Confirmed slowdown in the sector: it’s urgent to launch the Great Works of Tech
Furthermore, France is still lagging behind its main European partners in terms of digital technology, ranking 15th out of 28 in the European DESI 2020 digital competitiveness ranking.
In view of this situation, Syntec Numérique is calling on the government to invest massively in digital technology, so that France can catch up and become one of the leading European countries.
The digital sector also affected by the economic crisis
Digital technology demonstrated its full potential during the Covid19 crisis, enabling us to continue some of our daily activities (working, communicating, consuming) but also to provide better patient care: accelerating the implementation of platforms for delivering medical equipment during confinement, teleconsultations, etc.
And yet, while digital tools have been popular during the confinement, companies in the sector are no less impacted by the crisis: 1 in 2 business leaders are facing requests from their customers to renegotiate their rates, and 80% of the business leaders surveyed in the Syntec Numérique barometer anticipate an average drop in their sales forecasts for the second quarter of 2020, of almost 20%. This estimate is explained in particular by the drop in order intake forecasts from April to June 2020, which concerns 96% of respondents.
Digital technology must accelerate economic recovery
In an open letter also signed by TECH IN France, France Fintech and the Alliance Industrie du Futur, Syntec Numérique calls for massive investment by public authorities in the technologies and industry of the future (industrial internet, AI, 5G, robotization…).
These major tech projects are the responsibility of both national and regional public authorities, with the aim of accelerating the digitization of the State and local authorities. The digital transformation of companies, particularly in industry, will require a massive effort to support productive investment, via the creation of a support fund, as well as the suramortissement, the research tax credit and existing schemes. We also need to invest heavily in education and training in these new methods and technologies.
This plan will enable us to better digitalize our healthcare, public services, administrations, schools and businesses, while providing tech solutions to societal and environmental challenges. Post-Covid, technology can give us the means to be more responsive, more efficient and more supportive in the face of adversity, and will enable us to offer credible and useful alternatives and complements to our existing modes of operation, including democratic expression.