ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: THE MARKET IN LOMBARDY REACHES ALMOST 192 MILLION EURO BY 2023, WITH AN EXPECTED GROWTH TO 270 MILLION IN 2024.

THE NINTH STOP OF THE SMALL INDUSTRY AND ANITEC-ASSINFORM ROADSHOW IN CASTELLANZA

The Artificial Intelligence market in Lombardy exceeded EUR 120 million in 2022, with a growth perspective of up to EUR 270 million in 2024. The digital market in the region exceeded 19 billion euros in 2022, with a growth of 4% compared to 2021. Lombardy maintains its leadership in digital market volume among Italian regions.
The percentage of enterprises in Lombardy with at least a basic level of digitisation reached 68% in 2023.
There are still few Italian companies using artificial intelligence systems, but the market is developing strongly: the percentage of small Italian companies stands at 4.4 in 2023, compared to 24% of large companies, down from 2021.
 
Castellanza (VA), 26 March 2024 - Ninth stage at LIUC in Castellanza (VA)with Piccola Industria Confindustria Alto-Milanese, Confindustria Como and Confindustria Varese for the Series of meetings 'Artificial Intelligence and SMEs: Experiences from a Present Future'.organised by Piccola Industria Confindustria and Anitec-Assinform, in collaboration with the Digital Innovation Hub network, with the media partnership of L'Imprenditore. The roadshow - which to date has seen the participation of 900 companies in Verona, Bari, Florence, Caserta, Turin, Cesenatico, Brescia and Genoa - will be touring all Italian regions in two years, with the aim of raising awareness and informing small businesses associated with Confindustria about the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence. The companies themselves will tell their experiences and strategies for using AI in the company, thanks to the presentation of concrete cases and direct comparison with the participants.  
 
Artificial intelligence, which has been discussed for more than 70 years, is today at the centre of the political-economic debate. Big data, high computational capacities and better performing algorithms enable its widespread use, capable of affecting the daily lives of companies and individuals even more profoundly than previous innovations. However, despite its potential, AI still remains little used by Italian companies, particularly smaller ones: according to Eurostat data from 2023, only 5% of companies with at least 10 employees reported using artificial intelligence systems, compared to an EU average of 8% (FIGURE 1). In particular, the percentage of small Italian companies (10-49 employees) stands at 4.4%, compared to 24% for large companies (over 250 employees) (FIGURE 2). This is a gap that needs to be bridged, as numerous studies certify a growing gap in productivity growth due to digitisation between the few frontier enterprises and the many lagging behind. With regard to Lombardy, enterprises with at least a basic level of digitisation are the 68%.

According to the study of the Digital Innovation Hub Lombardia, available at www.dihlombardia.com,  the main obstacle to the deployment of AI-based technologies to streamline business processes is the still insufficient availability of structured data and consistent in digital format and their use that has remained personal: a key step in enabling the use of AI will be to rationalise, share and make interpretable all the data that are generated in production processes.

According to the analyses of Anitec-Assinform, the Association that groups ICT companies in Confindustria, the Artificial Intelligence market in Italy in 2022 reached a volume of about EUR 435 million (+32.4%) and is expected to reach EUR 1,200 million in 2026, with an average annual growth rate of 28.9% (see Anitec-Assinform Report 'Il Digitale in Italia 2023' v.2). (FIGURE 3)

Artificial Intelligence, together with other market enablers (Digital Enablers) such as Cybersecurity, Big Data and Cloud, will be an extraordinary driving force for the development of the Italian digital market. Despite the positive outlook, the AI market in Italy is still less developed than in other more industrialised countries. For this reason, it is crucial to have a strategic vision that will accelerate and boost business investment, strengthen digital skills from school to the workplace, and increase awareness and knowledge of the potential of AI.
If we then look at to Eurostat data on the reasons limiting the use of AI, (FIGURE 4) companies in our country express fewer concerns than the European average, but the major constraint is the lack of appropriate skills. It is therefore essential to deepen one's knowledge of the tools available and to better understand the reasons behind the low use of these technologies.
 
Analysing the regional data is highlighted as by 2022, the Artificial Intelligence market in Lombardy will have exceeded EUR 120 million, with an average 40% growth perspective in the biennium 2022-2024year when it will reach approximately 270 million (estimates up from the Il Digitale in Italia 2023 vol. 1 report), growth due to the increasing availability of AI software platforms with higher functionality and capabilities. If we look at the digital market as a whole in 2022 Lombardy exceeds EUR 19 billion in 2022with a growth of 4% compared to 2021 (Source: Anitec-Assinform Report 'Il Digitale in Italia 2022'). (FIGURE 5).
 
"We are extremely satisfied with the way this journey through the territories that we started over a year ago together with our colleagues from Anitec-Assinform and the local associations involved at each stage is progressing. The participation of companies in the meetings is growing steadily. It is a further sign of the vitality of our entrepreneurial fabric, the speed with which our companies move and the readiness with which they are prepared to seize opportunities for growth. And it is also an excellent example of how much the Confindustria System can support entrepreneurs through moments of sharing the experiences of each one at the service of the others, of discussing the difficulties, but also the solutions and benefits of an extraordinary innovation tool such as advanced digital technologies. Moments that are all the more important for SMEs and absolutely crucial precisely because we are talking about technologies that are transversal to every industrial sector, that affect all those involved in the various supply chains, and that are capable of affecting and benefiting the entire range of company activities. We come out of these meetings with renewed confidence in our companies and with a commitment to work even more with all stakeholders, starting with the political decision-maker, to create the best conditions for them to grow, starting with a stable and clear regulatory framework to favour investment', stressed Giovanni Baroni, President of Piccola Industria Confindustria.

"Como, Varese and Alto Milanese stand out for their excellence in specialised supply chains, such as textiles, chemicals and manufacturing. Artificial intelligence is transforming these sectors with applications ranging from predictive maintenance and automated warehouse management to design support. Furthermore, we cannot overlook the crucial role artificial intelligence plays in the prototyping and modelling of garments. This means more efficient design processes, shorter development times and greater precision in the realisation of products. There is a growing desire among entrepreneurs to move closer to this technology and the success of today's event proves it. What is needed, however, are policies that take into account the specificities of SMEs, as Anitec-Assinform emphasised in its 'AI manifesto': let's accompany companies in the adoption of AI so that they can grow and gain scale, compete and prosper in the global economy, ha claimed Marco Gay, President Anitec-Assinform.

"We polled our association base and realised that only 16% of the companies responding to one of our surveys intend to invest in artificial intelligence in 2024. These are the data processed by the Study Centre of Confindustria Varese in the latest survey on the investments made by local companies, which provide a snapshot of an industrial system that needs tools to be accompanied to the discovery of a topic that is so central to the global digital scenario, but is still too little covered by SMEs. It is therefore clear that the priority for our Confindustria system today must be to commit to building greater awareness among companies on this new frontier of innovation.", ha added Andrea Bonfanti, Chairman of the Small Industry Committee of Confindustria Varese.

"There are various definitions of Artificial Intelligence, but the one I prefer is the ability to perceive, understand, predict and then act in order to achieve its purpose in the best possible way. This is also the vision of doing business and that is why Artificial Intelligence will, more and more, be able to help small industries realise the often brilliant and innovative ideas of entrepreneurs', stated Walter Pozzi, President of the Small Industry Committee of Confindustria Como.

"Artificial Intelligence is a technological revolution that can open up a world of possibilities for small companies. The SMEs in the Upper Milan area, which are resilient and innovative by nature, will not be long in experimenting with this technology in-house. As a group, thanks also to the Digital Innovation Hub Lombardia, we are already disseminating the best digital technologies to push for their use, concluded Paola Guffanti, acting president of the Small Business of Confindustria Alto Milanese.