"Digital evaluation is the first step for the technological turnaround in SMEs. But as experience shows, those who embark on this path usually continue with conviction and the drive for change is strengthened. ConfINHub is a chance to accelerate'. Thus Marco Nocivelli, Confindustria Vice President for Industrial Policy and Made in Italy, to Sole24Ore.

And in this journey, companies now have an additional tool at their disposal: the ConfINHub project, realised by Sistemi Formativi Confindustria and the National Network of Digital Innovation Hubs (Dih) on behalf of Confindustria, ranked first in the Mimit ranking among the proposals received.

"The idea,' explained the Vice-President, 'is to make available to companies a set of structured tools to allow them an immediate assessment of the level of digital maturity of their processes, of their adequacy in terms of cybersecurity, and of the development of the entire supply chain on these issues. A system shared by the Dih network, put together, which represents an added value: talking with colleagues from other countries we see that Italy from this point of view is much further ahead, closer to SMEs: we help them understand where they are".

The Confindustria Innovation Hub, chaired by the national Dih coordinator of Confindustria Gianluigi Viscardi, has already been used by 380 companies and the target is to reach at least a thousand, and will be one of the focuses of the Innovation Days Roadshow stages starting on 15 April in Lombardy.

The ConfINHub operates with a 'Hub & Spoke' type structure, in which Sistemi Formativi Confindustria is the national implementer and coordinator while Confindustria's 18 regional Digital Innovation Hubs provide services to companies in the region. According to Nocivelli, understanding digital maturity on the part of companies is important because it confronts them with structured checklists and key questions in terms not only of competitiveness but also cybersecurity. "What we notice," concluded Nocivelli, "is that generally those who ask these questions develop new ideas and projects during the assesment, realise their limits but also their opportunities. For SMEs in particular, it is a very useful tool, a way of setting priorities and improving their positions'.