The Netherlands achieves goals digital compass EU with fingers in the nose
Deloitte looked at several parameters that play an important role in the EU compass, such as the share of large organizations using cloud computing, the digital fitness (digital intensity) of SMEs, the number of IT people per country, the digital adult literacy, and mobile and fixed infrastructure. The Netherlands is at the top of all lists, except – strangely enough – for the percentage of households with an internet connection of 1 Gbps or more.
In that area, Spain trumps the Netherlands with 92% against 90%. Even the target set by the EU, namely 100%, remains just out of the picture for the Netherlands with the 1 percentage point growth per year. In Spain it is still growing steadily at 3 percentage points per year. So if that trend continues, that country will already meet the EU standard for high-speed internet access by 2024.
5G rollout is fast
With a 5G coverage of 80%, the Netherlands stands head and shoulders above the other countries surveyed, where Ireland is second with 30%. However, the roll-out of a mobile network can happen quickly, so that 100% coverage for households that the EU would like to see by 2030, even for the last few France, Greece, Portugal and the Czech Republic, is not an unattainable goal.
The Netherlands also tops the Deloitte list of digital literacy with 79% of the adult population by 2020 having basic digital skills. The target of 80% set by the EU is therefore actually within reach. In fact, the Netherlands already met this in the reference 2019, but has fallen back slightly, as other countries are making better progress. For example, digital literacy downloads in Germany by 2 percentage points (70% in 2020) and 2.2 percentage points in the Czech Republic (62% in 2020). Ireland is developing fastest with a growth of 5.7 percentage points (53 % in 2020). .
Required IT staff within reach
The Netherlands is in the middle bracket in terms of the number of IT specialists. That is not surprising as a small country. The EU also has country-by-country figures. Let’s look at the gap compared to that country in second place with a visible increase of 250,000 IT people. Only Ireland with a state accretion of 90,000.
According to Deloitte, 530,000 IT people were working in the Netherlands in 2020. If the annual growth of 4% continues, the target number should be attainable. In Ireland the increase is even 15% per year, so the target number could be reached there next year. However, Italy is out of step with 830,000 IT professionals by 2020 and a target of 2.67 million. With an annual increase of 1%, something really needs to change in training and recruitment in that country.
The Netherlands is also number 1 with 75% in terms of digital intensity – a measure of digitization in companies. With a gap of 15 percentage points to the target of 90%, this is easy to do with an annual growth of 4 percentage points. Still, Italy – now number two – is likely to surpass our country in 2020 with a digital intensity of 69%, but an annual growth of 11 percentage points. However, there are also countries that are making the opposite move. For example, the index in the Czech Republic fell by 14 percentage points to 59%. Across Europe, the index has been stuck at around 60% for years.
Cloud disappears in the fog in Eastern Europe
The large organizations do better in that regard when looking at cloud use. Across all the countries surveyed, use by these companies rose from 12% in 2016 to 26% in 2020. If this line is continued, the figure will be exactly the EU target of 75%. Dutch large organizations were already above that line in 2020 at 26%. With a target of 28 percentage points, easy to close. The Netherlands is therefore again at the top of this list, followed by Ireland (41%) and Italy (38%). Last but not least, Hungary (17%), Poland (15%) and Romania (13%) are struggling to achieve the target number with not too strong growth figures.
Although everyone in the Netherlands is sometimes annoyed by the digital services provided by the government, we can squeeze our hands in that. In 2021, 86% of the administrative steps that the population has to take could be completed digitally. Just like in Ireland. This is also going well in Portugal (85%) and Spain (82%). This is much less successful in countries such as Hungary and Greece (both 54%) and Romania (44%).
EU money and cooperation
What can make a big difference is how the last ones in the lists manage to speed up with the help of, among other things, the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RFF). The EU makes it available to countries based on the economy of the country affected by the corona pandemic. A country like the Netherlands has come through it well, think individual entrepreneurs will think differently. But the economy has fully recovered during the pandemic of the first shock. The Dutch government – as the only one – has not even applied for a selection from the RFF pot, if our country comes up with proposals at all.
The EU has, based on data from the Index digital economy and society (DESI) score determined. The Deloitte report shows that the countries with a low DESI score have allocated the largest investments per capita. In this respect, Italy stands out far above the other countries surveyed, followed by Greece and Spain. With these investments and the RFF benefits, these countries may be able to catch up with the EU targets in the Digital Decade 2030 compass.