92% of Italian companies do not have a high level of digitalisation

Italy invests less in highly technologically intensive sectors than the European average and the gap risks slowing down competitiveness, productivity and the ability to attract new capital. In fact, high-tech investments are worth1.3% of GDPcompared to the European Union average of 1.9%: a level lower than 32%. However, bridging the gap in the ability of institutions to translate rules into results could generate up to 27 billion euros of additional investments every yearequal to approximately 1.23 percentage points of GDP.

This is what emerges from the study “Unlocking the future: high-tech investments for Italian competitiveness”, carried out by TEHA, Amazon and AWS and presented at the TEHA Forum “The Scenario of Today and Tomorrow for competitive strategies” at Villa d’Este, in Cernobbio.

The research photographs a country that has important industrial, scientific and technological assets, but continues to experience difficulties in attracting, implementing and bringing investments into the most technologically advanced sectors on a large scale. Only 7.9% of Italian companies have a very high level of digital intensity, compared to the 10.1% European average. According to the study, three conditions are needed above all to reduce the gap: a competitive and reliable energy system, greater administrative and regulatory capacity and a wider availability of technical and scientific skills.

Research topics on businesses and digitalisation

The research was developed with the scientific contribution of Alec RossAmerican expert on innovation and technological policies, author of the new best-seller “The Italian Dream: Taking Back the Future”, former Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and today Distinguished Adjunct Professor at the Bologna Business School.

The study examines the factors that influence Italy’s ability to attract investments in sectors such as cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data centers and automation and, at the same time, the possibility for companies to adopt and develop these technologies.

A significant economic impact

According to the data reported in the research, the adoption of artificial intelligence is associated with increases in labor productivity of approximately 4%, while the more digitally intensive sectors generated approximately 40% of new jobs in the OECD area between 2006 and 2016. High-tech investments also allow companies, in particular SMEs and startups, to access advanced technologies, infrastructures and services without having to independently support high initial investments.

However, the digital divide remains particularly marked among smaller companies. In 2025, 82% of large companies, 61% of medium-sized companies and only 34% of small companies will have high or very high digital intensity. It is on this ground that, according to Giulia Gasparini, Country Manager of AWS Italythe cloud can help lower the barriers to access the most advanced technologies. “In Italy we have chosen to invest: over 3 billion euros in cloud infrastructure and tens of thousands of people trained in digital skills since 2017, towards the goal of 200,000 STEM students by the end of 2026. Today the cloud puts the same computing power and artificial intelligence in the hands of a startup as a large company, with a pay-per-use model and without entry barriers. The real enabling factor is predictability: when the rules are stable and the times are certain, the companies invest more and innovate earlier. This is the step that can transform Italian potential into real growth.”

The energy node

One of the main obstacles identified by the research is the energy system. In 2024, 74% of the energy available in Italy came from abroad, compared to 57% of the EU average. Italian companies thus end up paying up to 30% more for energy than the European average. The growth of renewable sources could reduce this dependence, but authorization times considered excessively long and unpredictable remain to hold back investments. According to the study, to obtain a permit for a photovoltaic system in Italy it takes on average a year and a half longer than in Germany and, during the process, the regulatory framework can change three times.

Bureaucracy and institutional capacity

The ability of institutions to transform regulations into concrete results also affects investors’ decisions. The study estimates that an improvement in the Institutional Delivery Index to Denmark’s levels could increase the share of high-tech investment by 0.92 percentage points. For Italy, alignment with the European border could translate into additional investments of up to 27 billion euros each year.

Regulatory stratification is also holding back this potential. According to the data reported by the research, in Italy they are in force approximately 160 thousand laws, 23 times more than in Francewhile one law in five approved in the last legislatures would have remained unimplemented pending the relevant implementing decrees. The public resources held up as a result of delays in implementation currently amount to around 3 billion euros.

It is precisely on regulatory complexity that Ross insists: “Being an entrepreneur in Italy is like running a marathon with a backpack full of stones”, highlights Alec Ross, “and with every new regulation there is a new stone in the backpack. It doesn’t mean that rules are not needed. It means that the rules must be clear, coherent, predictable and applicable. The problem, therefore, is not a lack of capacity. It’s that too often we force companies and investors to spend time and energy to navigate the system rather than to build, innovate and grow. We must start removing stones from the backpack because today the speed with which a country is able to decide and act is part of its competitiveness.”

Rules for artificial intelligence and simplification proposals

The problem of predictability also concerns the regulation of emerging technologies. 68% of European companies say they do not fully understand their obligations under the AI ​​Act and, according to the study, companies that perceive greater regulatory uncertainty expect 28% lower investments in artificial intelligence in the following twelve months. Overlaps between European and national legislation, unclear rules and forms of gold plating, the research observes, therefore risk slowing down the adoption of new technologies in a phase in which innovation cycles are increasingly rapid.

On this front, Valerio De Molli, Managing Partner and CEO of TEHA Groupindicates simplification and regulatory stability as two essential conditions for supporting investments. “Simplification must proceed together with greater stability of the regulatory framework, accelerating the adoption of implementing decrees, reducing the stratification of regulations and preventing forms of national gold plating”, summarizes De Molli. “At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen ITS Academy, STEM paths, reskilling and upskilling in advanced digital skills, through structured partnerships between the education system, universities and businesses. To encourage a wider diffusion of technologies, particularly among SMEs, the research finally indicates the opportunity to introduce incentives aimed at the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud and to strengthen the startup ecosystem, through venture capital, technology transfer and faster procedures for attracting international talent.”

Expected skills and interventions

Another structural issue is in fact that of skills. Italy, according to the study, has 40% fewer graduates than the European average. At the same time, 57.3% of positions aimed at ITS graduates are difficult to fill and three out of five companies declare that they are unable to find the skills they need. The measures proposed by the research therefore include the strengthening of ITS Academy and STEM paths, greater investments in digital reskilling and upskilling and closer collaboration between the education system, universities and businesses.

On the energy front, the study instead indicates the need to reduce the time required for authorizations for renewable sources through one-stop shops, peremptory deadlines and qualified silent consent mechanisms, supported by incentives for the development of new sustainable energy capacity. For large high-tech investments, a single authorization path is also proposed, with a government interlocutor in charge of coordinating procedures regarding urban planning, environment, energy, taxation and employment and with uniform rules throughout the national territory.

The effect of investments on the economic system

The effect of technological investments on the entire economic system is also underlined by Giorgio Busnelli, VP & Country Manager Amazon Italy. “Since 2010 we have invested over 30 billion euros in Italy and created more than 19,000 permanent jobs. Today we are the company established in the last 30 years with the largest number of employees in the country, among the 20 largest employers in Italy, and we contribute to supporting over 100,000 jobs overall along the entire supply chain. Our experience confirms what this research demonstrates: when a country attracts high-performance investments technological intensity, the benefits spread to the entire economic system – in terms of employment, innovation and competitiveness. Italy has everything it takes to be even more attractive. Regulatory simplification, regulatory certainty and investments in skills are the levers to strengthen this virtuous circle – to the benefit of businesses, workers and the growth of the country.”