TECH NEWS – Among corporate IT solutions, integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems are the most widespread, but even for these, only one in five companies fully utilizes their potential. Dedicated AI applications have been implemented by 13 percent of them, according to this year’s national competitiveness survey by Corvinus University of Budapest.

Do Hungarian companies primarily view IT as a competitive advantage or a cost factor? What are the most commonly used corporate technologies? Which operational areas are most frequently digitalized? These questions are answered by the latest Hungarian competitiveness flash report, which interviewed more than 330 company executives as part of the decades-long research series by the Corvinus University’s Competitiveness Research Center.

Most respondents believe that IT is a prerequisite for staying competitive (41.8%), a quarter primarily see it as an important cost factor, and a fifth view it as one of the sources of their competitive advantage.

“Compared to 2019, more people believe that IT can provide a competitive edge, but the proportion has also increased among those who consider it important not for competition, but due to rising costs,” said Péter Móricz, associate professor at Corvinus University of Budapest and one of the authors of the competitiveness report, regarding the research.

In terms of digitalization strategy and planned implementation, about two-thirds of companies consider themselves at least somewhat prepared, but only half of the respondents are willing to take risks with innovative digital solutions. Only one fifth of companies say their financial resources for digitalization are sufficient. Only one in seven or eight Hungarian companies has a clear and coherent digitalization strategy.

Half of Companies Integrate AI into Their Operations in Some Form

According to the results, the most widespread IT technologies are integrated ERP and CRM systems, but only one in five companies said these are a fully embedded part of their operations. One in eight companies does not use such technology at all. Business intelligence systems and social platforms are fully used by one in six and one in seven companies, respectively. Chatbots are the least widespread: only 3 percent of companies fully exploit their advantages.

Targeted artificial intelligence applications (such as ChatGPT, WatsonX) have been regularly implemented by 13% of companies. However, almost half of companies answered yes when researchers asked whether they use artificial intelligence for various corporate functions—either with standalone software, AI capabilities available in supporting software, or through an external partner.

According to the survey, about half of companies believe that their level of digitalization is similar to that of their competitors. Companies feel most outstanding in the digitalization of logistics and supplier as well as customer relations, the latter also serving as a dividing line between less and highly competitive firms. More competitive companies consider themselves above average in every area of digitalization.