The excellent ranking in the "World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2025" and "World's Best Smart Hospitals 2025" confirms Schulthess Klinik's leading role in orthopaedics and underlines the clinic's consistent service excellence. Only the Hospital For Special Surgery and the Mayo Clinic in the USA and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin are better placed in the ranking. In fourth place, Schulthess Klinik equaled its previous best result from the previous year. Previously, it was in sixth place worldwide in the rankings between 2021 and 2023.

Since 2023, "Newsweek" and "Statista" have also been ranking the best "Smart Hospitals". This evaluates the technological and digital progress of individual hospitals. Schulthess Klinik is also recognized in the current list.

Methodology and recognition of excellence

The rankings are based on an extensive online survey of tens of thousands of doctors and healthcare professionals worldwide, as well as an analysis of accreditation data and a study of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). The excellent results reflect the high level of trust placed in Schulthess Klinik by the medical community.

Continuous improvement and international recognition

"It is very pleasing that our practiced service excellence is also bearing fruit internationally. We owe this to the tireless efforts of our employees - that makes me very proud," says Andrea Rytz, CEO of Schulthess Klinik. "The continuous recognition in the ranking motivates us to continue investing in innovation, research and the best medical care for our patients." Schulthess Klinik has thus been able to steadily improve its position in the "World's Best Specialized Hospitals" ranking since 2021. This underlines its important role as a leading global center for orthopaedic surgery and treatment.

Source: www.schulthess-klinik.ch

Lack of transparency requires more diverse networking

Unlimited communication through a network that not only connects, but also shapes the future - at Cablex AG, everything is a question of connection. The Swiss company specializes in the construction and maintenance of network infrastructures and offers innovative solutions in the fields of ICT and networks, transport and electromobility. Founded in 2001, the subsidiary of the Swisscom Group now employs around 2,500 people at 24 locations in Switzerland - and the trend is rising, as Cablex is expanding. The development of new sectors means that the installation and maintenance of network infrastructure requires increasingly diverse knowledge. In order to find the right connection, employees on site increasingly have to rely on the support of specialized experts. The problem: anyone who has ever tried to describe an error message on the phone knows that misunderstandings are inevitable. Even forwarded videos do not always help, because the expert in front of the screen cannot see what the employees on site see at the same time.

"The variety of systems we support is greater than ever," says Simon Barralon, technician at Cablex AG. "That's why we sometimes work in environments that present additional challenges. For example, at our customer ECCO2, for whom we carry out complete installations in boiler rooms. Especially in situations like this, it's good to be able to fall back on technical support that really understands the situation."

In order to be able to make more precise statements about technical problems, the network infrastructure expert was therefore looking for an innovative solution. And came across the start-up company Almer Technologies.

Visually connected: efficient remote maintenance thanks to smart glasses

When selecting the new technology, Cablex AG focused on simple, hands-free operation. Another important requirement was a well-coordinated combination of software and hardware. "A "technical gadget" was out of the question for us, we wanted a real tool," says Yoann Pernet, Head of Digital Exploration at Cablex AG. "The Almer glasses with TeamViewer software enable our experts in the office to efficiently support the service technicians on site in their work."

The "Arc 2" from Almer Technologies combines headset telephony with video conferencing and sets new standards for augmented reality in industrial environments. It is suitable for use in outdoor areas with strong sunlight and, thanks to its own lighting, also for dark working environments. Integrated speakers enable spontaneous phone calls without additional headphones - even in noisy environments. The camera delivers outstanding image quality with 25 megapixels and autofocus. Even when zooming, details remain razor-sharp. Smart glasses thus enable a new type of communication in the field of remote maintenance and customer service.

A clear view: the future of second level support

A total of 20 Arc 2 devices are currently in use at Cablex to support the second level support service team. Numerous advantages are already becoming apparent. Not only can new employees be sent into the field more quickly without the support of experienced colleagues, but the time savings are also enormous. For example, technicians no longer have to leave their work area to seek expert advice over the phone during installation and maintenance. As instructions, circuit diagrams and other information can also be easily accessed on the move and fewer misunderstandings occur thanks to high-resolution video transmission, problems can often be solved more quickly. And last but not least, fewer specialist personnel on site means less travel and personnel costs, which in turn saves costs and CO2 emissions.

"Particularly in light of our current expansion strategy, we can operate all the more efficiently if we train our employees on around 80 percent of use cases," says Yoann Pernet. "We can solve the remaining 20 percent remotely with the help of experts. This video support also has the advantage that our specialists are less stressed because they know they can rely on the additional expertise."

Better safe than sorry: on course for growth together

A close customer relationship based on partnership, in which customers are listened to carefully and their needs are taken seriously, forms the basis of the collaboration between Almer Technologies and Cablex AG. "Above all, the speed with which our feedback was implemented confirmed that we had found the right partner in Almer," says Yoann Pernet. "For this exploratory phase, we wanted to find an agile and technologically adept partner who would enable us to tap into new, promising business areas. The glasses fit perfectly with the level of innovation that Cablex is at, as they are significantly less complex than comparable solutions on the market and therefore easier to use."

Sebastian Beetschen, CEO of Almer Technologies, adds: "Both Cablex and we were convinced of the added value of Arc 2 right from the start. That's why we worked together to tailor our solution perfectly to Cablex's needs. In the end, our perseverance paid off. We have now been working together successfully for over a year and a half."

Source: www.almer.com / www.cablex.ch

Entris Banking provides financial services for small and medium-sized Swiss financial institutions, including giro organization and payment transactions, the management of ATMs and risk and regulation management. With over 70 employees and a banking licence, Entris Banking ensures increased efficiency and profitability for the banks within the Entris Group and other affiliated financial institutions through volume bundling, standardization and support in banking issues.

With the decision to use Inventx's Digital Workplace Services, the Entris IT infrastructure was migrated to Inventx's highly secure data centers and the digital workplace was rebuilt in the multi-cloud. The introduction of Microsoft365 services enables stable, high-performance and flexible collaboration processes. The approximately 180 end devices are optimally protected by the zero-trust framework, and self-service functions reduce operational costs. Since the go-live, the infrastructure has been operated as a managed service, using public cloud resources for the efficiency of Microsoft services and ensuring the security of data and applications in the protected private cloud.

Pascal Baumgartner, CEO & Head of Support at Entris Banking, is delighted with the new solution: "With Inventx's Digital Workplace Services, Entris Banking can focus on its core business. The support for the transformation was very professional and customer-oriented, so that the introduction went smoothly and according to plan."

Fabio Cortesi, Head of Technology Services and member of the Inventx Executive Board, adds: "We are proud of the strong partnership with Entris Banking and how our Workplace solution simplifies daily work processes. Our technology enables Entris Banking employees to immediately and efficiently focus on their work so that they can concentrate fully on their customers. We look forward to continuing on this path of innovation and efficiency together."

Valiant Bank also recently went live with Inventx Digital Workplace Services. Inventx combines technological and industry-specific expertise, from which financial institutions benefit when using digital workplaces.

Source: www.inventx.ch / www.entris-banking.ch

The Holzbau Plus quality label focuses on people. The label certifies companies that actively cultivate an employee-oriented corporate culture that goes beyond the basic provisions of the Collective Labor Agreement for Timber Construction. The label promotes the sustainable development of companies and makes a significant contribution to competitiveness and job security. Companies awarded the label for the first time must undergo a detailed review process after three years in order to renew the label.

 Sixty timber construction companies carry the Holzbau Plus label 

In 2024, three new companies were awarded the quality label. These include Baumann + Partner AG from Riehen (BS), Schmidlin Holzbau AG from Steinen (SZ) and Schnider Zimmerei Bonstetten AG from Bonstetten (ZH).  

Eighteen companies that already carry the label underwent successful recertification and secured the label for a further three years. With the new additions, a total of sixty Swiss timber construction companies are now holders of the Holzbau Plus label.  

"We are delighted that we are able to present our award to new companies every year. Every certification is a success for the companies, for their customers, but also for the entire timber construction industry," says Stefan Strausak, Managing Director of the Swiss Joint Professional Committee for Timber Construction (SPBH), which is responsible for awarding the label. 

The three newly certified Holzbau Plus companies 2024 

Baumann + Partner AG, Riehen (BS), baumann-zimmerei.ch 

Schmidlin Holzbau AG, Steinen (SZ), holzhaus-schmidlin.ch 

Schnider Zimmerei Bonstetten AG, Bonstetten (ZH), schnider.swiss

Source: www.holzbau-plus.ch 

"With this award, we have reached a milestone that we are proud of. But we still have a long way to go. Sustainability is a long journey with many stages," says Kevin Kunz, CEO of Kursaal Bern AG.

Kursaal Bern has been a founding member of the City of Bern Climate Platform since 2006. Back then, the focus was on reducing CO2 emissions. In recent years, however, the commitment to sustainability has expanded: bee colonies have been living on the Kursaal terrace since 2017. They help to preserve diversity in nature and produce delicious organic honey. Last year, nesting boxes were added for the birds in the Kursaal forest.

From avoid food waste to save food

The fight against food waste has now turned into a successful food save: Kursaal Bern saved 3.5 tons of perfectly good food in 2023, partly in collaboration with the "Schweizer Tafel" food bank. "We are working on implementing sustainability throughout the building. We want to be transparent, traceable and measurable. That's why we are supported and audited by myclimate, United Against Waste and now also Green Key," explains Kevin Kunz.

Guests can help out

100% green electricity, environmentally friendly heat recovery instead of chemical refrigerants during hotel renovations and motion-controlled LED lamps are just a few examples of energy savings and efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. Together with the Kursaal Bern, guests can make a voluntary contribution to a climate protection project with myclimate "Cause We Care".

Green Key is an international, high-quality eco-certification program for hotels, conference centers and restaurants. The certification is valid for one year and is based on compliance with strict, internationally recognized criteria in the areas of environmental management and sustainability education.

Source: www.kursaal-bern.ch

The majority of municipalities still see themselves as laggards when it comes to digitalization and diagnose a need to catch up. To help meet this need, the low-threshold Cisco Networking Academy courses (more than 50 courses, with over 1,000 hours of learning material in various national languages) are now available for self-study to the more than 1,500 member municipalities of the Swiss Association of Municipalities. The individual courses take between six and 70 hours to complete and are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of community-relevant topics such as "Introduction to Cyber Security" or "Cyber Threat Management". Successful participants receive free certificates of achievement and can obtain industry certifications if required.

For more than 25 years, Cisco has been working with institutional partners worldwide to offer IT education courses that improve participants' digital skills. There are currently 62 active institutional partners offering courses in Switzerland and over 20,000 people have already taken advantage of the Networking Academy's educational programs.

"Cyberattacks do not stop at public administrations and the consequences are far-reaching. Cisco's online courses now give municipal employees an easy introduction and allow them to familiarize themselves with the topic without any prior knowledge. They learn how the administration can protect itself against cyber attacks and how to proceed in the event of an incident," says Claudia Kratochvil, Director of the Swiss Association of Municipalities.

"The rapid development of digitalization is also influencing administration at municipal level. Digitization skills are more in demand than ever and we are pleased that we can meet a need of Swiss municipalities with our course offering," says Garif Yalak, Head of the Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program at Cisco Switzerland.

Focus on education

The collaboration with the Swiss Association of Municipalities is part of the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) initiative in Switzerland. The global innovation initiative aims to accelerate the digital agenda of countries through targeted projects and create sustainable added value. The initiative is represented worldwide with 1,600 projects in 50 countries. One focus of the CDA program in Switzerland is digital education.

Source: www.cisco.com

Finding suitable apprentices and training them properly is a challenge that many companies face today. Vocational trainers not only have to be technically up to date and impart knowledge, but also act as a reference person for the apprentices and require appropriate social skills.

In order to be even better equipped for this task in the future, the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald successfully completed the first stage of the support system of the Top Training Company Foundation in August 2024. The 4-star superior hotel in Grindelwald thus receives concretely applicable knowledge and training material for the training of apprentices on the one hand, and is officially recognized and certified as a "top training company" on the other. This certification serves as a visible sign of quality across all sectors in Switzerland to help young people make decisions when looking for an apprenticeship. The family business in Grindelwald now has the opportunity to tackle the 2nd and 3rd TAB certification levels at its own pace and thus expand its training expertise even further.

What is a top training company?

The Top Training Company Foundation (TAB) is a national support and award system that contributes to the attractiveness of commercial professions. TAB supports companies from all sectors in improving the quality of their training and awards the label to companies throughout Switzerland that are particularly committed to training young people.

Top Training Company stands out from many labels as it not only assesses existing quality, but also helps with development in advance. The system, which is unique in Switzerland to date, was awarded the ENTERPRIZE by former Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann in 2017 and is recommended by the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET).

A place where everyone feels at home

At the Hotel Belvedere in Grindelwald, run with passion and great success by Carole and Philip Hauser in the 4th generation, guests will find everything their heart desires: magnificent views of the majestic Bernese Alps from all 56 rooms, award-winning culinary delights in the "1910 - Gourmet by Hausers" restaurant, the popular "Belvedere" restaurant and pure relaxation in the small, very fine wellness area. The Hauser family's warm hospitality is passed on to the team and can be felt throughout the hotel. Guests, staff and the current five apprentices feel as if they are part of the family themselves. "We are proud to have received this award and want to reassure our future apprentices that they are in the best hands with us. Our aim is to prepare the specialists of tomorrow for their professional future in the best possible way. A big thank you goes to everyone involved in the certification process," explains Carole Hauser.

With this certification, the family-run 4-star superior hotel is sending a strong signal for the continuous development of its training standards. The hotel's vocational trainers regularly undergo further training in order to keep up to date with the latest developments in the industry. This ensures that the current five apprentices at the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald benefit from comprehensive and future-oriented training.

Source: www.belvedere-grindelwald.ch

Life is good as long as nothing happens ... Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to completely change a life - a brief moment of distraction and an accident happens. After that, it can take weeks, months or years for people to find their way back into everyday life and working life.

One of Suva's key concerns is to help accident victims back into life and back to work. Studies show that after six months of incapacity for work, the chances of returning to work are halved. It is therefore important that those affected are able to return to work as quickly as possible. Early and holistic support is crucial for this. 

Significantly more accidents in leisure time than at work

Last year, Suva was notified of a good 32,000 hospital admissions of its insured persons following an accident or occupational illness. The majority of these, around 23,800 cases, were leisure accidents. Occupational accidents followed closely behind with just over 8,000 cases. A small proportion of hospital admissions related to occupational illnesses (just over 200) and accidents involving the self-employed (around 150). Men were affected in just under 80 percent of hospital admissions. Most accidents resulting in hospitalization were recorded among 50 to 59-year-olds.  

Most frequent accidents: Cycling, playing football, skiing

Accidents requiring hospitalization occurred mainly while cycling (2667 admissions), playing football (2512 admissions) and skiing (2611 admissions). The average length of stay in hospital was four days. Hospital stays of more than 30 days were mainly caused by accidents while riding motorcycles, cycling and working in the house and garden. The most common injuries were fractures, muscle, tendon and meniscus tears and contusions. Knees, shoulders and ankles were particularly affected. Five months after the accident, 71% of those who were hospitalized were fully fit for work again.

Quick return to work

Admission to hospital is often a difficult time for those affected. This makes competent and holistic care all the more important. "For a successful return to everyday life and work, it is not only the commitment of Suva, the doctors or therapists that is important, but also the support of the personal environment," says Barbara Ingold Boner, Head of Claims Processing at Suva. "Family members, friends, employers and work colleagues can help with recovery through attentiveness and empathy."

Employers in particular also have a decisive influence on whether a rapid and successful reintegration after an accident or occupational illness is successful. Returning to work as soon as possible is a win-win situation for everyone - including financially. This is because lower daily allowance and pension costs benefit insured persons in the form of lower premiums.

Current Suva campaign: tips for successful reintegration

Suva's new reintegration campaign shows how family members, friends, employers and colleagues can effectively support those affected in their return to everyday life and work. It will run until the end of September on various channels (TV, online, social media, print). 

Source and further information on Suva's reintegration campaign: www.suva.ch

IT managers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly confronted with challenges when it comes to managing and documenting their IT infrastructure. In addition to a prevailing shortage of skilled workers in the industry, legal documentation obligations and regulations also have a direct impact on SMEs. They also often rely on various tools for IT management that were not developed for this purpose. Such decentralized data storage means that IT departments have little overview of responsibilities within their team and their devices - from servers and routers to notebooks and accessories to printers. This makes it almost impossible to take stock in accordance with regulations and react quickly in the event of faults. The pressure to professionalize IT documentation is increasing.

Twinalize now offers a cross-industry solution for this: the cloud-based SaaS application enables an efficient, user-friendly display of the entire IT infrastructure and the associated assets, data and objects, especially for small and medium-sized companies. The mobile-first approach allows global, secure access to information about your own IT resources and centralized management. The solution thus helps IT teams to organize their day-to-day work efficiently and meet the high demands placed on IT.

Intuitive, user-friendly operation

The SaaS solution is based on common operating concepts for mobile apps and is deliberately designed to be intuitive, user-friendly and barrier-free: The most important information can be clearly compiled in the dashboard. Reports can analyze and visually prepare the information that is needed at any time. Users can use favorites to directly open the rooms or devices for which they frequently need information or in which they are currently setting up or creating a new IT structure. The app can be individually adapted to your own needs and documentation requirements.

Twinalize has an extensive library with thousands of assets to make it easier to record your own IT landscape. IT staff can easily select a component from a provided list from a large number of devices and add it to the inventory or add their own. The replacement of devices can also be quickly tracked in the IT documentation. A graphic display provides an overview of exactly where devices can be found in the server rack.

Free test phase, flexible use

No installation is required to use it. The SaaS service is cloud-based and can be used immediately after a simple registration. Guides, tutorials and a forum help with the first steps, should questions arise despite the modern interface.

There are various pricing models for Twinalize. The 90-day free trial version allows companies to test the software extensively with their own data and then choose the right tariff. On request, Twinalize stores the data absolutely securely at the storage location selected by the user.

Twinalize is also of interest to small IT service providers who look after companies with 10 to 50 employees and have not yet found professional IT management software that is suitable for their size.

Source and further information: www.twinalize.com

With over 25 years of experience in IT and software sales, Sebastian Spicker brings extensive expertise in the areas of customer relationship management, team leadership and support for global customers from various industries. In his career, he has worked for companies such as SAP, Xerox, Vodafone, Hitachi, GE and ServiceNow. Most recently, he held the position of Senior Director Enterprise Sales and Sales Growth Specialist at Databricks, a provider of cloud-based data platforms.

For his new position, Spicker brings the right mix of technology know-how and management experience to further drive the successful growth of IFS in the DACH region. As the new Managing Director DACH at IFS, Spicker will focus on putting the customer at the center of his work, further developing the company's existing strategy and ensuring its future success.

"My primary goals are to associate the IFS name with the highest standards and to consolidate and expand our market position in the DACH region in the long term," explains Spicker. "The starting position for this could not be better, as IFS is already pursuing a very successful and customer-oriented strategy, has the necessary expertise and offers high-quality solutions that can be perfectly adapted to the needs of companies."

Source: www.ifs.com

Compared to the previous year, ransomware attacks on organizations in the lower education sector (schools) and higher education sector (universities) have fallen, but the attack rates are still above the global, cross-industry average of 59 percent.

Second highest rate of compromised backups

95 percent of educational institutions affected by ransomware last year reported that cybercriminals attempted to compromise their backups during the attack. Of these, 71 percent were successful, which is the second highest rate of successful backup compromises across all sectors after the energy, oil/gas and utilities sectors.

Further increase in data encryption rates

85% of ransomware attacks on lower education institutions and 77% on higher education institutions resulted in data encryption last year, up slightly from 81% and 73% respectively in the previous year. For educational institutions, this is the second year in a row in which the encryption rate has risen. Only state and local authorities were more likely to have their data encrypted in the event of an attack, at 98 percent.

Cost explosion for the restoration

The average cost of remediating a ransomware attack in 2024 for organizations in the lower education sector was $3.76 million, more than twice as much as the previous year ($1.59 million). Higher education organizations reported an average cost of $4.02 million, almost four times as much as in 2023 ($1.06 million).

Use of backups is increasing, but unfortunately also the willingness to pay ransoms

62 percent of respondents from the lower education sector paid the ransom to get encrypted data back, while 75 percent restored encrypted data using backups. 67 percent of higher education institutions paid the ransom to recover data, while 78 percent used backups. The three-year view of the education sector shows an increase in backup usage. In 2023, the higher education sector was among the top three sectors with the lowest backup usage globally, climbing to second place in 2024, alongside state and local government. Unfortunately, the willingness to pay the ransom has gradually increased over the last three years for both lower and higher education organizations.

 Victims rarely pay the original ransom demanded

Only 13 percent of institutions affected by ransomware reported that the amount of their payment matched the original demand. 32 percent of respondents from the lower education sector and 20 percent of respondents from the higher education sector paid less than originally demanded; 55 percent of institutions from the lower education sector and 67 percent of higher education institutions paid more ransom than demanded. Globally, higher education is the sector most likely to pay more than originally demanded by the extortionists.

Source: www.sophos.com

e3 AG, the renowned Swiss company in the field of cyber security, has successfully completed the audit for information security certification in accordance with ISO 27001. ISO 27001 is the most important and leading global standard in the field of IT security. The certification is a guarantee for customers and partners that e3 takes information security into account professionally at all times and without exception - from the sales pitch and project management through to support, maintenance and operation of its own solutions and customer systems.

e3's ISO certification covers not only data protection and security projects for over 100 customers, but also software development for e3 DLP (Data Loss Prevention) and e3 Centraya. Both the IT consultants and the developers at e3 work strictly in accordance with ISO specifications.

The e3 management system defines, controls, monitors and continuously improves information security. Certification in accordance with the international ISO 27001 standard is verified proof that a company complies with the specified guidelines and can provide evidence of this.

The CEO of e3, Thomas Fürling, is delighted with this milestone in the company's almost 25-year history: "We have been working according to the strict guidelines of a company specializing in information security for decades. After all, we can only provide our customers with serious advice on data protection and security challenges if we consistently adhere to the guidelines ourselves. In this respect, ISO 27001 certification is an important goal that we have now achieved."

Source: www.e3ag.ch