% of enterprises were forced to close some of their departments/branches,
- 16% carried out most tasks remotely,
- 17% showed a reduction in sales/transactions,
- and 37% of SMEs were forced to completely suspend operations.
Today, only 6 in 10 SMEs say they have fully returned to how they operated before the Covid crisis.
Most enterprises surveyed (7 in 10) say they made greater use of digital technologies in order to return to normalcy. Specifically, they point to an increase
[3] in telephone orders (48%), online sales (48%) and remote work (50%).
It is noteworthy that 8% of SMEs say they are in better condition now than they were before the crisis.
COSMOTE’s goal is for the findings of the survey to be used to enhance its positive contribution to the growth of SMEs in Greece through the use of technology and innovation.
All of survey’s findings –as well as COSMOTE’s initiatives, actions and proposals for supporting SMEs – are available in detail at:
growyourbusiness.gr
[1] The telephone-interview survey was carried out in July 2019 (with a sample of 1,000 enterprises) and July 2020 (with a sample of 500 enterprises).
[2] Commerce, manufacturing, professionals/scientists, tourism/food service sector, services, construction companies, etc.
[3] Percentages refer to the portion of the sample with the given digital infrastructure.