Viva Technology announces the second edition of its Vivatech Confidenz Barometer, an international survey among the technical managers carried out by Oponyway. Overall, the technological progress of companies is regarded as increasingly strategic and as a primary investment area for managers. There is a significant deviation between opinions among the respondents, with the Americans perceive themselves as more competitive than their colleagues in Europe, with France and the United Kingdom to be confident, while Italy and Spain remain far behind.
AI, a challenge that companies accept everywhere
100%of managers believe that the introduction takes at least one new technology tangible advantages for your company, such as:
91% of companies intend to increase their investments in at least one of the technologies in which they have invested.
It is not surprising that AI is clearly shown as a technology that is most likely to affect the business of companies (65%), far before cyber security (41%) and cloud computing (39%).
In the next 12 months, 85% of the companies surveyed plan to increase their investment in AI.
81% of managers believe in technology as the key to increasing the international competitiveness of their company.
The United States and the United Kingdom are the most confident about the ability of their Tech sector to compete internationally with 92% and 81% of CEOs, compared to 86% and 77% in 2024, CEOs in France (76%), according to 74% (74%) and Spain (70%) and the conviction (74%) (74%). Conversely, Italian CEOs are less confident, and only 64% of them judge their companies as competitive.
According to all managers surveyed, the main factors that have been cited to ensure the technological competitiveness of their companies:
• Highly qualified employees (45%)
• ongoing investments in F&E (44%)
• Strong international reputation and recognition (43%)
The USA (45%) and France (39%) ensure its part of international cooperation with increasing importance in order to strengthen their competitiveness.
Managers were also asked about their countries about the introduction of technological innovations. Here, too, the managers in the USA and in the United Kingdom believe that their countries are 87% or 82% of the opinion that their companies are at the top of the introduction of technological innovations. This is in contrast to Italy, where managers are again lagging behind their country (44%).
France (71%) is slightly below the international average of 76%, but enjoys a positive dynamic with an increase in more than 10 points compared to the 2024 barometer.
The human factor is the focus of the technological debate: the lack of qualified employees (41%) and resistance to changes (39%) are often cited obstacles, while talent is considered one of the main drivers of competitiveness (45%).
In addition, it is interesting to notice the contrast between Europe and the USA again, in which managers cite regulatory compliance and data protection issues as main obstacles for the introduction of new technologies from US companies (50% / +12 points compared to 2024).
Fake news and the protection of privacy
While technological progress is regarded as a competitive driver who can consolidate the management of a country, the country’s managers remain aware of the inherent risks.
Of all respondents, three quarters (77%) are equally concerned about the invasion of privacy and the spread of fake news and the difficulty of identifying them.
The topic of privacy is a matter of concern in all examined countries, although it is expressed more in the USA (83% / +5 points compared to 2024) and Spain (90%). Germany and Italy, on the other hand, are more relaxed in this problem (59% / -10 points compared to 2024 and 67%). In France, where privacy is still an urgent problem, the level of these concerns has decreased from 83% to 79%.
To alleviate these concerns, 9 out of 10 companies have already introduced measures to inform and calm their employees, customers and service providers. In the short term, more than half of the companies expect that data management will become even more complex in the future.
Concentrate on the environment
The negative effects of the technology on the environment also affect 70% of managing directors. Among the respondents are unicorns, startups and scale -ups more worrying and expressly, with 47% say that they are very concerned about this problem. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States is more concerned than in the previous year and expresses this concern more than the average (74% in 2025 compared to 57% in 2024).
Technology in response to major social challenges
While the technology has its share of uncertainties and risks, it is also viewed by more than 9 out of 10 managing directors (90%) as a solution to the greatest challenges of our time.
Managers are convinced that technology deals with people by managing the challenges of the education system (45%), facilitating access to information and contributes to combating misinformation (42%).
Germany is more than average convinced that new technologies can be used to counter the challenges of the education system (60%), Great Britain and Spain more convinced to combat the need to combat disinformation (52%), and France seems to see a greater focus on diversity and inclusion (32% in 2025 VS, 18% in 2024).
In addition, 81% of the CEOs believe that the entire Tech ecosystem promotes diversity and inclusion.