The development of the digital economy is a very interesting research problem. The beginnings of the digital economy date back to the 1990s, when the use of information technology was limited to manual transmission of data by means of electronic devices. Therefore, detailed research of key concepts that significantly accelerated the development of the digital economy was taken as the research objective. The methodology of the study was based on a theoretical analysis of individual concepts that positively influence the development of the digital economy. The result of this study was the determination of the role that particular factors played in the development of a knowledge-based economy. The main conclusions drawn from the study are the following: there has been an increase in the competitiveness of industry thanks to the use of the latest technological developments in the field of computer science, advanced data exchange and integration of IT systems of various organizations. One can therefore consider digitization to be one of the most revolutionary changes in the modern world, constituting a significant determinant of the development of the innovative economy and the information society. This means that it plays an important role in economic, political, social as well as in cultural life. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine the functioning of organizations, governments or societies without access to information and communication technologies.