"The people, not the houses, make the town." This is how a novella about Bad Mergentheim could begin. In this town of around 24,000 inhabitants in the northeast of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Muller Martini runs a competence center for the hardcover sector. The group, which is internationally known for print finishing systems, wanted to renew its structures, build a new SAPsystem and associated processes in order to optimally coordinate and standardize the Group-wide interaction of all sites. The project goal for the production plant in Bad Mergentheim was to transfer the adjusted structures to the new system landscape as of January 1, 2018.

SAP project from a single source

"We're talking about a rollout here, which means we're adapting the logic and definition of a template to all the other plants in the group. Everything has to be from a single source," says Roger Wiederkehr, SAP project manager at GIA Informatik AG in Oftringen. "We deployed the template live at two companies at the headquarters in Zofingen in September 2015 after around 18 months of intensive preparation. This formed the starting signal for the further rollouts we are working on - such as in Bad Mergentheim. With our project team, we are adapting one plant per year to the new structure."

What are the reasons for choosing GIA Informatik AG?

During the restructuring, GIA covered the SAP area, firstly because it has a lot of experience and good results as a Gold Partner of SAP - both in outsourcing and in application consulting and system implementation - and secondly because it is a subsidiary of the Muller Martini Group. Beat Tanner, ERP specialist at Muller Martini AG in Zofingen, who pulled the strings between the sites and GIA during the project: "GIA is the group's internal competence center for SAP. It has a great deal of knowledge, also has an overall understanding of the structures, and has a strong project team. Some long-standing team members started their professional careers at Muller Martini and therefore know the business and its characteristics particularly well."

The milestones

The project partners attended a workshop at the end of January 2017 to discuss the next steps. "In February and March, we developed the Delta functional concepts, and in April we carried out the implementation," Beat Tanner explains. The first migration took place in May and the second migration at the end of September. The go live took place on time for the planned date of January 1, 2018. Just one month later, aftercare was discontinued and the system went into normal operating mode.

Hurdle successfully overcome

As expertly as GIA handled the project, there were also individual difficulties to overcome. "The defined processes were to be followed and the organizational changes were to be made as planned, so that the standard would remain guaranteed," explains Roger Wiederkehr. "However, the system and process-related changes posed a major challenge for the on-site organization. With clarification work and a lot of understanding, we created a sensible solution."

Synchronized structures bring great advantages

By synchronizing the structures, the efficiency gain from this project is great. With the SAP migration - a cleanup back to a standard - many legacy issues were thrown off that had accumulated over some 20 years in the previous SAP system. "Now the Bad Mergentheim site can work with the new conditions, is fully integrated into the Group and can use its structures at any time," says Roger Wiederkehr. Thanks to these clean SAP processes and master data, the foundation has also been laid for the subsequent migration to SAP S/4HANA.

Tips to other companies

Do you run a large company or an SME, do you want to clean up your structures and also introduce or renew SAP? Roger Wiederkehr and Beat Tanner give you the following advice:

• Make sure that you have a clear overview and define the principles right at the beginning.
• Jump into the project with enough resources to make quick progress.
• Define a clear division of tasks and responsibilities.
• Consider and incorporate the interests and frameworks of all stakeholders.
• Communicate the milestones to everyone involved and work to meet them day by day.
• Track the processes before you implement the system.
• Define clear contact persons and maintain level-appropriate, open communication.
• To ensure that the project proceeds cleanly, make sure that the technical and planning understanding is at eye level at all stages.
• Create structures through regular meetings. Focus on regularity and routine.
• Perform integrative tests. If you do this comprehensively, you will avoid unnecessary work steps.

Future activities

The project in Bad Mergentheim was successfully completed and everything is running smoothly. But even after a new rollout, there is still a need for optimization at certain points; primarily from ideas from the business to increase efficiency. While Roger Wiederkehr supports this project with his team, Beat Tanner is responsible for ensuring that the improvements are meaningful and beneficial. The rollout is progressing: GIA will implement the SAP system at further Müller Martini sites.

Information: GIA Informatics

 

Implementation at Muller Martini: The Facts
Objectives:

• The existing Group SAP (GRPSAP) sets the framework and system boundaries.
• Transfer to existing GRPSAP with a "back to standard" premise.
• Adherence to the project budget (a mid-six figure amount).
• cutover without any negative impact on the delivery capability of Muller Martini Bad Mergentheim (MMBM) and subsequently also of the other sales organizations of the MM Group.
• Fast and flawless startup of MMBM in the new GRPSAP.
• Simplification of the authorization concept.
• Standardization of master data and its maintenance.
• Upon project acceptance, current system documentation in the form of tracked detailed concepts should be available from GIA.

Timing:

• Workshop: End of January 2017
• Delta professional concepts: February and March 2017
• Realization: April 2017
• Migration and integration test 1: May 2017
• Migration and integration test 2: End of September 2017
• Go Live: January 1, 2018
• Handover to regular operation: February 1, 2018

Effort:

• Personnel at GIA: seven different technical specialists
• Number of man hours for the project: in the low four-digit range

Achieved goals:

• The framework of the GRPSAP has been complied with.
• The target "back to standard" was achieved.
• The overall budget was adhered to. Overall, GIA even undercut the budget by around 20 percent.
• MMBM managed the cutover phase without any significant problems thanks to good planning and a manageable effort.
• GIA adapted the authorization concept to the GRPSAP standard.
• In its basic structure, MMBM now also works with the group-wide Mat/PPS set of rules. Supplementary/missing processes are implemented subsequently.
• GIA handed over the tracked IT and process documentation at the end of the project of the new sales organization.

Just a moment ago, I was working on a sentence, entering a formula in Excel, updating the database - suddenly the screen goes dark. Not only that, there's no more light, the phone line is dead, the radio is off, and not even the coffee machine makes a sound. Mail gone, spreadsheet gone, database entries gone. And from the IT room come the agonizing alarm sounds of the UPS - power failure. In Switzerland, unlike in many other countries, this is fortunately a rare occurrence. And yet, according to data from utilities, the power in our country is interrupted unplanned for an average of 15 minutes per year. An improperly shut down server can lose data. The loss of business-critical data can have drastic, even catastrophic, consequences for an SMB. One might not even think of a fire or a flood, because in such serious events the damage is far from being limited to the data. And yet - what do you do if the data that is so central to the company is lost and the IT landscape is destroyed?

Costs and reputational damage

In addition to the likelihood of these risks, which fortunately rarely occur, SMEs in general are faced with the question of whether operating their own infrastructure is still appropriate and cost-efficient today. Maintaining one's own IT environment is costly in every respect. In addition to the associated hardware, space must also be available for a server room - space that could actually be put to better use in most cases. Ideally, such a room is air-conditioned, protected against fires and water ingress, and protected against unauthorized access. In addition to the high investment, electricity and maintenance costs, a specialist is also needed in the company to ensure trouble-free and uninterrupted operation. Actually, at least two are needed - because one of them also wants to go on vacation. Today, hardly any company can function without IT. Just a few hours without running systems, applications and data can cost a fortune, not to mention damage to the company's reputation.

Highly secure data center

This is where services such as co-location, virtual data centers and virtual servers come into play. Co-location describes the accommodation of a server or an IT landscape in a highly secure data center, ideally in Switzerland. A Tier 3 data center guarantees maximum power availability, fire protection and access security. Co-location enables maximum scalability, service and support. Customers can rent dedicated rack space that is exactly the size they want and need. This can be a whole rack, half or a quarter. The space is used by the customer alone, so they don't have to share it with other companies, and they have 24/7 access to the data center and their rack. Unlike having their own server room or even data center, this way they only incur costs for the space that a company really needs.

Power availability of 99.999 percent

As already mentioned, data storage is ideally located in Switzerland, as this is the only way companies can enjoy the corresponding legal security. Other advantages of co-location are a fast connectivity connection, high-availability connections to the company site, the Internet and cloud providers; climate control, emergency power (redundant UPS and N+1 diesel generators), fire monitoring with extinguishing device and round-the-clock monitored and secured access via personalized badge. Each rack in the data center is connected to two completely separate power circuits. Overall, a monthly power availability of 99.999 percent is guaranteed, which corresponds to a maximum interruption of 26 seconds. Tier 3 data centers use redundant components and multiple active and passive supply paths. This makes the system fault-tolerant, and uninterrupted maintenance is also possible during operation.

No more physical infrastructure needed for mission-critical data

An SME can also operate a virtual data center (VDC) with virtual servers in a highly secure Tier 3 data center. This is a scalable, fully automated SDDC solution (Software Defined Data Center). The VDC can be integrated directly into a company's IT infrastructure and provides on-demand computing and storage for an SME's applications. The integrated solution eliminates the need to purchase, manage and maintain a physical infrastructure - this is known as an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution. It can be deployed quickly and easily, is scalable and cost-effective. Ideally, a virtual data center is operated geo-redundantly in tier 3 data centers in Switzerland under the highest security precautions.

Advice and support

In most cases, the IT landscape in a company has grown organically over the years. There are dependencies that you may not even know about (anymore). Possibly different departments use data at the same time and there are applications that are already very outdated. A reputable managed service provider that offers co-location and virtual environments will also support its customers during the move or transition. The existing IT landscape is scrutinized, the inventory is taken, inventoried and a detailed plan is drawn up. The project is accompanied and, in the case of a (new) installation, the customer receives the necessary support from the experts.

Concentration on actual competencies

With co-location or virtual data centers, SMEs can be sure that their data and applications are in an extremely secure location that is monitored 24 hours a day. In addition, there is no need for the maintenance and space requirements that would be associated with a corresponding infrastructure of one's own. And this at significantly lower costs. At the same time, the company retains full control over its systems. Having your data and servers in a secure location frees up your mind for strategic decisions and allows you to concentrate on your core business competencies.

Author Information:
Thomas Knüsel is COO at Cyberlink AG. Cyberlink has been an independent Swiss Internet Service Provider (ISP) since 1995. In 2012, the focus on the provision of high-quality managed services for business customers followed and thus the change from ISP to MSP (Managed Service Provider). The portfolio includes solutions in the area of connectivity (internet access and site networking), managed security and data center. Cyberlink employs around 30 people in Zurich, who look after over 1500 business customers throughout Switzerland. These are mainly customers with high data volumes. In addition, only high-end devices are used, which can guarantee a high level of reliability, according to the company. One SME customer that already relies on a virtual datacenter from Cyberlink is eyeVIP AG, developer and operator of intuitive event management software. eyeVIP uses the geo-redundant Virtual Datacenter (VDC) Premium as well as the connection of the office via Business Internet. Here, too, the advantages of the scalable, fully automated SDDC solution (Software Defined Data Center) are used, which has been directly integrated into eyeVIP's IT infrastructure. Alina Klaus, Managing Director of eye- VIP AG, sees further advantages in the VDC solution: "The VDC could be built according to our wishes, the services are freely configurable by us and our customers as well as we benefit from the high availability. " Thanks to the Cyberlink business Internet connection in combination with the VDC, even performance-intensive functions, such as uploading photos after an event, would be fast and efficient, as the customer further confirms. Other companies using Cyberlink's services include BSI Business Systems Integration AG, Post CH AG, Tremegisto Consulting, invest.ch Services GmbH, mhs @ internet AG, Brust-Zentrum AG, Zubler & Partner AG and Halter AG.

www.cyberlink.ch

Switzerland ranks 8th in a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network (an alliance of leading online job portals, of which JobCloud is a member) on the most popular destination countries for employees from abroad. Compared to the last edition of the study in 2014, this means a loss of three places for Switzerland. Switzerland has become less attractive, particularly for Russians, Chinese and US Americans, but also for Italians and Germans. Still the most popular destination for Germans in 2014, Switzerland is now behind the USA. The most popular countries overall are the USA, Germany and Canada. The UK is the big loser in the top 10 (from 2nd place in 2014 to 5th place in 2018). The reason for this may not least be the Brexit. The biggest leaps forward in the top 10 are made by Spain and Australia (Australia from 7th to 4th place, Spain from 8th to 6th place).

Swiss would prefer to go to the USA - or stay in Switzerland

The desire of employees in Switzerland to work abroad has decreased drastically: While 77% expressed the desire to work abroad in 2014, the figure was 60% in 2018. However, this figure is still above the international average of 58%. Young and well-educated people in particular can imagine working abroad (64% and 71%).

"The work-life balance and a good working relationship are of above-average importance to employees in Switzerland, according to the study," says Renato Profico, CEO of JobCloud (jobs.ch / jobup.ch), the leading company in the digital job market in Switzerland and "The Network" member. "Apparently, fewer and fewer want to put these factors at risk for a job abroad. A move abroad is also usually associated with establishing a new environment and a different working climate." Those who take the leap to work abroad do so primarily to broaden their personal horizons, gain work experience or experience a different culture. Very few people go abroad for a higher standard of living or a higher salary. However, these factors are particularly important for employees in other countries when deciding whether or not to take a job abroad.

Switzerland particularly popular in France, USA number 1 in Switzerland

Where do employees from Switzerland go? It is not the neighboring countries that are particularly popular, but the USA and Canada - followed by Germany as the only neighboring country, and then Australia, another overseas destination. The English-speaking world thus seems to be much more popular than countries where Swiss national languages are spoken.

Some of our neighbors, on the other hand, would move to Switzerland: Switzerland is particularly popular with employees from France, Bosnia, Serbia, Italy and Tunisia. For people with skills in IT, engineering, sales, digitization and management, the dream of a job in Switzerland can come true particularly quickly: Jobs in Switzerland in these areas are particularly difficult to fill - whether with candidates from Switzerland or abroad. Some 46% of the recruiters surveyed even say that it has become even more difficult to fill positions in these areas over the past three years. So it seems all the more important to have a functioning international labor market.

Source: Jobcloud

The Swiss economy is running solidly - and our SMEs are partly responsible for this. What they do every day for our economy and society deserves respect.

Once a year, we take the pulse of SMEs in the form of an online survey. In addition to questions about the current economic and entrepreneurial outlook, this year's survey also focuses on the topic of Working World 4.0. Does the Digitization really progresses for the organization of work? Are flexible working arrangements an advantage or a disadvantage? And how digitally positioned do you see your own company? Tell us in a short survey for the SME Monitor 2018, a special publication of the ORGANISATOR. The answers from this online survey are once again intended to provide a "flash light" on current and upcoming challenges facing SMEs.

So feel free to take a few minutes and answer our questions. Also spread the word about the survey in your network. The results will be compiled in the special publication "KMU-Monitor" mentioned above. The special publication will be published as a supplement to the October issue of ORGANISATOR and will also be distributed to participants at the Swiss SME Day on October 26, 2018.

>>> Click here for the survey.

Thank you very much for your participation.

Switzerland regularly occupies top positions in international innovation studies and rankings and is one of the most innovative countries in the world. However, such studies assess the entire national economy, including all framework conditions, and say little about the innovative strength of individual industrial classes. The Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) therefore took a closer look at innovative strength and discovered something disturbing. Swiss industrial companies, especially SMEs, appear to be increasingly losing innovative strength and competitiveness. This is bad news for a country that depends on an internationally competitive export industry.

Fewer companies, less research, less domestic

The study is based on data from the innovation survey conducted by the KOF economic research institute, which is currently available up to and including 2014. It is striking that there are fewer and fewer Swiss industrial companies. This development is also shown by the Swiss Engineering Index: Switzerland has been losing around 4,000 full-time jobs in the industrial sector every year for the past six years. Worryingly, from 1997-2014, many SMEs reduced their R&D efforts at home and abroad (see chart 1). The NOGA1 classes of chemicals, machinery, metal products, textiles/clothing and watches were particularly hard hit. In some cases, a migration of R&D activities abroad is also evident, for example among SMEs in the electrical engineering and metal manufacturing classes.

Some particularly required industrial classes

The study shows how successful the R&D efforts of Swiss industrial companies are with regard to new products. The results for the observed period (2001-2014) are presented in a portfolio representation (see chart 2). The x-axis shows the change in the share of sales accounted for by R&D spending, while the y-axis shows the change in sales of new products. While R&D efforts by SMEs paid off in some classes such as pharmaceuticals, wood or metal products (yellow and green areas), things looked less good in the electronics/instruments, machinery or chemicals classes. There, SME sales of new products fell, despite higher R&D spending in percentage terms - so the efforts were all for naught, as it were. The findings for SMEs in the textile/clothing class are disturbing: they have reduced R&D spending in percentage terms and their sales of new products have fallen. Changed framework conditions, stronger competition or disappearing markets are possible causes.

Strengthening applied research and development

The public sector finances university research in Switzerland. Industrial companies bear their own research costs. This model seems to have reached its limits. The results of the study suggest that SMEs in Swiss industry in particular are finding it increasingly difficult to bear the high costs of R&D. Those that nevertheless take the risk are increasingly less successful. Those that do take the risk are less likely to be successful. Larger companies outsource research to countries that offer more government incentives to do so.

These developments must give pause for thought. In view of the state support for industry that the majority of the leading industrialized countries provide, the political debate must be conducted: Does the federal government need to provide greater support for domestic industrial companies in their innovation efforts and set appropriate incentives?

Source: www.satw.ch

Dangers lurk everywhere in everyday working life: in the workshop, outside on the construction site and even inside in the office. Recently, various young people have been drawing the attention of colleagues of the same age to the dangers in different industries and showing them how to protect themselves against them. Leisure time is not neglected either. The BSWS Influencers know why they pay attention to their safety at work. So they can fully enjoy their free time. Great pictures are taken in the process: For example, of Lena, who knows all about the dangers in the office.

More safety at work via Instagram

With the new Instagram account, BE SMART WORK SAFE is also using a new online channel after five successful years of campaigning: Young career starters communicate directly with their peers and show how they deal with the topic of occupational safety in everyday life. The new Instagram account complements the Facebook presence of BE SMART WORK SAFE, which is used by more than 12,000 young people to discuss the topic of safety in the workplace. With the new strategy, the campaign picks up young people even more specifically in their digital lifeworlds and communicates the messages in an authentic way. The campaign runs under the label SAFE AT WORK by EKAS, Seco and the cantons for more safety at work.

Interactive platform - Important information packaged in an entertaining way

The social media presence is complemented by a completely new website. Since mid-July, the bs-ws.ch site has had a fresh look. Young people are encouraged to engage with the topic of occupational safety in an interactive and entertaining way. The wealth of important information and tips for greater safety at work are presented in an age-appropriate way. They consist of cool video clips and pictures as well as an exciting quiz. Young people also have the opportunity to help design the website. Selected posts with the hashtag #besmartworksafe are integrated into the content of the page. The design has also been completely redesigned - giving the appealing site a fresh and trendy look.

More information:
instagram.com/bsws_ch
facebook.com/besmart.worksafe
bs-ws.ch
www.safeatwork.ch

Today more than ever, companies are required to provide their customers with all relevant services in real time and across all end devices and channels. This is currently one of the biggest challenges for SMEs, because they often do not have the necessary human resources. For digitization to succeed, however, companies need a central platform that collects all data about customers and links it in a meaningful way. Only in this way can they create relevant experiences for their customers. IT-PEAK-Networks, a developer of service management software, names five reasons why digitized service management will be indispensable in the future.

1. permanent risk of data loss

Even today, service in many companies is still handled via Excel spreadsheets or Word documents that go on for ages. However, such documents are not only very tedious to maintain, they also represent a high risk because companies always have to fear losing data. With service management software, this danger is averted: Employees can effortlessly work in parallel, enter data as needed, and access it without any problems.

2. more free space for value-adding activities

If companies decide to implement service management software, they have significantly more time for more meaningful activities because the time-consuming maintenance of Excel lists and Word documents is no longer necessary. Employees can, for example, set about improving service management and meeting the needs of the customer in an even more targeted manner.

3. stronger customer satisfaction and loyalty

Every company knows that it is significantly more cost-intensive to acquire new customers than to satisfy existing ones. Retaining customers in the long term through optimized, digitized service management pays off in many ways: They spend significantly more money and react less sensitively to price if quality and trust are right in return. In addition, satisfied customers act as positive brand ambassadors, as they are happy to share positive experiences with a company with those around them. Last but not least, existing customers spend less on advertising and make fewer complaints - which also reduces service costs.

Reduced costs through process automation

If companies have not yet implemented a service management solution, they have to contend with inefficient, time-consuming processes, which in turn leads to poor service. Manual processes eat up an enormous amount of time. For example, employees have to laboriously switch between different tools (Excel, Word or ERP system) during their work. It is much more efficient to automate service processes. With service management software, companies can coordinate processes much better and map service history in detail. This creates greater efficiency and effectiveness in service.

Service as a unique selling proposition

Today, a company's success or failure is no longer determined by price or product alone. Rather, it must positively distinguish itself from the competition through unique selling points. If companies decide to give service a higher priority and focus on the wishes and needs of their customers, this will have a positive impact on their image thanks to word-of-mouth recommendation. For this to succeed, companies should identify their customers' wishes at an early stage and fulfill them in the best possible way. If companies want to be successful in the long term, service digitization must be their top priority.

 

Information:

For more help and tips on how companies can successfully digitize their service - to generate more revenue, retain existing customers for the long term and win new customers - interested parties can read the free e-book from IT-PEAK-Networks "Digitizing service management - opportunities and challenges" at https://www.peak-networks.de/de/e-book-zur-service-optimierung.

Over the past decade, there has been a growing understanding that IT spending is a critical item. Now, the only thing that needs to grow is the understanding that IT security unfortunately does not come free of charge, but that much can be made more secure even with a small budget.

Risk awareness in place, but contingency plan not...

As part of his CAS certificate thesis, Christian Heimann evaluated various methods and approaches for an "Affordable Digital Security Audit of SMEs" and found that SMEs are very aware of the digital transformation. However, it is worrying that many small companies are overwhelmed by the multitude of technical IT security tools available on the market. For this reason, they often neither budget for nor do anything about IT security. If something is done, they are mainly concerned with the technical aspects. They are aware of the value of their data, but they forget the human component. Employees are not trained or insufficiently trained and sensitized, which increases the risk of a successful attack. Only just under one-third of small companies have an emergency plan; in the event of a successful attack, such a plan would defuse the associated crisis situation by not wasting any time.

New devices - new points of attack

Among the two-thirds of SMEs for which IT security is highly important, only 20 percent have reviewed their IT security to date. This gives pause for thought. According to leading research and consulting firm Gartner (2017), the number of IoT devices will increase to 20,000,000,000 by 2020! IoT devices are not only attack targets, but can also become attackers themselves (e.g. misuse as part of a botnet). Therefore, protecting IoT is not only about your own security, but also about the security of the general public. Gartner projects that by 2020, 25% of all identifiable cyber attacks on enterprises will have an IoT component, but less than 10% of IT security budgets will be invested in IoT.

Vulnerability Management

Over the past decade, there has been a growing understanding that IT spending is a crucial item. Now the understanding that IT security is unfortunately not free, but that a lot can be made more secure with a small budget, has to grow. A key element is to know your inventory so that you always have an overview of your systems (network, devices, access rights, cloud services).

Christian Heimann talked to Pascal Mittner, CEO of First Security Technology AG, about their vulnerability management solution. Vulnerability Scan or Automated Testing is the detection of vulnerabilities by analyzing endpoints. A good vulnerability management solution not only provides indications of the vulnerabilities, but also direct recommendations for action to eliminate the vulnerabilities. Pascal Mittner clarified in the interview that vulnerability management should function as an early warning system and provide for the analysis of the assigned area. Measures cannot and should not be implemented by the same system. The principle of "separation of powers" is to be observed.

38 new vulnerabilities per day

In the field of cyber security, when people ask IT managers how often a security audit should take place, they often ask for an interval of between three and five years. They forget that the IT infrastructure is dynamic and even one year is far too long for a technical environment, plus there are 38 new vulnerabilities every day. Small companies also lose track of the systems that are on the network. Often devices like routers, switches, IoT or test systems are simply forgotten, missing from the inventory and therefore not integrated into the IT security concept. Pascal Mittner mentions that "In addition to the documentation of the infrastructure, vulnerability management serves as a tool to detect problems at an early stage and to counteract them. This increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the company, frees up resources, helps prevent major damage and invests in the right measures."

With FS Cyber Control - the Swiss Made vulnerability management solution for SMEs, the above mentioned steps are implemented among others. The IT infrastructure is inventoried, then the systems (IPs) are scanned and a report is generated with recommended measures to eliminate the vulnerabilities found. The reports are easy to understand, regardless of IT knowledge. "Based on a traffic light system red, yellow, green, they can quickly see how their IT is doing and the solution is also affordable for SMEs," says Pascal Mittner and adds, "FS Cyber Control is easy to integrate into the existing environment and fully automatic. In this sense, there is no longer any excuse for SMEs to neglect their cyber security due to excessive demands."

More information: First Security AG

Since the launch of the StartUp Challenge in 2013, over 851 young companies have applied. For this year's edition, over 238 applications have been received, which represents a new record number of participants. The applicants come from the fields of ICT, cloud services, fintech, artificial intelligence, IOT, robotics, digital marketing and cyber security, among others. The top ten pitched to a panel of experts on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. The jury consisted of Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler (Chief Digital Officer Swisscom), Carole Ackermann (Investor and President Business Angels Switzerland, Lukas Weder (Founder EAT.ch) and Beat Schillig (Managing Director of the program partner venturelab).

Tailored mentoring program in Silicon Valley

With a convincing business model, team spirit and determination, the five winners scored points with the jury: AAAccell, Dotphoton, Exeon Analytics, Sentifi and ROVENSO have secured participation in the one-week Business Acceleration Program in Silicon Valley. There, they will learn from the personal experiences of top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and further develop their marketing and sales skills. In addition, the young companies have the chance to win Swisscom for a cooperation or an investment. The start-ups will embark on their journey on October 21, 2018.

Startups from a wide range of sectors

The award-winning young companies come from a wide variety of fields. AAAccell (https://aaaccell.ch/), for example, is a spin-off company of the University of Zurich. The team consists of two former bank CEOs, eleven professors and various PhD/Master students from the University of Zurich, ETH and Columbia University New York, among others. The company brings together academic excellence, Artificial Intelligence and the power of algorithms to develop high-tech software solutions for the financial industry, specifically for the field of asset and risk management, based on the latest scientific findings.

Dotphoton (http://www.dotphoton.com/) is a quantum-inspired method for compressing raw image data for professional applications. It makes raw image data up to 10 times smaller while maintaining quality. This saves time and money when storing, transferring and analyzing images. Dotphoton says it is ushering in the next generation of high-quality imaging and processing solutions, in the fields of photography, cinema, AI, biomedical and aerospace.

Exeon Analytics (https://www.exeon.ch/) combats advanced cyber attacks using award-winning algorithms. It often takes months, if not years, to detect data leaks because they are hidden among millions of regular user activities. ExeonTrace security analytics and visualization software allows organizations to better understand their network traffic and detect hidden cyber attacks and data breaches.

Sentifi (https://sentifi.com/) provides financially relevant crowd intelligence. This company's solutions garner more than 180 million views per month and are used by the world's leading financial services firms to gain unique insights into more than 50,000 traded companies, currencies, and commodities and stay up-to-date on the events that affect them. Sentifi uses machine learning to rank more than 14 million financial influencers.

ROVENSO (http://www.rovenso.com/), a company founded in 2016 that began as a startup at EPFL in 2014, manufactures agile sensor robots for particularly demanding and harsh environments. The Swiss-based company has already opened a branch and workshops in Shenzhen, China, in cooperation with the HAX Accelerator. Pilot projects are currently underway with paying customers in China and Switzerland, in the fields of firefighting and security monitoring.

More information about the StartUp Challenge and source: www.swisscom.ch/challenge

When it comes to planning a sustainable future with foresight in entrepreneurial families, the focus is often exclusively on the company and capital side. Here, a professional structure is cultivated with caution and care. In the process, the organization of the family and the needs of the individual are not given at least as much weight. This is one of the main reasons why many family businesses still fail with their ambitions. This is also evidenced by the declining numbers of successful family-internal succession arrangements. The holistic view is missing.

The stakes are high

In which direction are we developing as a family? How do we align our company for the future? Where do we stand with our financial capital? What plans do the individual players have? Where do we want to go together? These are all complex and challenging questions for entrepreneurial families which, as experience shows, do not tolerate any delay. Otherwise, everything may soon be at stake: family, company and capital. With the so far unique "Family Business Compass", entrepreneurial families have the opportunity for the first time to receive a holistic situation analysis and planning basis for the 4 core areas of family businesses: Family - Company - Capital - Individual.

Key experiences thanks to gamification

Quite deliberately, the owners and leading heads of "The Family Retreat"Franziksa Müller Tiberini and Carole Häusermann, have opted for a playful concept (gamification). The 44 humorously illustrated compass cards with targeted questions make the abstract tangible and facilitate access to challenging topics. "The game is played with all members or subgroups of the entrepreneurial family.

Scientific findings coupled with our many years of experience show that the holistic view of the 4 core areas is decisive for success. It is essential to use the interaction between the sensitive organism family as well as the family business as an organization for oneself. The "gain" for all involved is the joint development of individual priorities and thus an individual compass orientation. In this way, ideally with ease, all those involved plan the future of the entrepreneurial family together in a professional manner. The official launch of the "Family Business Compass" is on November 5, 2018 in Zurich.

More information: www.familienunternehmen.ch

Screening as well as communicating with prospects are among the most sensitive topics in recruiting. Classifying these tasks as routine reveals the low status they still have. And that is precisely why the ongoing digitization of HR is raising old fundamental questions in recruiting more than ever before. The first and probably most important: Where is the human being as an individual and pivotal point in this development? Will the learning systems really be better than a recruiter at recognizing the human being in his or her unique personality behind the applicant? And how reliably will they ultimately decide what potential the person has and to what extent the cultural fit fits?

Faster, mobile and connected standards for more robot recruiting?

Whereas in the past, let's say in Stone Age recruiting, a handwritten resume was required to characterize and evaluate applicants, it seems that the opposite extreme will soon be reached in the future. The use of people analytics turns people into transparent applicants. And all of this comes at a price. Of course, recruiting processes should and must evolve, even in technical terms. Applicants, too, rightly expect uncomplicated, faster and, above all, mobile and networked standards in their contact with potential employers, standards that have long since found their way into all our lives. In contrast, many representatives of the employer side still expect "meaningful application documents" and fail to recognize that this form of professional matching is not only not very meaningful but, especially in the age of Instagram & Co. has long since ceased to be state of the art. So the gap could hardly be bigger here, too.

Seeing through the eyes of applicants

But what about the candidate experience if applicants only communicate with chatbots instead of real people in the first phase of contact with a potential employer, which is important for them professionally, or even fall through the cracks of the initial selection due to the parameters of the digital recruiter. Because just as with human personnel decisions, the question of the quality of the parameters arises again in the context of digitalization. So are robot recruiting tools a real help in times of ever faster personnel processes? Or do they end up spitting out literally uniform working robots that only meet purely superficial criteria? The fact is: In the past, as today, and also in the context of AI, the selection parameters are initially defined by humans. And as long as they continue to assume that an applicant must fit the job and not the job fit the applicant, this is and will remain the fundamental sticking point in recruiting. So it is not the algorithm that is the problem, but rather how it is handled. Possible risks and side effects of AI on the part of all parties involved are therefore not yet known. And the risk that interested parties will not even respond to a job offer for precisely this reason, or that they will jump ship prematurely, should also be considered.

Recruiting: Consistently underestimated

But despite all the technical progress, recruiters are still struggling with a fundamental, completely analog problem: even in the context of their everyday professional lives, they are permanently caught between two stools. On the one hand, they are supposed to be digital trendsetters who always have the applicant's interests in mind, and internally they are often still in the position of an unloved vicarious agent who has to fight to ensure that the importance of their position does not fall by the wayside. As a result, the (working) life of recruiters is also being turned upside down more and more. They have to deal with pressure from all sides, including problems of their own making. Because if the important significance of their work is often still completely unrecognized even by the management level, they themselves lack on the one hand a clear awareness of their new roles in the recruiting of the future and on the other hand also the will and the desire to courageously break new ground.

Survival tips for HR professionals

Instead, prevailing grievances between company management, HR and the specialist department continue to block the best possible staffing success far too often. As a result, HR staff all too often experience displeasure and frustration on the job, and this fact is anything but sustainable in view of the increasing relevance of recruiting. With regard to these multi-layered existing and new challenges, only one thing helps: self-help. For example, with these ideas and impulses:

• More fun in your own job: How could you redistribute tasks in the team so that ideally everyone does more of what they are good at and enthusiastic about? Who do you really need for your recruiting change? For example, does a colleague from IT have what it takes to be a "digital recruiter" because he not only knows IT, but also loves people? Or is one of the recruiter colleagues a real researcher type with a nose for new trends? The job crafting approach is just one way of modifying your own area of responsibility in line with the "strengths first, then the job" approach so that your individual strengths and talents are in the best possible alignment with the requirements.
• Added value "Collegial Recruiting": Recruiters are often in the role of the first or second decision-maker in the selection process. The person in charge of the department usually makes the decision primarily from his or her perspective. Actively invite future colleagues to the table as well and clarify any common questions such as "Who do we really need?" and "Who really fits us?" Even trainees with a good intuition have what it takes here to come up with innovative and surprising ideas.
• Turn processes on their head: When it comes to personnel marketing and contact with applicants, it's all about starting from scratch. Replace boring job advertisements, for example, with magnetizing questions along the lines of "Show us what makes you tick and what you're on fire for." Let creative minds develop suitable alternatives to traditional job applications and interviews, such as blind dating, coffee drinking via Skype, or reflected-best-self presentations. For your part, offer real-world insights into the fields of work to be filled, e.g., via an action cam. Attract your target groups and multipliers with innovative ideas and experiments.
• Use the sympathy factor: Missing contact data in job advertisements and the like is still a no-go and a real "turn-off" for interested parties. So it's high time for recruiters to make themselves visible not only by providing their contact details, but also by including an individual or team photo on the company or career page, in social media, on evaluation platforms, etc. The opportunity: from person to person, you arouse significantly more sympathy than a chatbot. The prerequisite for this: see through the eyes of the prospects.
• Courage does good: New ideas enable new insights and experience. Do not wait reactively for a solution from above, i.e. from the management, but become proactively curious about all the exciting trends and developments. In the end, it's all about optimizing and facilitating your work in a meaningful way. And some things can simply be tried out on a small scale, such as giving interested parties the choice between a quick and a long application, a concrete work sample instead of a cover letter, a strengths analysis instead of a resume.
• Stay cool even without a tool: Of course, you should not completely forgo technical support, because modernization, development and the sensible use of digital helpers in recruiting are undoubtedly becoming increasingly important. However, the unconditional use of analytical tools at any price - which many advertise - is not. Not every hype has to be followed, especially if it doesn't suit you as a company and the target group. It is important to know the relevant trends, systems and solutions as well as their possible side effects in order to then clearly define what is really right for optimizing your processes. Only intelligent and, above all, conscious use of modern and forward-looking tools will actually make your recruiting fit for the future.

 

About the author: Brigitte Herrmann is a speaker, potential consultant and author. For 15 years she was an independent headhunter and filled more than 400 positions at specialist, executive and management level - in top management up to the board of directors. She is the owner of Inspirocon Potenzialberatung, which stands for both sides of the job market. With her experience in headhunting and consulting and with a view to the working world of the future, she inspires different perspectives, new paths and shows the valuable opportunities when potential is used intelligently. She is the author of the 2016 business non-fiction book "The Selection." As a speaker, she provides forward-looking impulses on the "human opportunity in the digital age". She is one of the Top 100 Excellence Speakers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. More at www.inspirocon.de

 

People who find out about job vacancies generally do so online via job portals such as jobs.ch: In the past 12 months, a large majority of 68% of all respondents have used relevant online portals to search for exciting jobs - around 2% more than last year. This is followed by the job sites of recruiting companies (52% in 2018 compared to 49% in 2017) and the personal network of friends and acquaintances (2018: 47%, 2017: 45%). Newspapers and magazines continue to hold their own in the midfield. Social networks such as Xing, Facebook or LinkedIn increase by 5%, but are less relevant for the job search overall at 28%. Recruiters and the regional employment agency RAV are also not at the top of the popularity scale for job searches.

Personal network remains important despite digitization

The circle of friends and acquaintances enjoys great credibility among job seekers and is often included in the search. Around 32% of the job seekers surveyed in German-speaking Switzerland who found a new job last year found it through their personal network, the study authors report. "The personal network can be a good complement to the online job search," said Renato Profico, CEO of JobCloud. "Often, job seekers become aware of an exciting job online. They then ask acquaintances who work at the advertising company or have a good connection there for a recommendation. So personal contacts are still relevant to a successful job search and very helpful for many."

Spontaneous applications lead to success especially with Romands

The gap between the two regions is evident in spontaneous job applications: In German-speaking Switzerland, only 5% of job seekers who found a new job last year did so via spontaneous application, while in French-speaking Switzerland the figure was a whopping 20%. However, the French also had to send out twice as many applications for their next job as the German-speaking Swiss (11.6 versus 24.5 applications).

jobs.ch and jobup.ch most popular online portals for job searches

Unsurprisingly, job seekers expect a large selection of current and high-quality job postings from an online portal. For the French, it is also particularly important to be able to post a resume and have it found by recruiters, even if they are not actively looking for a job. In both French and German-speaking Switzerland, the JobCloud job portals are the best known and most popular points of contact: jobs.ch in German-speaking Switzerland, jobup.ch in French-speaking Switzerland. Thus, they are spontaneously named most often (unaided awareness) as well as most often as the most popular job portal.

Source: Jobcloud