Deloitte Private's Best Managed Companies Award, conducted in 46 countries, compares companies in a comprehensive assessment with Deloitte's globally recognized benchmark. This has been continuously developed over the 30 years since the program was launched. Participating companies receive an independent and substantive assessment of their governance practices and overall performance; this assessment shows them where their operations currently stand in four key corporate areas compared to a global community of over 1,300 exemplary managed companies.

Multi-stage evaluation procedure

The award is preceded by an intensive, multi-stage coaching and assessment process that all participating companies must undergo. The focus is on assessing performance in the four core areas of strategy, productivity & innovation, culture & commitment, and governance & finance. Companies that perform above average in all four categories have a chance of winning the award.

"From a business perspective, the past twelve months since the last award have not been an easy time: soaring inflation, disrupted supply chains, high energy prices and the shortage of skilled labor present a complex set of business risks. What sets this year's winners apart is their agility and resilience - the ability and willingness to persevere in difficult times, position themselves in a volatile market and respond effectively to change," said Andreas Bodenmann, program officer and head of Deloitte Private. "The six winners are at the forefront of their industries. They have demonstrated creativity and innovation in impressive ways. And they have managed to maintain their core values while moving into the future with a clear focus on growth."

Exemplary corporate governance: the Best Managed Companies 2023

Six privately or family-owned companies were honored as "Best Managed Companies":

• ATP adhesive systems AG specializes in the development and manufacture of adhesive tape solutions. With modern production processes and an internationally established distribution network, ATP has been supplying a large number of industrial customers worldwide, for example in the automotive, electrical and healthcare industries, for over 35 years.
• The ECSA Group, now in its fourth generation of international management, was founded in 1913 and today operates in four main sectors: ECSA Chemicals AG in the international trade of raw materials and chemicals, ECSA Energy SA in the distribution of petroleum products and the operation of service stations, ECSA Maintenance AG in the distribution of specialized industrial supplies, and Suncolor SA in the distribution of paints, varnishes and insulating materials.
• The family-owned chocolate manufacturer Läderach (Switzerland) AG was founded in the 1960s and today operates in 16 countries, including South Korea, the USA and the UK. Many products are still made by hand, underscoring the chocolatier's tradition and making the company a master of its craft. The result is Swiss chocolate made from the finest raw materials.
• Teoxane Laboratories SA specializes in the development of hyaluronic acid solutions and, with over 20 years of experience, is now a pioneer in the science of facial beauty. The company combines innovation, quality and consumer safety to develop high-performance hyaluronic acid dermal fillers and dermocosmetics based on rigorous scientific research.
• Variosystems AG is an electronics service provider offering uniform and complete end-to-end solutions worldwide. From product design to finished electronic assemblies, devices or systems, products are offered with long-term support, including logistics and end-of-life services.
• The Vista Group is one of the leading private centers of excellence for ophthalmology in Switzerland. Founded more than 30 years ago, Vista offers treatments and procedures around the eye at its 31 locations, providing lifelong care. With its own research department and its comprehensive education and training program, Vista has been a recognized training clinic for more than ten years.

The competition does not end after one year: All companies can regularly undergo the same audit, take part in workshops and qualify again. This year, six companies that had previously won the Best Managed Companies Award succeeded in doing so. This illustrious circle includes, for example, the Capri Sun Group, MindMaze, the Wipf Group, Groupe Acrotec SA, the Suhner Group and Precipart.

Commitment to Switzerland as a business location

"The Best Managed Companies Award is an incentive for all companies to shape their future with foresight, a sense of innovation and a good management culture. As drivers of innovation, privately managed companies are important for a diverse and strong Swiss location," emphasizes Andreas Bodenmann. "As an audit and advisory firm, Deloitte Private supports such companies in their challenges in the areas of growth, compliance, reporting and auditing, and tailors the versatile services from the entire Deloitte universe to their specific needs so that these companies can hold their own and successfully position themselves for the future."

On this year's jury, Nadja Lang, CEO of the ZFV-Unternehmungen cooperative, Jens Breu, CEO of SFS Group, Gilles Stuck, Head of Market Switzerland at Julius Baer, Tanja Vainio, Country President of Schneider Electric Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Straub, Associate Professor at the University of Geneva for Strategic Management and Corporate Strategy, evaluated the participating companies.

Source: Deloitte

The company Digital Realty operates several data centers worldwide and regularly conducts studies on cloud trends. The third edition has just been published. Arne Benox, Sales & Business Development Manager at Digital Realty Switzerland, talks below about what he has learned from the study about the strategies of Swiss companies, what the next steps in their journey to the clouds might look like - and what he advises companies that may not yet be as far along as their competitors.

Have Swiss companies reached the goal of their multi-cloud plans?

Not for a long time yet. The concept of multi-cloud runs through all the needs and strategies of companies. Over the last few years, we have observed a high level of dynamism. To the degree that the technology of a dedicated cloud is becoming more accessible, the strategies are also changing. The interaction between the clouds is also improving. I see this as a development in line with needs, and I am sure that this will continue. I expect that in the next few years there will be a big trend towards connecting the clouds with each other even more. This stems from facts such as the fact that the number of companies relying on up to ten cloud providers for SaaS has increased significantly over the years: from 15.8 percent in 2018 to 45.3 percent in 2020 and then to 52.7 percent in 2023. 

As the needs of businesses change, the topic will continue to evolve. In the end, just as the study predicts, there will not be a single cloud or an exclusively private cloud. Enterprises will combine different clouds to do their different jobs.

The study relates exclusively to Swiss companies. Digital Realty is a global provider. Do the results in Switzerland match the experience in other countries? If not, what makes Switzerland different? 

There are generally differences in development over time. Some countries, such as Switzerland, are faster than others in global terms, including Germany and Austria, ahead of which Switzerland has a lead of one to two years. This also depends on the level of digitization in the individual countries. How good is the available connectivity? What bandwidths are available via which technologies? The keys to all cloud technologies are available connectivity and security. In countries where conditions are similar to Switzerland, we see similar trends. In regions where this is not the case, where other data protection laws play a role, or where bandwidth is not available, we observe that they are catching up and may even develop a bit faster in the process, as they can skip some steps we had to take.

What do you think are the reasons that on-premises cloud service providers perform so well compared to hyperscalers?
 
I would phrase the question differently, because local providers, integrators or software developers, serve completely different needs, they can respond much better to individual requirements. They can offer tailored solutions or penetrate niche markets that are not interesting for hyperscalers because of lower scalability. Many local providers are developing their own cloud services and we see this being accepted by customers. For example, there are many private banks in Switzerland that differentiate themselves differently to their customers than global banks. This results in special requirements that are very well covered by small providers that are native to the same market as their customers.

Against this background, what about the prospect of future growth of companies, perhaps also across national borders? 

Many companies grow under their own steam up to a certain point, and then continue to grow through mergers and acquisitions. At that point, very different cloud strategies, application landscapes and data sources usually come together. This is where our ServiceFabric solution comes into play. It allows companies to quickly connect disparate data, applications and cloud services across multiple locations, including colocation data centers and even data centers from providers other than Digital Realty, currently over 700. This scenario is typical of the future of the cloud. It's not just about making certain services like Microsoft 365 available for office communications, but the various cloud applications that our Study in detail, to network with each other, to bring together information in order to make smart decisions based on the data.

What conclusion would you like to draw from the study for IT managers in Swiss companies? 

Multi-cloud is a reality and the barriers to entering a colocation data center with solutions for public clouds, private clouds and multi-clouds are getting lower. It no longer takes much courage to get involved, as factors such as data protection laws are being implemented with increasing sophistication. This ensures that data is well protected within the data center. What's more, you don't have to worry about connectivity in our data centers, and we also cover issues such as environmental aspects and certification. In times when it is becoming more and more difficult for companies to meet the increasing requirements for the operation of their IT on their own, the step to an external data center makes economic sense - and as our study shows, an increasing number of Swiss companies are taking this step. 

Source and further information: Interxion

When it comes to continuing education on topics such as information security, data protection and IT security, there's probably no getting around Swiss Infosec AG. The company, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Sursee, is one of Switzerland's leading independent consulting and training companies in these areas. In its "Meet Swiss Infosec!" series of events, the company regularly brings up current topics. For example, the motto of the 43rd edition on June 26, 2023, was "Sovereignly Secure" and summed up the desired approach to security: it should be mastered, prudent and deliberate. However, mastering security is constantly being made more difficult or challenged by new requirements and framework conditions, as host Reto Zbinden, CEO of Swiss Infosec AG, knows. Using the new Data Protection Act (nDSG) as an example, he shows which steps are absolutely necessary for successful implementation of the law.

New data protection law, old pending issues

This implementation is currently a major concern for the data protection team at Swiss Infosec AG. "It is striking that basic documents such as data protection concepts and instructions are often missing or outdated," says Reto Zbinden. However, the development and regular review of these documents is essential for responsible data protection in accordance with the law. At the same time, he recommends focusing on the issue of personnel data protection. Online recruiting, for example, and digitalization in the HR sector in general are major challenges in this area.

Ransomware and recovery

The increasingly frequent ransomware attacks are leaving their mark. Not surprisingly, the topic of recovery (restoring data after an attack) was prominently mentioned by several speakers. For Marco Fernandez (Veeam), a secure backup is the last line of defense in a multi-layered security defense against cyberattacks. To even think about recovery, organizations must first know what (sensitive) data they have stored where and who has access to it. This basic requirement was expressed unequivocally in the presentations by Nicolas Groh (Rubrik) and Christoph Linden (Cohesity). Georg Bommer (Data Governance Technologies Ltd) underlined the importance of intelligent data classification in his presentation.

Trends and developments in IT security

Organizations are constantly faced with new challenges when it comes to protecting themselves. Whether home office, infrastructure services in the cloud, cloud apps (M365), exposed services or IoT: Currently, it is decentralized IT assets in particular that are no longer able to cope with conventional network security approaches, for which IT security is looking for and finding solutions. Niklaus Manser (Swiss Infosec AG) used the example of perimeter security to explain the path to Secure Service Edge (SSE) and addressed the very important topic of "Identity & Access Management".

Take a deep breath: Deepfakes on the rise 

Great cinema for the topic of deepfakes and great performance for the mediamatician Kai Yu (Swiss Infosec AG). In his video, which he created as part of his training as a mediamatrician as an individual project work, he showed interesting background information on deepfakes and how phishing via deepfakes works in real life. Deepfakes are digital fakes of faces, bodies, scenes, etc., created with artificial intelligence (AI). They are now so realistic that they can hardly be distinguished from the real person. Attackers are therefore increasingly using this method to obtain confidential information or provoke desired actions. For Kai Yu, it is clear "that deepfakes can be an elementary component for cyberattacks in the social engineering sector." This makes it all the more important to sensitize employees to this new form of phishing as well. Swiss Infosec AG is the first company in Switzerland to offer such phishing simulations via deepfakes.

An un-Aristotelian keynote at the end

"How is technology balanced with ethics and sustainability?" With this question, Prof. Dr. Edy Portmann started his keynote address entitled "unaristotelian". For him, there is no doubt that the two-valued, measurement-based Boolean Logic, which only knows right or wrong, 1 or 0, is not the answer to this question. Rather, for this and other challenges (keyword AI), a perception-based model such as fuzzy logic (fuzzy = blurred) is needed. Because as one of the proponents of this model, Lotfi Zadeh, said, "As complexity increases, precise statements lose meaning and meaningful statements lose precision." Needless to say, "perception" was then also at the center of Edy Portmann's highly exciting remarks under the title "Where psychology meets linguistics and engineering".

The next Meet Swiss Infosec! will take place on January 24, 2024. Further information: www.infosec.ch

For the Swiss offering in the field of clinical information systems and clinical data warehousing, IT-Logix and CISTEC are joining forces. "IT-Logix has been able to establish itself with well-known hospitals with its CDMH, the Common Data Model for Healthcare. The solution for a clinical data warehouse allows CISTEC to offer our customers comprehensive analysis options for all data generated in the hospital, beyond reporting for individual use cases," says Markus Käppeli, Head of Development and member of the CISTEC Executive Board. In return, the partnership with CISTEC opens up valuable sales opportunities for IT-Logix in the hospital environment: "KISIM from CISTEC is the leading Swiss hospital information system with the largest installed base," says Samuel Rentsch, Co-CEO and CCO of IT-Logix. "From our partnership with CISTEC, we expect a faster and more cost-effective implementation of CDMH in Swiss hospitals, offering a field-proven, lean Swiss solution."

Clinical Information Systems in combination with Clinical Data Warehouse

CISTEC's hospital information system KISIM supports healthcare professionals in planning and executing their operational processes. Central data storage prevents redundancies and ensures that all information is available at any time and from any location. Thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of KISIM, internal hospital communication is institutionalized and duplications are avoided. In many hospitals, it is difficult to guarantee a 360-degree patient view due to the numerous applications in use (ERP, HIS, diagnostics, etc.) and the corresponding data silos. A data platform based on the CDMH (www.cdmh.ch) from IT-Logix helps to break down these silos and provide a comprehensive overview of patient information. This enables medical and business decisions to be made on the basis of networked, complete and up-to-date information. A data platform can also improve communication between different systems and applications by supporting and promoting semantic interoperability. Thus, a wide variety of use cases, such as hospital control, hospital hygiene, data-driven medical coding, and data delivery for research, are served. IT-Logix's CDMH enables KISIM customers to leverage all the capabilities of a clinical data warehouse beyond the standard clinical information system functionalities. 

Source and further information: www.it-logix.ch

The National Test Institute for Cybersecurity NTC tests what is otherwise not tested. It examines digital products and infrastructures for vulnerabilities that are not or not sufficiently tested - even on its own initiative. The problem: The performance of vulnerability analyses - insofar as they involve the (attempted or actual) penetration of another party's data processing system (penetration tests) - is in potential conflict with the hacker offense under Art. 143bis para. 1 SCC. Accordingly, it is punishable "whoever by means of data transmission equipment unauthorizedly penetrates a third-party data processing system that is specially secured against his access". In short, without an explicit order and without consent, the detection of security vulnerabilities is punishable under Swiss law as soon as the access security of a third-party system is overcome or an attempt is made to do so. In addition, the Criminal Code makes the manipulation and alteration of data a punishable offense.

Justifiable emergency

If criminal norms are violated in the course of vulnerability analyses, justifiable necessity according to Art. 17 StGB can be invoked under certain circumstances. The intrusion into a system is only justified if there are concrete indications that a system is affected by potential security vulnerabilities. In addition, the discovery, documentation and information about these security vulnerabilities must serve the purpose of averting malicious access. From a subjective point of view, it is a prerequisite that the person authorized to act in an emergency must be aware of the emergency situation and act to save the threatened legal asset.

Publication of vulnerability assessment results

Before a detailed publication, the identified and documented security vulnerabilities should be completely eliminated. If this is not the case, the level of detail of a publication should be reduced to the necessary information. This will give system users adequate warning and the opportunity to protect themselves.

With the publication of the legal opinion, the NTC is making a contribution to the current National Cyber Strategy of the Swiss Confederation, which aims to institutionalize ethical hacking. The testing and verification laboratory in the canton of Zug works closely with research institutions, private cybersecurity companies and international experts. The NTC has been in existence since December 2020. 

Source and further information: www.ntc.swiss

The online customer survey conducted in April 2023 by the Swiss Institute for Quality Testing (SIQT) confirms the top performance of Internet service provider Quickline: In the Swiss Industry Monitor 2023, the company takes 1st place among Internet providers in the "Customer Service" category for the third time in a row and is in the top 3 for "Value for Money" and "Customer Satisfaction". "The awards for the high quality of our customer service and for high customer satisfaction confirm our daily commitment to customers. We provide them with regional, personal and competent advice. I am happy to pass on this praise to our frontline staff," comments Frédéric Goetschmann, CEO of Quickline, on the results. "We are pleased that Quickline Internet, which has won several awards, is also among the top 3 in Switzerland in terms of price/performance ratio."

The Swiss Institute for Quality Testing 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. 

Sources: Quickline / www.qualitaetstest.ch/awards/schweizer-branchenmonitor-2023

The Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS), which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, held a dialogue event with over 25 CEOs and other top managers from the Swiss economy on Tuesday, June 20 at The Dolder Grand in Zurich. At the event, two theses from the book "Wheels of Normality. How norms and standards create trust". SQS recently published the non-fiction book with the NZZ Libro publishing house. The two theses are: Norms and standards are (partly) decisive for prosperity in Switzerland; and it is precisely an open SME economy like Switzerland's that benefits from such private rules.

S-GE notes protectionist tendencies of norms and standards

In his introduction, SQS CEO Felix Müller showed how and why norms and standards make it easier for organizations to reliably meet high expectations - and thus contribute to our confidence in a normality characterized by quality, safety and comfort; a normality that is neither self-evident nor given and thus anything but "normal".

In her keynote speech, Dr. Simone Wyss Fedele, CEO of Switzerland Global Enterprise, emphasized the importance of norms and standards for the global networking of the Swiss economy. Local exporters benefit from clear and generally recognized rules. It is also important that companies can demonstrate that they comply with these rules by means of credible certificates such as those issued by SQS. However, Wyss Fedele also expressed her concern that important trading partners of Switzerland were increasingly using norms and standards for protectionist purposes.

"We would have neither the resources nor the know-how for such instruments"

In the following discussion, the companies had their say. Felix Müller was joined on the panel by Jürg Rogenmoser, part owner, member of the board of directors and operational managing director of Aeschbach Chocolatier AG; Dr. Peter Roth, standards representative of the Hilti Group and member of the board of the Swiss Standards Association (SNV); Christian Späth, head of the Civil Engineering Division and quality delegate on the executive board of Implenia AG; and Dr. Matthias Wandfluh, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Wandfluh AG.

Two findings of the discussion were: Norms and standards are indeed important tools for companies to reduce complexity, avoid errors and guarantee quality. "It is precisely an SME like ours that benefits from this," said Matthias Wandfluh. "We would have neither the resources nor the know-how to develop such instruments ourselves." However, private standards in particular, which large companies impose on their suppliers, are becoming increasingly difficult for SMEs to meet in terms of number and scope. "More and more large customers are imposing their own requirements. Just filling out the corresponding questionnaires is almost impossible for us," said an entrepreneur from eastern Switzerland.

Participation is possible and urgent - especially for sustainability rules

This was a steep learning curve for Peter Roth, who is involved in the development of standards on behalf of the Hilti Group and the Swiss Standards Association (SNV). Unlike private standards, recognized standards, for example those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), are developed in a transparent, participatory and democratic process. As a result, they are more likely to serve the interests of the general public, not individuals. Roth urged those in attendance to take advantage of the opportunity to participate. "Of course, it's easier for a large corporation to provide the necessary resources. But ultimately it boils down to this: standardize, or you will be standardized!"

The concluding discussion with lawyer Dr. Elisabeth Bürgi Bonanomi, who heads the Sustainability Governance unit at the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bern, made it clear that it is more urgent than ever for business to play an active and constructive role in the development of new norms and standards. The state in Switzerland and abroad - especially in the European Union - has long since begun to enact numerous new rules in the name of a more sustainable economy.

Source and further information: SQS

Swiss Engineers United AG SEU was developed as a platform for Switzerland by engineers for engineers. It responds to the ongoing shortage of skilled workers and other current challenges in the engineering industry with a special business model: SEU grows through the targeted acquisition and smooth integration of healthy SMEs, with the owners of the partner companies and all existing SEU shareholders participating in the holding company. It is an ecosystem that brings together vital and innovative engineering companies by combining know-how, latest technologies and innovative ideas under one roof.

Overcoming challenges together

"Our goal is to help shape the future of the industry, to tackle challenges together and to combine the spirit of innovation, expertise and dynamic entrepreneurship," says SEU co-owner and Chairman of the Board Franco Quinter, summarizing the credo of the newly founded holding company.  

With its multi-brand strategy, SEU, headquartered in Pfäffikon SZ, focuses on the uniqueness of its partner companies. Co-owner and board member Christian Vetsch says: "For SMEs, cooperation at eye level is much more valuable than energy-sapping competition. With our model, we enable far-reaching synergy effects and strengthen the individual partner companies individually and specifically." In addition, the SEU Group also enables successful succession solutions by separating the takeover of the company management from the financing of the purchase price.

Create synergies

In an increasingly digitalized world, SEU strives to create important synergies and optimize resources through innovations and its own international production sites.

At the same time, the Group values strong customer loyalty and is aware that it owes its success to its committed employees. Therefore, SEU promotes participation and further training, offers clear and transparent communication, and focuses on individual meaningfulness and appreciation of performance.

Soft integration strategy

For SEU, it is clear that each company is unique and has its own spirit. That is why the Group attaches great importance to a gentle integration strategy. Only necessary adjustments are made; the individual brand image, the external market presence and the unique spirit of the respective corporate culture are retained.

"We want to bring together the best in the industry and work with our partners and co-companies to proactively shape the future on an equal footing," says Chairman of the Board Franco Quinter of SEU.

Source and further information: SEU

The 154th SVTI Association Meeting took members, patrons and guests to Neuchâtel in western Switzerland. The statutory part was kept short as usual, so that the social program offered participants more time and opportunity for information and networking.

New member of the Board of Directors and adaptation of the Articles of Association

After 12 years on the SVTI Board, Daniel Rebsamen, who is also Vice President, has stepped down for reasons of age. René Kian Sarrafian, graduate mechanical engineer and head of the nuclear fuel department at the Gösgen-Däniken AG nuclear power plant, was unanimously elected as his direct successor.

In the recent past, the SVTI has repeatedly succeeded in participating in federal research projects. This has necessitated a corresponding selective extension of the purpose statement in the statutes, which refers to the implementation of research activities and the development of innovative technologies and products, particularly in the fields of technical safety supervision and the manufacture and operation of technical installations of all kinds.

Review, Outlook, Projects

The geopolitical situation, disrupted supply chains, skyrocketing energy prices or the shortage of skilled workers are just some of the challenges that had to be overcome in 2022. Nevertheless, the operating business was able to close with a very solid result. The consolidated financial statements - also called group financial statements - include the association as well as the subsidiaries and represent the overall business of the SVTI Group. The total turnover of the SVTI Group amounts to CHF 47.5 million. This sum is slightly below the previous year's value, but in line with expectations. Various business areas have developed positively and the entire organization has proven to be robust and well positioned. The international NDT conference under the auspices of the Nuclear Inspectorate in Switzerland took place in the year under review as a highlight with charisma for the future. The event was a great success with international appeal. It was also announced with pleasure that the SVTI Group received the prestigious "Swiss Employer Award" in the category "100 - 249 employees" on the basis of an employee survey. The "Swiss Employer Award" is the leading prize for determining the attractiveness of an employer and, as an award, gives employees a boost of confidence when looking for future employees.

Under the Innovation Fund, various technology-oriented projects for the further development of services and testing methods were initialized and advanced. These include, for example, the use of drones for measurements on components, robot- or crawler-assisted inspections, and research into the safe handling of hydrogen technology.

Keynote address "The Armed Forces, Switzerland's cadre".

The keynote speaker at the association's meeting was Colonel i Gst Mathias Müller on the topic of "The Army, Switzerland's cadre forge". Mathias Müller, who in an earlier NZZ article was also referred to as the chief recruiter of the Swiss Armed Forces, is today active in the function of project manager for top events of the Swiss Armed Forces, and is also the author of several books. With his presentation, he gave the participants an understanding of practical leadership issues and the military leadership philosophy of today. He also explained that leadership, with its many facets, plays a fundamental role in both the military and civilian sectors.

Source: SVTI

The shift to location-independent working, software-defined networks and rapid adoption of cloud connectivity is enabling global enterprises to achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency. However, as they transform their distributed network infrastructure to meet the demands of hybrid working and cloud computing, the attack surface also increases and they become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Now, the two vendors are looking to address this challenge by offering the Prisma^® SASE (Prisma Access + Prisma SD-WAN) from Palo Alto Networks with the connectivity and digital integration capabilities of Orange Business and the managed secure access service from Orange Cyberdefense. This is because the vendor-managed SASE solution provides a secure foundation for agile, cloud-based organizations, according to the statement.

Complete AI-supported SASE solution

Building on existing modern connectivity solutions, Orange Business orchestrates networks, cloud and cybersecurity components to connect customers' business strategy and infrastructure strategy. In doing so, the Evolution Platform is the foundation for a secure, flexible and virtualized ecosystem. Orange Cyberdefense's self-described unique threat intelligence backbone, complemented by state-of-the-art functionality and expertise including detection and response, aims to help organizations achieve better security outcomes. The fully AI-powered SASE solution combines network security, SD-WAN and autonomous digital user experience management (ADEM) into a single cloud service. This increases security and reduces complexity.

Network and security architecture rethought

One company that has already chosen this solution is Imerys, a leading global minerals mining company. Imerys wanted to accelerate its cloud transformation and use agile infrastructure to transform its IT infrastructure to support business growth. At the same time, it wanted to ensure the highest level of global security through the managed SASE solution from Orange and Palo Alto Networks. The company also wanted to save costs by reducing the number of its suppliers and facilitating its M&A activities. Imerys now relies on Orange's SASE solution, based on Orange Business and Orange Cyberdefense functionalities, to create a secure, global, cloud-enabled network and smoothly migrate its current infrastructure. For maximum protection, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE now provides a zero-trust approach, regardless of whether an end user is inside or outside the corporate network.

More and more companies are turning to cloud solutions - also for cyber security

"Enterprises are adopting new cloud-based technologies to increase productivity, improve efficiency and offer new services. However, this is also increasing their digital attack surface," sums up Helmut Reisinger, CEO EMEA and LATAM, Palo Alto Networks. "The challenge to improve cyber resilience has never been greater. By combining our SASE solution with Orange's services and management capabilities, we are able to provide our customers with industry-leading network and security solutions in a single platform. It is easy to deploy, scale and manage, and delivers best-in-class performance." And Aliette Mousnier-Lompre, CEO of Orange Business, adds, "As more enterprises move their operations to the cloud and adopt a digital-first approach, our customers need to adopt zero-trust security. They are asking for a solution that brings networking and security together in a flexible, simple and cost-effective way. Together with Palo Alto Networks and Orange Cyberdefense, we offer a fully converged and managed SASE offering that delivers for our global customers."

Source: www.orange-business.com

Severe storms, pandemics, armed conflicts, terrorist threats, cyber attacks: crisis situations are occurring with increasing frequency and are increasingly determining the reality of life. Companies therefore need organizational resilience, i.e. the ability to anticipate crisis events, minimize their impact on business operations and ensure the safety of their employees. 

The company Everbridge shows how to become more resilient as a company in six steps. It aims to increase the resilience of companies and authorities in crisis situations.

1. Investing in the well-being of employees. Companies are only as resilient as their employees. Investing in training, mentoring, and resources that promote workforce well-being and mental health is therefore a top priority. Happy and healthy employees are better able to deal with crises and are more engaged in managing them.
2. Develop a resilient corporate culture. A resilient workforce also requires the right culture. Companies should recognize the successes of their employees, encourage them to learn from mistakes, and promote their cooperation. Then employees develop a strong sense of community, stick together in crises and pull together.
3. Maintain a leadership style of integrity. Managers in the company must set a good example. If they provide clear guidance, set realistic expectations and are approachable at all times, they create a sense of trust and stability among employees that will pay off in crisis situations.
4. Promote agile thinking and working. Solving problems quickly, adopting new approaches at short notice if necessary, and adapting to new challenges: These are the hallmarks of a resilient organization. Companies can develop these capabilities by promoting agile mindsets and agile working methods.
5. Proactively manage risk. Resilience requires a proactive approach. Resilient companies continuously assess potential risks, develop contingency plans and test them regularly. This then enables them, should the worst happen, to minimize disruption to business operations and recover quickly from setbacks.
6. Use integrated and intuitive technology. Technology plays a key role in building a resilient organization. Organizations need business continuity, disaster recovery and risk management tools that work seamlessly together and are intuitive enough to be used by anyone in a crisis.

"Investing in your resilience is no longer optional for companies. Building a resilient organization is now a top priority," said Stefica Divkovic, senior vice president at Everbridge. "With the above six steps, we aim to provide companies with a guide to assess their resilience and make necessary improvements if needed." The U.S.-based company, which has offices across Europe, relies on so-called critical event management (CEM) technologies in its work. These not only help to identify critical events earlier and respond to them proactively, but also to mitigate the impact and return to normal productivity more quickly.

In May 2023, two external auditors reviewed the information security management system of Bechtle Schweiz AG according to the international standard ISO/IEC 27001 and rated it as very good. The company, with over 600 employees at ten locations, is a leading IT service provider in Switzerland and, according to its own description, a partner of choice for consulting, IT infrastructure, cloud solutions, IT services, and software for SMEs, large companies, and the public sector. Its offering covers the entire IT lifecycle, from consulting to implementation and operation.

Responsible handling of confidential data

A central requirement of the ISO 27001 standard is the security of confidential information, which the auditors rated as very good at Bechtle Schweiz AG. The auditors thus confirm that Bechtle Schweiz AG ideally and strategically protects confidential data - especially that of customers and partners - from misuse, attacks, loss and disclosure, and keeps it safe. The certification is considered a supporting element for Bechtle's IT service management and thus also for the managed services provided by the company.

Continuous investment in safety level

Christian Speck, Managing Director of Bechtle Schweiz AG: "As a trusted IT partner, we handle highly sensitive data on a daily basis and consider ourselves obligated to our customers to meet the highest security requirements. Data protection is our top priority, which is why we regularly work on optimizing our processes and invest in security. I am pleased that the auditors have recognized our commitment and provided documented proof of it with this certification."

Source