AI, Cybersecurity Skills Offer Opportunity for Small Biz, Survey Says

Dassault Systèmes has shared the trends that are highlighting opportunities for startups and small and mid-sized businesses to leapfrog larger companies bound by more established processes and existing corporate structures. 

Untapped artificial intelligence capabilities, IT and cybersecurity skillsets, and the ease of digital platforms are some of the topics emerging from a survey of 1,000 employees across the technology sector in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy on trends in AI, the skills gaps and digital transformation.  The trends survey was conducted by independent market research firm CITE Research.  

Respondents were polled on their perception of AI tools in the workplace, their concerns with cybersecurity issues and the consequences of weak IT and cybersecurity skills, their levels of digital transformation, and more.  Key findings include:

• AI is going to transform industry and society, but missed opportunities and early misunderstandings of its full benefits will give startups and small and mid-sized businesses a head start, with the help of key compute capabilities;
• 84% of businesses allow use of AI and 68% have used chatbots, but other capabilities, such as machine-aided design, integrations and machine learning, are poised to catapult users’ efficiency; 
• 64% of respondents agree it is difficult to find employees that have the skills needed to compete. 73% are concerned about cybersecurity issues, but only 40% have employees with the right cybersecurity skills to address them;
• Consequences of the cybersecurity skills gap include higher costs of products and services, safety issues, slower time to market and lower revenues, revealing areas of improvement for smaller businesses through the right skillsets;  
• 87% of organizations have room to grow their digital transformation.  More than one-third of large companies see implementation costs and management skills of digital transformation as barriers to adoption, revealing an opportunity for smaller businesses to seize key opportunities with digital platforms.

“We wanted to explore timely topics that are impacting our SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works community. The trends that emerged from this survey highlight the unique advantages that smaller businesses gain by becoming more agile, innovative, empowered and collaborative,” says Gian Paolo Bassi, senior vice president, 3DEXPERIENCE Works, Dassault Systèmes.  “Our SOLIDWORKS applications, part of the 3DEXPERIENCE Works portfolio on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, enable this community to harness the power of virtual twins to achieve these and succeed in all aspects of their business.”

The findings of the survey are being reflected in 4 days of discussions, networking and workshops at 3DEXPERIENCE World, Dassault Systèmes’ annual event dedicated to the 3DEXPERIENCE Works and SOLIDWORKS community, in Dallas from February 11-14.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.