Big Data, Digitalization, and Internationalization: what we learned during the second edition of the event

Last Tuesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming over 100 participants to the second edition of our conference organized in collaboration with BI-REX Competence Center on the topics of big data, digitization, and internationalization.

For Roncucci&Partners, this event is the natural continuation of the work we have been carrying out since 2024 to connect technologies and data to strategic choices and results on foreign markets.

After the first edition in January 2025, we decided to take stock of our progress: to understand what has really changed, what is working, and what priorities to put on the agenda for 2026. The message we take home is clear: technology matters, but it only becomes an essential tool when it is transformed into strategic choices, solid processes, and skills.

The chain: Big Data → digitalization → competitiveness → internationalization

In his opening remarks, Stefano Cattorini (General Manager of BI-REX) highlighted a connection that is often taken for granted. Big Data is the key element for any effective digitization project; digitization is now an essential step for competitiveness; and competitiveness is a concrete condition for transforming internationalization from an ambition into a sustainable path.

In addition to technology, a true culture of digitization is needed, combined with a culture of internationalization, because often it is not “what to do” that is lacking, but how to make it feasible within the company, in people, and in processes. And an ecosystem is needed: centers of expertise, finance, institutions, consultants, and companies working together, not in silos.

Colla and Ubertini: “The Question is Not “If”, but “How and When”

In a joint interview with Vincenzo Colla (Vice President with responsibility for Economic Development, Green Economy, Energy, Professional Training, Universities, and Research for the Emilia-Romagna Region) and Francesco Ubertini (President of CINECA and IFAB), a powerful conclusion emerged. The question is no longer “whether” to digitize, but how to do it and in what timeframe, because the risk is falling behind those who integrate technologies into their core processes.

Dr. Ubertini illustrated this concept with a metaphor: continuing with yesterday’s tools is like staying with the “high jump,” while innovation introduces the “pole vault”. The goals remains the same, but a paradigm shift that leads to different performances. The point, however, is not the superficial adoption of AI “on the side”: it is its integration into the company’s core activities (production, operations, value chain), because that is where competitive advantage is built.

Vice President Colla broadened the perspective and made it even more concrete: digital transformation is a horizontal and enabling technology, and the ability to govern it makes the difference between those who stay in and those who stay out. In this context, he referred to the issue of European technological sovereignty: without data and AI capabilities, Europe risks being “crushed” between large global players. And for SMEs, the issue is even more evident: no small business can sustain huge investments on its own, which is why public infrastructure and networks become decisive.

There is also a phrase that deserves to be repeated: without people and skills, industrial value cannot be built. If we do not retain and develop “brains”, we cannot manufacture. This applies to Emilia-Romagna, and it applies to Italy.

The Macro Scenario And Priorities: Looking Ahead To 2026 In Times Of Tariffs And Technology

In his speech, Giovanni Foresti (Head of Regional Research, Intesa Sanpaolo) helped to contextualize companies’ choices within the macroeconomic framework: a rapidly changing world in which technological evolution is intertwined with new geopolitical and commercial dynamics. This is an important point because it reminds us that digitalization and internationalization are not “separate projects”: they are decisions that are made within a changing context and must therefore be governed by data, scenarios, and methods.

Confindustria Emilia-Romagna And Intesa Sanpaolo: Finance And Industry Moving In The Same Direction

A central part of the day was devoted to the presentation of the agreement between Confindustria Emilia-Romagna and Intesa Sanpaolo for investment, innovation, and credit, with speeches by Stefania Bergamaschi (Commercial Director of Intesa Sanpaolo) and Pietro Mambriani (Head of Industrial Policies and Europe at Confindustria Emilia-Romagna).

The message that emerges here is practical: digital transformation is an increasingly important component of how a company plans, invests, and makes a growth path credible. When technology is linked to processes, KPIs, and objectives, it also becomes easier to build a solid and financeable business plan.

Digitalization For Internationalization: Tools And Case Studies From The Field

The panel discussion brought everything back to the operational level, with an explicit focus on business cases activated through BI-REX and followed up by Roncucci&Partners, and on what is needed to make projects really work.

Speakers included:

• Stefano Cattorini (BI-REX), on the role of the competence center in transforming technologies and skills into concrete projects
• Elisabetta Fatigati and Luca Goldoni (SIMEST), on the link between subsidized finance instruments and foreign growth paths
• Gianluca Cervellera (Intesa Sanpaolo), on data-driven strategies and choices for internationalization
• Fiorenza Burgazzi (Salumificio Dallatana), with a testimony on how the digitization processes of the quality system affect competitiveness
• Irene Bortolotti (Planning Congressi), on how digitization is changing the landscape of the service sector.

The common thread was clear: value does not come from digital technology “in itself,” but from the ability to integrate it into processes, roles, and decisions that matter.

Future Prospects: Competitiveness As A Systemic Choice

In conclusion, Cesare Azzali (General Manager of the Parma Industrialists’ Union) reiterated the need for continuity, looking back at the past and present in order to move forward into the future of our country, adding the importance of the human factor, made up of culture, values, science, and courage.

Takeaways

Technology must become an enabling asset, but the path to achieving this is strategic, not just technical. It involves two decisions: integrating innovation into core processes and investing in skills, because without organization and people, the leap cannot be made.

Next Steps

For many companies, the most effective choice is not to start with a tool, but with a decision to change, to see things differently, adding everything that big data can do for the company. Tools remain tools, but it is their use, fueled by high-impact company data, that creates the future of the company.

It is not easy to understand and it is not easy to implement, but it is an inevitable future.
The approach can only be that of project management: analysis-design-implementation-verification, in which Roncucci&Partners has been investing for 25 years.

Giovanni Roncucci, presidente di Roncucci&Partners.

If you would like to discuss digitalization and internationalization, please contact us here: info@roncucciandpartners.com

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