That is the core message of the EU Commission’s Digitization Index (DESI), which was recently presented. Every year, this compares the 27 EU countries in terms of their digital competence.
Austria is also in tenth place this year and cemented it. According to the report, our country is particularly good at “human capital” and at the integration of digital technologies by companies. On the other hand, there is a need to catch up when it comes to cloud applications and the use of big data, i.e. the use and processing of large amounts of data.
Excluded from the praise for the “Human Capital” area is the indicator “Companies that offer further training in information and communication technology (ICT)”. According to the responsible state secretariat, the proportion of ICT specialists in Austria is above the EU-wide average. At the same time, however, the proportion of companies that have problems filling special ICT positions is above the EU average. As reported several times, there is currently a shortage of around 24,000 skilled workers in this sector in Austria.
According to the DESI report, Austria achieves good values for 5G network coverage. Fixed networks with very high capacity such as fiber optics, on the other hand, are still well below the EU average, the EU Commission noted. The biggest hurdle is the supply of higher broadband speeds in rural areas.
Austria also scored in several areas as far as the integration of digital technology is concerned – above all in the use of digital technologies and in cross-border online trade. Austria is also above the EU average when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI). Austria is also in a good position when it comes to digital administrative services. According to the EU Commission, Austria is well above the EU average in terms of the number of e-government users.
Finland is number one
Finland took first place in the EU this year, followed by Denmark and the Netherlands. Bottom of the digitization index is Romania. State Secretary Florian Tursky (VP), responsible for digitization and broadband, wants to bring Austria into the top 5 by 2025. “One thing is clear, there is still a lot to do here. We will invest in broadband expansion as well as in digital administration.” Digital ID cards are also an “important milestone”.
Source: Nachrichten
