About 50% of Workplaces Say Digitalization is 'Not Advancing'. 70% Feel Cost is a Hurdle

■ How far has business digitalization advanced in the workplace?

Against the backdrop of labor shortages and work style reform, business digitalization and systemization have been positioned as management issues in many companies. On the other hand, there are many voices from the field saying that management using paper, Excel, and manual work still remains.

From the perspective of actual workers, how far has the digitalization of the workplace advanced?

And what kind of expectations and anxieties do they have about requesting business improvements from external system development companies?

Therefore, this time, jointly with the system development company TSS Software Inc., we conducted a questionnaire on the "actual situation of business digitalization and systemization" targeting 400 men and women nationwide who answered "currently working" in a preliminary survey.

* When quoting the contents of this press release, please take the following actions:
- State that the source is "a survey by NEXER Inc. and system development company TSS Software Inc."
- Provide a link to the system development company TSS Software Inc. (https://www.tss-sw.co.jp/)

"Questionnaire on the Actual Situation of Business Digitalization and Systemization" Survey Overview

Survey method: Internet questionnaire

Survey period: May 1 to May 11, 2026

Survey respondents: Men and women nationwide who answered "currently working" in the preliminary survey

Valid responses: 400 samples

Question contents:

Question 1: To what extent has the systemization and digitalization of business advanced in your workplace?

Question 2: Please tell us the reason why you feel that way.

Question 3: Does "management by paper, manual work, and Excel" still remain in your business?

Question 4: What kind of inconvenience do you feel because of that? (Multiple answers allowed)

Question 5: Do you feel a hurdle in requesting business improvement from a system development company?

Question 6: What kind of hurdle do you feel? (Multiple answers allowed)

Question 7: Have you ever felt "I wish we had introduced it earlier" after introducing or renewing a system or business tool?

Question 8: In what points did you feel so?

* As a general rule, percentages are rounded to the nearest first decimal place, so the total may not be 100%.

■ 54.3% answer that workplace digitalization and systemization are "not advancing"

First, we asked to what extent the systemization and digitalization of business in the workplace has advanced.

As a result, 7.8% said "very advanced" and 38.0% said "somewhat advanced," showing that a total of 45.8% feel that digitalization is advancing.

On the other hand, 31.8% said "not advancing much" and 22.5% said "not advancing at all," meaning that a total of 54.3% feel that the digitalization of their workplace is not advancing.

It can be seen that about one in two workers realizes the delay in the digitalization of their workplace.

We asked for the reasons, and here are some of them.

Those who answered "advancing":

- Fax has been eliminated. Seals have also become electronic signatures. (20s, Male)

- Because digitalization is advancing in attendance and work tasks. (30s, Female)

- Because we are steadily introducing tools that lead to efficiency, such as AI tools. (30s, Male)

- Everyone performs their work on computers and tablets, and shares work details and communications on slack. (40s, Female)

Those who answered "not advancing":

- Because I myself am unfamiliar with it, and only a limited number of people can do it. (30s, Female)

- Because physical labor at construction sites is central, there are few opportunities to use it. (30s, Male)

- Because the management team is not tackling it that seriously. (30s, Male)

- Because all approval documents are paper, and a physical seal remains the item for approval. (50s, Male)

From those who feel that digitalization is advancing, specific changes leading to business efficiency have been raised, such as the abolition of faxes, the introduction of electronic signatures, the utilization of AI tools, and information sharing on the cloud.

On the other hand, from the voices of those who feel it is not advancing, circumstances depending on the industry or job type can also be seen. In industries centered on field work such as construction and manufacturing, there were voices saying that many tasks are inherently difficult to digitize.

In addition, the mindset of the management team and the shortage of digital human resources seem to be factors causing people to feel a delay in digitalization in the field.

■ 76.8% answer that "management by paper, manual work, and Excel" remains in the workplace

Next, we asked whether "management by paper, manual work, and Excel" still remains in business operations.

38.5% said "many remain" and 38.3% said "some remain," meaning that a total of 76.8% stated that some form of analog management remains in the workpla