ADR: More than half of Romanian SMEs claim there are barriers to digital transformation

The Romanian Digitalization Authority has completed the analysis on “Barriers to the Digitalization of the public and private environment in Romania”, an essential document that will be the basis for substantiating and prioritizing projects carried out through European funds for the 2021-2027 programming period. The analysis was subject to the criteria for Sector Favorable Condition 1 (CS1). In the absence of the analysis, non-reimbursable funds from European Union funding programs could not have been accessed.

“This document is an x-ray of the challenges posed by the digital transformation in Romania and will be a solid foundation in the formulation of public policies, priorities for action and projects carried out through European funding such as POCIDIF, POCU and PNRR. We can find effective solutions only after a correct and complete identification of the barriers that stand in the way of digitizing the economy and administration. Digital transformation is a complex process that requires expertise, time and financial resources allocated efficiently. Through this document, we have a clear picture of the obstacles that need to be overcome for digital transformation to be a properly calibrated and successful process. Without this analysis, the non-reimbursable financing from European funds in the field of digitalization would have remained simple administrative aspirations “, said Octavian Oprea, president of ADR.

The analysis highlighted that, in the private environment, digital barriers are primarily those related to human capital: low digital skills of the workforce digital skills specific to company management, often absent in the area of ​​SMEs the number of IT specialists available for the SME area lack of funding for the adoption of advanced digital technologies accompanied by support and advice Also, the ambiguity and lack of coherent evolution of e-government tools are barriers to the digitalization of companies, insofar as e-government can ensure the transparency of digital rules on legal obligations and can become an incentive for the adoption of compliance tools. fiscal, legislative, etc.

For the public sector, the analysis was based on the public policy document on e-government and the experiences of public administration institutions in the implementation of digitization projects. Thus, the identified barriers are the four highlighted by public policy in the field of e-government: Lack of an efficient and effective IT architecture for the general management of electronic public services Lack of information systems necessary for central public institutions to operationalize electronic public services Insufficiency of e-government and human resources specialists in the IT departments of public institutions and authorities and, in correlation, of the necessary competencies for the development and maintenance of electronic public services Lack of a uniform and efficient legislative and procedural framework for supporting electronic public services

The complete document can be accessed at https://www.adr.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ADR-Barierele-Digitalizarii-mediului-public-si-privat-din-Romania.pdf