Support for digital change

Digitization in medium-sized businesses is supported

11 Nov 2020

A "smart" home, health always in view via app and cars that start driving autonomously. Digitization offers all sorts of conveniences designed to make everyday life easier and processes faster. But what does the trend toward digitization mean for companies? Digitization no longer just means the change from analog to digital formats. Digitization can do much more: it makes everyday working life easier from the ground up, networks departments and employees and opens up new processes. To support companies during the transition and help them with investments, there are various ways of obtaining subsidies from funding programs, depending on the federal state. We present two of these programs here.

Digitization should not be seen as a gimmick that makes your work easier or even takes it off your hands completely. Rather, digitization should be seen as a decisive competitive factor that can give you considerable strategic advantages. German SMEs have particular potential here.

In order not to run the risk of being left behind, especially in uncertain times such as those we are currently experiencing, companies should take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitization and take advantage of the support programs available.

Every company has different digitization requirements, which often involve high investment sums. Whether it is the financing of suitable hardware, the training of its own employees in digital topics, the digitization of various company processes or the indispensable investment in its own IT security.

The BMWi (Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy) has, among other things, launched two support programs aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and craft enterprises. Both "Digital Jetzt" and "go-digital" offer funding for various digitization processes.

FUNDING PROGRAM: "DIGITAL NOW"

Medium-sized companies in all industries with 3 to 499 employees who are planning to invest in software/hardware and/or employee qualifications can apply for funding for "Digital Jetzt". The company must submit a digitization plan that outlines the entire digitization project, explains the type and number of qualification measures, reflects the company's current digitization status and defines the goals that the investment is intended to achieve. Another important prerequisite for the project is the start and duration. The project must not have been started at the time the grant is approved and must generally be implemented within 12 months.

The aims of the funding are:

More investment by medium-sized companies in digital technologies as well as employee qualification and know-how
More cross-industry digitization processes for SMEs and crafts
Improved digital business processes in companies
More opportunities through digital business models
Strengthening the competitiveness and innovative capacity of SMEs
Empower employees to recognize the opportunities offered by digitization and initiate new investments in the digitization of their company
Higher IT security in companies
Strengthening of companies in economically underdeveloped regions

The maximum grant amount of "Digital Jetzt" is 50,000 €. The subsidy is based on the company's investment costs and, based on the number of employees, a subsidy rate of between 40% and 50%, with smaller companies receiving the slightly higher percentage of the subsidy.

SUPPORT PROGRAM: "GO-DIGITAL"

The "go-digital" funding is aimed at the same companies as "Digital Jetzt", but the maximum size of companies permitted here is 100 employees with a maximum previous year's turnover of 20 million euros. The program is divided into three eligible modules and takes place in cooperation with a consulting firm authorized by the BMWi, which relieves the SMEs of all formalities. The consulting firm bears the overall responsibility for the project, submits the application on your behalf and takes care of the administrative side.

The funded modules range from the digitization of internal business processes and digital market development, which includes, for example, the development of a company-specific online marketing strategy, to the IT security module.

The aims of the funding are:

Digitize workflows in the company as consistently as possible, establish secure electronic and mobile processes
Consulting on the various aspects of professional online marketing
Avoidance of economic damage and minimization of risks from cybercrime; independent operation of basic necessary IT security measures

After the selection of a main module with at least 51% of the funding priority, a combination of a secondary module with a funding rate of 50% is funded to a maximum daily consultant rate of 1,100 euros. In the case of a combination of main and secondary module, the maximum amount of funding is 30 days in a six-month period. As a beneficiary, you only pay a personal contribution to the consulting company.

TREND-SETTING INVESTMENTS

Currently, an economically critical phase is emerging in Germany. Digitization should not be a "join-in trend" for you, but rather an opportunity for you and your company to establish yourself in your industry beyond the crisis and be seen as a means of promoting effective long-term corporate development.

GAL Digital has been your contact for more than 15 years in the field of digitization. No matter if IT security, training for your employees or trend-setting software solutions. We offer you a broad portfolio of digital products that will advance your business in a future-oriented way. Benefit now from support programs and our implementation know-how. If you have a digital project in focus and would like to have it supported by subsidy programs, please contact us.