RICOH-EUROPE
4.11.2015 10:02:08 CET | Business Wire | Press release
The overwhelming majority of businesses across Europe (92 per cent) admit they are not ready for the introduction of the EU Digital Single Market, according to new research commissioned by Ricoh Europe . The Digital Single Market is set to be the most game-changing European regulation this decade, yet millions of businesses currently stand to miss out on its benefits and let an estimated €415bn contribution to the European economy pass them by1 .
Only half of businesses (51 per cent) have heard of the EU’s proposed Digital Single Market, which is due to come into force at the end of 2016 and will standardise Europe’s online marketplace so that the same content, products and services are available at the same prices anywhere in the EU. Awareness of the proposals is at its lowest in The Nordics (28 per cent), Belgium/Luxembourg (29 per cent) and Portugal (30 per cent), according to the survey of 1,360 business leaders from across EU states.
| # | Percentage of businesses in each country aware of the EU’s Digital Single Market | # | Percentage of businesses in each country not ready for Digital Single Market | |||||||||
| 1. | Italy | 70% | 1. | Poland | 97% | |||||||
| - | France | 70% | 2. | France | 95% | |||||||
| 2. | Spain | 65% | - | Germany | 95% | |||||||
| 3. | Germany | 61% | 3. | Belgium / Luxembourg | 94% | |||||||
| 4. | UK | 57% | 4. | UK | 92% | |||||||
| 5. | Poland | 47% | - | Spain | 92% | |||||||
| - | Austria | 47% | - | Portugal | 92% | |||||||
| 6. | Hungary | 46% | 5. | Hungary | 91% | |||||||
| 7. | The Netherlands | 43% | 6. | Italy | 91% | |||||||
| 8. | Portugal | 30% | 7. | The Nordics | 90% | |||||||
| 9. | Belgium / Luxembourg | 29% | 8. | Austria | 88% | |||||||
| 10. | The Nordics | 28% | 9. | The Netherlands | 86% | |||||||
The low levels of awareness and preparation are particularly worrying given that only seven per cent of EU SMEs currently sell across borders; a figure which needs to be increased if the European economy is to thrive2 . Most European businesses (65 per cent) say they intend to expand to other countries in the continent over the next five years, but unless they embrace the Digital Single Market these ambitious growth plans are unlikely to be realised. Companies from the Austria, Hungary and The Nordics are the most likely to have plans to expand outside of their own country by 2020.
Most respondents thought that there would be several benefits from a digital single market, in particular, an increase in the number of customers from the EU (chosen by 56 per cent of respondents), the opportunity to access new European markets (chosen by 52 per cent), as well as increased internal efficiency in their own business (44 per cent).
However, 24 per cent of companies surveyed don’t believe there will be any benefits resulting from a digital single market, and many have concerns about its impact on their business. 40 per cent of businesses claim they are not ready for the increased competition a digital single market will introduce, while 37 per cent are afraid of its cost implications, and 34 per cent believe they lack the resources to capitalise on the opportunity. A third also believes there will only be more regulation for the sake of it.
| Perceived benefits to the business | Perceived concerns for the business | ||||||
| Increased EU customers | 56% | Increased competition | 42% | ||||
| Reduced barrier to enter new markets | 52% | Greater IT requirements | 41% | ||||
| Greater revenue | 52% | VAT obstacles | 36% | ||||
| Greater profitability | 50% | Cross border data protection uncertainty | 34% | ||||
| Reduced operating costs | 48% | Investment required to launch in a new territory | 34% | ||||
| Faster launch of new products/services | 47% | Prices of products and/or services driven down | 32% | ||||
| More efficient internal processes and systems | 44% | Lack of clear cross-border e-commerce rules | 29% | ||||
David Mills, CEO of Ricoh Europe , said: “So far, business leaders are failing to grasp the enormous impact the impending Digital Single Market will have upon their company. It’s a genuine concern that many bosses appear to feel no immediate pressure to prepare their organisations for Europe’s shift towards an increasingly digitally-based economy.”
One reason for companies’ lack of excitement about the Digital Single Market might be their concerns about their own countries’ digital strength. Only nine per cent of European business leaders say their own country is “very strong” at digital technology, skills and infrastructure. Whilst nearly two-thirds of businesses in the Nordics believe their countries are digitally strong, this shrinks to a fifth of Polish and Spanish companies, and only 15 per cent of those in France and Italy. According to the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index3 , Denmark, Sweden and Finland rank as the top three digitally-enabled nations out of the 28 EU Member States with both Poland, Italy and Spain listed in the bottom half.
Mills continues: “By starting to streamline, digitise and standardise their processes now, forward-thinking European businesses will be in good stead to develop a distinct competitive advantage. This is a necessary step if Europe is going to create home-grown digital giants that can compete on the global stage traditionally dominated by American, and increasingly Chinese, companies.”
Find out more at www.ricoh-europe.com/thoughtleadership .
-ends-
1 http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/digital-single-market/
2 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4919_en.htm
3 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4475_en.htm
About Ricoh
Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2015, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,231 billion yen (approx. 18.5 billion USD).
The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.
Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.
For further information, please visit www.ricoh-europe.com
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151104005002/en/
Contact:
For further information, please contact:
Ricoh Europe PLC
Jack
Gibson / Lakshmi Rajendran
Tel: +44 (0) 203 033 3766
E-mail: press@ricoh-europe.com
Homepage: www.ricoh-europe.com
Join
us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ricoheurope
Follow
us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ricoheurope
Visit
the Ricoh media centre at: www.ricoh-europe.com/press
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Visual Bank Expands “Qlean Dataset” to Support Large-Scale Japanese Speech Foundation Models1.4.2026 21:45:00 CEST | Press release
Delivering 100,000+ hours of rights-cleared Japanese audio, including regional dialects and culturally contextualized speech essential for commercial AI development. Visual Bank Inc. (CEO: Saneyuki Nagai), through its subsidiary amanaimages Inc., one of the largest digital asset providers for the marketing and advertising industry in Japan with over 40 years of history, today announced the expansion of its Qlean Dataset, a premium AI training data solution designed for developers building high-performance Japanese speech foundation models. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260401752248/en/ Visual Bank Group, leveraging over 40 years of expertise through amanaimages Inc., expands Qlean Dataset, delivering high quality, rights cleared Japanese language corpora, including 100,000+ hours of commercially usable audio. A new development within the Qlean Dataset division, which focuses on providing datasets for institu
Manna Air Delivery Raises $50Million Series B as It Announces Plans to Expand in the United States1.4.2026 18:00:00 CEST | Press release
ARK Invest, backer of OpenAI, Anthropic, Tesla and SpaceX, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Schooner Capital back new round bringing total funding to $110M Plans to scale to 40 bases in the United States, supported by seven years of operational orchestration experience, and recently expanded its global partnerships with Uber, joining Deliveroo, Just Eat and DoorDash in delivering everyday items by air. Manna Air Delivery, a global leader in consumer drone delivery, has announced a $50 million funding round to scale its proven operations further in the United States and Europe. The round brings Manna’s total funding to $110million. Manna now operates one of the most active consumer drone delivery networks in the world, with more than 250,000 regulated commercial UAV flights completed. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260310714366/en/ Manna Air Delivery raises $50m Series B Investors in the round include
Bureau Veritas Launches an Independent AI Assessment Offering for European Enterprises, Developed in Partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS)1.4.2026 17:45:00 CEST | Press release
Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification services (TIC), announces the launch of an AI systems audit to help European enterprises assess and demonstrate their compliance with the European Union's "AI Act" regulatory requirements. This offering combines on-site audits, document analysis, and direct testing to deliver an independent maturity report. Since the EU's AI regulation came into force in 2024, companies have faced major implementation challenges. According to a recent report*, 68% of them struggle to interpret the provisions of the text, while 60% have yet to put in place the governance needed to comply. Non-compliance can cost them up to 7% of annual revenue. Bureau Veritas has developed this new audit offering to help companies identify their compliance gaps and remedy them. Bureau Veritas's new audit offering comprises a pre-audit, document review, on-site audit, and direct testing, resulting in an independent report on the client's AI maturit
Greenland Resources Signs Eight Year Off-take Agreement With SSAB to Supply High Quality Molybdenum1.4.2026 16:29:00 CEST | Press release
Greenland Resources Inc. (TSX:MOLY, FSE:M0LY) (“Greenland Resources” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the Company has signed a binding off-take agreement with SSAB, a Nordic and US-based steel producer headquartered in Sweden. The company is a leading producer on the global market for advanced high-strength steels providing solutions to the defence, automotive, infrastructure and energy industries. A stock exchange press release from SSAB can be found on their website at www.ssab.com This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260401270749/en/ The off-take agreement provides an established price floor and price ceiling and will allow SSAB to secure high quality low carbon emission ferromolybdenum extracted in Greenland and refined in Belgium. SSAB will be able to ensure a stable and responsibly sourced long term secured primary molybdenum supply with high sustainability standards and low scope 1&2 emissions from a
VDYNE Receives FDA Approval to Initiate the TRIVITA1 IDE Pivotal Trial of Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement System1.4.2026 15:30:00 CEST | Press release
VDYNE, Inc. (“VDYNE” or “the Company”), a privately held medical device company developing next generation transcatheter valve replacement technologies, today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an investigational device exemption (IDE) for the company’s pivotal clinical trial evaluating its Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement (TTVR) system. The IDE approval enables initiation of a U.S. pivotal study at leading clinical centers to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the VDYNE system in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR). “This is a defining milestone for VDYNE and an important step toward bringing a much-needed therapy to patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation,” said Mike Buck, Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus now is on disciplined clinical execution and partnering with leading investigators to generate high-quality data that advances the field and improves patient care.” Significant unmet clinical needs exist in the
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
