Detailed study report by the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) now available online
The Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (HWG LU) investigated the relationship between digitization and the service economy on behalf of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture. The aim of the empirical study, which was completed at the end of 2020, was to clarify how digitization processes in the economy affect trends in required skills and job profiles, the need for knowledge-intensive services to cope with the digital transformation, and the development opportunities for a specialized business-related service economy.
The background to the study was the widely documented fact that many of the technological competencies and methodological skills required for digitization projects cannot be adequately provided by companies themselves and that there is therefore a need for external expertise in the form of services and consulting, e.g., IT security or AI experts, cloud architects, digital transformation specialists, data artists, customer experience managers, data scientists, blockchain developers or agile coaches.
In line with the objectives of the study, qualitative interviews were conducted with a number of experts from business and public institutions, as well as standardized surveys with over 500 decision-makers from a) commercial enterprises in various industries ("client companies") and b) IT service providers and consulting firms ("service providers") in Germany.
The results provide detailed insight into the current needs and plans of both client companies and service providers, as well as dynamic developments and options for action for both public and private players.
The study revealed the following findings, among others:
- For two-thirds of the client companies surveyed, it is a challenge to keep track of the service/consulting market and to find suitable service providers. According to their assessment, rural areas are not adequately supplied with qualified service providers.
- IT security is the No. 1 topic: 64% of the customer companies surveyed expect "secure demand" for services in the coming years. There is also a high demand for consulting services in the strategic area of digital business models. In the case of management and organizational topics, the importance of support from external service providers is high with regard to further education and training on new technologies and the implementation of mobile work and home office.
- The service providers surveyed see particularly strong demand in the knowledge-intensive service sector in the coming years for "digital transformation experts" and "cloud experts".
- In the view of service providers, there are various challenges with regard to the new job profiles that are developing dynamically in the context of digitization: For example, the quality of an individual qualification can be difficult to assess (64% agreement), people with suitable qualifications can be difficult to identify (62%), and qualifications required for a job profile may not be sufficiently clearly defined (56%).
- 50% of service provider respondents continue to agree that the "know-how gap" between service providers and client companies is increasing (creating new requirements for communication skills).
- As a result of the effects of the Corona crisis, the customer companies surveyed see a rather increasing need for external expert support for the implementation of digitization projects. Service providers, on the other hand, believe that they will have to realign their offerings due to changes in customer priorities (68% agreement).
- Consulting needs, particularly among SMEs, increasingly require interdisciplinary, communicative and social skills from service providers. Various market-side requirements described in detail in the study continue to drive the further development of job profiles. In addition, company needs that have not been sufficiently taken into account to date offer scope for new offerings and service innovations.
The study is available as a free download on the homepage of the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI).
Technical contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences
Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI)
Philipp Tachkov
Tel. 0621/5203-259
E-mail: philipp.tachkov@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
