The annual report “Digital in Italy 2025” has been released. Published by Anitec-Assinform—the Italian association for Information and Communication Technology—it provides a comprehensive overview of the Italian ICT market, offering in-depth analyses on technologies, trends, investments, and digital policies. Its authoritative data is widely used by businesses, institutions, and policymakers to guide strategies and decisions.

A growing market—but not for everyone

In 2024, the Italian digital market reached a value of €81.6 billion, marking a +3.7% increase compared to 2023. Projections estimate it will grow to €93 billion by 2028. Digital now accounts for 3.73% of the nominal GDP, confirming a stronger growth trend than the rest of the Italian economy. Businesses—especially larger ones—have invested in cybersecurity, cloud technologies, and training, with 71% adopting at least one advanced digital technology.

However, the Digital Intensity Index highlights a significant gap between SMEs and large enterprises: in 2024, only 26% of small and medium-sized businesses were highly digitalized, compared to 83% of large companies.

The report shows that SMEs—the backbone of Italy’s production system—are still too marginally involved in the digital transformation. The gap is evident not only in technology adoption, but also in access to digital skills, structured investments, and adequate infrastructure.

Although small and medium-sized enterprises are more active than large companies when it comes to investing in intangible assets (40% vs. 34%), their focus is mainly on software and operational tools, while research and development remain a lower priority. The use of Artificial Intelligence is also very limited: only 6.9% of SMEs with 10 to 249 employees are using it, often restricted to basic generative language tools.

The most adopted technologies in 2024

The most widely adopted technologies in 2024 include digital platforms (59%), robotics (47%), and the Internet of Things (IoT) (44%). Further behind are Big Data/AI (around 25%), 3D printing (20%), and augmented/virtual reality (10%).

Italy outpaces the EU average in the use of digital platforms, IoT, and drones, but still lags behind the US across all other technologies.

Artificial Intelligence: just the beginning

The fastest-growing segment is undoubtedly Artificial Intelligence, which saw a +38.7% increase between 2023 and 2024, reaching a value of over €900 million. Yet, only 8.2% of companies with at least 10 employees (SMEs) are actually using it.

The most common applications include:

• Extracting knowledge from documents (54.5%)
• Written and spoken language generation (45.3%)
• Speech recognition (39.9%)
• Data analysis using machine learning (30%)

The main business areas where AI is used include marketing and sales (35.7%), administrative processes (28.2%), and R&D (24.6%). Its impact is lower in production, IT security, finance, and logistics.

Highlighting this turning point is also Massimo Dal Checco, President of Anitec-Assinform, who states in the report: “2025 is the year in which Artificial Intelligence is becoming the undisputed star of the economic and social stage.”

The role of the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan)

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (in italian, PNRR) is one of the key pillars supporting Italy’s digital transformation. With a total allocation of €194.4 billion—over €40 billion of which are directly or indirectly dedicated to digitalization—it serves as a strategic lever to drive innovation in processes, infrastructure, and services, across both the public and private sectors.

However, the data reveals a more complex reality. By the end of 2024, only 35% of the allocated funds had actually been spent, with significant disparities across the different missions:

• Mission 1 – Digitalization, innovation, competitiveness, and culture is the most advanced, with spending levels reaching 46%. This is largely driven by Component 2, which benefited from incentives linked to the Transition 4.0 initiative.
• The situation is more critical in Component 1, focused on the digitalization of Public Administration, which shows an implementation rate of just 23.3%. This reflects ongoing challenges related to bureaucracy, fragmented governance, and delays in reporting.
• Even more delayed is Mission 6 – Health, with only 15% of funds spent, despite the strategic importance of digital healthcare and telemedicine.

One of the most significant projects is the migration of Public Administrations to the cloud. As of September 2024, over 4,000 entities had begun or completed the transition, with the goal of migrating 10,000 local PAs by 2025. Specific calls for proposals and vouchers have been introduced to support the transition to the National Strategic Hub, yet operational hurdles continue to slow down the process.

The NRRP also holds enormous potential for the industrial system—particularly through tax credits and digitalization vouchers for SMEs—but its impact remains limited. According to the report, “implementation of the Plan is progressing at a slower pace than expected, to the point that in some cases extensions and revisions of the targets have been necessary.” For businesses—and especially for SMEs—this translates into an opportunity not yet fully seized. The fragmentation of available tools, the complexity of accessing funds, and the lack of operational support risk weakening the NRRP’s leverage effect precisely where it’s most needed.

Businesses and the skills challenge

Between 2021 and 2024, 52.6% of Italian companies invested in 1 to 4 digital areas, while only 38% plan to do so in the next two years. Larger companies show greater intensity and continuity in their efforts. The main areas identified for future investment include:

• Cybersecurity (from 47.2% to 53.8%)
• ICT training (from 25.9% to 44.3%)
• Cloud computing (from 25.6% to 29.3%)

However, the lack of specialized skills remains a key obstacle, alongside energy costs for data centers and the fragmentation of technology offerings.

A digital landscape divided into two speeds

The data suggest a patchy digitalization. Italy is moving forward, but unevenly—across sectors, regions, and company sizes. The risk is that entire groups of businesses, citizens, and areas of the country will be left behind.

Digital technology—and especially AI—is no longer just a tool for efficiency. It has become a strategic instrument to tackle major transitions: ecological, social, and demographic. Healthcare, education, public administration, resource management—all rely on a new culture of data, automation, and responsibility.

We can conclude by stating that digitalization in Italy is far from standing still. It grows, evolves, and drives progress—but often at uneven speeds. For Italy’s industrial sector, especially SMEs, closing this gap is not just a priority; it is essential to remain competitive, resilient, and sustainable in an increasingly complex global environment.