The digital transformation of French companies is accelerating, but the results remain uneven. According to the France Num 2026 Barometer, published by the DGE and conducted among 9,655 companies between March and April 2026, digital maturity is generally progressing. Very small enterprises (TPE) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are investing more in digital tools, artificial intelligence is gaining ground, and online presence is becoming widespread. However, the overall picture masks deep disparities between the adoption of tools and the actual capacity to utilize them over time.
Digital Maturity of SMEs: What the France Num 2026 Barometer Reveals
The France Num 2026 Barometer provides a more nuanced state of affairs than the usual discourse on digitalization. AI, for example, is used by an increasing share of TPE-SMEs. However, it ranks only third among digital priorities, behind the reform of electronic invoicing.
This gap between usage and strategic priority reflects a recurring phenomenon: companies adopt tools without necessarily integrating them into a structured plan. Adoption often remains poorly structured and opportunistic, driven by urgency or curiosity rather than a roadmap.
Specialized resources support companies in this structuring, as offered by https://www.webunited.info/ through web solutions tailored for SMEs.
On the cybersecurity front, multi-factor authentication reached 39% of companies according to the same barometer. This is a real progression, but it leaves more than six out of ten companies without this basic level of protection. Digital security cannot remain a secondary concern as online tools multiply.
Online Presence of Companies: The Trap of a Showcase Without Maintenance
Having a website or managing social media is not enough to claim digital transformation. The France Num 2026 Barometer highlights a blind spot: the ability to maintain, secure, and evolve online systems is as important as their initial creation.
Many SMEs invest in a showcase website at launch, then let it age. Security updates are ignored, content stagnates, and performance degrades. The result is an online presence that is more harmful than helpful.
A digital strategy that is limited to launching a website without a recurring maintenance budget is akin to opening a retail space and never cleaning it. The issue is not technical; it is budgetary and organizational. Companies that progress are those that allocate a continuous expense for their web ecosystem, not a one-off investment.
Web Accessibility and Regulatory Obligations Since 2025
Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act includes online commerce services within its scope. Technical requirements align with the EN 301 549 standard and the WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria. Microenterprises providing services benefit from an exemption under certain conditions.
For SMEs selling online, this regulation adds a layer of compliance to be integrated from the design or redesign of a website. Ignoring these obligations exposes them to legal risks, as well as the exclusion of some users.
Training and Digital Skills: The Persistent Bottleneck
Digital tools are multiplying, but the skills to utilize them are not keeping pace. Digital transformation regularly stumbles over a lack of internal training, particularly in organizations with fewer than fifty employees.
This bottleneck takes several concrete forms:
- Digital marketing or customer relationship management tools deployed but underutilized due to a lack of trained staff for their configuration and analysis
- Artificial intelligence solutions tested without methodology, yielding disappointing results that fuel distrust
- An excessive dependence on a single external provider, without transferring skills to the internal team
Training is not limited to a one-off seminar. Field feedback varies on this point: some companies achieve quick results with short, targeted training, while others find that only ongoing support produces a change in practices.
Integrating the enhancement of digital skills into the annual training plan, alongside security or sectoral regulations, remains the most reliable lever to anchor transformation over the long term.
Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation: Two Indissociable Projects
The proliferation of online tools mechanically increases exposure to threats. Data from the France Num 2026 Barometer confirms that cybersecurity is becoming an issue directly linked to digital transformation, not a secondary topic reserved for large organizations.
The European regulatory framework is strengthening in parallel, with directives like NIS2 expanding the scope of security obligations to more sectors and sizes of companies. For an SME, this means that the choice of a host, password management, or data backup is no longer a matter of goodwill but a compliance obligation.
Three areas of vigilance emerge for SMEs engaged in their digitalization:
- Ensure that each new tool deployed has a documented and monitored security update process
- Train all employees on basic risks (phishing, access management), not just the IT manager
- Integrate a security audit into the annual budget, even if minimal, rather than reacting after an incident
The available data does not allow us to conclude that French SMEs are lagging behind their European neighbors in cybersecurity. However, the gap between the increasing adoption of digital tools and the actual level of protection remains a documented point of fragility.
Digital transformation is neither limited to a website nor to a subscription to an AI tool. It involves security, skills, maintenance, and regulatory compliance over the long term. Companies that progress are those that treat these dimensions as a recurring budget, not as a one-time project.
