According to the WTW Swiss Pension Finance Watch for the second quarter of 2025, Swiss pension commitments continue to have high coverage despite a decline in the second quarter and global volatility. Assets remained largely unchanged in the second quarter of 2025, while obligations increased by 1.0 % due to the slight decrease in discount rates. As a result, the funding ratio (i.e. the ratio of pension assets to pension obligations) deteriorated by 1.3% in the second quarter, as shown by the WTW Pension Index. It fell from 125.5 % as at March 31, 2025 to 124.2 % as at June 30, 2025.

Corporate bonds were volatile in the second quarter, but ultimately the discount rate changed only slightly over the quarter, falling by 3 basis points. This had only a modest impact on pension obligations in corporate balance sheets. Asset markets were also volatile over the quarter, with typical pension fund asset classes falling by around 5 % in the first week of the second quarter, but then recovering to close the quarter virtually unchanged.

Resilience despite headwinds: Swiss pension funds remain financially stable

After a sharp increase in the first quarter of 2025 and a slight decrease in the second quarter of 2025, the discount rate has leveled off at around 1.20 %.

"Swiss pension funds continue to have strong financial positions. The general resilience of the system continues to be supported by proven investment strategies and careful risk management. The latter is characterized by timely adjustments to parameters such as conversion rates and the technical interest rate over the last five to ten years. On average, the fluctuation reserves are still almost fully covered and provide a valuable buffer against possible future market volatility," comments Adam Casey, Head of Corporate Retirement Consulting at WTW in Zurich.

Possible shift to investments with higher risks

In June, the Swiss National Bank lowered its key interest rate to 0.00 %. The European Central Bank followed suit and reduced its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.00 %. The US Federal Reserve (Fed), on the other hand, kept its key interest rate unchanged at 4.25 to 4.50 %, although the markets continue to expect further interest rate cuts in the course of the year.

The first part of the year was characterized by rising geopolitical tensions, including trade disputes, conflicts in the Middle East and increasing friction between the US and China. These developments led to significant market volatility in the first quarter, with the recent rise in oil and commodity prices reflecting the prevailing uncertainty. These trends continued in the second quarter, with the USA announcing far-reaching tariff increases, which led to strong market fluctuations. However, the stock markets recovered noticeably in June.

"Against a backdrop of ongoing uncertainty, many institutional investors such as pension funds have increasingly turned to alternative investments such as private equity, infrastructure and real assets - a strategy aimed at diversification and risk mitigation, particularly in light of falling bond yields. Accordingly, we advise pension funds to review their strategic asset allocation and, if necessary, replace traditional bond investments with other bond instruments," says Alexandra Tischendorf, Head of Investment at WTW Switzerland. "A highly diversified portfolio with a balanced risk exposure to the various economic sectors remains important," she continues.

Source: WTW

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/schweizer-pensionszusagen-verfuegen-weiterhin-ueber-hohe-deckung/

The integrated capabilities of AI agents enable the processing of large amounts of data, real-time analyses and predictions as well as the summarization and presentation of information. As a result, they are fundamentally revolutionizing the way financial transactions are conducted. Finance has evolved into a dynamic, real-time and continuous field. In AI-driven finance, automated workflows, predictive insights and collaborative actions are possible, leading to unprecedented efficiency and deeper business understanding. Finance teams can now focus on operational monitoring, business optimization and delivering reliable, actionable insights.

A paradigm shift: AI agents and the future of finance

AI agents combine traditional and generative AI to provide multidimensional capabilities that can execute end-to-end processes with minimal human intervention. These agents do more than individual AI software as they replace large parts of traditional, labor-intensive workflows and introduce new functions.

Oracle is a driving force behind this change, developing a range of AI agents that are redefining the hands-on work of finance today. By combining different AI agents, CFO teams can achieve higher levels of productivity and efficiency than ever before. CFOs can achieve strategic goals more proactively by accessing AI-powered insights, forecasts and recommendations in real time. In doing so, they utilize comprehensive data sets that were previously unavailable to them. Embedded AI agents could become the backbone of finance and continue to evolve by regularly integrating new automation and optimization capabilities. The era of iterative financial transformations with point solutions and additional software could soon be a thing of the past.

The basis is the Agent for document conversion from Oracle, which automates data capture and document creation for billing, accounting and data management. This includes processes such as breaking down expense receipts, processing supplier invoices, bank reconciliations and creating journal entries. Using the generative AI component, the agent can process data from different formats and languages so that it can deal with everyday realities, such as when a new trading partner sends in an order in a completely different format. The agent is continuously improved so that data accuracy and quality is increased through automation and little or no additional configuration is required. This advanced feature increases productivity and improves the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of data.

This allows finance teams to gain a new perspective based on a broader data set than ever before. Finance teams use their knowledge and expertise to develop optimal recommendations and actions. At the same time, they contribute to the continuous improvement of AI agents and data to ensure the highest quality and reliable results. In this way, finance can become more business-oriented, more action-oriented and, above all, more valuable. Crucially, CFOs do not need data scientists to use these tools effectively.

This base of AI agents is growing at a rapid pace. In combination with a SaaS platform that provides up-to-date and company-specific data, we believe that new opportunities for financial organizations will continue to arise.

Finance teams and AI: a strong partnership

The role of finance teams will evolve dramatically in this age of AI. AI agents automate many processes, yet they will only complement, but never replace, experienced finance professionals. AI uses big data and processes it in new ways. It analyzes and presents information and trends so that finance teams can apply their judgment, strategic insights and decision-making skills. Establishing centers of excellence for AI agents will become a best practice that enables seamless collaboration between humans and AI.

Change management must become a core competency as finance teams create a framework for continuous updates to processes, data and technology. AI agents support teams by focusing on real-time data and AI-driven outcomes, improving processes, defining measures and optimizing results. Human expertise will always be crucial when it comes to monitoring and optimally managing AI outcomes.

Now is the time for AI-driven finance

AI-driven finance activities are not just about process improvements; they represent a new way of thinking for CFOs. AI agents using your data can achieve results beyond current capabilities, allowing you to focus specifically on operational efficiency and business outcomes.

The future of finance is clear. Now is the time to switch to AI-driven financial processes.

Author

Jean Marc Pfammatter is Applications Leader Switzerland at Oracle. www.oracle.com

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ki-gesteuertes-finanzwesen-eine-neue-aera-der-kontinuierlichen-transformation-fuer-cfos/

The Helsana Group is taking over Adcubum AG, which is majority-owned by the American private equity company TA Associates. Adcubum will be assigned to the Helsana Group's holding company and will remain an independent company headquartered in St. Gallen. All existing contracts will be fulfilled. Operational management will remain with the current management, and all employees will be retained. "With this investment, Helsana wants to maintain and further develop its stable, efficient and innovative health insurance software," says Helsana CEO Roman Sonderegger, explaining the takeover of Adcubum. "The investments and targeted innovations for the software will benefit Helsana and all health and accident insurers that work with Adcubum. This will ultimately benefit millions of insured persons throughout Switzerland".

Equal treatment of all customers

As the new owner, Helsana promises that Adcubum will continue to operate as an independent company. With this in mind, the majority of Adcubum's new Board of Directors will in future be made up of people who are independent of Helsana, the company announced. Adcubum is also committed to ensuring that all customers have equal access to products and services at fair prices.

Digitalization and resilient IT systems are key in a mass business such as insurance. Helsana and Adcubum have been working closely together for over a decade. The takeover should therefore also be seen in the context of Helsana's strategic development, according to the statement. The takeover strengthens digital expertise and is a decisive step towards even greater efficiency and innovation.

Adcubum with long-term oriented Swiss owner and clear ambitions

With the leading health insurer Helsana, Adcubum gains a long-term Swiss owner that is also an important customer. This creates additional opportunities to take the needs of Swiss health and accident insurers even more into account in future and to implement innovation projects efficiently. Adcubum wants to play an active role in shaping the digital transformation in the healthcare sector and further expand its position as a leading provider of insurance software in this area. With its combination of technological expertise and broad access to industry knowledge, the company will continue to focus on innovative solutions.

No premium money for takeover

The acquisition is being carried out by Helsana Beteiligungen AG, a company specializing in investments in the healthcare sector. The purchase will be financed via the holding company (Helsana Ltd). The insurance business will not be affected and no premium money will be used for the purchase of Adcubum. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Source: Helsana

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/helsana-gruppe-uebernimmt-softwareunternehmen-adcubum/

Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk's xAI start-up, has been available on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform since the end of May. The announcement, made at the Build 2025 conference, marks a strategic turning point: Microsoft is opening up its ecosystem to a wider range of AI players, including some that are challenging its traditional partners such as OpenAI.

Open cloud environments lead to more complexity

"In general, the rapid development of AI in the cloud requires a rethink of access policies and improved monitoring of usage to ensure greater security for sensitive data flows," says Sébastien Viou, Director of Cybersecurity & Product Management at Stormshield: "The integration of AI models developed by xAI, such as Grok, on the Microsoft Azure platform represents a further step in the opening up of cloud environments to alternative large language model providers. While this open ecosystem dynamic appears to bring agility to organizations, it also introduces a new level of complexity for the teams responsible for cybersecurity."

Transparency of use is a key concern here. With generative AI now accessible via standardized Azure interfaces, the number of potential applications can increase without meaningful controls and countermeasures, especially in complex application environments that span a variety of subsystems. The result is a blurring of the line between legitimate experimentation and "shadow AI". Without precise monitoring mechanisms, it is difficult to know who is using these models, with what data and for what purposes.

New requirements for risk management

This inevitably raises the question of risk management of a legal or technical nature, such as governance of access, traceability of usage and protection of sensitive data. The fact that Grok now exists alongside other AI tools on the same platform requires a granular reassessment of the impact on data processing and operational resilience. A least privilege philosophy must prevail, with tighter controls on identities and usage sessions. Otherwise, the risk of sensitive information being compromised or leaked simply due to configuration errors becomes non-trivial.

Finally, beyond the access and visibility issues, controlling sensitive data flows is a critical blind spot. Seemingly innocuous interactions between employees and AI can hide data exfiltration or processing operations that violate security policies. In an environment where traditional data loss prevention solutions were already complex to apply, the challenge takes on a new dimension. This requires holistic cybersecurity measures that go beyond mere reactivity and are integrated into the corporate strategy from the ground up. This includes comprehensive mechanisms to enforce zero-trust principles that ensure that every access request - whether from a human or AI - is authenticated, authorized and continuously validated, regardless of location or device.

Digital sovereignty as the key

Controlling the flow of data in the context of AI applications also requires innovative solutions that go beyond traditional perimeter defense. An effective security strategy must be able to analyze AI-generated content and AI-driven interactions in real time to prevent potential misuse or leakage of sensitive information. This requires advanced network-level inspection capabilities and endpoint protection capable of detecting and preventing unusual behavior or suspicious patterns emanating from AI models.

Given the rapid pace of development and potential risks, it is essential to rely on trustworthy and transparent cybersecurity solutions, especially when it comes to protecting critical data and infrastructure. Only by building a robust security foundation that prioritizes digital sovereignty and compliance with European standards can companies reap the full benefits of AI safely and responsibly. Such a comprehensive strategy is key to unleashing the innovative power of AI without losing control. Because without a rigorous approach to governance and oversight, AI, whether generative or not, is likely to evolve in organizations faster than the means to control it.

Source: Stormshield

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/cloudbasierte-ki-anwendungen-und-die-gefahr-der-schatten-ki/

Venturelab has been putting together the Swiss national start-up team since 2006. As part of the Venture Leaders Roadshows, the entrepreneurs meet investors, industry experts and potential customers in leading global technology centers such as Silicon Valley, Boston, Asia, Barcelona, Munich and London. The Venture Leaders Medtech 2025 program is supported by EPFL, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Helbling Technik, the Health Innovation Hub Aargau, Kellerhals Carrard, the Canton of Vaud and Vischer.

Attracting international attention

After a competitive selection process that reviewed over 70 applications, a panel of investors and industry experts selected ten startups to participate in the upcoming roadshow in Boston - one of the world's leading centers for healthcare innovation. The week-long program will give participants the opportunity to connect with company representatives, potential partners and investors and advance their US market entry strategy.

The selected Swiss medtech startups are receiving international attention - and for good reason: they address challenges such as smart implants, AI-assisted diagnostics, neonatal nutrition and non-invasive monitoring. "These innovations are not only impressive - they have the potential to change medical technology worldwide," says Stefan Steiner, Co-Managing Director of Venturelab.

This year's Venture Leaders Medtech participants join a remarkable group of previous attendees - including Lunaphore Technologies (acquired by Bio-Techne), Virtamed, Credentis (acquired by vVardis), Stimit (acquired by Dräger), CUTISS, Distalmotion, MindMaze, Positrigo and Volumina Medical. "The organization of the program was exceptional, and the quality of the meetings exceeded all my expectations," says Pablo Lara, co-founder of OncoSwab and former Venture Leader Medtech 2024 participant. "I was so impressed that I even postponed my return flight to extend my stay. I can recommend this program without reservation."

The 10 medtech start-ups of 2025

This year's national startup team in the medtech sector is made up as follows:

• Babylat | Bern | www.babylat.com: Babylat is the first automated table-top device for enriching proteins and fats from breast milk to improve the nutrition of premature babies.
• Clee Medical | Geneva | www.cleemedical.comClee Medical enables safer and faster neurosurgical procedures through high-resolution real-time brain imaging combined with AI-driven navigation.
• dEEGtal Insight | Bern | www.deegtal.aidEEGtal Insight improves the diagnosis of epilepsy and mental illness by using AI software to extract hidden patterns from routine EEGs.
• DigeHealth | Vaud | www.digehealth.chDigeHealth is developing a wearable that records bowel sounds to detect blockages early and enable more informed clinical decisions.
• Hemetron | Zurich | www.hemetron.comHemetron offers a solution for home monitoring using novel blood tests to enable the early treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.
• Inteeth | Geneva | www.inteeth.comInteeth is the first truly invisible dental splint that straightens teeth from behind and enables faster, more discreet treatment.
• NX-Spine | Basel | www.nexilis.chNX-Spine improves the fixation of bone screws in spinal fusions with a fast, polymer-based solution that increases stability and safety.
• OrthoSens | Law | www.orthosens.chOrthoSens makes orthopaedic implants intelligent by integrating battery-free sensors that provide surgeons with real-time data on recovery.
• Augury Medical (Pace Locator) | Bern | www.pacelocator.comPace Locator helps prevent heart failure caused by pacemakers by providing real-time cardiac data during the procedure.
• Scanvio Medical | Zurich | www.scanvio.comScanvio Medical uses AI to turn standard ultrasound into a tool for faster, non-invasive detection of endometriosis.

Source: Venture Leaders

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/zehn-schweizer-medtech-startups-fuer-us-expansion-ausgewaehlt/

Three farewells - three new additions: At the General Assembly of the Swiss Dialog Marketing Association SDV on June 26, three long-standing board members announced their resignations: Alexandra Brunner from Migros Genossenschafts-Bund, Andreas Hobi owner Focus Dialog and Brian Hemmi from Walter Schmid. The SDV expressed its sincere thanks to the three for their great commitment to the Board, the SDV DM Award and dialog marketing in Switzerland in general. All three will remain members of the association as SDV members.

In return, SDV President Dr. Christian Huldi was able to welcome three new faces to the Board: Doris Bühler, Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Bühler & Bühler, Francesco Martello, Head of Sales/Campaign & Account Mgt at AZ Direct and Simona Studer, Account Manager Dialog at the Wirz Group, were elected unanimously.

The non-resigning Board members and the President were also re-elected unanimously. With the new additions, the composition of the Board has changed, but the number of members remains at nine. Click here for the new jury composition.

((Pictures of the three new board members))

((01_Doris-Buehler))
Doris Bühler (Partner Bühler & Bühler)

((02_ Francesco-Martello))
Francesco Martello (AZ Direct AG)

((03_Simona_Studer))
Simona Studer (Wirz Group AG)

((04_Combination))
The SDV welcomes three new Board members: Doris Bühler, Francesco Martello and Simona Studer.

The Institute for Public Sector Transformation (IPST) at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) has founded the "Network SDS - Sovereign Digital Switzerland" together with the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), the Organization and Information Technology (OIZ) of the City of Zurich and Swiss Post. Other Swiss organizations are invited to join the network. The "Network SDS" promotes the professional networking of Swiss stakeholders on digital sovereignty. Skills, knowledge and experience are exchanged through events, analyses and other activities. These include the reduction of vendor dependencies, the use and development of open source technologies and the sovereign operation of IT infrastructures. There is also an exchange with foreign authorities, companies and other organizations. A cooperation with the German Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS) is already being planned in order to establish an official openDesk offering in Switzerland.

Initiative is welcomed

The advisory board of the "Network SDS" is currently made up of Dominika Blonski (Data Protection Officer of the Canton of Zurich), Danielle Kaufmann (Data Protection Officer of the Canton of Basel-Stadt), Werner Kipfer (Head of the Workplace Department at the Organization and IT of the City of Zurich) and Matthias Schmutz (Head of Architecture, Security and Project Management at the FDJP). The "SDS Network" is also supported by key players in the administration. Peppino Giarritta, Federal and Cantonal Commissioner for Digital Administration Switzerland (DVS), welcomes the initiative: "A network like this helps to strengthen professional exchange and build expertise in the area of digital sovereignty." Daniel Markwalder, Delegate of the "Digital Transformation and ICT Steering" (DTI) division of the Federal Chancellery, would also like to draw on the network's expertise: "We will be happy to discuss specific issues with the SDS network."

Open to other organizations

Swiss authorities and other actors in the public sector as well as companies, associations and other organizations headquartered in Switzerland can participate in the "SDS Network". The operational activities of the network are carried out by the IPST of the BFH. A newsletter and the website (www.netzwerksds.ch) provide information about the upcoming activities of the "Network SDS".

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/neues-netzwerk-sds-souveraene-digitale-schweiz-gegruendet/

Trend Micro, one of the world's leading providers of cyber security solutions, has published new study results. These show that Companies are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen their cyber defenses, but are also increasingly expressing concern about the potential of this technology to increase their attack surface and create new risks.

AI in use for cyber defense

According to the study, 77% of Swiss companies (81% worldwide) are already using AI-based tools as part of their cybersecurity strategy, while a further 17% (16% worldwide) are actively considering their implementation. Almost all respondents (96% in Switzerland, 97% worldwide) are open to the use of AI in some form. 65% of Swiss respondents (52% worldwide) are already using it for important security processes such as automated asset discovery, risk prioritization and anomaly detection. Many managers are also hoping that AI will help them to improve their cyber security: For 42% of the companies surveyed in Switzerland and worldwide, AI and automation are the top priority for improving cyber security.

AI is also a risk: concerns are growing

However, the increasing spread of AI solutions also harbors considerable risks. An overwhelming 94 percent of Swiss companies (and 94 percent worldwide) believe that AI will have a negative impact on their cyber risks in the next three to five years. Two thirds (67% in Switzerland compared to only 53% globally) expect an increase in the scale and complexity of AI-driven attacks, which will force them to rethink and reorganize their existing cyber security strategies. The biggest concerns of Swiss companies regarding the use of AI include

• the risk of disclosing sensitive data (44 percent in Switzerland, 42 percent worldwide)
• the possibility of protected data being exploited by untrustworthy models (41 percent in Switzerland, 36 percent worldwide)
• Uncertainty about how data is processed and stored by AI systems (41 percent in Switzerland, 38 percent worldwide)
• the monitoring challenges posed by the increase in new endpoints and APIs (31 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• the emergence of blind spots due to the spread of shadow IT (30 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• Increased compliance pressure (30 percent in Switzerland, 33 percent worldwide)

"AI holds tremendous potential for strengthening cyber defenses, from faster anomaly detection to automating time-consuming tasks," said Rachel Jin, Chief Enterprise Platform Officer at Trend Micro. "But attackers are just as eager to use AI for their own purposes, and this is creating a rapidly changing threat landscape. Our research and real-world testing make it clear that cybersecurity must be built into AI systems from the start. There is simply too much at stake."

Source: Trend Micro

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/77-prozent-der-schweizer-unternehmen-setzen-ki-zur-cyberabwehr-ein/

Each jury member nominated two candidates in advance. From these, the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insights at the University of St. Gallen made a pre-selection and also created a profile of the candidates who made it into this initial selection, which served as the basis for the jury to assess their performance. The jury members then met at Admeira's premises to select the nominees. After discussions and voting, six favorites emerged.

Announcement of the winner(s)

On August 21, 2025, the winner will be announced and celebrated during the exclusive Award Night with invited guests at the Papiersaal in Zurich. More detailed information on the nominees, the jury and the voting process can be found on the website: cmo-of-the-year.ch to find.

The Serviceplan Group Switzerland, the entire sponsorship and the jurors warmly congratulate the nominees and are very much looking forward to the evening of the award ceremony.

Nutanix, a specialist in hybrid multicloud computing, has presented the results of the seventh edition of its annual Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey for the healthcare sector. The provider uses the global survey to measure the spread of cloud use in the industry. "In healthcare, every decision has a direct impact on patients - including decisions about how we evolve our technology stack," explains Jon Edward, Director IS Infrastructure Engineering at Legacy Health. "We looked very carefully at how we could responsibly integrate GenAI. This meant investing in an infrastructure that would allow us to support long-term innovation without compromising on privacy and security. We are committed to modernizing our systems to deliver better care, become more efficient and continue to live up to the trust patients place in us."

GenAI: Introduction at full speed

According to this year's report, healthcare leaders are rapidly adopting generative artificial intelligence (AI) - despite lingering concerns. Respondents from the healthcare sector cite the ability to integrate GenAI into existing IT infrastructure as the biggest hurdle (79 percent), closely followed by persistent healthcare data silos (65 percent) and stubborn challenges in developing cloud-native applications and containers (59 percent).

"The healthcare industry has been known to be slower to adopt new technologies. However, this is not the case with GenAI, which is being adopted much faster. This is likely due in large part to the ease of access to GenAI applications and tools," said Scott Ragsdale, Senior Director, Sales - Healthcare & SLED at Nutanix. "Despite the impressive adoption rate across the industry, concerns remain about the importance of protecting healthcare data. Virtually all healthcare organizations and institutions are using GenAI in one way or another. However, we are likely to see more widespread adoption when the root causes of privacy and security concerns are addressed."

Some important results

The survey participants from the healthcare industry provided information about GenAI implementations and trends, Kubernetes and containers as well as the operation of their business-relevant applications today and in the future. The key findings of this year's study include:

• The introduction and deployment of GenAI in healthcare requires a more comprehensive approach to data security. The industry representatives surveyed point to the considerable additional effort required to raise data security and governance to the level that is fundamentally necessary to successfully introduce and operate GenAI solutions. The biggest challenge in the use and expansion of GenAI in the industry are concerns about data protection and security when operating large language models (LLMs) with sensitive company data. In addition, 96 percent of industry respondents agree that their organization could do more to protect their GenAI models and applications. GenAI workloads will be a long-term challenge for many companies and institutions in the healthcare sector.
• Infrastructure modernization deserves priority in order to scale GenAI throughout the organization. Running modern applications at enterprise scale requires infrastructure solutions that can meet the essential requirements of complex data security, data integrity and resilience. Unfortunately, 99 percent of healthcare respondents admit to struggling with scaling GenAI workloads from development to production - with the biggest hurdle being integration into existing IT infrastructure. For this reason, healthcare IT leaders should pay greater attention to investing in modern infrastructure as a key component of successful GenAI initiatives.
• The introduction of GenAI-solutions is continuing unabated in the healthcare sector, although there are still hurdles to overcome. As far as the introduction of GenAI as such is concerned, the key figures are excellent. For example, 99 percent of the industry representatives surveyed say that their organization is already using GenAI applications and workloads. Most companies and institutions in the industry are convinced that they can increase productivity, automation and efficiency with the help of GenAI solutions.
• Currently, the application scenarios used in practice in the healthcare sector focus on GenAI-supported solutions for customer support and experience (e.g. in the form of chatbots) as well as code generation, whether automated or with the support of co-pilots. However, companies and institutions in the healthcare sector have identified a range of challenges and potential obstacles in the development and deployment of GenAI solutions. These include security and protection of patient data as well as scalability and complexity.
• Application containerization and Kubernetes deployments are on the rise across the healthcare sector. Container-based infrastructure and application development offers the potential for organizations to provide seamless and secure access to patient and business data in hybrid and multicloud environments. The containerization of applications is widespread in all industries and will also increase in the healthcare sector. In fact, 99% of the industry representatives surveyed said that their organization is already looking into the containerization of applications. The driving force behind this trend is likely to be the view shared by 92% of respondents in the healthcare sector that their organization benefits from the introduction of cloud-native applications and containers. These survey results suggest that the majority of IT leaders in the healthcare sector will be looking at how containerization fits into their strategies to extend existing and newly introduced workloads.

Source and further information: Nutanix

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/gesundheitssektor-modernisierung-der-it-infrastruktur-hinkt-einfuehrung-von-genai-hinterher/

Being human

Learning from evolution for the future.

• Kai Michel and Carel van Schaik
• Publisher: Rowohlt
• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 384
• ISBN: 9783498003272

Current cultural critiques and social analyses lack the fundamental question: What is the human being? For bestselling authors Carel van Schaik and Kai Michel, one thing is clear: only the answer to this question will tell us why we are in a kind of permanent crisis in various areas of life today. From the perspective of biology and anthropology, the answer is that evolution has prepared us for a different life than the one we currently lead. With their evolutionary perspective, van Schaik and Michel shed new light on well-known diseases of civilization. Worth reading!

Collaboration in the flow

How to successfully bring flow to your team, projects and company with 10 tried-and-tested tools.

• Nadja Schnetzler and Laurent Burst
• Publisher: GABAL
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 215
• ISBN: 9783967392012

The flow of work and collaboration in organizations are repeatedly slowed down and disrupted by many factors. Unproductive meetings are annoying and small misunderstandings escalate into conflicts. Unfinished tasks pile up and cause delays. The authors believe that none of this is necessary. Work can be organized in such a way that it flows. They present ten tried-and-tested tools that help to create the desired flow. However, they also write that in order for these tools to be effective, the major and minor obstacles to flow need to be tackled.

Playbook Resonance

Find the emotions that really drive brands.

• Bernhard Fischer-Appelt
• Publisher: Murmann
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 215
• ISBN: 9783867748063

Brands must not only appeal to the mind, but also to people's emotions. Says advertising expert Bernhard Fischer-Appelt and takes us on an entertaining journey through the world of innovative brand experiences. There is just as much to learn from Taylor Swift as from the legendary techno club Berghain or the sports retailer Decathlon. Unfortunately, the broad selection of case studies comes at the expense of a more precise definition of what the "affective arrangement" is that should make brands tangible. Nevertheless, it is an amusing and inspiring read.

Committed to the future

Modern entrepreneurship for a country worth living in.

• Thomas M. Fischer
• Publisher: Westend
• Publication year: 2025
• Pages: 192
• ISBN: 9783864894831

Thomas M. Fischer is an entrepreneur himself - and wants this book to make you think: Why do we still define success in terms of growth, even though the world has long needed other answers? Fischer shows what potential lies in a value-oriented economy. He sees sustainability as an opportunity for companies, society and every individual. Fischer is convinced that life in a sustainable society will be better than many believe. An inspiring read for anyone thinking about the future of our economy and society.

From social media campaigns to non-profit campaigns, from corporate films to B2B magazines: a total of 93 outstanding content marketing projects in 32 categories have made it onto the shortlist for this year's Best of Content Marketing Awards, giving them the chance to win a gold award at the BCM event in Munich on October 9. Three of them come from Switzerland.

What makes this BCM vintage so special?

"Definitely the range!" says Olaf Wolff, Chairman of the Content Marketing Forum e.V. (CMF), which is organizing the award for the 23rd time. "The shortlist is a colorful mix of media forms, strategic approaches and storytelling approaches. What they have in common is that each project works across channels in some way and addresses its target group in a multidimensional way."

In which categories are Swiss works nominated?

"Two nominations are in the B2C category - for a content campaign and a magazine," reveals Guido Von Deschwanden, CMF Switzerland Board Member. "The third is in the new special award category Best of efficient Creation Excellence and thus represents a real future topic for the industry: How can we achieve creative excellence while working with maximum efficiency?"

Are trends emerging across countries?

"One trend is certainly that the majority of campaign approaches in content marketing now work with social media influencers in some form," says Peter Matz, BCM Representative on the CMF Board. "It is also striking how many content-strong event approaches are in competition. These include content-driven award concepts as well as gaming events in social media."

The shortlist is now available on the BCM website.