Currently, we find several companies within the business that call themselves “digital companies” or “companies with digital maturity” as an element of differentiation between their peers. Most of the time these digital companies are nothing more than organizations with a website that allows little/no interaction with its users.
But what does it mean to be a “Digital Company” after all?
Recently, Capgemini and MIT Sloan, which defines digital companies as those that can relate to their target audience, focusing on two basic pillars:
- Digital Intensity - referring to the investment made in digital activities or initiatives
- Digital Leadership Intensity – creating leadership pillars that support the company's digital transformation
The activities undertaken by companies in the areas indicated above define the positioning of their “digital maturity”.
This placement can be located in the following vectors:
| Positioning | Company Profile |
| Beginners | They do little or nothing with digital capabilities. They can be by choice, or by not being attentive to the market |
| Conservatives | Prudent par excellence, these companies tend to wait for the market to define standards, before making their digital investments |
| Fashionists | Implement many digital actions, some of them without a real focus on their business, which may or may not generate value for the company and its customer |
| Digirati | Create a digital culture, which when combined with investments in technologies lead to digital advancement and competitive advantage |
How are we in Portugal?
Portuguese companies, in general, are not yet genuinely concerned and with a leadership focused on the digital aspect of the markets.
Save for a few good exceptions that we have in the country, we were able to assess that for the vast majority of companies, having a “digital strategy” usually involves having one or two websites, with few usability concerns, in order to act in the digital market of same way as in the “real” market.
The strategies taken by companies typically seek to follow what is done on a day-to-day basis, without an in-depth analysis of what the competition does, or the purchase process for their products/services.
However, it’s not all bad news and there are good examples in Portugal so that other companies can look and see what could be an example of good digital practices. KW Digital will perform a annual tracking of the best digital companies, where we can find the following Portuguese digital companies:
| Ranking National | Ranking European | Company |
| 1 | 65 /500 | Galp Energia |
| 2 | 101 /500 | Portugal Telecom |
| 3 | 132 /500 | Jerónimo Martins |
| 4 | 209 /500 | EDP |
| 5 | nd | Banco Espírito Santo |
| 6 | 406 /500 | EDP Renewables |
| 7 | nd | Cimpor |
Why is it interested in being a good Digital Company?
The main interest is, of course, not in being the first on an annual listing and seeing your name shouted to heaven.
In addition to the clear message of dynamism, of approaching customers and consumers in general, there is real evidence that companies that have a superior digital maturity, obtain better business results.
The illustrations below are adapted from Capgemini and MIT Sloan study, where we can verify that there is a strong positive correlation between the level of digital maturity with the revenues, profits and market value of the company.
Companies that are more advanced digitally mature tend to make greater profits.
On average Digirati and Conservadoras companies have 26% and 9% more profits, respectively, than the others.
These companies are the ones that present a good business vision and align the investments made with the company’s general objectives.
In short, companies must be aware of market trends, and align a competent, profitable business strategy that addresses the digital aspect. Which digital maturity vector does your company fit into?
He doesn’t think it makes sense that there is a concrete approach to the digital market, especially when there are state incentives and support for the digital economy?
