75% of Spanish companies lack a solid digital foundation to leverage artificial intelligence. Only 25% present good digital health, compared to 35% of large companies and 20% of small ones.
The 75% of Spanish companies do not have a solid digital foundation to support artificial intelligence projects. Only 25% present good digital health, according to the Digital Health Study in Europe 2026 conducted by Zoho, as reported by ecosistemastartup.com. The report places Spain above the European average (27%) but far behind Germany (37%) and the United Kingdom (35%), and only ahead of the Netherlands (14%).
The gap between companies is not just technological: it defines which companies achieve a return from AI and which incur costs without results. The study categorises Spanish companies into three groups: 35% with poor digital health, 39% with an average level, and the aforementioned 25% with a solid foundation.
“Digital maturity does not depend on the number of tools a company uses, but on its ability to align people, processes, and data around a common strategy. Digitalising disordered processes only generates digital chaos,” points out David Mallo, CTO of Alebat Education.
The size of the company is the factor that most influences this digital health. Among large Spanish companies, 35% have a solid foundation; in medium-sized companies, the percentage drops to 21%, and in small ones, to 20%. Large companies nearly double SMEs in digital foundations, precisely the segment that concentrates the majority of employment and GDP.
The correlation between digital health and return is the most actionable data from the report. Among Spanish companies with good digital health, 99% report positive ROI in automation and efficiency with AI, and 95% achieve it in data analysis. In companies with poor digital health, the percentage drops to 46% in automation and plummets in analytics.
The study also detects a shift in the type of obstacle. The difficulty in collaborating across areas has increased by 90%, and the lack of visibility of the customer journey has risen by 40%, while the lack of suitable software has decreased by 53%. There are no longer missing tools: there are too many, and they do not connect with each other. 21% of Spanish companies acknowledge that they cannot see the complete customer journey, four points above the European average (17%).
Regarding the perception of AI, only 14% of Spanish companies consider it critical for their business. This figure rises to 38% among those with good digital health and drops to 5% among those starting from a poor foundation.
The case of Alebat Education, a Spanish training SME, illustrates the reverse path: after connecting and automating sales, marketing, legal, billing, academic, and support, the company has nearly doubled its number of clients without increasing staff, according to its CTO. The event in Valencia where the case was presented was organised by Zoho and the Mediterranean Marketing Club.
