The New Digital Reality in Greece
Technology influences global development as it does with the vast amount from many different areas. It is not just about economic development anymore, but much more of a concern for individual and government level developments. Technological advancements have had a big impact on the development of communication, e-commerce, and production around the world. In the past, these advancements have impacted economics and many other sectors besides.
Many companies in today’s society are now moving towards a more standardized, advanced and innovative model of production. It is no coincidence that the largest tourism company in the world doesn’t own any hotel rooms.
The traditional production line is being replaced by 3D printers, automating machines such as manufacturing robots, and artificial intelligence. These developments are resulting in an environment in which machines can communicate with each other, eliminate human error and even drive themselves, and businesses have traditionally been dealing with a difficult capacity to manage large volumes of data. New technologies like blockchain-based new forms of payment are making this easier and faster.
“The common mind today cannot imagine the socio-economic evolution in the context of rapid technological developments.” Each new technological development is unique, but others will follow. This will change how we live our lives socially and economically. In the rapidly developing global economy, Greece is found to be sluggish in their development. Technology investments are minimal, but the proportion of global funding raised and yet not invested in Greece is nearly non-existent. It’s time for our country to catch up to these technological developments. Our economy is really starting to stagnate and isn’t too competitive so it’s time we plan for the future.
According to a study done by the European Commission, Greece was completely lacking in the tech-savviness department. They were far behind the rest of Europe. We were 27th in Europe in terms of digital convergence as of 2017, but had climbed one position to 26th out of the 28 EU Member States. That’s why it seems like we always move backwards instead of forwards when it comes to this.
This falling behind will have a significant impact on the new digital reality in Greece. The EU report suggests that the country has fallen behind in terms of digital advancement and no longer has a sufficient amount of hard infrastructure for high speed internet.
The digital skills of the Greeks are significantly lower than the EU average while the number of people with at least a basic level of digital skills has stagnated. The education system in the USA faces social justice problems and technology gaps in order for students to thrive. Our country is clearly lacking some changes, and it’s time for them to come into fruition soon. A low level of digital competence among our employees is holding back our country’s economy.
While internet usage in our country is high overall, it’s also low in terms of online shopping or anything that can generate additional revenue and contribute to growth. SME e-commerce revenues are low, and that is often due to the use of cloud computing and electronic invoicing.
Greece’s public services are in a digital middle ground. Our country’s performance is significantly below the EU average and Greece comes in last. Our country is consistently at the bottom of the league table in 6 separate indicators and this means that public services can be considered digitally “bottom-of-the-table.”
Greece has always been a digital backwater, but the country is finally trying to move into the future. However, some of their so-called announcements prove to be costly spectacles that do not amount to anything.
Digital transformation and the next government will be vital for the country’s sustainable economic growth prospects. The country needs to adapt or it’ll lag behind.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
