CONTENTS
Growing commitment to innovation as a driver of competitiveness
R&D is an integral part of corporate strategy. Thus, 95% (+1 point) of companies say they innovate frequently or occasionally, and 84% (+4 points) invest occasionally to regularly in scientific and technical innovation. The driving force behind this trend, competitiveness, remains the main purpose of R&D for 91% (+6 points compared to 2022) of respondents, underlining the strategic importance of these investments and the particular attention paid to the impact of R&D on the acceleration of projects.
In 2024, focus on AI and responsible digital technology!
When it comes to R&D investment, artificial intelligence tops the podium, cited by 70% of the digital companies surveyed. In 2nd and 3rd place come the Cloud, for 45% of respondents, followed by cybersecurity, for 40%. Digital responsibility emerges as a priority for 35% of respondents, illustrating a growing trend and market demand for offerings that integrate this dimension. This is particularly true for ESN/ICTs, 47% of whom cited this aspect.
Public financing available in France, but access to private financing too limited
68% of respondents said it was easy to innovate in France, up 10 points on 2022. Existing mechanisms, such as the research tax credit, the most widely used, provide a favorable foundation for innovation in the digital sector. However, challenges persist: less than 40% of respondents have obtained subsidies or repayable advances for R&D in 2023, and 70% find it difficult to access private financing.
However, major obstacles and concerns remain.
The lack of private funding is hampering our companies by drastically limiting the financial resources available. Another frequently cited problem is the slow, time-consuming administrative processing of schemes, the best example being the time taken to issue CIR/CII approvals. There is also room for improvement when it comes to the use of the IP Box, a device that is still unknown to some of our members (40%) or considered too complex to implement (23%). Finally, there are the recurring debates about the validity, capping and scope of the research tax credit, even though our companies consider it to be essential and effective for themselves and our country, and need stability and visibility in this area.