On October 22, 2025, the AI OPERATIONS FORUM was held in Milan, Italy, a strategic event that brought Italian industry together on the issues of sustainability and digitalization. The highlight was the presentation of the results of the research "What's Next in Operations? Benchmarking Study.“
A testament to the importance of the topics covered, Il Sole 24 Ore devoted an in-depth article to the research presented, highlighting the gap between Italian excellence in sustainability and lagging behind in digital transition.
Italian industry is efficient and growing, but shows a worrying flaw in the readiness to use digital technologies. The research, on a sample of more than 100 companies, paints a two-speed picture. Italian companies show strong maturity in sustainability, whose index reached an excellent 89%. In contrast, digitization is the lagging component, standing still at 48 % and representing the greatest potential for development.
CEO Michele Bonfiglioli reiterated that the adoption of AI and innovative technologies is an indispensable lever for competitiveness and resilience, and that such a gap is no longer permissible. 53% of executives admit a low level of digitization in their organization.
The article in Il Sole 24 Ore evidences the link between the digital lag and the low integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI): 55% of companies have not yet implemented AI, only 3% use it in an established way, Generative AI is integrated in only 9% of processes.
The main barriers to digital adoption are not cost, but lack of in-house expertise, data quality, and integration with existing systems. The main crux concerns practical application: achieving significant benefits requires significant investment in training, time, and technological infrastructure.
The full article, offers a comprehensive analysis on investment strategies, data on popular technologies (ERP, CRM, MES) and implications for business competitiveness. Read the full article in Il Sole24Ore of October 23, 2025.
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Here you can find the article published in the Technology Digital Economy section of Il Sole 24 Ore
