More than 18 billion smart home devices are in use worldwide. Experts estimate that this figure will rise to 27 billion by 2027: from smart light bulbs and intelligent vacuum cleaners to parking lot monitoring systems for municipalities. However, the national requirements and regulations for smart homes are just as diverse as their areas of application. As a result, manufacturers and retailers are confronted with import and sales difficulties - and consumers are faced with a corresponding drop in device performance. The MATTER standard is intended to bring order to this confusion.

Country-specific features harmonized

MATTER 1.0 is backed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance's (CSA) project consortium with a total of more than 550 participating and internationally active technology companies. It has now developed a protocol that defines standardized, transnational requirements and framework conditions for smart home products. "Users want smart home products that are intuitive to use and offer as many functions and high performance as possible," explains Lourens Koopmans, Senior Expert for Wireless Technologies at TÜV Rheinland. "In addition, the devices should not only function in a specific smart home system, but also be able to communicate with each other in different systems. MATTER harmonizes the different technical and legal country-specific features in a standardized protocol."

Better products thanks to uniform international standards

As a result, MATTER-certified products have improved connectivity and interoperability - regardless of brand or platform. In addition, special technology standards ensure significantly more efficient and therefore more energy-saving device operation. MATTER works via Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Thread and uses Bluetooth Low Energy to connect devices. MATTER 1.0-certified devices should also have an easier time in future when it comes to data protection.

5-year forecast: half of all devices according to MATTER standard

According to estimates by the technology company ABI Research, more than half of all smart home devices will be delivered with Matter support in the next five years. TÜV Rheinland has four of 18 laboratories worldwide where manufacturers can now have both new and existing smart home products tested for MATTER 1.0 criteria such as connectivity, performance and interoperability. "We are familiar with the different conditions, technical standards and certifications of more than 180 countries," continues Koopmans. "Our experts carry out a wide range of tests and check the conformity and documentation requirements of the respective region. This enables manufacturers to enter the market more quickly and safely."

Source: TÜV Rhineland

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/tuev-rheinland-prueft-und-zertifiziert-weltweit-matter-1-0/

In a large-scale content transformation, Suva revised the content: Less text, more graphics and videos. This new and smartly structured content formed the basis for the streamlined information architecture and the optimized navigation concept. At the same time, communication with Suva's customers is consistently at eye level. Thanks to the user-centric approach, customers were involved throughout the entire project.

The website ordering process has also been completely revised: Prevention modules can now be processed without the support of Suva employees. In addition, a central access point to the download and order center will be set up in spring 2023, which should further optimize the interconnection of content and simplify user guidance.

Suva's customer portal is now called "MySuva". It is divided into two areas: "MySuva Betrieb" for online services in the company environment and "MySuva Persönlich" for online services for insured persons and accident victims.

Customers can now view their activities on the "mySuva Overview" homepage or set up DeepL access to frequently used online services. The homepage also shows important key figures about the company or offers or tips relevant to the company on the topics of prevention and occupational safety.

The design was gently refreshed for the relaunch: bold typography, consistent use of action and signal colors, more white space, micro animations, and a helpful anchor navigation to guide visitors even better through the content.

With the death of the Queen and all the royal hoopla surrounding the Windsors, all non-blue bloods and non-Brits have once again become aware of how important belonging is for us humans. Perhaps that's why a word that has been used mainly in the gaming community for the past few years has recently spilled over into marketing departments and agencies. Suddenly, teams are calling themselves clans.

The term was once stolen from the first-person shooter computer game Quake and introduced to the e-sports community. Clan stands for the association of gamers who register together to play together. More than half a million people in Switzerland - according to a study from 2021 by the Institute of Marketing Management at ZHAW - describe themselves as e-sport players:in and many of them are organized in such clans. The influence of the gaming industry in general and e-sports in particular on our working world is great. We've known this not just since we started using Slack, but since the term gamification has been bandied about.

Only tribes will survive

Nevertheless, it is surprising that now, when we have just learned to see ourselves as teams, we already have to reorient ourselves again. But this is not new either. "Only tribes will survive" was a famous graffiti of the Zurich youth movement in 1980, meaning that only together can you be strong and overthrow the establishment. That seems to have worked, because 40 years later, many from that time are themselves the establishment, and many a person feels threatened when employees quit their jobs because they no longer feel they belong. They sheer off because they long more for a clan that suits their needs. For a Buckingham Palace instead of an empty office.

The more complex the tasks and the more turbulent the times, the greater the need for structure and common ground. That's what clans can offer. More than teams. This is how it was in ancient Scotland, where, under the harshest living conditions, large family groups separated themselves from one another and referred to a common genetic origin in order to survive. It's the same today, when the echo chambers of social media celebrate academic, geographic, or sporting affiliation as a way of setting oneself apart.

In Scotland, the word has an old tradition. In e-sports, it's a rather young one. But the clans are cool everywhere at the moment. In England, too, where Tony Blair's "Cool Britannia" may be getting on in years, but in view of Brexit and the death of the Queen, the need for closeness and belonging has risen sharply again. So it is understandable that people prefer to talk about clans rather than teams. Especially since the latter is anything but what we really long for in everyday office life due to Microsoft's platform of the same name.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

The Swiss Federal Council has been on Instagram since October 2022 and has created ten posts for this purpose (Werbewoche.ch reported). Bill Gates' "Content is King" from 1996 has now arrived in Switzerland at the latest. This refers to the regular creation and distribution of content in digital channels to (potential) customers and employees. The aim is to inform, entertain and inspire them with content that is relevant to them.

In terms of resources, large companies have plenty to draw on. But how do the other 99 percent of companies in Switzerland with a maximum of 250 employees deal with the issue? From July to August 2022, the agency "The Ambassadors" surveyed German-speaking Swiss SMEs with a focus on business-to-business transactions. 272 (co-)decision-makers in digital content marketing in their respective companies took part in the online survey.

Important, but not measurable?

The good news first: 87 percent of the survey participants consider digital content marketing to be important to very important for the future commercial success of their company. At the same time, only 36 percent currently see a clear contribution to commercial success, and 37 percent see little or none.

This comment is exemplary: "It is not exactly measurable for us, but we assume that it has a significant benefit in image building and increasing awareness/traceability. The agency's assessment: What is not measured cannot be controlled and runs the risk of being at a disadvantage in budget discussions in the medium term.

Gladly the fiver and the Weggli

When asked about their goals, the SMEs reveal a colorful bouquet of approaches. Interestingly, generating leads is only in third place. 82 percent want to communicate their company's expertise, 81 percent want to strengthen their brand(s) and 69 percent want to acquire new customers.

This "everything is important in some way" can be an explanation for the insufficient measurability. Retaining existing customers as well as employees is rated as less important. This is surprising in view of the omnipresent "war for talent" and the widespread recognition that winning customers is many times more expensive than maintaining existing customers.

On the road with the handbrake on

Seventy-four percent of the survey participants expect greater effectiveness in digital content marketing through additional time and personnel resources. An exemplary statement: "We don't have the necessary resources for digital content marketing and do it on the side.

It is true that 81 percent of the companies have dedicated resources. However, many of them have only a few percent of their staff: A third of the companies devote a maximum of 25 percent of their staff to the topic; only 6 percent of the companies devote 100 percent of their staff.

Further comments suggest two attitudes. On the one hand, one wants to be there, but not in full consequence; if it brings nothing, it does no harm. On the other hand, the "chicken-and-egg" problem; one shows first additional turnover and only then means are spoken.

Software and budget as an indication of professionalization

The fact that digital content marketing is still in the start-up phase at Swiss SMEs is made clear by the questions about the software used and the fixed budget allocated. 32 percent of the study participants stated that specific software is used. 53 percent answered in the negative, and 13 percent plan to introduce software in the near future. HubSpot is used most frequently, followed by Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.

55 percent operate with a fixed annual budget for digital content marketing, excluding media/reach. In terms of the resources actually used, an upper and lower league can be identified: The majority invest a maximum of fifty thousand Swiss francs per year; around 20 percent invest more.

Do it yourself or get help?

From a management perspective, the question also arises in digital content marketing: What are we doing ourselves, what competencies are we building up, and where are we accelerating through external support? To this end, the study examined content marketing activities today and in the future for the next two to three years.

This much in advance: While Search Engine Advertizing/Optimization and Media are supported externally today, the need for strategy, conception and automation will increase in the future. An in-depth look at make-or-buy decisions will take place on March 1, 2023 at Marketing-sales-booster.ch will take place. Registration for decision-makers from marketing and sales is now open.

* Erich Koller is a partner at the agency Die Botschafter.

* Axel Thoma is a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen and also a partner at Die Botschafter.

A converted "train shuttle" is planned from Filisur to the Landwasser viaduct. For this, stops and edges, as well as a viewing platform must be built. Furthermore, an adventure farm is to be built below the viaduct, as the RhB wrote in a statement on Thursday.

A tree glider, a model railway park and adapted existing offers are to round off the project. The aim is to make the area around the Unesco World Heritage site a tourist experience and to bring added value to the region, Simon Rageth of RhB's corporate communications told Keystone-SDA.

System-relevant infrastructure

The RhB allocated 4.5 million francs for the project on Thursday. The Graubünden government classified the project as system-relevant and approved 2.9 million francs. The rest will be contributed by several local communities and private individuals.

The approval process now follows. The Landwasserwelt association, which was founded specifically for this purpose, is in charge of the project. It consists of the RhB, the local communities and tourism partners.

The association markets the Landwasser Viaduct as "the landmark of Graubünden". With the positioning as a railroad valley and an overall product around the world-famous viaduct, the region has a unique selling point, it said in a statement in March this year. In order to use the potential, however, the forces must be bundled.

The fact that the timing around the announcement of the credits was so close to the RhB's successful world record was a "nice coincidence," Rageth said. On Saturday, the Rhaetian Railway ran the world's longest passenger train over the Landwasser Viaduct (Werbewoche.ch reported). (SDA)

Material extrusion, or MEX for short, is the most widely used additive manufacturing or 3D printing process. In MEX, a heated plastic is conveyed through a nozzle and deposited in layers. The energy introduced into the plastic by the heating is sufficient for it to fuse with the underlying layer after deposition. Once the plastic has cooled, a permanent bond is formed. Although companies are increasingly focusing on the industrialization of this process, the lack of standardized quality assurance in the additive process chain is inhibiting industrial application and scaling. This means that process-specific standards and guidelines can only be adapted to a limited extent from other manufacturing processes for additive manufacturing and are thus not established. This leads to quality standards for materials, processes and components of additive material extrusion that are not uniform and comparable across companies. Furthermore, there is no uniform understanding of which quality characteristics have the greatest influence on component quality and which test methods are suitable for measuring it.

Practical recommendations for action for quality assurance

In order to overcome these obstacles, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and the Chair of Environmental Production Engineering at the University of Bayreuth have written the user guide "Quality Assurance in Additive Material Extrusion". This compiles essential recommendations for action for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the quality of an additively manufactured component, which can be of importance in the planning, production and control in the additive process chain. In addition, the authors of the guide describe which subprocesses along the process chain have a relevant influence on component quality and reproducibility. These sub-processes form the basis for a universally applicable process model for the assessment of component quality, which, in addition to the recording of component quality, also includes the quality assurance process.

Guide already tested

To ensure the comparability of components, the experts have developed a quality class system that enables the objective quantification of component quality. Existing standards and guidelines for additive manufacturing that are suitable for MEX are used for this purpose. The core of the procedure model is the evaluation of suitable quality characteristics and their test procedures using suitable test specimens and reference components, as well as their quantitative and qualitative assessment by means of a quality matrix. The focus is on the quality characteristics of tensile strength, surface condition and dimensional stability. This process-related approach is a prerequisite, particularly in safety-relevant areas such as the aerospace industry, medical technology or vehicle construction, for obtaining certification and thus manufacturing orders. The application of the guide has been practically tested at a manufacturing service provider, a material manufacturer and a research institution and thus offers a low-threshold approach to quality assurance for additive material extrusion.

More information:
3dqguide.production-better-make.com
www.produktion-besser-machen.de
www.prozessinnovation.fraunhofer.de

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/leitfaden-qualitaetssicherung-in-der-additiven-materialextrusion/

Young people today are under enormous pressure to perform. And not only if they want to become top athletes or pursue a singing career. Even ordinary young people have to finish school, shape their professional future among endless options, and master adulthood. This often leads to fear of failure, excessive demands and self-doubt.

The Youth Mental Coach Getty Russo has made it its business to focus on this target group and to accompany the young people on their way. For this clear positioning of the offer as well as the formation of the brand and its communicative implementation, he relied on the know-how of the agency at the airport in St.Gallen. The entire brand world, the website, advertisements, PR and print products were implemented.

Customer: Gaetano Russo (Youth Mental Coach). Responsible at agency at the airport: René Eugster (overall responsibility), Elia Vogt (art direction, illustration), Maximilian Eugster (consulting).

In a detailed strategy process for positioning, Brandpulse analyzed competitors and benchmarks and examined the customer profiles of existing neobanks with regard to the attractiveness of the offering, the needs of the target groups, and pain points. Together with further insights from a brand architecture analysis, Brandpulse developed the brand strategy with integration of the new digital service offering as a sub-brand in the umbrella brand Cic.

The competitive analysis provided additional results regarding differentiation potential and messaging strategy for the new bank brand. From the segment strategy thus developed, Brandpulse derived the positioning, defined the value proposition and the message hierarchy.

When developing the name, Brandpulse focused on the digital connotation, the attractiveness for the target group of young professionals as well as on the usability under trademark law.

This was followed by the development of a design strategy and brand design concept as well as a communication concept. For the implementation, Brandpulse created guidelines with application principles, the design of the debit card, the key messages as well as an image campaign for the Cleverinvest offer module.

Cic On is scheduled to launch in September 2022.

Cybersecurity in companies has become even more important in the recent past due to various factors. These include technological developments or the growing complexity of IT infrastructures. However, those factors characterized by agile and mobile working, home office availability, the professionalization of cybercrime and an intensified international threat situation are also having an increasing impact. The results of a recent management study by Sophos show that (as is currently the case with almost all professional fields and IT in particular) the specialist area of IT security is naturally also suffering from a severe shortage of skilled workers. But the corporate decision-makers surveyed in the DACH region also see challenges in other areas.

The staff is where it gets stuck the most

Asked what challenges they see in ensuring cybersecurity in their company, the management levels surveyed in all three countries cited the availability of personnel most frequently. In Austrian companies, the difficulty of finding qualified personnel was cited most often, with a frequency of 69.8 percent; in Germany, the figure was 62.7 percent, and in Switzerland, the figure was lowest at 58.8 percent.

Around one-third of all companies seek additional external consulting services to professionalize their cybersecurity in the form of, for example. MDR Services in addition. In Austria, in particular, there also seem to be challenges here. While only 11.8 percent of Swiss and 13.9 percent of German company managements state that they see difficulties in the availability of external consulting services, in Austria this is the case for as many as one third (30.2 percent) of respondents.

Bosses fear IT security impeding workflows

IT security solutions could slow down systems and workflows - this prejudice is constant in management floors. 45.1 percent of Swiss respondents and 40.3 percent of German respondents said that, in their view, disrupting workflows is one of the challenges in ensuring and implementing cybersecurity. In Austria, only 28.3 percent named this.

Two aspects of the modern working world are also seen by bosses as challenges for the implementation of IT security. In Austria, 45.3 percent of respondents expect difficulties in coordinating this task with the modalities of home office solutions when it comes to ensuring cybersecurity. In Germany, 39.8 percent cast a critical eye on this, while in Switzerland it is 35.5 percent of respondents.

Agile methods have become an indispensable part of modern working life. Are the available security solutions flexible enough to keep pace with agile business? As many as 42.8 percent of the German respondents, 41.5 percent of the Austrian respondents and 39.2 of the Swiss respondents expressed doubts here.

Often still old prejudices against IT security

"The figures regarding workflows and flexibility for agile workflows make it clear that an outdated and traditional image of IT security based on rigid structures often still prevails in executive floors," said Michael Veit, cybersecurity expert at Sophos. "Modern cybersecurity solutions, however, offer exactly the opposite and are characterized by their modular and flexible handling, both in architecture and in everyday use. Technologies such as Zero Trust, Managed Security Services or even adaptive cybersecurity ecosystems enable flexible working today, where the user is not even aware of the IT security processes in the background."

Investments at constant level - exact data not known, Switzerland ahead here

Asked whether investment has changed over the past two years, a majority of respondents in Germany (57.2 percent) and Austria (52.8 percent) and 45.1 percent in Switzerland said investment had remained at an unchanged high level. At 47.1 percent, and thus the highest percentage, Swiss company managements stated that they had increased investments in the last 24 months. In Germany (34.8 percent) and Austria (32.1), a good third invested more in IT security. 13.2 percent in Austria, 7.8 percent in Switzerland and 7.5 percent of the managers surveyed in Germany were unable to provide any information on this.

It was rather difficult for the management levels to quantify the exact share of spending on IT security, certainly not least because of the complexity within all cost factors for IT. This is particularly true in Switzerland. Here, almost half (49 percent) of respondents said it was impossible to quantify. 36.3 percent of respondents from German companies were unable to name the share of IT security in IT expenditure, while in Austria this figure was 30.2 percent.

Otherwise, investment in cybersecurity in DACH is distributed as follows: In Germany, 20.9 percent of companies spend 5 to 9 percent on IT security, while 14.4 percent invest 10 to 19 percent. In Austria, 28.3 percent still spend 10 to 19 percent on IT security, and for 13.2 percent of the companies surveyed, the figure is as high as 20 to 29 percent. The picture in Switzerland is as follows: Here, 19.6 percent of companies spend 5 to 9 percent on cybersecurity and 13.7 percent even invest 20 to 29 percent of their budget in this important area.

Source: Sophos

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/it-sicherheit-personal-als-groesste-herausforderung/

m&k: Vanessa Gentile, Salesforce just published the "State of Marketing Report 2022" (werbewoche.ch reported). 6,000 marketing managers in 35 countries were surveyed. What are currently the biggest challenges facing these decision-makers?
The results show that the Swiss marketers surveyed perceive outdated tools and technologies as the biggest challenge. Customers are becoming increasingly demanding - they expect every interaction to be personally tailored to them and their needs. According to 88 percent of Swiss marketers, meeting these expectations is already more difficult than it was a year ago.

What are marketers focusing on to deal with these challenges?
On the one hand, experimenting with new marketing strategies and tactics to meet changing conditions. This is because there are currently also macroeconomic changes that marketers need to prepare for, such as the elimination of third-party cookies. On the other hand, marketers want to improve the use of tools and technologies. For example, by breaking down data silos. Today, companies should know their customers well in order to be able to make them individual offers, and for this they need a holistic view of their customers. Tools and technologies can help to gain a 360-degree view, which is also necessary to reconcile personalization, data protection and privacy.

What important "Key Trends" can still be read out of the report?
To effectively reach their target audience, marketers are investing in a combination of channels. In Switzerland, there was a shift last year towards events and sponsoring, TV and Internet television as well as website and app. However, email marketing remains the most popular channel. Another key trend is emerging in the way marketers are dealing with the demand for more data transparency. Although 67 percent of Swiss marketers still invest in third-party data, 57 percent say they have a fully defined strategy for switching third-party data. As mentioned at the outset, customers expect personalized interactions, for which up-to-the-minute data must be available. The report shows that 67 percent of Swiss marketers are already engaging their customers in real time through one or more marketing channels. Finally, the report found that 77 percent of marketers find collaboration more difficult than before the pandemic. As a result, more are investing in collaboration tools. On average, 3.75 collaboration tools are being used.

You yourself started a project for Salesforce in Switzerland a few years ago, which is now being extended to more and more country markets: "Bring Women Back To Work". Can you outline this project again in a few words for those who are not yet familiar with it?
It's no secret that women are underrepresented in the workplace at all levels, and women returning to work after a career break are often overlooked. Bring Women Back to Work supports women re-entering the workforce in the 12-month coaching and learning program at all levels. Their previous experience plays a secondary role, in keeping with our motto "Hire for attitude, train for skills." Working with partners, we also promote part-time positions, flexible working and equal pay to enable women to re-enter the workforce in a way that is compatible with their commitments outside the job.

Will Salesforce continue its efforts in the area of equality, talent development and "Tech Literacy" (for example via "Bring Women Back To Work") continue even in these difficult economic times?
In any case. Our five values "Trust", "Customer Success", "Innovation", "Equality" and "Sustainability" are deeply rooted in our corporate culture and are reflected in our daily actions. We firmly believe that the role that companies can play in society and the expectation of reconciling financial returns with social impact are greater than ever. We are stepping up our commitment to education and training in particular; BWBW has just been launched in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, for example - and further cohorts are planned for 2023 in Switzerland.

Salesforce, the global leader in CRM solutions, has published its eighth annual State of Marketing Report. The report shows that the work of Swiss marketers continues to create more value despite macroeconomic and labor market headwinds. The report also reveals how marketers in all countries surveyed are adapting to changing data privacy regulations - and managing more data sources than ever before.

Eighty-four percent of Swiss marketers believe their work represents greater value than it did a year ago - an increase of 2 percentage points from a year ago. However, they are struggling in an uncertain economy: 37 percent of Swiss marketers said that budgets are tight, and 88 percent of Swiss marketers agreed that it is more difficult to meet customer expectations than a year ago. To cope with the current situation, marketers are focusing on:

• Experimenting with new marketing strategies and tactics
• Improving the use of tools and technologies

Vanessa Gentile, Head of Marketing Switzerland at Salesforce: "Marketing managers are not only faced with the challenge of meeting the increasing demands of customers. At the same time, they are feeling the cost pressure - especially due to the current economic challenges. In addition, the regulatory shift to marketing without the use of third-party data is imminent. Companies, and marketers in particular, will need to adopt new strategies to further improve and strengthen their communication and relationship with their customers. Our eighth State of Marketing report is not only a barometer of sentiment, but also provides guidance in the ever-changing marketing landscape to create exceptional long-term customer relationships." The trends highlighted in the State-of-Marketing report were identified through a survey of 6,000 marketing executives in 35 countries and six continents, including 75 from Switzerland. Among the findings are the following:

• Multichannel as a success factor: Marketers are investing in a combination of channels and technologies to reach audiences in new places and build lasting relationships. Events and sponsorship, TV/Internet TV and website/app have seen the biggest growth in usage by Swiss marketers over the past year. However, email marketing remains dominant, accounting for more than 80 percent of all outbound marketing messages, according to Salesforce Marketing Cloud's trillions of messages sent.
• First-party data as an integral part of the strategy: Marketers are adapting to changes in data privacy regulations and demands for data transparency. Although 67 percent of Swiss marketers still invest in third-party data, 57 percent say they have a fully defined strategy for switching third-party data.
• KPIs are shifting as marketers seek real-time intelligence: At every stage of the funnel, marketers track more metrics than ever before, year after year. Rapid evaluation and response remains a competitive advantage. Sixty-seven percent of Swiss marketers engage customers in real time across one or more marketing channels.
• Distributed teams unite with collaboration technology: The realization that remote and distributed working is on the rise is prompting executives to invest in new collaboration tools. 77 percent of Swiss marketers say collaboration is more difficult today than before the pandemic and are using an average of 3.75 collaboration tools to help.

All information in detail

An overview of all the numbers in the 2022 State of Marketing Report in the Tableau dashboard. you can find here; the entire report with the global figures is available here.