Germany's digital dependency: IT suppliers from the United States dominate!

Germany's digital dependency: IT suppliers from the United States dominate!

Mannheim, Deutschland - The digital dependence of German companies on foreign IT suppliers, especially from the USA, remains alarming. According to a recent study by the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), over 80 percent of the companies surveyed feel strongly dependent on non-European providers in decisive digital technologies. This dependency is particularly pronounced in the area of software and applications.

A total of 1200 companies in the information industry and the processing trade, including well -known industries such as chemistry, pharmaceuticals and mechanical engineering, were interviewed. The results reveal that 78 percent of the information industry and 68 percent of the processing companies consider digital sovereignty as crucial for the economic success of Germany. However, only 55 percent of the companies surveyed see digital sovereignty as important for their own business success in the processing industry. A central concern remains control of your own data.

alarm signals of dependency

The dependence on foreign technology is particularly evident in software development, where 36 percent of the information industry and 28 percent of the processing trade are dependent on external providers. Also in innovative technologies such as generative AI, 30 percent of companies in the information industry and 20 percent in the processing of businesses allow similar dependency. A disturbing development, because almost three quarters of the respondents lead to the lack of European alternatives as the main reason for this uncertainty. In addition, many companies emphasize the technical superiority of their American competitors.

While companies saw sufficient opportunities in 2021, a current survey shows that lock-in effects have increased. These technical hurdles make it difficult to change the provider. In the information industry, 58 percent of companies now report on such lock-in effects, a dramatic increase compared to three years ago. This proportion has also increased by 19 percentage points to 51 percent in the processing industry.