The 2024 barometer examines the digital maturity of Brussels companies and highlights the progress made as well as the obstacles they face. Explore the key findings and lessons from this report.
Significant progress…
To draw up this barometer, hub.brussels surveyed 724 Brussels companies in five key sectors: hospitality & catering, construction, retail, transport and specialist technical activities. What does the report reveal? Basic digital technologies have been well integrated, but challenges remain. Companies are focusing their efforts on the digitalisation of processes aimed at improving their productivity and their relationships with customers. Thus, 85% of companies have partially digitalised their billing and accounting, followed by customer service (51%), sales (49%) and human resources management (47%).
According to the report, 71% of companies have a website and 31% of them include online sales. In this way, Brussels exceeds the Belgian and European average. Websites remain the main channel of digital communication, followed by social media, email marketing and online advertising. The scientific and technical sectors are more digitally secure, while hospitality & catering and retail mainly rely on social media, particularly Instagram, to attract their customers.
…but there is room for improvement
The report also highlights some weaknesses. Only 21% of companies are investing in improving the digital skills of their employees. In addition, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) remains limited, with only 28% of companies working with these tools. The same applies for technologies such as blockchain. When it comes to cybersecurity, a proactive approach for effectively managing risks is often lacking.
“It is important to take these artificial intelligence tools into consideration in our coaching and awareness-raising initiatives, because they will only grow in importance in the future and it is essential for companies to be able to identify the opportunities arising from AI and the valuable uses for their business.”
Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels
Turning challenges into opportunities
It is clear that Brussels entrepreneurs are moving in the right direction, but they sometimes need a little help to find the appropriate resources, advice and training. So if you have any doubts, contact the hub.brussels teams. They are there to guide you and help you turn your weaknesses into opportunities. Discover our services to support the digitalisation of your company.
