The Role of Data Analytics and Big Data for Austrian MedTech SMEs

A project performed as part of the Transdisciplinary Field Research Training under the TISE Program

Small and Medium Enterprises are a fundamental part of the Austrian economy, constituting almost 99.6% of all the national companies in 2020, with an added value of 134 billion euros („SME DATA“, o. J.). However, in relation to digital technologies, Austrian SMEs are overall less advanced than the European average. These companies are using Big Data comparatively less than their European counterparts, 8% compared to 14% of SMEs EU-wide (Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort, 2022). To enforce its digitalisation Austria created six Digital Innovation Hubs with a network that shares expertise and provides infrastructures to the SMEs, allowing direct access to partners from research and business (Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort, 2022). In 2020 the Austrian Medical Technology Sector recorded 577 registered Businesses (Statista, 2022) and a revenue of 9 Billion Euros (Statista, 2022). Statista describes medical technology as hospital technology and medical equipment such as computer tomographs, dialysis machines and pacemakers Austria's high demand for medical technology is mainly met by imports from Germany. It obtains half of its imports from its neighbour and (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, o. J.) the largest German medical technology companies by revenue are Siemens Helthineers, Fresenius Medical Care, Roche Diagnostics and B. Braun (Gilbert, 2021). The subsequent research on the field made clear that advancements in big data have significant impacts on the medical technology industry in Austria. On one hand, big data has the potential to significantly improve patient care quality, optimise operations and accelerate research and innovations. On the other hand, it raised concerns over issues such as data privacy, transparency, and monopoly from big tech companies. Current data regulations, namely the EU’s GDPR and Austrian Datenschutz-Anpassungsgesetz provide some guidelines but have several gaps regarding technology specificities and market regulation. The goal of this research is to identify factors that are relevant for Austrian Medtech SMEs to effectively work with (Big) Data, to foster competitiveness in the EU area over the next decade. The research is motivated by the fact that, while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are fundamental for the Austrian economy, the MedTech industry faces challenges in applying big data due to the abovementioned. The research aims to provide insights into how access to big data affects Austrian SMEs in the MedTech industry and how they can apply big data to drive better and more informed business decisions.