Cloud and cybersecurity, via the voucher for businesses

The pre-compilation of applications for the new voucher intended for SMEs and self-employed workers who intend to invest in cloud computing and cybersecurity services opens tomorrow. There are 150 million euros on the table, financed through the 2014-2020 Development and Cohesion Fund, of which approximately 71 million reserved for investments made in eight regions of Southern Italy. The non-repayable contribution will cover 50% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of 20 thousand euros per beneficiary, for projects of at least 4 thousand euros. Applications can be submitted from 10 November to 20 January 2027, unless resources are exhausted early, and will be ordered chronologically.

The benefit will allow you to purchase IT security solutions, from firewalls to network protection and monitoring systems, as well as cloud infrastructures and services, management software and tools for organizing business activities. The objective is to strengthen the ability of companies to use more advanced and secure digital technologies, intervening in two areas that are now essential for competitiveness.

The new intervention comes after five years in which the digitalisation of the production system was supported by a complex set of public incentives, from Transition 4.0 tax credits to measures financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, up to Transition 5.0, which combined technological innovation with energy efficiency objectives. A path that has mobilized substantial resources, but which raises a question: how much of this support has translated into effective digital advancement of Italian companies, especially smaller ones?

Among the main tools of the five-year period is Transition 4.0, which supported investments in technologically advanced capital goods, software, research, development and innovation. The tax credit mechanism has represented one of the cornerstones of Italian industrial policy, with the aim of encouraging the modernization of production processes and the adoption of enabling technologies.

The Transition Plan 5.0 was added to this system in 2024, introduced as part of the Pnrr and initially financed with 6.3 billion euros. The measure recognized incentives for investments in innovation capable of ensuring a reduction in energy consumption of at least 3% of the production structure or 5% of the processes involved. An evolution compared to the previous model, which linked public support to the achievement of measurable energy saving objectives.