In 2015, the trade association Bitkom asked German companies with twenty or more employees about digitalization. Ninety-six percent said it was an opportunity for their own company. Fifty-six percent also said they were latecomers, and another 8 percent said they had fallen far behind. In a survey published in January 2020, Bitkom asked managing directors and board members again. Fifty-eight percent called their company a latecomer, and 3 percent said they had missed it altogether. Thirty-six percent saw themselves as pioneers.