More efficient clinical trials

The recruitment of candidates is one of the most time-consuming parts of clinical trials, accounting for up to a third of the total duration. In around 80 percent of studies, it is also not possible to recruit enough patients. With the patient recruitment and enrollment functions, CROs (contract research organizations), study sites and sponsors can use generative AI to identify, qualify and assign qualified candidates to appropriate studies faster and with less manual effort using pre-screening. According to a recent Forrester study, 86% of decision-makers in the healthcare and life sciences industry are convinced that data and AI will be crucial to business success in the next five years.

Patient portals can also be set up to make studies more visible to suitable test subjects. Customizable electronic consents and assessment templates make the admission process more efficient. For example, Einstein Copilot, the AI assistant from Salesforce that can be controlled using natural language, can support clinics in patient segmentation - for example, according to distance of residence - based on existing data sources such as spreadsheets or electronic patient records, as well as in approaching suitable candidates.

The Life Sciences Cloud enables the provision of intelligent services for patients. These can be used according to the capabilities of the respective healthcare system.

More transparency and productivity for pharmaceutical and medical technology companies

The Life Sciences Cloud for Customer Engagement increases the efficiency and overview of collaboration and communication between pharmaceutical and medical technology companies and healthcare providers. It creates a complete overview of the relationships of marketing, sales and MSL (Medical Science Liasons) teams in pharmaceutical and medtech companies, helps to avoid redundant contacts and provides audit trails for compliance.

Offline, mobile, e-detailing and content functions give employees access to real-time data, analyses and the entire communication history directly in their work processes. For example, a pharmaceutical sales representative can show a presentation during an on-site appointment directly from her mobile device, even without Wi-Fi. She can share dynamic, relevant content such as brochures or videos and track their usage, for example how much time the doctor spends on certain sections of the presentation.

The Unified Data Platform for Life Sciences uses the Salesforce Data Cloud and MuleSoft for Life Sciences to create a complete, harmonized view of every patient and healthcare provider. It incorporates and links data from structured and unstructured sources such as emails, meeting notes, meeting minutes, scientific publications and product documentation into a common data model. This creates uniform patient profiles and allows interactions to be personalized. In this way, Salesforce supports the gradual development of ecosystems in the healthcare sector and the development of new business models.

"Against a backdrop of rising drug costs, frustrated doctors, insecure patients and regulatory controls, life sciences companies need to find ways to do more with less. AI opens the door for pharma and medtech companies to redesign their processes with a focus on the patient," says Frank Defesche, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Life Sciences at Salesforce.

Availability:

• The Life Sciences Cloud with functions for the recruitment and enrollment of participants in clinical trials, such as screening, electronic consent and simple random selection, is now available. AI-supported functionalities such as the matching of suitable candidates are expected to be available by the end of 2024.
• The Life Sciences Cloud for Customer Engagement is expected to be available in September 2025.
• The Unified Data Platform for Life Sciences, including the Data Cloud and MuleSoft for Life Sciences, is now available.

Source: www.salesforce.com

The C-level managers of the companies surveyed were able to choose from six possible answers; multiple answers were permitted. As far as the two most frequently mentioned areas are concerned, the respondents were all in agreement: the call for more international cooperation and the demand for more concrete support from politics and legislation ranked first and second among the expectations of the companies surveyed in the DACH region.

The expectations and appeals to legislation and politics by companies in detail:

Work together more internationally

The respondents' most important appeal to legislators and politicians is for "more cooperation at international level to create standards for cyber protection". This demand came in first place in all three countries. In Germany, almost 52% of the bosses surveyed support this, in Austria 56% and in Switzerland half of them. Among Swiss retail companies, this wish was mentioned even more frequently (71.4%), while 74% of Austrian service providers even see this as a top priority.

Provides concrete support, promotes cyber protection

The desire for concrete support, such as improved or more funding for cyber protection, comes in second place in each of the neighboring countries - in Germany with 43.3%, in Austria with 38% and in Switzerland with 30%. Upward outliers can be found among retail companies in Germany (58.1%) and service companies in Austria (52.2%).

Tighter controls on the internet

When it comes to the demand for stricter control of the internet in favor of cyber protection, German respondents in particular come to the fore - 31.3% of them support this point (third place). Both Austrian and Swiss managers as a whole ranked stricter control lower, with 26% each and fourth place; only Austrian service companies also consider this to be the third most important aspect with 34.8%.

Provides concrete guidelines for cyber protection

German companies are also in first place for this demand. They report a 30.8% desire for concrete guidelines, the fourth most frequent demand overall in the German ranking. This expectation is particularly high among larger German companies (more than 200 employees) - as many as 42% of them would like to see more specific requirements from legislation. This expectation is less pronounced in neighboring countries. In Austria, 26% of companies are in favor of demanding specific action guidelines (5th place in Austria) and in Switzerland this wish is even less popular, ranking last with 22%.

Enforces existing laws more strictly

The expectation that existing laws such as the GDPR or NIS2 should be enforced more strictly is emphasized above all by Austrian companies, with 32% placing this demand in third place in the country ranking. This point is slightly less popular in neighboring countries. 27.4% of German managers would like to see more enforcement by the state, while 24% of their Swiss colleagues ticked this box.

Let's take care of it ourselves

Swiss bosses in particular would like to see less regulation, intervention and enforcement of legal requirements. Thirty-six percent of them say that they do not support any of the demands listed above, but would rather regulate cyber protection in their companies themselves. As many as 42% of Swiss manufacturing companies are opposed to interference by legislation. In Germany, on the other hand, only 22.4% of respondents reject increased influence and support, although the German manufacturing industry is also more self-sufficient at 30.8%. Austrian decision-makers are the most willing to tolerate action guidelines and enforcement by legislation, with only 18% of them calling for cyber security in their companies to be managed entirely independently.

Source: www.sophos.com

Long-term shortage of skilled workers

Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the skills required for jobs in all sectors. However, contrary to the assumption that AI and automation will destroy human jobs, the opposite is actually the case. According to the current study "Skills shortage 2024", 82% of German companies are struggling to fill vacancies. The shortage of skilled workers in Germany has more than doubled in ten years and is at an all-time high worldwide. A McKinsey study found that the areas of data analysis and IT development and technology are at the top of the list of missing skills. 

Talent retention: More important today than ever before

The message is loud and clear. Employees want to learn new skills and they expect their company to provide them with the development opportunities to do so. In a Gallup study, 57 % of employees surveyed said they want to update and develop their skills. 73 % of the employees surveyed in the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends study believe that personnel development is the responsibility of their company. 

Companies that do not heed the call of their employees run the risk of increased turnover. The same Gallup study found that 48 % of respondents would leave their organization for another company that offers training opportunities. In addition, a report by the World Economic Forum found that the main reason employees left their jobs in the last 12 months was a lack of career development and advancement.  

Companies that meet employee expectations by implementing retraining and upskilling programs reap the rewards. Gallup found that employees who have recently participated in a retraining program are 37 % more likely to be satisfied with salary and benefits and 76 % more likely to have a positive attitude toward promotion opportunities. In addition, 71 % of the retrained workforce reported higher job satisfaction. Retraining and upskilling lead to new positions and responsibilities for employees, which also contributes to higher employee retention. LinkedIn has found that companies that have high internal employee mobility have twice the employee retention rate. 

"Companies need to start preparing their workforce for the future now, otherwise they run the risk of being left behind. The shortage of skilled workers will persist for some time to come. This makes it all the more important to retain and promote talent within the company and to consider retraining. In this way, companies can close the gaps and increase job satisfaction through new challenges and tasks," Cosima von Kries, Nintex Director, Solution Engineering EMEA, goes into more detail.  

Investing in retraining

Retraining has several advantages. If companies lay off employees and then cannot find any qualified staff due to a shortage of skilled workers, this leads to a staff shortage that also affects day-to-day work. In addition, hiring new staff is often significantly more expensive than retraining. Most team members are interested in further training opportunities. Companies should take advantage of this. Existing employees know the company, the processes, the culture, customers and other team members. 

Further training programs: Automation Citizen Developers and Citizen Process Experts

"Retraining and upskilling employees instead of hiring new employees prepares the workforce for the future and reduces organizational costs at the same time," says Cosima von Kries. "There are two important programs that companies should definitely include in their retraining and upskilling strategy." 

1. Automation Citizen Developers

Automation and AI continue to be a priority for companies and are at the heart of future business developments. However, one of the biggest shortages is predicted to be in developers and software engineers. IDC estimates that there will be a shortage of 4 million developer jobs by 2025. 

Citizen developers are employees who are trained to use no-code and low-code automation, AI or other technology solutions. They have technical expertise but no professional programming or development skills. Instead, they come directly from the business area, for example accounting or sales, for which they then develop smaller technical solutions.

Retraining or upskilling employees to become Automation Citizen Developers has numerous advantages. Well-trained Citizen Developers reduce the need for IT or professional developers. This not only frees up existing IT resources and leads to a faster ROI for automation in the present, but also helps companies overcome skills gaps in the future. Implementing a Citizen Developer training program results in a transformed workforce that is acclimated to using the technology that will define the future of the business.

2. Citizen Process Experts

Citizen Process Experts are employees who know exactly how the work in a business area is carried out: from the processes to the systems and players involved. Citizen Process Experts are trained in process documentation, process modeling, process mining and task mining.  

Companies need Citizen Process Experts to work with Citizen Developers because companies cannot successfully implement and scale automation without understanding and optimizing their processes. As Forrester says, companies would be "on the wrong track if they were to introduce far-reaching automation without understanding and possibly revising existing processes".   

"By simultaneously building Citizen Developer and Citizen Process Expert programs for automation, companies can ensure the accuracy, success and adoption of their process improvement and automation initiatives while transforming their workforce and nurturing the skills needed for the future," concludes Cosima von Kries. 

Source: www.nintex.de

As of August 1, 2024, advact AG is taking a groundbreaking step by spinning off its "Penetration Testing and Security Consulting" division and continuing it under the newly founded company "Pentryx AG". The four experienced security consultants of advact AG will seamlessly transfer to Pentryx AG in order to continue to support their customers in the area of information security. The new CEO of Pentryx AG is Anton Brunner, who can look back on extensive experience - including as CISO at the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Securitas Group and as a security consultant at advact AG. Meanwhile, Markus Helfer and Marcel Oberli, Co-CEOs of advact AG, together with their team of security engineers and developers, are focusing more strongly on e-mail security. The proven phishing service will remain with advact and will be supplemented this summer with exciting new functions that offer comprehensive protection against email threats.

Shaping the future and employee participation

Markus Helfer and Marcel Oberli remain majority shareholders of both companies and are operationally active in advact AG, while they are represented on the boards of directors of both companies. The employees of both companies will be offered the opportunity to participate in the success of the companies by purchasing shares. This option was a decisive factor for the spin-off in order to offer employees in the "Security Consulting" division an exciting perspective and their own company.

Added value for customers and employees

The restructuring will result in numerous benefits that will directly affect both customers and employees. The phishing service customers of advact AG can look forward to an increased focus on the topic of "e-mail security", which will provide them with even more comprehensive protection against threats. Penetration testing clients of advact AG will continue to work with their trusted security consultants. At the same time, they will benefit from the leadership of the new CEO Anton Brunner, who will be available as an experienced and competent contact person.

Another significant advantage concerns the employees of the newly founded Pentryx AG. They have the opportunity to actively participate in the development of the company and thus benefit from its success. The employees of advact AG also have the opportunity to participate financially in the company. Through their commitment, they can thus have a direct influence on the success and profit development of advact AG.

Structural change strengthens market position

This structural change not only creates clear responsibilities and priorities, but also promotes the participation and motivation of employees at both companies. In the long term, this will lead to a stronger and more successful positioning in the market. "The separation allows us to offer our employees in the area of security consulting an exciting perspective and their own company. At the same time, we can strengthen our focus on e-mail security and provide our customers with even more targeted support in both areas," explains Marcel Oberli.

Source: www.advact.ch

With the annual Global Cyber Conference in Zurich with the Swiss CISO Awards and the numerous courses offered by the Swiss Cyber Institute for professionals and companies in the field of cybersecurity, the Institute is also an interesting and valuable partner for the ITU.

Samir Aliyev, founder and CEO of Swiss Cyber Institute (SCI) founded the Swiss Cyber Institute in Zurich in 2019 and today it is a cybersecurity education provider registered by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI. The aim is to create an open community in which knowledge and innovation in the field of cybersecurity are not only promoted but also proactively driven forward. The partnership with ITU significantly expands the institute's network and further contributes to raising awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.

For example, the Swiss Cyber Institute is dedicated to promoting personalized learning experiences with the goal of training 10,000 people by 2027 by offering SETA programs for security education, training and awareness. The Swiss Cyber Institute has also expanded its professional certification training by becoming the preferred global partner of leading cybersecurity certification organizations such as ISC2 and ISACA. By effectively building the capacity of cyber specialists in Switzerland and internationally, the Institute contributes to a more secure world.

With the Swiss Cyber Institute's two-day Global Cyber Conference in November 2024 with the Swiss CISO Awards and pre-conference networking events throughout the year, the focus will be on key topics such as cloud security, cyber security, its impact on companies and the associated corporate strategies. The Global Cyber Conference is a platform where cyber security experts from all over the world can exchange ideas and network.

"By partnering with ITU, we want to underline our commitment to improving global cyber resilience through cybersecurity education, training and professional support for the cybersecurity industry. We are proud that we are now a Sector Member of ITU. We also want to offer ITU added value for its members by providing them with a competent partner in the comprehensive field of cybersecurity and enabling their members to benefit from our course offerings, the Global Cyber Conference and our broad network," says Samir Aliyev, founder and CEO of Swiss Cyber Institute.

"I am delighted to welcome the Swiss Cyber Institute as a new ITU-D Private Sector Member. The Institute's deep expertise in cybersecurity skills development and empowerment is perfectly aligned with our mission to drive meaningful connectivity and sustainable digital transformation through positive impact and change globally," said Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.

The ITU is a hub for technology and innovation. It has 193 member states and over 1,000 companies, universities, research institutes and international and regional organizations. It enables international connectivity in communication networks. To spread access to technology around the world, the ITU works to provide digital connectivity for all and offers a trusted, multilateral platform to negotiate international agreements and standards, share knowledge, build capacity and collaborate with members and partners such as the Swiss Cyber Institute.

Source: www.swisscyberinstitute.com

The seven most important steps in administrative transformation are:

1. Breaking down organizational silos: Very narrow responsibilities and structures that have evolved over decades have led to public authorities and specialist departments often working in isolation from one another. A first step towards breaking down these organizational silos is to hold workshops with representatives from all departments, including IT, in order to develop a common vision and goals for a modern public administration. On this basis, interdisciplinary teams can then be set up to implement individual initiatives or services across departments.

1. Creating technical standards: The organizational silos have also resulted in highly fragmented IT landscapes with unconnected or even incompatible systems and specialist applications. This makes it difficult to digitalize processes across the board. This is why public authorities urgently need uniform digital infrastructures and platforms that rely on open standards and interfaces. Only in this way can data flow smoothly between the agencies involved in an administrative process. 

3. Modernize operating models for IT: Modern systems and platforms enable service-oriented IT that scales seamlessly and can quickly provide services such as storage, a virtual machine or a container - just as we know it from the cloud. Where these services run then depends on requirements such as latency, costs and data protection; the cloud is ultimately just an operating model and not a location. However, it makes sense not to host everything yourself, but to use municipal data centers, regional data centers or the data centers of local IT service providers. Ultimately, such multicloud approaches relieve the burden on IT teams and are generally more cost-effective and sustainable, as large infrastructures can be operated much more efficiently than small infrastructures.

4. Putting processes to the test: The high digitalization pressure on public authorities is resulting in new portals that citizens and authorities can use to submit their applications and inquiries online. Behind the digital front ends, however, there are often still the same analog processes as before - in some cases, applications are still printed out or data is manually transferred from one system to another. In order to shorten processing times and make work easier for employees, authorities need to take a holistic view of their processes and optimize them first before tackling their digitalization.

5. Exploiting the opportunities of AI: AI has enormous potential to make public administration more citizen-friendly. Chat and voice bots, for example, are available around the clock and can answer questions or assist with filling out applications, and in different languages. Text recognition helps with the digitization of paper documents, and in specialist applications, bots can, among other things, prepare data clearly, forward documents to the right places and recommend options for action so that decisions about services are made more quickly and fairly.

6. Strengthen resilience against cyberattacks: The attack surface is growing with new digital services, and ransomware attacks repeatedly show that authorities and municipal institutions are poorly prepared for them. One reason for this is the focus on traditional threat defense. Once attackers have overcome these, there is a lack of tools and processes to prevent major damage and quickly restore systems and data. A greater focus on cyber resilience, as prescribed by the EU's NIS2 Directive, is urgently needed to minimize risks, protect the data of citizens and companies and increase the availability of administrative services. In addition to the implementation of zero-trust principles and tried-and-tested emergency plans, modern data protection solutions with immutable storage and data vaults also strengthen resilience. They ensure that data is available for recovery after an attack. Conventional backup solutions cannot guarantee this, as attackers often try to render data backups unusable.

7. Involve employees right from the start: New processes and digital applications are also changing the tasks of employees in public administration. To ensure that the new tools are optimally suited to their requirements in their day-to-day work and are accepted after their introduction, it is necessary to involve employees in digitization projects from the outset. They also need training to find their way around the tools and to be able to handle applications and data in a security and data protection-conscious manner.

"To put it simply, the first step is to have standardized systems and platforms that can be managed with little effort and enable smooth data flows in end-to-end processes. Artificial intelligence can then become the basis for new services, the automation of administrative processes and support for complex decisions. The result is more efficient administration with a citizen-friendly offering," says Frank Thonüs, Managing Director at Dell Technologies Switzerland. "Not all systems and applications should necessarily be operated in-house. In view of the shortage of IT specialists, tight budgets and increasing security requirements, this does not make sense."

Source: www.delltechnologies.com

Even small animals such as bees, which have fewer than one million neurons, can easily find their way around complex environments. They use visual signals to estimate their own movement and track their position in relation to important locations. This ability is called visual odometry. In terms of compactness and energy efficiency, the solution that animals use is unmatched by the best current technical solutions for robots. However, for new applications such as small autonomous drones or lightweight augmented reality glasses to become possible, energy efficiency must be massively improved. 

Built according to the example of natural neural networks

In the work published in Nature Machine Intelligence, an international team of authors propose a new neuromorphic solution, modeled on natural neural networks, which can also be efficiently implemented in neuromorphic hardware. The results presented represent an important step towards the use of neuromorphic computer hardware for fast and energy-efficient visual odometry and the associated task of simultaneous localization and mapping. The researchers have experimentally validated this approach in a simple robotic task and were able to show with an event-based dataset that the performance is state of the art.

More transparency in AI

The big difference to today's AI, such as that used by ChatGTP, is that the method described can put together or take apart various components of a visual scene to create a composition. The components include information such as "Which objects are in it?" or "Where are they located?" and many more. In conventional neural networks, these components are mixed together and cannot be disentangled. The new method can. This is crucial for developing modular and, above all, transparent AI systems. 

Source: ZHAW - LSFM  

76% state that they qualified for cover as a result. 67 percent received more favorable prices and 30 percent improved their contract conditions.

Restoration costs exceed cover values

The report also reveals that the recovery costs following a cyberattack exceed the insurance cover. Only 1 percent of those who reported a claim had their insurer pay 100 percent of the costs incurred in recovering from the incident. The most common reason for not being fully reimbursed is that the final bill exceeds the insurance limit. According to this year's ransomware report from Sophos, the recovery costs following a ransomware attack increased by 50 percent compared to the previous year. You can expect to pay around 2.55 million euros.

Companies lack basic safety best practices

"The Sophos Active Adversary Report has repeatedly shown that many cyber insurance providers find themselves in a situation where basic cyber security best practices have not been implemented. For example, timely application of patches. In our recent report, compromised credentials ranked number one when it comes to causes of an attack, yet 43% of organizations have not implemented multi-factor authentication," said Chester Wisniewski, CTO Sophos.

"The fact that 76 percent of businesses have invested in their cyber defenses to qualify for cyber insurance shows that insurers are forcing companies to adopt some of these essential security measures. This makes a difference, and has a broader, more positive impact on businesses overall. While cyber insurance brings many benefits to businesses, it is only one part of an effective risk mitigation strategy. Companies must continue to upgrade their defenses. After all, a cyberattack can have a profound impact on an organization, both in terms of operations and reputation. And a cyber policy alone will not change that".

Investments in cyber defense have positive side effects

Of the 5,000 IT and cybersecurity executives surveyed, 99 percent of those who improve their defenses for a policy say they also gain broader security benefits beyond insurance coverage. An effect of their investment, including increased protection, freed up IT resources and fewer alerts.

"Investing in cyber defense seems to have positive side effects, as it frees up insurance savings that companies can invest in other protective measures to improve their security posture. As cyber insurance becomes more widespread, companies' security will - hopefully - also improve. A policy won't make ransomware attacks go away, but it could well be part of the solution," says Wisniewski.

Source: www.sophos.de

Virtually all of the companies and authorities surveyed (96.6%) use open source software in at least one of the 27 areas examined. Open source software is particularly widespread in software development and on servers (or in the cloud), somewhat less so on desktop computers (clients). Surprisingly, around 40% of respondents already use open source AI tools and AI models. This is a trend that is likely to increase, as there are already over 730,000 open source AI models for any application (speech recognition, image generation, music composition, etc.) on Hugging Face, for example.

Using existing open source software is one way of exploiting its potential; releasing open source components is another. Daniel Markwalder, Federal Council Delegate for Digital Transformation and ICT Steering (DTI), points out the current challenges facing federal IT in the foreword to the study: "We have an interest in ensuring that our software is as secure as possible, that it can be reused and that unwanted dependencies are reduced." The Federal Administration is also particularly interested in a deeper understanding of open source trends due to the new "Federal Act on the Use of Electronic Means for the Performance of Official Duties" (EMBAG), as it has had to publish all software developed in-house or externally under open source licenses since January 2024.

The release of open source software on platforms such as GitHub has long been common practice in the Swiss IT sector and in the private sector in general. More than 65% of the managers surveyed responded that they release open source software or have at least thought about it. One important player is SBB, which founded the "OpenRail Association" at the beginning of 2024 together with the German railroad company Deutsche Bahn, the French state railroad SNCF and other railroad organizations. Through this cooperation, all participating railroad companies benefit from joint software developments, as described in detail in one of the specialist articles in the open source study.

The Open Source Study Switzerland 2024 is published by the associations CH Open and swissICT. The Public Sector Transformation Institute at the Department of Economics at Bern University of Applied Sciences is responsible for conducting the study.

Source: www.ch-open.ch / www.swissict.ch / www.bfh.ch

This award recognizes the commitment of the Swiss Blockchain Federation (SBF) over the past six years in the area of blockchain, FinTech and crypto and for Switzerland as a business location. Together with its 80 members, the Federation has driven forward the DLT Act, supported the blockchain industry and helped to create a thriving ecosystem in Switzerland that attracts companies and talent.

Heinz Tännler, President of the Swiss Blockchain Federation: "I am delighted to receive this award. It shows that the Swiss Blockchain Federation has successfully supported the industry in recent years and is highly valued as a platform. In addition to our regulatory and economic successes, which we have achieved with a lot of hard work and passion, this award is a great recognition of our efforts. I would like to thank all our members and experts for their outstanding cooperation - as a strong team, we have been able to achieve a great deal for Switzerland as a center of business and innovation in recent years."

A pioneering start and continuous commitment

The SBF was established after a blockchain task force under the patronage of Federal Councillors Johann N. Schneider-Ammann and Ueli Maurer launched the militia project in 2017. Following the official founding of the SBF in October 2018, the association drew up a 10-point plan with regulatory proposals, which it presented to the Federal Council. The Federation also lobbied hard for DLT legislation. With its unanimous adoption in the National Council and the Council of States, Switzerland received one of the most innovation-friendly blockchain regulations in the world. This significant milestone attracted numerous blockchain start-ups and consolidated Switzerland's pioneering role.

The SBF works continuously to promote public acceptance of blockchain and crypto and to draw the attention of politicians to potential problems. A recent success underlines the importance of close cooperation between industry, politics and administration: FINMA recently planned to change its practice regarding staking services, which led to uncertainty and criticism in the industry. The SBF responded with a circular and a joint media release with the Crypto Valley Association to draw attention to the negative consequences of the change in practice. Following intensive discussions with industry representatives and FINMA, a compromise was reached. FINMA then revised its position.

Successful public-private partnership model

The founding of the Swiss Blockchain Federation as a public-private partnership with the four cantons of Neuchâtel, Ticino, Zug and Zurich has proven to be expedient and a successful model. Companies, administration, politics, science and experts were united in an association in order to explore specific issues in working groups, publish highly regarded papers and promote common concerns.

This award confirms that the SER is excellently positioned and a strong platform that contributes significantly to the economic success of the blockchain sector and the Swiss economy. In the future, the SBF would like to continue to actively support the blockchain scene, point out problems and, together with politics, business, science and administration, seek solutions that will continue to position Switzerland as a globally recognized blockchain champion.

Appreciation for more trust in the blockchain industry

The Swiss Crypto Awards recognize innovative investment products, first-class crypto solutions and initiatives, as well as individuals or institutions that have made outstanding contributions to Switzerland. Rino Borini, initiator of the Swiss Crypto Awards and founder of Finance 2.0, explains: "We want to strengthen confidence in the Swiss market for blockchain technologies and draw attention to innovative and outstanding achievements. Switzerland is a globally recognized center for these technologies and it is important that we continue to promote and support this by recognizing those initiatives and projects that have made significant contributions."

Source: www.blockchainfederation.ch

The online customer survey conducted by the Swiss Institute for Quality Tests (SIQT) in May 2024 confirms Quickline's top performance: In the Swiss Industry Monitor 2024, Quickline takes 1st place for "Customer Service" among Internet providers for the fourth time in a row. The "customer service" among TV providers is in the top 3 and the "price/performance ratio" once again achieved an outstanding score.

"I am delighted that the high quality of our customer service has been confirmed by the independent tests. This award goes above all to our frontline employees for their daily commitment. They advise our customers personally from Nidau or from our regional partners," says Felix Kunz, CEO Quickline a.i., commenting on the results. "It is also pleasing that our products can hold their own in terms of price/performance ratio."

SIQT conducts provider-independent and objective tests of services and products. Every year, the industry monitor determines the best providers in terms of customer satisfaction, customer service and value for money in a cross-industry, nationwide online customer survey.

Source: www.quickline.ch

The founder of the modern hospice movement, Cicely Saunders, once said: "It is not a question of giving life more days, but of giving days more life." This statement has a lot to do with the daily work in the palliative care setting at the Hochweid retirement home. "You don't get an audit for palliative care overnight. It's a process that is built up over many years and becomes a mindset for all employees across all levels. Only then do you take the step towards certification," explains Managing Director Sara Tomaschett.

Foundation Board President Prof. Dr. med. Michele Genoni adds: "We are proud to be one of the few retirement centers in Switzerland to receive this certification. It was very impressive for me to see what is being done, how the focus is on people and where the difficulties are. It goes so far that at the end, all the employees stand in mourning when someone leaves the home for good." Christian Grothe, Head of Nursing at the Hochweid retirement home, says: "The certification process and the months of preparation were hugely beneficial for us. We were able to introduce and use recognized instruments, expand our competent interprofessional network and improve our quality processes." 

Audit team is enthusiastic

The Swiss Association for Quality in Palliative Care has put the Hochweid retirement center in Kilchberg through its paces and awarded it certification. The audit team was delighted: "You can feel that the culture, the appreciation and the support of the people is lived. That is exactly what palliative care is all about. Putting people at the center is lived by the whole team. Everyone is part of the process and supports each other. The interprofessional approach is practiced at the Hochweid. You can feel the culture of open doors. What is striking and rare is that the Board of Trustees is also fully behind it. This frees up financial and human resources. The staffing plan at Hochweid exceeds the cantonal requirements. This also allows discussions to take place after the work schedule - overtime is compensated on a daily basis, which is greatly appreciated by the employees."

What is palliative care?

"We want to ensure that residents and their relatives have a quality of life adapted to their situation until death and beyond, as well as provide appropriate support for their loved ones. This includes medical, alternative and nursing interventions as well as psychological, physical, social and spiritual support," explains Christian Grothe. Palliative care is more than just end-of-life care, the focus is on life. This is also an important aspect of the palliative care concept. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines palliative care as "an approach to improving the quality of life of sick people and their families who are confronted with problems associated with a life-threatening illness: by preventing and alleviating suffering, by early recognition, unimpeachable assessment and treatment of pain and other distressing conditions of a physical, psychosocial and spiritual nature." Sara Tomaschett clarifies: "We want to enable residents to live in the environment of their choice, according to their normality and their heart's desires."

No more fear

The Swiss Society for Palliative Medicine, Care and Support states that the possibilities of palliative care should be considered proactively and at an early stage, i.e. in addition to curative and rehabilitative measures. However, the focus of palliative care begins at the point at which the cure of an illness is no longer possible and is no longer a primary goal. In this last phase of life, the focus is on quality of life and support for those affected and their loved ones. Well-adjusted treatment is used to ensure that the last months of life can be experienced largely pain-free. Patients should no longer have to fear unbearable pain. 

Source: www.alterszentrum-hochweid.ch