Chemicals are widely used in society and are found in everything from household products to industrial processes. Many chemicals end up in our waterways and ecosystems, where they can have negative effects on humans and other organisms. One example of this is PFAS, a group of problematic substances that have recently been found in worrying concentrations in both groundwater and drinking water. They have been used, for example, in fire-fighting foam and in many consumer products.

Negative effects on humans and the environment occur despite extensive chemical regulations, which often require time-consuming animal testing to prove when chemicals can be considered safe. In the EU alone, more than two million animals are used every year to comply with the various regulations. At the same time, new chemicals are being developed at a rapid pace and it is a major challenge to determine which ones need to be restricted due to their toxicity to humans and the environment.

Valuable help with the development of chemicals

The new method developed by the Swedish researchers uses artificial intelligence to assess chemical toxicity quickly and cost-effectively. It can therefore be used to identify toxic substances at an early stage and reduce the need for animal testing.

"Our method is able to predict whether a substance is toxic or not based on its chemical structure. It has been developed and refined by analyzing large data sets of laboratory tests that have been carried out in the past. The method has been trained to give accurate estimates even for previously untested chemicals," says Mikael Gustavsson, researcher at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology and the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.

"There are currently more than 100,000 chemicals on the market, but only a small proportion of these have a well-described toxicity to humans and the environment. Assessing the toxicity of all these chemicals using conventional methods, including animal testing, is practically impossible. This shows that our method can offer a new alternative," says Erik Kristiansson, professor at the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences in Chalmers and at the University of Gothenburg.

The researchers believe that the method can be very useful for environmental research as well as for authorities and companies that use or develop new chemicals. They have therefore made publicly accessible.

More comprehensive and accurate than today's calculation tools

Computerized tools for detecting toxic chemicals already exist, but until now their applications have been too narrow or their accuracy too low to replace laboratory testing on a large scale. In the researchers' study, they compared their method with three other commonly used computer-based tools and found that the new method is both more accurate and more widely applicable.

"The type of AI we use is based on advanced deep learning methods," says Erik Kristiansson. "Our results show that AI-based methods can already keep up with conventional computational approaches, and as the amount of available data continues to increase, we expect AI methods to improve further. Therefore, we believe that AI has the potential to significantly improve the computational assessment of chemical toxicity."

The researchers predict that AI systems will be able to replace laboratory tests to an ever greater extent.

"This would mean that the number of animal experiments and the economic costs of developing new chemicals could be reduced. The ability to rapidly pre-screen large and diverse datasets can therefore support the development of new and safer chemicals and help to find replacements for currently used toxic substances. We therefore believe that AI-based methods will help to reduce the negative impact of chemical pollution on humans and ecosystem services," says Erik Kristiansson.

Source: www.chalmers.se

Although we know that passwords can be cracked, disclosed or stolen and then used against us, many people and companies still rely on them. There are various reasons for this. Understanding these is essential to strengthening our passwords or moving away from them in favor of more effective authentication solutions. Passwords are simply practical: both users and IT administrators are familiar with how they work, they are easy to implement and require minimal investment and existing infrastructure. They require no additional hardware and almost every device and application supports password authentication.

Less dependence on passwords

Anyone considering alternatives to passwords needs to balance security, ease of use and scalability to ensure a seamless yet secure user experience. Too much complexity in authentication processes will only lead to users finding ways to circumvent them. Companies that want to move away from passwords without overburdening their users have a choice between:

Two-factor or multi-factor authentication (2FA or MFA):

These methods have now become the standard for many applications. With 2FA, users must present two factors of identification before gaining access to the device or application. Typically, these factors include something they know (e.g. a password) and something they have (e.g. a code they can share via a mobile device). The additional time and complexity are comparatively low. MFA adds additional layers of authentication, e.g. something that is unique to the user (biometric authentication) or something that they perform (behavioral biometric authentication). However, in recent years, attackers have increasingly learned to circumvent 2FA and MFA through targeted phishing or by exploiting "MFA fatigue" by flooding users with fake login notifications until they wave one through.

Single Sign-On (SSO):

SSO allows users to access different devices or applications with just one set of credentials. This reduces the need for passwords and improves the user experience. This approach is very effective for company or organization-internal logins, for example, but is often time-consuming to implement and set up. SSO can also be risky if it is extended to logins on the Internet and access is gained via the login data for popular services and websites such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple or Microsoft. The login itself then becomes simple. However, if an account with one of these providers is compromised, the attacker can access any other account for which the SSO is used. In addition, data is often exchanged between the individual providers, which many users are not aware of, but also do not want.

Biometric authentication:

These include methods such as fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, iris scanning and voice recognition. Behavioral biometrics, on the other hand, is based on the recognition of typing or device usage behavior. Biometric authentication methods offer a high level of security while being user-friendly, as users do not have to remember passwords or answers to security queries. In addition, many users are already familiar with them, as many end-user devices already have biometric authentication capabilities, which can facilitate and accelerate the deployment and adoption of these methods on an enterprise-wide level. However, not every device is suitable for biometric authentication and implementing the required technology can be very costly. In addition, users must agree to use their biometric data in a professional context.

Hardware tokens:

These physical devices generate unique, often time-limited codes or cryptographic keys for authentication as an additional layer of security for logging in. An attacker would need physical access to the token and would also need to know the user's login details to gain access to their account. The disadvantage: a forgotten password can simply be reset, but a lost hardware token must be replaced. In the meantime, an alternative back-up process must also be set up for logging in.

Certificate-based authentication:

This approach is based on digital certificates issued by a certification authority in combination with public key cryptography to check and verify the user's identity. The certificate stores identification-relevant information and a public key, while the user himself has a virtual private key. This authentication method is suitable, for example, in cases where companies employ contractors who require temporary access to their network. However, implementing this method can be comparatively costly and time-consuming.

There is also another dynamic approach: risk-based authentication. When a login attempt is made, the associated risk of unauthorized access is first determined based on various factors such as user behaviour, location and device information and the authentication requirements are adjusted accordingly.

To ensure the highest possible level of authentication security, the focus of those responsible should not be on eliminating passwords, but on reducing dependency on them. Passwordless approaches rely on alternative or additional authentication methods that, like those mentioned above, are both secure and user-friendly, often as part of a broader zero trust approach. Both passwordless access and Zero Trust help to increase the security of devices, users and networks in an ever-changing threat landscape without compromising the user experience - and in combination, end our reliance on passwords.

Source: www.barracuda.com

"It thus addresses a central pain point for many companies and develops a concrete solution that significantly relieves the burden on controllers and enables them to use freed-up capacities for in-depth analyses and management-relevant issues," says jury chairman Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer, explaining the decision for the winning project on the highly relevant topic of sustainability.

With its controlling solution "myGreenBusiness", the technology and services company is improving the management and reporting of key sustainability management indicators. At the same time, it makes it easier to implement the external reporting requirements of the EU taxonomy and expand them into a group-wide, digital taxonomy reporting system. On the one hand, the aim is to contribute to the company's growth targets with sustainability. On the other hand, it is intended to support Bosch in its long-term focus on the balance between economic, ecological and social action.

Integrated view enables holistic control

The central building block for digital taxonomy reporting is the linking of financial and sustainability controlling in one IT solution. The integrated view of the company's success enables holistic management of the product portfolio and reduces the workload thanks to the high degree of digitalization: previously manual routine activities, such as maintaining traditional Excel spreadsheets, are no longer necessary. Controllers can make the sustainable alignment of their organizational unit's product portfolio transparent based on the financial indicators of the taxonomy - an ideal basis for their role as a business partner to management. "With just a few clicks, we gain insight into our taxonomy key figures along the entire product and service portfolio," explains Patrick Hehl, Co-Project Manager in the Corporate Office Finance and Reporting at Bosch.

Realization in less than a year

The project team started developing the solution in April 2023 and achieved its goal just a few months later: the gradual rollout to end users began in February 2024. In the final expansion stage, around 950 users across the company in central functions, business units and legal units will work with "myGreenBusiness". "During development, we were able to draw on the extensive experience we had already gained with digitalization in the financial sector," says Patrick Hehl, and: "The integration of an existing controlling solution with which developers and users were already familiar was also essential for the rapid success."

Bosch's myGreenBusiness combines current requirements

The taxonomy KPIs of sales and investment and operating expenses reflect Bosch's sustainability performance in accordance with the EU taxonomy in myGreenBusiness. This enables early countermeasures to be taken if targets are not met. "With the introduction of myGreenBusiness, we can implement the legal requirements of the EU taxonomy more easily. The Group-wide transparency of our sustainable products will also give us a competitive advantage thanks to more efficient processes and the ability to manage the product portfolio holistically," explains Dr. Marco Möhrer, Co-Project Manager in the Corporate Office Sustainability Business Management at Bosch.

Bringing project experience to the controlling community

Bosch's own IT solution myGreenBusiness is part of a project that aims to implement the EU Taxonomy and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) throughout the company. Patrick Hehl emphasizes the advantages of the collaboration: "The jointly designed controlling application shows the great potential offered by the close fusion of the disciplines of controlling, sustainability and finance." Both co-project managers agree on the importance of overarching teamwork. Dr. Marco Möhrer comments with regard to the award: "Sustainability is a topic that everyone in business is equally committed to. We therefore want to contribute our experience from the project to the controlling community - the ICV Controlling Excellence Award is an incentive for us to do so."

Austrian Post and Vetter Pharma-Fertigung also impress

Bosch's project beat the submissions from Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co. KG, Ravensburg, and Österreichische Post AG, Vienna, which were also nominated for the ICV Controlling Excellence Award 2024. KG, Ravensburg, and Österreichische Post AG, Vienna, which were also nominated for the ICV Controlling Excellence Award 2024. Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer emphasizes: "We as the jury are very convinced that the nominated solutions once again stand for excellence in controlling in an exemplary manner and cover the entire spectrum between innovative solutions with exemplary character - in addition to Robert Bosch, Österreichische Post with an agile controlling framework - and successful implementation of integrated corporate management in medium-sized companies such as Vetter Pharma."

Austrian Post: Agile principles further rolled out in financial work

The controlling team at Austrian Post has been working on an agile framework for the entire Group controlling department in order to be able to react better and faster to changing conditions. To this end, a new prioritization process for the top issues of the following year, OKRs as a tool for more complex tasks and a so-called "Cycle of Clarity", which is intended to ensure clearer objectives, were developed. Utz Schäffer praises the fact that "step by step, the agile principles are now also being rolled out to other aspects of work in the finance department" and: "As a result, we are not only seeing shorter process throughput times and progress in process and project quality in Austrian Post's controlling department. The agile transformation has also led to more personal responsibility, new development paths for controllers and a stronger focus on strategic topics."

Vetter Pharma production: Consistent, comprehensive approach impresses

Vetter Pharma-Fertigung has set itself the task of operationalizing the Vetter Finance Strategy 2025 using the example of integrated corporate management, with the aim of further developing a holistic strategic and operational management concept based on fully integrated and automated data. The concept includes rolling 24-month sales planning based on capacity-tested production planning across all stages of the value chain, a uniform, consistent information base, interactive dashboards, process mining and analytics modules and, last but not least, a differentiation of controller roles. What convinced the award jury about this project: "Every single component in this concept is not fundamentally new or spectacularly innovative and has never been seen before. However, we were impressed by the consistent and comprehensive approach in the context of a medium-sized company", because: "As a result, Vetter Pharma has seen a significant reduction in corporate management costs, higher data quality, transparency and acceptance as well as better interaction with management", summarizes Utz Schäffer.

The ICV Controlling Excellence Award: prestigious award since 2003

Since 2003, the ICV has presented the Controlling Excellence Award to convincing controlling projects that provide significant support for the submitting company because they are as innovative as they are practical. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer (WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management), the jury members Prof. Dr. Andreas Seufert (Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, Institute for Business Intelligence at Steinbeis University Berlin), Prof. Dr. Ute Vanini (Kiel University of Applied Sciences, among others), Roland Iff (former CFO Geberit, among others); Dipl. Wirt. Ing. Jens Bieniek (former CFO BLG Logistics, among others) and Dr. rer. pol. Lars Grünert (CFO TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen), who will ultimately be able to call the international reputation of the ICV Controlling Excellence Award their own in addition to the title and prize money. The main sponsors of the 3,000 euro prize are Atvisio and smartPM.solutions. Applications are open until the end of January for the current year's award.

The ICV has been setting standards for controlling excellence for almost 50 years

The International Controller Association (ICV), with its head office in Wörthsee, Germany, has set standards for controllers and controllers alike for almost 50 years and is now the competence center for controlling excellence in Europe. The approximately 6,000 members and around 260 corporate members benefit from a wide-ranging network, central contacts, top-class specialist events, awards for excellent work and more than 60 working groups. These have a regional focus and are dedicated to specific industries or specialist topics. The association brings together theory and practice, trends and proven methods, specialist knowledge and expertise and thus offers a complete range of services for controllers, CFOs and anyone who focuses on controlling and corporate management.

At a glance: All winners of the ICV Controlling Excellence Awards since 2003

2024 Bosch - myGreenBusiness - Digitization of EU taxonomy reporting

2023 Merck KGaA - Enabling High-Impact Culture in Financial Steering

2022 Deutsche Post DHL Group - Integration of sustainability targets in controlling at Deutsche Post DHL Group

2021 Robert Bosch GmbHController of the Future - People make the Difference

2020 BASF SEPACE - Predictive Analytics Estimate

2019 Unitymedia GmbH, Electricity - Value Stearing Roadmap. Establishment of value-oriented management

2018 Robert Bosch GmbHBig data-based approach to optimizing NWC at Bosch Diesel Systems

2017 EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Südwest mbH, a guiding solution for a comprehensive change in the management system and controlling

2016 Covestro Germany AGComprehensive redesign of the entire controlling system as a result of the carve-out of Covestro from the Bayer Group

2015 RWE AGConsideration of biases in decision-making processes

2014 EliteMedianet GmbHControlling & Analysis Team, MEDIA-KOMPASS project Regression-based optimization of advertising budget allocation

2013 Deutsche Lufthansa AGBandwidth planning project team, bandwidth simulation in the airline passenger business

2012 Otto GmbH & Co KG, Service Center Supplier Traffic, introduction of activity-based costing in the Otto Group's Service Center Supplier Traffic

2011 McDonald's Germany IncControlling, Project Team Controlling, Initiative Controlling McCafé

2010 Federal Employment AgencyControlling, development of the "SAMP" tool

2009 FIEGE Foundation GmbH & Co. KGBernd Voss, representing the Logistics Controlling Team

2008 Lufthansa CityLine GmbHRealignment of corporate management

2008 Wittlinger Therapy Center / Dr. Vodder AcademyDevelopment of process, quality and financial controlling in interaction

2007 Hansgrohe AGBusiness Development, Sales Up! - Growth against the trend!

2006 Kaufhof Warenhaus AGControlling & Projects, Market-oriented store management

2005 T-Online International AGManagement of growth companies via the efficiency matrix

2004 Aventis Pharma Deutschland GmbH, FACTs Team, Finance Analyzing & Controlling Tools - FACTs

2003 SICK AG WaldkirchController team, planning and reporting concept One Page Only - OPO

Source: www.icv-controlling.com

Quality assurance measures are essential for companies and determine the future - this was proven once again at Control 2024. For four days, quality assurance experts exchanged ideas intensively and at the highest professional level." We experienced a highly lively and exciting Control 2024," summarized project manager Fabian Krüger from the trade fair company P. E. Schall. "On over 25,000 m² in Halls 8 and 10, 475 exhibitors showed what modern quality assurance looks like and how manufacturing companies can design their production processes in an optimal and future-oriented way." 38 percent of exhibitors traveled to Stuttgart from abroad - most of them from China, Switzerland, Italy and the USA. Many interested trade visitors took advantage of the intensive technical exchange with their specific concerns from everyday operations and helped shape the trade fair. "The atmosphere at Control 2024 was very positive. The aisles were already full on the morning of the first day of the trade fair, and the mood on the following days was truly outstanding. We welcomed a total of 13,149 trade visitors to Stuttgart," summarizes Krüger.

Good atmosphere and great visitor interest

Werth Messtechnik is traditionally represented at Control. Managing Director Dr. Ralf Christoph emphasized the lively visitor interest this year as well: "The high number of visitors despite the difficult economic conditions shows the unbroken interest in modern solutions for quality assurance. Control is still the most important event in our industry. There is no comparable event internationally either."

David Skuratowicz, Managing Director at a3Ds, and his team presented a robotic measuring cell for large components with a ten-ton rotary table. Here, too, there was a high level of interest: "For us, this is the most important trade fair we attend as an exhibitor. This year we are exhibiting exclusively at Control, because this is where we get qualified contacts. The people we meet here have in-depth specialist knowledge of measurement technology. You don't have to explain measurement technology here, you can get straight down to specific technical discussions. For us, the success rate in terms of business is higher at Control than at other trade fairs."

Emma Hars, Marketing Manager at Metrologic Group, stated succinctly: "For us, Control is the most important trade fair event of the year." Jens Düffert, Managing Partner of Witte, also summed up the trade fair positively: "We were very surprised by the good response at Control 2024. Despite the fact that some major players were not taking part, many visitors came to our stand and took the opportunity to take a closer look at the products of smaller companies. From this perspective, the trade fair was indispensable for us!"

Always important and without alternative: personal contact

Dr. Volkmar Prill, Managing Director of Struers from Willich, was also delighted with the high level of visitor interest, which had exceeded his expectations. He also emphasized the indispensable importance of personal contact at the trade fair: "Control is always an excellent opportunity to meet our customers in person, which we greatly appreciate."

"At Control 2024, we were once again able to see that personal interaction at the exhibits and direct discussions with specific contact persons are extremely important," says Fabian Krüger. "Despite the usefulness of virtualization in many areas, there is simply no substitute for concrete illustration and direct explanation on the object. This was also reflected in the very well-attended lecture forum, which was almost fully booked on all days. Here, too, the participants appreciated the opportunity to make personal contact."

Building bridges from research to industry

The Fraunhofer special show "Non-contact measurement technology", which took place for the 18th time this year as part of Control, showcased the latest developments and pioneering technologies from various institutes in the field of non-contact measurement and testing technology - including, for example, test specimen analysis methods with thermography, optical precision measurement systems and 3D inline measurement in battery cell production. "This special show was billed as a marketplace for innovations, and that's exactly what it was," confirms Fabian Krüger. Dr. Christopher Taudt, Group Manager for Surface Metrology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, was very satisfied with the professional exchange at the trade fair: "Here at Control, we meet pre-informed trade visitors who immerse themselves in concrete technical discussions with us."

The trade visitors appreciated the efficient trade fair visit: short distances, direct discussions, future-oriented solution perspectives. "It is becoming increasingly clear how important QA is for all industries and that it is not an isolated topic, but rather is inextricably linked to production," summarizes Bettina Schall, Managing Director of trade fair organizer Schall. "It's about safety, resource conservation, efficiency and, ultimately, profitability, competitiveness and future viability. These are existential challenges for all companies," says Bettina Schall, outlining the importance of QA. It is an integral part of all processes and extends from planning and design to production, service provision and customer service.

The trend in quality assurance is clear: testing processes are becoming faster and more efficient, they are carried out inline and integrated into a wide variety of processes. Artificial intelligence systems can provide support, particularly when it comes to accelerating measurement processes, evaluating measurement data and further automation. This is an important aspect for production companies on their way to zero-defect production. The journey is moving towards full automation with closed-loop processes. "Control has sharpened the holistic view of quality measures and their importance for a more sustainable future," concludes Bettina Schall. "We would like to thank all exhibitors and trade visitors for their respective contributions and look forward to seeing the expert community again next year!"

Source: www.control-messe.de

Participants were able to obtain the latest software and QM information as well as best practice from the experiences of companies and discuss specialist topics with experts. The event is regularly characterized by a look beyond the boundaries of traditional quality management. Among this year's highlights: the keynote speech by former FIFA referee Urs Meier, who drew fascinating parallels to the business world from his experiences in professional sport. ConSense GmbH also presented itself with a refreshed logo just in time for the event.

Stroll through virtual themed trade fair stands from the comfort of your computer, free of charge and without crowds, and pick up useful tips, tricks and information for your own quality management - this is the idea behind the ConSense EXPO organized by Aachen-based software developer ConSense GmbH. From absolute newcomers who are still at the beginning of setting up a software-based system to QM and process management professionals who want to further expand and optimize their system with insider information, everyone got their money's worth here. Several hundred participants took advantage of the opportunity - and were highly satisfied with their "yield".

The hit list of topics: From compliance to validation - and a bit of football

Among the latest news about ConSense software, the Compliance Management module, which will soon be available, met with great interest from the specialist audience. ConSense management systems can thus be supplemented by an information security management system (ISMS). The live conference program was also particularly popular, hitting the mark with trade fair visitors with its exciting range of topics. ConSense GmbH recorded more than 1,600 participations in presentations and discussion panels.

In his keynote speech, ConSense Managing Director Dr. Alexander Künzer gave an insight into the latest developments in software solutions. Urs Meier, a real celebrity from the world of soccer, attracted a large audience. In his entertaining keynote speech, the former Swiss FIFA referee and businessman drew astonishing parallels between football matches and the business world and got football fans in the mood for the upcoming European Championship. Representatives of companies from strictly regulated industries benefited from the experience report by Micha Wolfensberger, QA Team Lead at Swiss Selectchemie AG, who provided an insight into the validated management system. And anyone who had previously despaired of the effort involved in evaluating key figures in their day-to-day work received useful tips from consultant Stefan Heinloth on how to handle them more efficiently. Those registered for the ConSense EXPO were able to access the conference program online for a week after the end of the trade fair.

Real added value for own QM, environmental project promoted

Anyone who took part in the puzzle competition at the virtual trade fair could not only win one of many great prizes, but also automatically support the ConSense Qualitrees project, with which the Aachen-based software company is promoting the planting of trees for more environmental and climate protection as part of a fundraising campaign. Overall, the ConSense EXPO once again ended with a broadly positive response. The numerous enthusiastic responses from trade fair visitors showed that they took away real added value for their own work from the event.

Refresh of the ConSense logo

Just in time for the spring EXPO, ConSense GmbH itself appeared in a fresh, modern look and celebrated the premiere of its new logo. The revised design is characterized by lively contrasts, a clear and characteristic colour scheme and a form and font design that focuses on the essentials. It has been adapted to the digital age and optimized for multimedia use. "With this further development of our logo, we are consistently continuing the core values and visions that have shaped our company since its foundation," explains Dr. Iris Bruns from the management of ConSense GmbH.

Source: www.consense-gmbh.de

Due to the high number of outstanding nominations in the Business Transformation category, the following sub-categories were formed:

• SAP Business Transformation 
• SAP Large Business Transformation 
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud Transformation 
• SAP SuccessFactors Transformation 

The main winners of this year's Quality Awards are:

• Sicpa (Category: SAP Business Transformation)
• Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (Category: SAP Large Business Transformation)
• KWC (Category: SAP S/4HANA Cloud Transformation)
• Federation of Migros Cooperatives (Category: SAP SuccessFactors Transformation)

Project results with measurable added value

Every year since 2008, SAP Switzerland has presented the Quality Award to customers who stand out with outstanding performance in the planning and execution of implementation projects. Successful SAP implementations demonstrate not only project planning at a high level of quality, but also a focus on fast and cost-effective implementations close to the SAP standard.

The projects are evaluated by a jury with the help of ten quality principles recommended by SAP, the observance of which promises better results in the implementation of standard software. The aim is to achieve project results that generate measurable added value and meet the demand for short implementation cycles and rapid value creation. The Quality Awards recognize SAP customers who demonstrate exceptional performance. At the same time, the Awards foster the emergence of a community of "thought leaders" in which collaboration with customers and partners is strengthened.

Awards for 13 projects in 4 categories

To determine the best projects of the past year for the SAP Quality Awards 2024, the SAP Quality Management Switzerland team once again evaluated a large number of successfully completed SAP implementations. This year, SAP Switzerland presented awards in the following four categories

• The category "SAP Business Transformation" includes transformation projects with more than 500 users, a project duration of more than 6 months and an effort of up to 20,000 person days.
• In the category "SAP Large Business Transformation" large-scale projects with the same requirements as the business transformation projects are evaluated, with the focus on the volume of project expenditure, which is greater than 20,000 person days for these projects.
• In the category "SAP S/4HANA Cloud Transformation" projects are evaluated using the same criteria as the business transformation projects, but the focus is on the transformation of solutions to the cloud.
• In the category "SAP SuccessFactors Transformation" The award recognizes projects in which a transformation in the area of human resources has been successfully implemented using the SAP SuccessFactors solution.

In each category, one main winner and other winners were honored with an award. A total of thirteen projects from companies operating in Switzerland were honored this year, whose SAP projects met the award requirements to a particularly high degree.

Unfortunately, no projects were submitted for the "Rapid Time to Value" category or the new "Sustainability" category this year. 

Winner in the "SAP Business Transformation" category

The jury chose Sicpa as the main winner. The internationally active Vaud-based company is the market leader in security inks for banknotes and a leading provider of secure authentication, identification, traceability and supply chain solutions. The project focused on a conversion to SAP S/4HANA on-premise based on a brownfield approach and the introduction of other new SAP solutions. An important factor in the project was the improvement of operational efficiency across 22 countries. The jury was impressed by the project approach, which included various clean-ups and optimizations before the actual start of the project. The team spirit and organizational change management in the project also confirmed the jury's decision. Sicpa was supported in this major project by implementation partner Seidor.

Through an outstanding SAP S/4HANA on-premise implementation, also earned an award:

• BernmobilBern's municipal transport company (SVB), migrated the existing SAP systems to SAP S/4HANA using the brownfield approach. The project scope also included the replacement of SAP SRM (supplier management) with Self-Service Procurement. The implementation partner was Novo Business Consultants.
• The Hügli Holdingone of the largest suppliers of long-life convenience products, converted its SAP systems to SAP S/4HANA using a greenfield approach, with a rollout to other countries planned. The project partner was Consolut.
• The Suva realized a new implementation of SAP S/4HANA and the SAP Analytics Cloud solution in its project. The project was supported by NTT Data Business Solutions.

Winner in the "SAP Large Business Transformation" category

Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich, which ensures that energy is available around the clock and in the right quantity in the city of Zurich and parts of the canton of Graubünden, was awarded the top prize in the SAP Large Business Transformation category. This major project involved a new implementation of SAP S/4HANA and other SAP solutions from the customer experience and analytics environment. The project focused on the harmonization and standardization of processes. The jury was particularly impressed by the significant reduction in customer-specific enhancements and the project governance with very short decision-making paths. Aveniq Avectris supported and accompanied this project as an implementation partner.

Other winners in the "SAP Large Business Transformation" category are:

• OC Oerlikon Management has carried out a global implementation of SAP ERP together with Infosys and implemented other SAP solutions such as SAP GTS (Global Trade Services) and SAP Business Warehouse.
• Stadler Rail Management intended to comprehensively standardize its processes with the new implementation of SAP S/4HANA and other SAP and non-SAP solutions. This project was supported by implementation partner Innflow.

Winner in the category "SAP S/4HANA Cloud Transformation"

The main winner in this category is the Swiss company KWC, an international premium manufacturer of fittings and comprehensive sanitary solutions. This cloud transformation project included the new implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud as well as additional SAP solutions, including SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), Sales Cloud, SAP FSM for field service management and SAP SuccessFactors. The jury was particularly impressed by the chosen approach to simplifying and standardizing business processes. The measurable business case and the performance indicators achieved after a short time were also impressive. Together with the implementation partner Agilita, this project was implemented in just ten months.

Other winners in the "Cloud Transformation" category are:

• Axpo Services introduced SAP S/4HANA Cloud and other SAP solution components. The main focus of the project was the harmonization and automation of business processes. Deloitte Consulting supported this project as an implementation partner. 
• Skyguide intends to renew its system landscape with the implementation of SAP S/4HANA and other SAP solutions in order to meet today's business requirements. This project was supported by Neo Technologies.
• Zurich Insurance Companya leading multi-line insurer, migrated its entire system landscape of more than 500 servers to the cloud with this project. The project was implemented in collaboration with SAP Switzerland.

Winner in the "SAP SuccessFactors Transformation" category

The main winner in this category is Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund. The largest retail company in Switzerland has modernized its HR processes and introduced several solutions from the SAP SuccessFactors portfolio. After a further rollout, over 80,000 Migros employees will be using the solution. The jury was very impressed by the standardization and harmonization achieved despite the diversified company as well as the comprehensive support of the project through organizational change management measures. HR Campus supported Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund in this project.

also received an "SAP SuccessFactors Transformation" award:

• ABB E-mobility Holding has introduced SAP SuccessFactors and other SAP solutions. The main project objective was to introduce a global master data system for everyone. The need for rapid implementation was significantly achieved through the use of SAP Best Practices. AKT DACH supported this project.

Source: www.sap.ch

The proportion of women in management positions increased from 18% to 35%

The Equal Salary certification is an important and strategic milestone for Mazars in Switzerland and embodies the values that form the company's DNA. 

"Participating in the Equal Salary certification process was a natural step for us as it is a fundamental issue of fairness. It also embodies our values that guide us in everything we do, in the way we meet the needs of our clients, in the development of our employees and in the role we play in our society," says José Caneda, CEO of Mazars in Switzerland. "It was also important for us to go through the Equal Salary certification process and get certified, as we are a partner of the Equal Salary Foundation and carry out certification audits at our clients. We want to be exemplary so that we can provide the companies that trust us with the best advice thanks to our own experience," Caneda continues.

In the last two years, the proportion of women in management positions at Mazars in Switzerland has risen from 18% to 35%. The Equal Salary certification is valid for three years and must be renewed after three years with a new salary analysis and a full on-site audit.

Source: www.mazars.ch

The report is based on data from Barracuda's international Cybernomics 101 study and analyzes how challenges in the areas of security policies, management, third-party access and supply chains can affect a company's capabilities. The report also shows how companies can appropriately manage and respond to cyber risks.

The report includes an organizational cyber resilience audit checklist created by Barracuda experts based on the NIST 2.0 Cybersecurity Framework from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology to help organizations improve their cyber resilience.

The results of the report show, among other things, that many companies still find it difficult to implement company-wide security guidelines such as authentication measures and access controls: Almost half (49 percent) of respondents in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cited this as one of the top two challenges facing senior management. In addition, more than a third (35 percent) of respondents in SMEs are concerned that their management does not recognize cyberattacks as a potentially serious risk. In larger companies, on the other hand, the challenges tend to be a lack of budget (38 percent) and finding qualified specialists (35 percent) in the area of cyber security.

Many companies are also concerned about the lack of security and ability to control their supply chains, as well as a lack of transparency when working with third parties who have access to sensitive or confidential data. Around one in ten companies also do not have a contingency plan that they can fall back on in the event of a successful cyberattack.

"For many companies, a security incident is now inevitable sooner or later," says Siroui Mushegian, CIO of Barracuda Networks. "Being prepared is essential when it comes to surviving and responding appropriately to such incidents - that's cyber resilience. Modern, comprehensive security solutions do a lot of the work in this regard, but successful cyber resilience also depends on governance within the company, i.e. the policies and measures at management level and many other internal factors that enable a company to manage cyber risks sensibly. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has also defined security governance as a strategic priority as part of its updated cybersecurity benchmark framework published in early 2024."

The report provides companies with practical templates for cyber risk management processes.

Source: www.barracuda.com

According to this year's ECI report, the use of hybrid multicloud models in the healthcare industry will double in the next one to three years. In order to benefit from the possibilities of AI, neutralize security risks and operate more sustainably, the pressure on IT decision-makers at organizations in the healthcare industry to modernize their IT infrastructures is increasing.

The industry processes large amounts of personal health information (PHI). Managing this data in accordance with regulatory requirements, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is a complex task. As in other industries, healthcare organizations struggle with the complexities associated with migrating applications and data between IT environments. Hybrid multicloud solutions offer them important benefits; helping them to simplify operations, improve the patient experience and increase efficiency in clinics. According to the ECI Healthcare report, the adoption rate of the hybrid multicloud operating model among organizations in this industry has increased by 10 percent year-over-year, from 6 percent to 16 percent. While the deployment of this model has slowed in other industries, the penetration rate in healthcare is now virtually on par with the industry average of 15 percent.

"Healthcare organizations have traditionally been slow to adopt technology. But in the past year alone, we've seen an impressive increase in modernization projects due to AI and the need for data portability," said Scott Ragsdale, Sr. Director, Sales, U.S. Healthcare at Nutanix. "Across industries, 80 percent of respondents plan to invest in modernizing their IT. 85 percent plan to increase their investments with the specific goal of supporting AI initiatives. Healthcare organizations have similar plans and are focused on future-proofing their IT infrastructures to prepare them for the demands of tomorrow - including AI and sustainability."

The survey participants from the healthcare sector were asked about their current cloud challenges and the current and future planned operation of their business applications. This year's key survey results include the following:

• Healthcare organizations have accelerated the adoption of multiple IT operating models and both their current and planned mixed IT deployments are now above the global average. Almost three quarters (73 percent) of the healthcare organizations surveyed said they were using different IT models this year, up from 53 percent a year earlier, when the industry was 7 percent behind the global industry average. Today, it is 13 percent higher.

• Changes and concerns in the areas of security and compliance are the main reasons for companies to choose a different infrastructure for the provision and operation of their applications. An overwhelming majority of respondents from the healthcare sector (98%) - and 95% across all industries - said they had migrated one or more applications in the past twelve months, increasing the need for simple and flexible cross-cloud portability of workloads and applications within organizations. According to the survey, this was triggered in particular by changing requirements in connection with security.

• AI support and workload portability are the main motivations for healthcare organizations' investments in IT infrastructures - and budgets for the coming year reflect these priorities. Respondents from the healthcare industry identified AI and the flexible migration of workloads between private and public cloud infrastructures as the most important factors in their purchasing decisions, with 17% each, followed by the potential performance of infrastructures (14%) and their suitability in terms of data sovereignty and protection (14%).

• There are numerous potential applications for AI in the healthcare sector; respondents see this as both a priority and a challenge. According to the survey participants, AI support is the top criterion when purchasing IT infrastructures in healthcare organizations. According to the survey, the implementation of AI strategies ranks second on the list of priorities for CIOs, CTOs and senior managers in the industry at 17%. 84% of healthcare organizations say they plan to increase investment in AI strategies in the coming year. At the same time, 82 percent see AI operations as a challenge.

• The most frequently cited challenges for IT departments in the healthcare sector are related to the operation of different environments and the topics of security and sustainability. When asked about their biggest challenge in data management, 20 percent of respondents from the healthcare sector cited compliance with data storage and usage requirements and the connection of data across different environments. Data security challenges such as the fight against ransomware and compliance with data protection regulations followed in second place with 17 percent each.

Source: www.nutanix.com

The study is a continuation of a series of surveys from 2022 and was conducted again in the first quarter of this year by the market research institute Ipsos on behalf of Sophos.

All confirm the high relevance of cyber protection for business relationships

When asked how they rate the influence of an efficient cyber security infrastructure on their business relationships with customers and business partners on a scale of one (very important) to six (very unimportant), the vast majority of respondents in all three countries agree: 55% of managers in Germany consider cyber protection to be very important for business relationships, 46% in Austria and as many as 60% in Switzerland emphasize the relevance of implemented cyber security measures. This aspect was rated as important by 28% of German, 34% of Austrian and 32% of Swiss managers. None of the respondents believe that cyber protection is completely unimportant.

Significance high, actual influence low?

The very next question reveals a discrepancy in the bosses' assessment. While, as shown at the beginning, a very clear majority rated the influence of efficient cyber protection on business relationships as at least important, the reality check paints a seemingly different picture. When asked whether cyber protection had actually had an impact on cooperation with customers, just under 35% of German, 34% of Austrian and 40% of Swiss survey participants confirmed positively that they would indeed have lost customers without effective cyber protection. In contrast, the majority of respondents - just under 55% in Germany, 58% in Austria and 48% in Switzerland - said that their own company's cyber measures had not been an issue in their relationships with customers or in the acquisition of new customers. Only in Switzerland does this aspect prove to be more or less balanced. 

Only very few companies report actual negative effects. One percent of management companies in Germany state that they have lost customers due to a lack of cyber protection. Two percent of companies in Switzerland and one percent of German companies have also lost new business for the same reason.

No competitive advantage, no communication

There is an even clearer discrepancy in the active communication of the cyber security infrastructure to customers and business partners than in the impact on business relationships. Only a good 29% of German and 24% of Austrian companies actively communicate their cyber protection to customers and business partners. In Switzerland, this figure is significantly higher at 40 percent.

By contrast, almost 66 percent of German, 68 percent of Austrian and 50 percent of Swiss companies do not include this aspect in their communication, arguing that the company's IT security infrastructure does not give them a competitive advantage with customers or business partners.

See and use competitive advantages: Doing the safe thing and talking about it

"First of all, it is a pleasing result that the management levels in companies attach such great importance to cyber security for their business relationships," says Michael Veit, security expert at Sophos. "At the same time, I am convinced that many companies that have an effective, modern cyber security infrastructure in place and do not communicate about it are missing out on opportunities. Those who use networked and intelligent protection technologies, for example, or also use external expertise as part of a cybersecurity as a service model (CSaaS), have implemented key elements of a modern, proactive security strategy. This can be a competitive advantage in view of the intensifying threat situation. In other words: those who are well positioned in terms of cyber security create trust for themselves and all partners. That's something we should talk about."

Source: www.sophos.com

The solution is based on Cisco's Ethernet switching, silicon and compute portfolio for AI infrastructures. Hypershield was built from the ground up with AI in mind, enabling organizations to improve security far beyond what is possible with humans alone. With this industry-first solution of its kind, Cisco is reshaping the way we utilize and protect AI and other modern workloads. For the first time, this innovation gives defenders a structural advantage over cyber attackers.

The Cisco Hypershield security architecture is based on technologies that were originally developed for hyperscale public clouds. They are now available for companies of all sizes. The solution makes it possible to ensure security wherever it is needed: for every application service in the data center, every Kubernetes cluster in the public cloud, every container and every virtual machine. It can even turn any network connection into a high-performance security enforcement point. This offers completely new security functions not only for clouds, but also for data centers, offices, factory floors or hospitals. The new technology blocks application exploits in minutes and stops lateral movement by attackers.

"Cisco Hypershield is one of the most significant security innovations in our company's history," said Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco. "With our lead in data and our strengths in security, infrastructure and observability platforms, Cisco is ideally positioned to help our customers harness the power of AI."

 "Cisco Hypershield can provide security wherever it is needed - whether software, servers or, in the future, even in a network switch," says Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Security and Collaboration at Cisco. "Simple management is important for distributed systems with hundreds of thousands of points. That's why we need to be orders of magnitude more autonomous, at orders of magnitude lower cost."

The advantages of Hypershield

As a new type of security architecture, Hypershield solves three key challenges in the defense against today's advanced threats:

• Distributed protection against exploits: Attackers are exploiting new vulnerabilities faster than patches are available. According to Cisco Talos Threat Intelligence, almost 100 new vulnerabilities are discovered every day. Hypershield provides protection in minutes by automatically running tests and deploying compensating controls in the distributed structure of enforcement points.
• Autonomous segmentation: As soon as an attacker enters the network, segmentation must stop its lateral movement. Hypershield constantly monitors, reviews and evaluates existing policies to autonomously segment the network.
• Self-qualifying upgrades: Hypershield automates the laborious process of testing and distributing upgrades by using a dual data layer. This entirely new software architecture enables software upgrades and policy changes to be placed in a digital twin. This tests updates with the customer's combination of traffic, policies and features and then applies these updates without downtime.

Cisco Hypershield is part of the Security Cloud, Cisco's unified, AI-driven, cross-domain security platform. The solution is expected to be generally available in August 2024. With Cisco's recent acquisition of Splunk, customers will gain unprecedented visibility into their entire digital footprint for significantly enhanced protection.

"AI technology allows hackers to resolve patches and create exploits - in record time. Cisco tackles an AI-powered problem with an AI solution. Cisco Hypershield aims to tip the scales back in favor of the defenders. The solution shields new vulnerabilities from exploitation in minutes - instead of days, weeks or even months," explains Frank Dickson, Group Vice President, Security & Trust at IDC. "The number of vulnerabilities is constantly increasing and the time it takes for attackers to exploit them on a large scale is getting shorter and shorter. It is therefore clear that patches alone are not enough to keep pace. Tools like Cisco Hypershield are necessary to fend off increasingly clever cyber attackers."

The functionality of Hypershield

Protection with Hypershield takes place on three levels: in the software, in virtual machines and in the network and computing servers and appliances. The same powerful hardware accelerators are used as in high-performance computing and hyperscale public clouds.

Hypershield is based on three important pillars:

• AI-native: Hypershield was developed from the outset as an autonomous and predictive solution and manages itself as soon as it is released. This enables a highly scaled and hyper-distributed approach.
• Cloud-native: Hypershield is based on open source eBPF, the standard mechanism for networking and securing cloud-native workloads in the hyperscale cloud. A few days ago, Cisco acquired Isovalent, the leading provider of eBPF for companies.
• Hyperdistributed: Cisco is transforming network security by embedding advanced security controls into servers and the network fabric itself. Hypershield spans all clouds and uses hardware acceleration such as Data Processing Units (DPU) to analyze and respond to anomalies in application and network behavior. The solution shifts security closer to the workloads that need to be protected.

Together with NVIDIA, Cisco is committed to developing and optimizing AI-native security solutions to protect and scale the data centers of tomorrow. The collaboration between the two companies includes leveraging the NVIDIA Morpheus cybersecurity AI framework to accelerate network anomaly detection and NVIDIA NIM microservices to deliver custom AI security wizards for the enterprise. NVIDIA's converged accelerators combine the power of GPU and DPU (Graphics Processing Unit/Data Processing Unit) computing to support Cisco Hypershield with robust security from the cloud to the edge.

"Organizations across all industries are looking for security that protects them from ever-increasing cyber threats," said Kevin Deierling, Senior Vice President of Networking at NVIDIA. "Together, Cisco and NVIDIA are harnessing the power of AI to deliver a high-performance, secure data center infrastructure that enables organizations to transform their business and benefit customers everywhere."

Source: www.cisco.com

The figures are alarming: according to the Global Data Protection Index 2024 from Dell Technologies, 75 percent of companies surveyed worldwide fear that their data protection measures are not sufficient to ward off threats from malware and ransomware. Almost as many (74 percent) are concerned that their backup data could be infected or corrupted in the event of an attack. The threat level is high, so companies have no choice but to strengthen their defenses and improve their cyber resilience. What is needed is a combination of preventative and reactive measures, which includes the following three basic steps:  

• Reduce the attack surface. To protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, companies need to tighten controls. The best solution is to implement a zero-trust architecture. This concept assumes that no user, device or network is trustworthy - not even within the company's IT. Instead, all access to data, applications, systems or network areas is strictly controlled. Only those who have the appropriate authorization and can authenticate themselves are granted access to the infrastructure. This considerably restricts the scope of action of cyber criminals, as they can no longer move freely within the IT infrastructure. The central components of a zero trust architecture are micro-segmentation of the network, identity and access management (IAM) and multi-factor authentication. In addition, companies should not forget basic tasks such as regular backups, continuous software updates and training to raise employee awareness.

• Recognize and contain the current attack. In the event of a cyber attack, a precise roadmap helps to minimize the risk as quickly as possible. Detection and response solutions detect intruders at an early stage and provide helpful information for defense. They collect extensive status and activity data from the entire IT infrastructure and evaluate it. This allows correlations and anomalies to be identified long before the attackers finally strike. However, such solutions require extensive knowledge and a great deal of experience, and very few companies have the relevant experts in-house. It can therefore make sense to obtain detection and response as a managed service from an external partner. Such a fully managed end-to-end solution monitors a company's entire IT environment around the clock and thus ensures a rapid response.

• Restore business operations. If an emergency does occur, companies must be able to restore the affected systems and data quickly and analyze the incident retrospectively to identify opportunities for improvement. A modern data backup solution goes beyond traditional backups and replications, as cyber attackers have long since set their sights on this type of data backup. Storage systems with a so-called retention lock offer protection, preventing tampering with the data so that backups can be stored securely. In addition, copies of particularly important data can be stored in a cyber recovery vault. This data vault is completely sealed off from the rest of the network so that unauthorized persons have no access. In the event of an emergency, all important business data and systems are available for rapid recovery. At the same time, companies need well thought-out and tested emergency plans so that everyone knows what to do and who makes the decisions in the event of a security incident. This prevents valuable time being lost through lengthy coordination processes.

"Indeed, the threat landscape is extremely complex. But it is still possible for companies to get a handle on cyber security and effectively protect themselves from attackers. Implementing essential prevention, response and recovery measures is a crucial step in strengthening your cyber resilience," says Frank Thonüs Managing Director at Dell Technologies Switzerland. "In view of the continuous refinement of attack methods by criminals, it is necessary to regularly review and improve strategies and measures."

Source: www.delltechnologies.com