Bitkom study
Huge dependence on digital imports
One-sided dependencies are a permanent condition in the German digital economy. photo
© Lino Mirgeler/dpa
During the Corona pandemic, the negative sides of large dependencies in companies’ supply chains became visible. In the digital economy, such one-sided conditions are a permanent condition even beyond major crises.
Almost all companies with 20 or more employees in Germany see themselves as dependent on importing digital technologies and services from abroad. In a representative survey by the industry association Bitkom only declared every 25th company (4 percent) independent of digital imports. Almost two thirds (62 percent) of companies with 20 or more employees describe themselves as “highly dependent”, while another 32 percent describe themselves as “somewhat dependent”.
In the survey, more than half (57 percent) of companies said they could survive for 13 to 24 months without digital imports. 19 percent would be able to survive for seven to twelve months, and 12 percent would only be able to survive for up to six months. Only 7 percent of companies could hold out for longer than two years. For the study, 604 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany were surveyed by telephone last November and December.
Germany’s dependence has only grown
Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst said that digitally sovereign is a country that has its own substantial capabilities in key digital technologies and can independently decide from which countries it sources digital technologies. “Germany’s dependence has grown in recent years. We must and can reverse this development.”
The economy is suffering from one-sided economic relations with China. In the survey, 69 percent said that the German economy’s dependence on China was a concern for the company. The relationship with the USA is viewed as less critical. Here, 38 of the companies expressed their concerns about excessive dependency.
When it comes to digital imports, devices such as smartphones and laptops are at the top of the list, with 94 percent of companies importing them. Three quarters (76 percent) introduce digital components such as chips, semiconductors or sensors. Two thirds (69 percent) import software and 67 percent cybersecurity applications such as firewalls. However, the dependence on raw materials for IT hardware, such as metals or rare earths, is comparatively low. According to the survey, they are only being introduced by three percent of companies.
Wintergerst said that German politics also had a key role to play in establishing digital sovereignty: “The federal government can do a lot.” You have the regulation in your hands. But this is going in the wrong direction. “It is too restrictive of technology, it is too prohibition-oriented, it is not open enough to technology for real digital innovations to emerge in Europe.”