There are two key words that will be increasingly important to ensure that Italian companies do not lose ground to fierce global competition: digital innovation and sustainability.

Focusing here on the first aspect, the new research recently conducted by OICE. Osservatorio Italiano Commercio Elettronico PMI (Italian Observatory of Electronic Commerce for SMEs), gives us valuable information on the state of the art of an important part of our productive fabric (500 small and medium-sized enterprises in the North West) regarding the presence on the web and the use of electronic commerce.

This research, financed by GBS Group, was presented last October 14th in Turin, at the Fondazione ITS ICT Piemonte, giving us back a not exactly comforting scenario.

Many companies (more than half) do not currently have an adequate digital asset and in an even higher percentage (two thirds) no strategy has been adopted to promote their business using online channels.

Lop Brand was among the speakers, through its founder Lorella Primavera, who dedicated her report to the story of her twenty years of experience in marketing and communication with large companies. Today, as a consultant, she supports small and large companies in building their own digital strategy, ensuring that they can play a leading role in the profound change taking place.

There is a lot of work to do. For this reason, it is crucial that research bodies, universities and professionals in the sector work together to show the way to entrepreneurs and managers who the world envies us for their creative ability and continuous product innovation, but who are not yet fully aware of the great advantages that implementing digital technology brings them.