Insee Première · April 2021 · n° 1854

Internet of Things, 3D Printing, Robotics: technology used more by large companies

In 2020, 10% of companies with 10 people or more use interconnected systems. The proportion is higher among large companies (29%) and in the transport sector (16%). Vehicle maintenance or monitoring sensors and products are the most used, with 38% of companies that rely on interconnected systems being equipped. They often go hand-in-hand with greater use of cloud computing and big data.

A total of 4% of companies use 3D printing, the same level as two years earlier. However, this proportion increases to 17% for companies with 250 or more employees. The latter are more likely to make use of the company’s printers (14%) than the services of a subsidiary or contractor (8%).
3D printing products are used internally (79%) more than they are sold (48%), and most often for prototypes or mock-ups (84%).

8% of companies use a robot, with usage of an industrial robot being twice as high as for a service robot. Use of industrial robots is understandably concentrated in the industrial sector.