Supervisory bodies are increasingly required to fulfill their legal control and supervisory duties also in dealing with cyber risks, according to the findings of a new study on dealing with cyber risks in companies. In addition to the legal obligation, there are also good reasons from a business perspective to invest in cyber risk management, according to the study, which was conducted by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts together with the insurer Mobiliar and the business umbrella organization economiesuisse. After all, cyberattacks could cause considerable damage to organizations, which in the worst case could mean heavy fines, a severe loss of reputation, the withdrawal of operating licenses or bankruptcy.

A ship without a captain: lack of statements on cyber risk readiness

According to the study, many companies seem to lack a central foundation for managing cyber risks: None of the organizations surveyed explicitly defined the extent to which cyber risks should be consciously taken in order to achieve business goals. "From a risk management perspective, it's comparable to a ship that doesn't have a captain," says Stefan Hunzikerauthor of the study and head of the Risk & Compliance Management Competence Center at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Apparently, the development of so-called risk appetite statements causes great difficulty in practice.

The HSLU study further shows: In dealing with cyber risks, there is a gap between the technical IT infrastructure level and the organizational level. "Cyber risks are still understood too strongly as a purely IT issue. Accordingly, they are managed in a decentralized and operational manner and are not integrated enough into enterprise-wide risk management," explains Hunziker. Here, a discrepancy between the relevance of risk (awareness) and "risk governance" can be observed. "This circumstance prevents a consistent comparison - and thus also a meaningful prioritization - of cyber risks and other risk categories at top management level," says the expert. As a first step in the right direction, he recommends fostering collaboration between the chief information security officer (CISO) and risk manager. "Because this is primarily where the bridge is built between technical cybersecurity and business risk management," Hunziker says.

People" as a risk factor: additional investments required

Often, the simplest and equally effective measures for dealing with cyber risks are still neglected. Stefan Hunziker: "The definition of cyber risks may therefore also be somewhat misleading, as many causes of risk are not to be found in cyber space, but in human misconduct." The analogy with medicine is helpful: there, it has long been known that correct human behavior prevents the transmission of diseases. Regular disinfection, disciplined hand washing and keeping a distance have been established behavior - at least since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. The present study confirms that the "human factor," or human behavior, is still too little addressed in the area of cybersecurity compared with technical measures. "The 'human factor' makes up only one element in the continuous improvement process of cybersecurity, but it is a very important one," Hunziker said. Human behavior in dealing with cybersecurity should be trained so that it becomes as natural and "normal" as sneezing into the crook of your arm.

Cyber Risk Management and Cloud Migration

Many cyber risks are caused by cloud usage. This makes it all the more important for organizations to plan their move to the cloud well and accompany it with appropriate measures. "The creation of a clear strategy is at the very beginning of a well-planned migration to the cloud," says Armand Portmann, author of the study and head of Information & Cyber Security | Privacy at the Department of Computer Science at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Fortunately, the majority of the organizations surveyed have such a document, which describes the framework conditions for the introduction and use of cloud services. This allows the conclusion to be drawn that the topic of cloud computing now also enjoys attention in the management bodies. "There is an awareness that the use of cloud services is associated with risks," says Armand Portmann.

When it comes to naming the risks that arise when using cloud services, however, the organizations surveyed are not at a loss for answers. "Among the top three are loss of confidentiality, or breach of data protection, dependence on the cloud service provider and questions of liability," explains Fernand Dubler, author of the study and research associate at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The topic is complex. Therefore, he says, it is not surprising that the measures needed to mitigate these risks are not straightforward. Dubler adds, "These measures are extremely diverse and must be developed individually from the specific outsourcing situation. This often poses very significant challenges for the organizations concerned."

Source and further information: Lucerne University

Companies are collecting more and more diverse data and using more and more channels to interact with their customers. Not infrequently, this results in fragmented data silos that can only be broken up and centralized with great effort. Against this backdrop, there is a great danger that inaccurate, incomplete, and outdated data sets will be created, reducing the meaningfulness and timeliness of the insights gained in analyses.

Risk Big Data

The complexity has also increased in legal terms - keyword: EU Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO). This also relates in particular to the question of data deletion. According to a Blancco studya specialist in data maintenance, almost all (96 percent) of the more than 1,800 companies surveyed worldwide have guidelines for handling and deleting data. However, most companies fail to communicate these regulations comprehensively to their employees. 

Sensitive data can fall into the wrong hands

Against this backdrop, many companies have a feeling of false security when it comes to handling data - especially when it comes to deleting it. As the study further shows, this often takes the form of the purely physical destruction of data media or deletion or formatting processes. However, simply formatted hard disks are comparatively easy to recover, and this can potentially lead to sensitive data falling into the wrong hands.

A similar risk also exists when employees leave the company or obsolete laptops, desktops, hard drives or server hardware are earmarked for disposal. According to the study, around half of all old devices are disposed of by third-party providers and are thus removed from the company's direct sphere of influence. If the devices are stored for a long time before being deleted, or if there is insufficient documentation of what data has been securely deleted, companies can quickly find themselves in need of explanation. 

Institutionalize data competence and create clear responsibilities

The mere formulation of guidelines for compliance and data protection as well as for handling and deleting data is not sufficient against this background. Companies that work with data and its analysis also need clear personnel responsibilities for the topic of data competence and data security - for example in the form of a CDO (Chief Data Officer or Chief Digital Officer) - above and beyond the mere text of the regulations. This person is responsible for the implementation of the relevant guidelines, drives their compliance and implementation, and calls for or communicates the processes required for this.

How to delete data securely and in compliance with the law 

• The first step is to define the framework conditions. This includes defining standards with regard to availability, use, data quality, access, security and data protection. 
• Responsibilities for policy implementation and compliance monitoring must be clearly assigned. 
• The times for purging and deleting personal data as well as retention periods should also be defined in the framework. The legal requirements (such as the DSGVO) must also be taken into account here.
• The predefined guidelines must be communicated throughout the company and all employees must be sensitized to the topic of data quality.
• The data erasure policy should cover all IT assets - including smartphones, tablets, PCs, servers and the virtual infrastructure. 
• It is important that devices with sensitive data do not leave the company or the data center environment - this is especially true in light of the fact that hybrid work models no longer clearly separate the private and business use of end devices.
• Care should also be taken with end-of-life devices to ensure that their data remains within the IT infrastructure sphere of influence of the respective company - for example, in the case of recycling or donation. In these cases, data should be deleted from the devices on site and the cleanup should be verified with an appropriate certificate. 
• If an external provider takes over the disposal of old devices, he should create a complete chain of evidence of how the goods have been handled in detail since collection. In this case, it is recommended that a data destruction certificate be issued for each device.
• Devices should be disposed of at the end of their service life, preferably within 24 hours.

Source: Sage

On May 2, the time had come again: "Meet Swiss Infosec" opened its doors at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Zurich Airport for the notabene 40th time. Trends, developments and solutions in the field of integral security are the focus of this established event, which was hosted by Reto C. Zbinden, CEO of Swiss Infosec AG. This time, the motto of the event was "Security as a Change Maker". The exciting presentations impressively showed how much security makes the difference and how much new technologies and new attack methods demand innovative security measures. But also new requirements such as the ISO 27002 update and new laws such as currently the new Data Protection Act and the Federal Information Security Act (ISG) ensure that security remains an ongoing topic. Last but not least, keynote speaker Beni Huggel also provided a highlight at the conference.

Information Security Act, cyberattacks, home office and business continuity.

The Information Security Act is a real game changer. With the new law, the federal government has shifted the focus from IT security to information security and is thus also holding the private sector accountable, as speaker Reinhard Obermüller (Swiss Infosec AG) explained. Ransomware attacks have sharpened the focus on cybersecurity. The presentations by Daniel Bühler (Trend Micro) and Jerzy Michno and Fabrice Bankhauser (Trellix) showed how security must adapt in the face of increasingly intelligent attacks and why "Extended Detection and Response (XDR)" is an effective tool.

The fear that incidents such as phishing, malware, ransomware or data theft will lead to business interruptions is great among companies. The tips from Candid Wüest (Acronis) on business continuity and the rapid recovery of data came at the right time. Home office, teleworking or remote work: The pandemic has decisively changed the way and where work is done - and with it the demands on security. David Morf (Okta) explained the importance of access solutions and the potential of identities as the key to convenient and secure collaboration.

Keynote by ex-footballer Beni Huggel

The speakers skillfully set the stage for Beni Huggel's keynote. The change and football expert more than lived up to his reputation as a successful ex-professional footballer and turned this template into the perfect closing with brains under the title "Change is an attitude - seize the opportunities". Beni Huggel told amusingly and always with a twinkle in his eye about his path as a teacher's son and landscape gardener to becoming a young professional footballer and a permanent fixture in the national team. He told of injuries, of being an involuntary role model, of saying goodbye to the big football stage and of the fear of what would come afterwards. The mindset he perfected through sport (discipline, resilience, agility, focus, ambition, personal responsibility, etc.) was crucial in enabling Huggel to create his own changes and visions again and again, to dare to take responsibility, to remain positive in change and to understand "every change as a chance". After the presentation, Dominic Zbinden, a member of the Swiss Infosec AG team, conducted a short interview with the speaker. He asked about coaches who are remembered (Christian Gross, Torsten Fink), friendships that outlast football careers (Valentin Stocker, Alex Frei, Marco Streller) and advice for future ex-football players (think about education and training even during your career).

Source and further information: www.infosec.ch

Metallic glass is similar in color to white gold, but has the hardness of quartz glass. At the same time, it is elastic and resistant to salts or acids. It can be processed in 3D printing, for example for medical implants, or also in injection molding. However, a great deal of materials research still needs to be done before this is possible. At Empa, Antonia Neels, head of the Empa X-ray Center, is working on this mysterious material. Her team is investigating the internal structure of metallic glass using various X-ray methods, thereby discovering correlations with properties such as deformability or fracture behavior. Even for professionals in materials science, metallic glasses are a tough nut to crack: "The closer we look at the samples, the more questions arise," says Antonia Neels. This spurs the researchers' ambition all the more.

Into space for materials research

The 3D printing helps further

One possible way out of the dilemma is 3D printing using the so-called powder bed process. A fine powder of the desired alloy is heated for a few milliseconds with a laser. The metal grains fuse with their neighbors to form a kind of foil. A thin layer of powder is then placed on top, the laser fuses the freshly applied powder with the underlying foil, and a three-dimensional workpiece is gradually created from many briefly heated powder grains.

This method requires a fine dosage of the laser pulse. If the laser burns too weakly on the powder, the particles do not fuse together and the workpiece remains porous. If the laser burns too strongly, it also melts the lower layers again. The multiple melting allows the atoms to rearrange themselves, forming crystals - and that's the end of metallic glass.

Tracking down the secrets with X-ray methods

At Empa's X-ray center, Antonia Neels' team has already analyzed several such samples from 3D printing experiments. The results, meanwhile, always raise new questions. "Some evidence suggests that the mechanical properties of the glasses do not deteriorate, but on the contrary actually improve, if the sample contains small crystalline fractions," says Neels. "Now we are looking into the question of how large this crystal fraction in the glass has to be, and what kind of crystals have to form to increase, for example, the pliability or impact strength of the glass at room temperature."

Computer simulation for new casting processes

The world has moved on faster in the last two years than in decades before. Manufacturing processes, work environments and supply chains are now under scrutiny and must adapt quickly and agilely to a new reality. This is the only way companies will be able to secure their success in the future. Quality, as the engine of change, will positively drive these changes. Knowing the urgency of these changes, the topics "Quality & Change" are accordingly the focus of the Quality Mining Day. Quality representatives from all over Germany will be able to mine valuable knowledge, inspiration and networking contacts on October 20, 2022 in Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg.

Renowned speakers at the Quality Mining Day

The congress should make it easy for the trade visitors to strike gold veins. Top-class speakers have already been engaged for the Quality Mining Day. Among them is key speaker Dr. Lars Vollmer, a constructive troublemaker, entrepreneur and business author who has made it to the bestseller lists. His discipline is provocative inspiration. Extreme athlete Norman Bücher will also deliberately push boundaries and provide his audience with new perspectives. In addition, Dr. Ing. Benedikt Sommerhoff will take the professional audience on the exciting journey of "Quality Management in Transition." Further speakers are planned. Dr. Ing. Alexander Schloske works at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation in Stuttgart. He has many years of project experience in the fields of product and quality management in a wide range of industries. 

Early booking discount until end of May

In two panel discussions - on the future of quality management and on change management - the speakers will address the audience's questions. "The active exchange between practitioners and the joint digging for quality is the focus of this congress," says Tobias Brehm, Business Development Manager of the organizer, Quality Miners GmbH. Accordingly, the conference will also provide space for active networking.

Until 31.05.2022, early bird tickets can be booked at the price of only 99 euros. On the Event website you can also find all detailed information about the Quality Mining Day.

Kickstart Innovation, one of the leading platforms for open innovation in Europe according to its own account, launched its new program on April 26, 2022 - and for the seventh time. In the past years the innovation program has been able to attract some of the world's best startups to develop solutions for society. This is done in partnership with key industry players, including. AXA, Coop, Swisscom, the furniture, PostFinance, Sanitas, the city of Zurich, Credit Suisse, Galenica and CSS Insurance. Since 2016, Kickstart has thus supported more than 300 startups and realized over 200 deals in the form of collaborations from over 40 countries. In the process, investments of more than CHF 2 billion have been raised to date, including for such well-known startups as Planted, Neustark, AAAcell and others.

Innovation program with emphasis on sustainability

The program has been held annually since 2016, with digitization and sustainability increasingly becoming drivers of innovation across industries. "Startups offer a wide range of solutions for companies looking for new technologies and diverse innovations for their further development. At the same time, partnerships with companies foster the growth of startups with the help of expert pools and collaboration opportunities," explains Katka Letzing, Co-Founder and CEO of Kickstart Innovation. "Sustainability has now become the core of all activities. There has been a big shift here in recent years, as evidenced by the doubling of deals around the circular economy in the last twelve months."

Access to investor network 

The aim of the Kickstart program is to enable pilot projects or commercial collaborations between startups and established institutions. The aim is to bring new products and services to market on a larger scale, tap new sources of revenue and invest in pioneering models and processes.

The search for the topics of the future takes place in six focus areas: New Work & Learning, Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Insurance, Food & Retail, Smart Cities and Intrapreneurship. Each area focuses on specific innovation trends and the needs of individual partners. In addition, Kickstart is unveiling a new global brand identity that represents the company's evolution into an international player committed to rapid innovation for a better future.

In addition to building partnerships, the Kickstart Innovation Program also provides access to a diverse investor network for startups and alumni conducting funding rounds. Partners with corporate venture arms are actively involved, including Swisscom Ventures and AXA Venture Partners, among others. "Over the past few years, we have been able to work with great startups and enter into both collaborations and investments, including companies like Labster and Unsupervised. I look forward to more such collaborations this year with an increased focus on sustainability issues," says Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Chief Digital Officer, Swisscom.

Further information and the application forms are here to find.

In the past two years, many companies have had to master one crisis after another - crises that massively accelerated the transformation of the economy:

• March 2020. The first corona-related lockdown. Suddenly, digitization becomes essential for companies to survive. Employees, suppliers, customers and partners are using new tools in their daily lives, have learned new ways of working and have acquired new digital skills. McKinsey estimates that Corona accelerated digital transformation by five to seven years.
• Fall 2021. In many companies, replenishment no longer works because the international supply chains have been interrupted in some cases to this day. Thousands of ships full of goods are bobbing around in front of the ports because no one is taking away the containers parked there. In addition, the shortage of skilled workers is more noticeable than ever.
• February 2022. Russia attacks Ukraine. Suddenly, the energy transition is also relevant to security policy. The dependence on fossil fuels must no longer be radically reduced purely for climate policy reasons, but also for economic policy reasons.

These highlights describe the situation in the DACH region in 2022. Digitalization, the shortage of skilled workers, and the accelerated shift to climate-neutral production are three mutually reinforcing trends. This is resulting in a turbo change that is affecting almost all industries. By 2030 - according to the forecast - a completely new economy will emerge, at least in the industrialized nations: digital, less dependent on skilled workers and climate-neutral. Everything will be put to the test, so to speak: from workplace design to the strategies for the future that will guide companies in their actions.

It's not just companies that need to reinvent...

For the desired or required transformation to succeed, companies must hit the "reset button," so to speak, at the following four levels:  

• Corporate strategy
• Organization
• Leadership and
• Mindset of the employees

These four levels are inextricably linked, because: What use is the most forward-looking strategy if the corporate structures remain in the old, the managers do not follow suit and the employees do not develop further?

In order to carry out the often necessary reset, companies must first question everything they have thought and done up to now and break it down into small puzzle pieces - in other words, mentally set everything to zero. Before the pieces are put back together to form a new whole, the following questions, among others, need to be clarified:

• Which of our (core) competencies are still relevant in the future or which new ones could we develop?
• Which products will (still) be in demand in the medium and long term? What could our new product portfolio look like?
• How do we need to work together in the future - also with external service providers such as suppliers? Which new ones do we need?
• How can we as an organization optimally respond to the changing customer needs, economic conditions?
• How can we make the best possible use of the opportunities resulting from change?

 ...employees must also be ready for the "reset button

However, the new strategy can only be filled with life if the employees support it, if not enthusiastically, then at least with conviction. It must therefore be communicated to them and discussed with them - across all functions and divisions. In addition, further training concepts are needed that provide employees with the new know-how and skills they need. And the employees? They must be prepared to take advantage of these opportunities and proactively acquire the skills they will need in the future.

Employees are usually willing to do this if they can actively help shape the change. Moreover, if they are given a credible message: If you participate in the transformation, the small branch you are currently sitting on may break, but there is a thick branch underneath that will catch you and support you stably in the years to come.

To the author:
Dr. Jens-Uwe Meyer is the author of the book "Reset - How Companies and Organizations Reinvent Themselves," which will be published in April 2022 by the Publisher BusinessVillage has appeared. Meyer is CEO of the software company Innolytics AG and a sought-after keynote speaker in the field of innovation and digitization.

Oracle has developed Oracle ME, a comprehensive employee experience platform designed to help organizations increase employee engagement and ensure employee success. As part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM) Oracle ME enables HR management and executives to optimize communication across the enterprise and increase productivity. This is made possible by the platform guiding employees through complex tasks. Talent retention is also improved as the platform fosters more supportive and trustworthy relationships between employees, their managers and colleagues.

Better understand the needs of employees

The vendor explains the development of the Oracle ME platform as follows: Workforces worldwide have changed as a result of the events of the last two years - people's expectations have evolved when it comes to what they want and need from their employers. According to the latest Oracle AI@Work study, 85 % of the global workforce are dissatisfied with the support they receive from their employer, and 87 % believe their company should do more to address the needs of its employees. So the pressure on organizations to focus more on the employee experience is intensifying. Without truly understanding the needs of individual employees, it's difficult for HR and managers to do their jobs in a way that provides sufficient support for employees to succeed both professionally and personally, Oracle notes. After all, personal priorities drive professional decisions, and employees need direction to achieve their goals and meet expectations. According to Yvette Cameron, senior vice president of global product strategy, Oracle Cloud HCM, Oracle ME is now about bringing together employee information, key insights, workflows and preferences into a technology solution that everyone can call their experience. "It's the only comprehensive employee experience platform that aims to understand the 'I' behind every employee. This gives companies new ways to listen to, communicate with, support and develop their hybrid workforce," Cameron said.

Comprehensive employee experience platform

Oracle ME guides employees through relevant workflows based on their unique characteristics and situations. This strengthens internal relationships and gives employees the opportunity to provide continuous feedback to managers. Oracle ME also allows managers to track and respond to employee sentiment in real time. At the same time, HR teams can deliver personalized employee approaches and support all staff with direct access to the tools they need. The following Oracle Cloud HCM solutions are included in Oracle ME:

• Oracle Touchpoints is a new "listening" solution that helps leaders strengthen relationships with their employees and better promote their well-being and success. The tool enables leaders to regularly capture, track and respond to employee sentiment in order to gain the trust of their teams and foster an inclusive work environment. It gives bosses continuous employee insights through pulse surveys. But they also receive recommended actions such as "schedule check-ins," "provide feedback," or "celebrate important moments."
• Oracle HCM Communicate is a new employee outreach solution that enables HR teams to influence, share, monitor, and measure the impact of outreach. HCM Communicate integrates directly with Oracle Cloud HCM, connecting it to an organization's HR data. This allows HR teams to easily create personalized speeches for groups with specific characteristics. For example: HR teams can send a message to employees in a specific city or country who have been employed for less than two years and are enrolled in a specific training course. With HCM Communicate, HR teams can also use open rate analytics to measure interactions with content and seamlessly send follow-ups or set up ongoing campaigns to drive more effective and engaging addresses.
• Oracle Journeys is a workflow solution that simplifies complex tasks with step-by-step processes and personalized management. This guidance helps employees navigate personal, professional, administrative, and operational activities such as onboarding, returning to work safely, advancing career opportunities, managing team compensation, or opening a new facility. With enhanced capabilities, employees are now able to make informed decisions with personally relevant instructions, training, and analytics available to them on their guided digital journey.
• Oracle Connections is an interactive workforce directory and org chart that fosters collaboration and increases opportunities for inclusion and internal mobility by making it easy for employees to search for and connect with others across the organization. Employees can import their LinkedIn profiles, record video introductions, highlight their unique skills and qualifications, and leave feedback on others' bulletin boards to get to know each other better and expand their professional network.
• Oracle HR Help Desk is a service request management solution that makes it easy for all employees to get the answers they need and for HR departments to effortlessly track tickets without confidential data falling into the wrong hands. Employees can search for content, submit requests, and open help tickets across multiple channels.
• Oracle Digital Assistant is an HR chatbot that provides a conversational user interface for employees to get instant answers to questions and complete transactions directly via voice or text commands. HR teams can rapidly deploy Oracle Digital Assistant to support over 90 predefined transactions and extend the solution accordingly to support new processes or requirements.

Oracle ME is an open platform that spans the Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite. It also connects to and automates processes with third-party systems and works across multiple channels such as email, SMS, web browsers, collaboration tools, and video conferencing. HR teams and executives can easily manage changes in Oracle ME and adapt to the dynamic work environment without help from IT support.

Source and further information: Oracle

SAP Switzerland awards every year since 2008 Quality Award to customers who excel 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 on the basis of the 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. This year, the SAP Quality Awards 2022 once again recognized 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.

SAP Quality Awards 2022 for 13 projects in 4 categories

This year, SAP Switzerland presented Quality Awards in four categories:

• The category "Business Transformation" includes large projects with more than 500 users, a project duration of more than 6 months and an effort of more than 900 person-days.
• In the category "Cloud Transformation" large-scale projects are evaluated according to the same requirements as the business transformation projects, but the focus is on the transformation of cloud solutions.
• Under the category "Rapid Time to Value" fall under small and medium-sized projects with less than 600 users, a project duration of 7 months or less and a project effort of less than 1000 person-days.
• In the category "Digital Pioneer" projects with an innovative functional approach of SAP solutions are evaluated, as well as solutions that use innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or Blockchain.

In each category, one main winner and, if appropriate projects were available, further winners were honored with an award. This year, a total of thirteen projects from companies operating in Switzerland were honored, whose projects met the award requirements to a particularly high degree. The main winners from Switzerland automatically take part in the SAP Quality Award Europe. The winners of the Quality Awards at European level will be determined in 2023.

Award winner in the "Business Transformation" category

The Swiss Post impressed with its strong organizational change management in its S/4HANA transformation project aimed at harmonizing all business areas and value flows. The strong entrepreneurial commitment enabled the achievement of the desired results with strict application of project management principles. Swiss Post with its implementation partner SAP Switzerland were therefore named Grand Winner by the jury. The other award winners in this category, all of whom shone with an outstanding on-premise implementation of SAP S/4HANA, were:

• Basel Transport BVB, supported by partner NOVO Business Consultants,
• Cablex as a network infrastructure company, supported by Swisscom,
• Swiss Army Logistics Base (LBA), supported by partner BearingPoint,
• The furniture with the implementation partner SAP Switzerland,
• Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, supported by Swisscom.

Winner in the "Cloud Transformation" category

The main winner of this award category is JT International (JTI). The award-winning cloud transformation program is part of JTI's Vision 2030. The goal of the global project was a globally integrated business planning process with improved demand forecasting, planning for sales and operations planning with the SAP cloud solution Integrated Business Planning, and detailed manufacturing planning. The jury particularly recognized the professional project management with a strong focus on organizational change management, communication and motivation of the project team. The scope of the project, supported by SAP Switzerland, was impressive. The other winners in the "Cloud Transformation" category are:

• Hälg Facility Management, provider of professional facility management services, supported by partner AGILITA,
• Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, with implementation partner Mibcon NDC.

Award winner in the "Rapid Time to Value" category

In their industrial project Oetiker Switzerland migrated the existing SAP ERP landscape to SAP S/4HANA on Premise - during an extremely short project duration of only six months. According to the jury, they were impressed by the excellent application for nomination and the pragmatic project approach that made the short duration possible. Swisscom supported the project as an implementation partner. Another podium finish in the "Rapid Time to Value" category was achieved by the optical components development and manufacturing company Optotune, supported by AGILITA.

Winner in the "Digital Pioneer" category

The main winner is the Canton of Zurich, Finance Directorate, Office of Information Technology. In the hardship program of the Canton of Zurich, the rapid increase in hardship applications in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic meant that the existing process had to be converted to automated recording within a very short time. This project was implemented in just three months on the basis of the SAP Business Transformation Platform and the special solutions for case management in the social sector (SAP for Social Protection) and cash and revenue management (SAP Public Sector Collection and Disbursement, PSCD). The jury was impressed by the pragmatic project approach, the short implementation time, the business benefits and the positive feedback from the auditors. The project was advised by NOVO Business Consultants. Also among the winners in the "Digital Pioneer" category was the Coop Cooperative for the introduction of the billing of parking fees via Supercard points, this project was supported by SAP Switzerland.

Source and further information: SAP Switzerland

Digital Realty, a global provider of cloud technology and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, has released the results of its first Global Data Insights Survey. More than 7,000 executives from 23 countries and nine industries participated in the survey. "Recently, we observed a new megatrend on our platform: the explosion of enterprise data worldwide. As all industries need to create, consume, analyze, store and share ever-larger volumes of data, they are becoming information industries," said Dave McCrory, VP of Growth and Global Head of Insights and Analytics at Digital Realty, explaining the motivation for conducting the survey. Earlier on this topic, the company conducted a similar investigation performed.

Data becomes the business agenda

The survey confirms that data is increasingly important and that business strategy and results depend on data-driven insights. Data
are ubiquitous. The volume of data is multiplying at all business locations. As a result, information must be aggregated efficiently. 47 % of the IT executives surveyed said they hold data decentrally, while 52 % hold it centrally. This highlights how different the strategies for organizing and managing data are across industries. This can directly impact an organization's ability to create value and results with data, and confirms that aggregation must be prioritized.

IT executives said that data-driven insights are essential for improving the customer experience (50 %) for data infrastructure location strategy (37 %) for developing new digital products (35 %) and for driving business growth (28 %). In addition, a key finding of the survey is that large enterprises around the world are not investing enough in the tools and infrastructure needed to handle the growing volume of data.

Managing growing data volumes: Many obstacles

53 % of global respondents cited lack of sufficient investment in data systems or infrastructure as the main barrier to their company gaining data-driven insights. Similarly, 50 % of respondents cited a lack of sufficient investment in relevant analytics tools. To manage the rapid growth of data, companies need to ensure that data does not become siloed and that they are able to extract insights from it in a time-efficient and prescriptive manner. And this requires investment.

The study shows where everywhere there seems to be a hitch: regulations, data protection rules, reluctant customers and a lack of investment in data systems are hindering the data-driven business agenda. 35 % of IT executives cited data privacy and regulations as one of the main barriers to data-driven insights. The majority also recognized the need to maintain local copies of data and applications to serve a growing number of end users and networked devices, and to ensure secure and compliant business operations

Build employee capabilities to derive value from data

The survey also shows that 65 of IT executives from some of the world's largest companies believe they need to invest in their teams' data skills to remain competitive and derive value from data. The importance of team development as a business-critical step surpassed investment in AI (59 %) when asked what was most important for companies to do in the next two years to gain more data-driven insights. When asked the same question, 61 % of companies with more than US$1 billion in revenue said they will prioritize executive education on the impact of data silos.

Data First Strategies Make the Race

Leading organizations are realizing the benefits of data integration, security and controls in so-called multi-tenant data centers, where new intelligent workflows are being unlocked in centers of data exchange between employees, customers, partners and ecosystems. 82 % of IT executives agree that they need a
need global data center providers capable of offering global coverage, capacity and direct connectivity in major metropolitan areas on a single data center platform. In addition, 75 % of enterprises with more than US$1 billion in revenue have a formal data strategy, compared to 63 % of general global enterprises. This suggests that larger companies are a bit further ahead in terms of data processing. This likely gives them an advantage over smaller competitors.

Source: Digital Realty

Global production bottlenecks caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, but also increasingly uncertain global supply chains in the pharmaceutical sector, have recently provided an additional boost to the already fast-growing market for pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). As a result, Marketing Authorization Holders (MAHs) are increasingly building strategic partnerships with CDMOs to secure quickly needed capacity, but also to increase supply security through multi-sourcing. This trend will continue with the emergence of new and advanced therapies, according to the results of the latest "Global CDMO Study 2022" by Strategy&, PwC's strategy consulting practice. The study analyzed 150 of the world's largest contract manufacturers in Europe, North America and Asia.

Contract manufacturer with extensive service portfolio

MAHs are pharmaceutical or research companies that have marketing authorization to market certain drugs. CDMOs can work on behalf of MAHs in the research and development and manufacture of these preparations. But as contract manufacturers grow in importance, the nature of their collaborations with pharmaceutical companies is also changing. 28% of the CDMOs surveyed already offer a comprehensive service portfolio for all types of drugs - small molecules, large molecules and advanced therapies. At the same time, 56% of the world's largest MAHs are already engaged in contract manufacturing themselves to generate additional revenue and absorb costs. "MAHs currently at the forefront of pharmaceutical drug manufacturing are increasingly relying on the technological expertise of CDMOs. This is also true in the advanced therapies market, including cell, gene and RNA therapies. This puts CDMOs in pole position to benefit from and play a significant role in shaping one of the fastest-growing markets. MAHs, on the other hand, should consider which production technologies are suitable for outsourcing and which fields they want to continue to strategically occupy and expand in the future," explains Dr. Jens Neumann, co-author of the study and partner at Strategy&.

Cooperation instead of competition

CDMOs can benefit from increased transparency, greater flexibility, faster transactions and shared incentives in strategic partnerships with MAHs, the study notes. With end-to-end services, CDMOs significantly increase their chances of strategic cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, the analysis adds. 37% of the CDMOs studied therefore offer services that cover the entire value chain, from development to the manufacture of commercial drug substances and products to packaging. 43% of the companies analyzed that focus mainly on CDMO services ("pure play") now operate as full-service providers with end-to-end services. Only 17% of them focus their activities on a single step in the value chain. CDMO businesses of MAHs as well as generic manufacturers follow this trend (38% and 36% end-to-end services, respectively). Development services are already included in the portfolio of offerings at 92% of CDMOs in North America and 84% of CDMOs in Europe, while in Asia commercial production of drug substances is the most widespread and is offered as a service by 92% of CDMOs.

Increased focus on novel therapies

In addition to vertical expansion, CDMOs are also showing themselves to be strategic partners for MAHs in horizontal value creation activities. In particular, "Pure Play" CDMOs are continuously expanding their service offering to include the various production technologies. Around 38% of "Pure Play" CDMOs are active in all three of the above areas, with 92% still involved in traditional small molecule manufacturing. This underscores the need to maintain a risk-balanced portfolio of traditional and novel therapies. At the same time, 45% of the "pure play" CDMOs already provide services in the area of advanced therapies (compared to 34% of all CDMOs within the study), leading by far the fastest-growing market segment.

"Strategic alliances are an important key for MAHs and CDMOs to introduce new products and hold their own on the market in the long term. The prerequisite for this is a critical look at their own overall strategy, which should also include the value chain, production technologies, services and locations. CDMOs should focus on offering their customers holistic and efficient solutions as well as quality products. On the MAH side, the establishment of professionalized CDMO management is just as essential for long-term business success as targeted communication about the future direction of the company to its own employees," concludes Dr. Jens Neumann.

Source: PwC

Insurance companies must have implemented the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17) by January 1, 2023. A challenge for insurance companies that want to fulfill this obligation with in-house developments or purchased "empty box" solutions. KPMG and Allianz, together with SAS, a leading provider of analytics and AI, have now presented a solution that is designed to significantly accelerate the path to IFRS 17 compliance.

According to a statement released by SAS, the solution combines KPMG IFRS 17 Express "KPMG's extensive experience on the topic with SAS' market-leading analytics technology and a methodology that Allianz has successfully tested globally." The solution, he said, builds on SAS for IFRS 17 and offers a cost-effective approach that is designed to significantly reduce the effort required for recalculations under IFRS 17 through preconfigured options for automation and integration, according to the statement. "No one has to reinvent the wheel, let alone do duplicate work," said Christian Knoller, IFRS 17 project manager at Allianz. "Insurers can rely on using predefined IFRS-17 methodology and technology here, mapping the expertise of three market leaders."

One focus of KPMG IFRS 17 Express is to facilitate collaboration between actuarial, risk management and finance departments. To this end, the following functions are implemented in the solution:

• Fully functional calculation and accounting engine according to IFRS 17 standard for contract margins, including past, current and future reporting periods.
• Predefined data models and comprehensive booking options designed to manage a wide range of insurance and reinsurance products available worldwide.
• A structured workflow process within a single, integrated platform that ensures traceability, auditability, and transparency.

"The IASB amendments to IFRS 17 were intended to facilitate implementation. But the pandemic has slowed down compliance projects. As a result, many insurers are not yet where they want or need to be," says Mary Trussell, Insurance Accounting Change Lead at KPMG International. "By combining the technology and expertise of three global leaders, KPMG, SAS and Allianz, insurers can make up for delays and skills gaps and significantly shorten their path to IFRS 17 compliance," Trussell continues. "IFRS 17 is changing the way insurance companies calculate, manage and report on their financial exposures and risks," adds Troy Haines, senior vice president of risk research and quantitative solutions at SAS. The combination of expertise and practical IFRS 17 experience from SAS, KPMG and Allianz gives insurers of all sizes exactly what they need: a fast and sustainable solution for IFRS 17 compliance and a clear path for future growth.

Source and further information: www.sas.com/ch