The other day I read an interesting essay in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung about René Descartes and Donald Trump. The essence of it is that, according to Descartes, we can form infinite opinions about anything and sometimes consider these opinions to be the truth, i.e. facts.

René Descartes: Ability to form opinions is unlimited

For some people - like Donald Trump - this correspondence between opinion and facts is 100 percent: From his point of view, there can be no truth other than his own opinion. And since, according to Descartes, the ability to form opinions is unlimited, we can also create "truths" at will (such as having won the election). I think this explains very elegantly many of his behaviors that are strange to clear-thinking people.

But this is not about the ex-president, but about parallels to our leadership. Because for each of us, too, the line between belief and truth sometimes becomes blurred. Awareness of this can help you to deal elegantly with some typical leadership challenges.

Three findings

Here are three examples of our fuzzy thinking in leadership and what we should do with it:

1. Limited potential. All too often, we believe that our potential success is severely limited. Mentally, we move in a bubble of past experience (e.g., by observing the market environment). However, history shows time and again that these experiences are not truths, but opinions. This is important when you are working on your business strategy.
2. Fixed Identity. "We are not who we are, but who we define ourselves to be" is a frequent statement of mine. Most of the time, we have formed very fixed opinions about ourselves and others that we believe to be truths. But in reality, we can adjust our identity at any time. However, it is not easy. As a first step, however, we need to let go of the belief that "this is who we are."
3. Lack of courage. We love to categorize failures as confirmation of our entrenched beliefs. When in fact they would be more suitable as proof that our assessment was not quite right at this point and that we should therefore adjust it before the next attempt. We always do this instinctively when something is really important to us. Otherwise, we often lose courage because we believe that failure is a sign that we should rather not try.

You see, this is how you can use direct insights from philosophers for your leadership. Good luck with the application!

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch

In a thought experiment, let's imagine a future situation in the summer of 2022. Let's say Thursday, August 11. It is afternoon. The weather is nice. And we look back on the last 2.5 years, in which the coronavirus has shaken up so many things in our lives.

In year 1 after the Corona crisis

We ask ourselves: How does it compare today with the past, when we didn't know anything about Covid-19? What has changed? What new territory have we entered? Where have we evolved? What practices that we once thought were impossible have we been able to integrate into our daily lives without any effort at all?

We realize: a lot has happened. Each of us has entered new territory. In the family, among friends, and at work. The compulsion to change has uncovered many operational opportunities. We can do things faster, more creatively and more efficiently than we thought. Now we need to seize the strategic opportunities as well.

Part 1 - Social Distancing: Virtual Reality is socially acceptable and permeates everything

It's 3:23 p.m. I'm sitting on our balcony at home in the shade and clicking my smartphone into the VR mask for the upcoming meeting. As spokesperson for the Shareholders' Committee, I have - as always - invited the Supervisory Board and the CEO to jointly review our key performance indicators and planning assumptions. After six months of practice, my nervousness about VR meetings has largely subsided.

I check the VR goggles and enter our protected virtual reality meeting room in the next moment. I am the first person in the cozy, old parlor of a mountain farm in Vorarlberg. I still have to smile that, with all the digitalization, it was precisely this romantic retro motif that won the last ideas competition among our employees. But it fits in well with us and our commitment to tradition and down-to-earthness.

I wonder about my steep learning curve. It started with wild improvisation. When we started organizing web meetings and WhatsApp groups right away - from home and sometimes without a good Internet connection. Without this leap, I wouldn't be using VR glasses today as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

I am pleased that our VR initiative launched at the beginning of 2021 has not only strengthened our compliance with social distancing regulations, but also upgraded our operational capability in the event of a crisis. And along the way, we were even able to noticeably and permanently improve our carbon footprint. In the meantime, even the "mileage collectors" at our company appreciate it when they lose less of their life and working time to travel. Like me, many have become accustomed to spending more time at home and with their families.

The creaking of an old floorboard on the porch announces a new participant. It is our CEO and Chairman of the Board, who is currently on an exhausting trip abroad and has become a pro at shimmying from quarantine zone to quarantine zone. We shake hands warmly as we greet each other. The sensory glove that we have been using as a pilot for a few weeks now conveys the hands-on character of my counterpart one-to-one. We are full of beans. In the next one and a half days, we want to discuss a lot and work intensively together at our "strategic lookout hut. Together, we go through our agenda once again, which is stored in our "governance cloud.

Now the six members of the Supervisory Board enter the room, the Chairman here first as well. Some things remain unchanged. I have to grin. After a personal and casual greeting, I open our meeting.

Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3

Click here for part 4

Click here for part 5

Authors:

Christian Schiede has been advising and assisting entrepreneurial families and family businesses to strengthen cohesion, increase competitiveness and secure value since 2003. Contact: www.schiede.com; schiede@shpadvisors.com

Bastian Schneider has been helping entrepreneurs and management teams strengthen their brands from within and lead their organizations and businesses into the future from this perspective since 2000. In more than 30 industries. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Contact: www.brandleadership.ch; bastian.schneider@brandleadership.ch

 

The Swiss HR Academy relies on a strong partnership with HR Campus. But not only this: The leading provider of HR seminars is now managed as a joint venture between the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich, ZGP Zürcher Gesellschaft für Personal-Management and HR Campus. "With the strong partner HR Campus and its many years of HR expertise, the Swiss HR Academy is tapping into additional HR decision-makers and expanding its seminar offering in the area of integral HR management solutions," emphasizes Prof. Matthias Rüegg, Rector of the HWZ, founding partner of the joint venture.

Imparting practical HR know-how

According to HR Campus, its mission is to improve the transfer of practical HR know-how, the promotion of open knowledge and the exchange of experiences in the Swiss HR community. "Our vision is to inspire HR professionals to embrace people-centered HR and equip them with the tools and skills to implement it. By participating in the Swiss HR Academy, we are one step closer to this goal" says Philippe Dutkiewicz, Executive Board Member of HR Campus.

Virtualized HRM

The Swiss HR Academy imparts up-to-date HR know-how, the content of which is significantly supported and supplemented by the competence centers of the HWZ as well as the founding and network partner ZGP. Within a year, it was able to establish itself on the Swiss seminar market. Its seminar offering was immediately and successfully virtualized in 2020: "The current challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic have shown that a hybrid offering of attractive topics, including regulations for home office or remote work, supports companies quickly and straightforwardly in their organizational transformation," says Dr. Daniel C. Schmid, the managing director of the Swiss HR Academy.

Source and further information

The third edition of the Swiss Cyber Security Days (SCSD) will be held entirely online in response to the ban on events related to the coronavirus pandemic. The organizing committee had anticipated the risks and prepared several variants of the event. After 2200 people participated in Fribourg in 2019 and more than 2500 in 2020, a digital version will be implemented this year. The organizers are convinced that with their completely virtual edition, among other advantages, they will also increase their
audience can expand significantly. So, a new virtual concept has been developed for SCSD 2021: Keynotes, Expert Tracks and Best Practice presentations will be accessible via a dynamic platform of the latest generation "SCSD365". It offers numerous opportunities for direct interaction between Internet users and speakers. Keynotes will be streamed in three languages. The presentations and expo area of SCSD365 will be accessible throughout the year and will be continuously supplemented by up-to-date virtual conferences and editorial contributions.

Interactive platform SCSD365

The interactive platform SCSD365 will be launched at the beginning of February. It will remain active throughout the year. The platform is very user-friendly and offers numerous opportunities for interaction. In addition to streamed presentations, online visitors can make interactive video calls as well as live discussions. An AI-driven matchmaking service suggests people to meet virtually. In addition, SCSD365 allows visitors to schedule presentations and meetings and follow up on potential contacts. Virtual booths are available for exhibitors and sponsors, and a marketplace allows them to showcase their products. All papers and presentations will be accessible via streaming, both on the web and via mobile applications. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with the speakers in real time.

Explosion of risks

The last twelve months have dramatically changed the way people communicate and work. The widespread use of home offices exposes companies to increased risk
out, with SMEs in particular being targeted. "A recent studyi shows that a quarter of Swiss SMEs have already been the target of a cyberattack and more than a third have suffered financial or reputational consequences. There is an urgent need to talk more about this and work together to find practical solutions," says Béat Kunz, CEO of SCSD.

March 11, 2021: Dedicated entirely to SMEs

Thus, the opening day of SCSD 2021 is dedicated to national security and the protection of citizens and businesses. Highlights include presentations by the head of the Swiss Armed Forces, Corps Commander Thomas Süssli, the Federal Delegate for Cybersecurity Florian Schütz and Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, as well as roundtables by the World Economic Forum and the Cyberpeace Institute (CPI). Under the patronage of Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and InnoSuisse President André Kudelski, an SME Day on March 11 will feature a program of specific presentations on preventing cyber attacks with real-life case studies.

More information

Last year, the mergers and acquisitions business cooled off compared with the previous year. The number of transactions with Swiss participation fell from 402 to 363; at USD 63.1 billion, the transaction volume was only half as large as in the previous year (USD 127 billion). The decline in transaction volume can be attributed primarily to the fact that mega deals failed to materialize last year. Nevertheless, M&A remains an important pillar of some corporate strategies. This is the finding of KPMG's annual "Clarity on M&A" study.

Corona crisis slows down activities in the M&A market

Especially in the second quarter - under the influence of the outbreak of the corona pandemic - the market for mergers and acquisitions suffered a sharp decline. Only 74 transactions were completed, the lowest number since the beginning of 2017. At the same time, with a transaction volume of only USD 7.1 billion, the lowest quarterly figure since the end of 2015 was recorded. A major reason for the lower M&A activity last year was in particular the great uncertainties and restrictions caused by the outbreak of the corona pandemic. As a result, the focus of many companies in the first half of 2020 was primarily on overcoming the challenges posed by the corona crisis on a global scale. "Given the pressing challenges faced by companies, some transactions already underway were put on hold. Travel restrictions and the shift to home offices also delayed transactions," said Timo Knak, head of mergers and acquisitions at KPMG. Some companies had also questioned or postponed planned deals due to the uncertainties prevailing in the market.

Digitization leads to great dynamism in the technology sector

The ten largest transactions accounted for around two-thirds of the total transaction volume in 2020, driven primarily by the TMT industry (technology, media and telecommunications). In 2020, for example, this industry accounted for more than one-fifth of all transactions (80 out of 363) and more than one-third of transaction volume (USD 22.1 billion out of USD 63.1 billion). "The figures clearly indicate that the acceleration of digitalization in the wake of the Corona crisis has had a direct impact on the mergers and acquisitions business," Knak said. Two transactions from the TMT sector in particular stand out, which were also the largest deals of the past year: on the one hand, the purchase of Sunrise by UPC, a subsidiary of Liberty Global, with a deal volume of just under USD 7.2 billion, and on the other hand, the merger of CPA Global, a portfolio company of Partners Group, with the US-based Clarivate Analytics with a transaction value of USD 7.1 billion.

Little M&A activity in the life sciences and pharma sectors

The life sciences and pharmaceuticals sectors, which had still provided great momentum on the Swiss M&A market in 2019, played a subordinate role in 2020. While these sectors still recorded 65 deals in 2019, the figure was 42 in 2020. The transaction volume shrank by a factor of ten year-on-year from USD 65.2 billion to USD 6.2 billion. The decline in the transaction volume can be explained primarily by the fact that no mega deals, which are frequently seen in the pharmaceutical industry, were recorded last year.

Swiss companies on a shopping spree

Swiss companies again acquired significantly more foreign companies than the other way around last year: in 154 cases (42 percent of transactions), foreign companies were acquired by Swiss companies, and in 84 cases (23 percent of transactions), Swiss companies were acquired by foreign companies. National transactions (Switzerland/Switzerland) increased proportionally compared to the previous year and accounted for one-fifth of all transactions with 74 deals (2019: 16 percent). In contrast, the number of foreign transactions with Swiss sellers declined slightly; with 51 transactions (previous year: 59), around 14 percent of all transactions fall into this category.

M&A market will develop moderately - deal technology gains importance

Despite the continuing uncertainty in the market - not least due to newly emerging mutations of the coronavirus - Knak expects a moderate development in the M&A market: "Companies seem to have adjusted well to the new conditions. This is shown, among other things, by the relatively rapid recovery of the transaction market from summer 2020. In addition, mergers and acquisitions remain strategically important topics. Hopes are ultimately based on the fact that with the vaccination campaign underway, the virus can be contained and uncertainties in the market will diminish accordingly." The M&A expert also expects growing momentum to set in, particularly in the e-commerce sector. At the same time, new technologies are available that can support M&A activities. Thanks to improved computing power and greater storage capacities, transactions can be planned increasingly effectively and processed more efficiently. As a result, decision-making processes are becoming more robust and transparent. At the same time, completely new opportunities for customer interaction are opening up.

Source: KPMG

On behalf of XING, the market and media research institute Forsa surveyed around five hundred Swiss professionals aged 18 and over about the current working environment and their career plans for 2021. The survey participants were selected by means of representative random sampling.

Swiss professionals seek new professional challenges despite Corona

More than half (54 percent) of professionals are basically willing to change jobs in 2021. This means that the willingness to change jobs is practically the same as a year ago (56 percent) and is largely unaffected by the Corona pandemic. 16 percent of respondents even have concrete plans to change jobs this year. Another 38 percent are open to a change, but have not yet taken any concrete steps. Contrary to what the high willingness to change might suggest, the majority of respondents (87 percent) say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their current job. This figure is also on a par with the previous year.

Younger employees increasingly have concrete plans to switch

A look at the age groups shows a significant increase in the number of people aged 18 to 29 who already have concrete plans to switch in the coming year (29 percent vs. 20 percent at the beginning of 2020). Overall, the willingness to switch has decreased among the over-50s. At 37 percent, this is nine percent below the previous year's figure of 46 percent.

Pandemic inhibits active job search

Although the general willingness to change jobs has remained virtually constant, the Corona pandemic sometimes discourages employees who are willing to change jobs from actively looking for one. Forty-nine percent of those latently willing to change jobs say that Corona is one reason why they have not yet actively looked for a new job. This figure is even significantly higher in the youngest age group, 18 to 29. Here, 68 percent of those latently willing to change jobs feel held back in their active planning by the Corona pandemic. In addition, Corona puts a much stronger brake on employees' concrete plans to change jobs in the retail sector than in other industries. XING Switzerland Managing Director Robert Bertschinger comments: "A high latent willingness to switch makes actively approaching candidates even more important for companies. There are many people who are open to a change. But in the current environment, they are more hesitant to become active themselves. Hoping that the right candidate will come forward on their own is therefore not a promising strategy."

Middle management slightly less satisfied

While satisfaction with the current job is at least as high as in the previous year among professionals without management responsibility and among members of senior management, the proportion of rather or very satisfied employees in middle management, for example people with team leadership functions, fell slightly from 90 to 85 percent. Robert Bertschinger explains: "In 2020, members of middle management were often particularly challenged by working from home, as they had to assume their direct management responsibilities under completely new conditions. This pressure may have influenced satisfaction."

Younger Swiss Professionals Worry About Their Jobs

Overall, 39 percent of respondents are concerned about job security. Younger people in particular are concerned about the current situation. In the 18 to 29 age group, almost half (46 percent) are worried about job security. In a sector comparison, it is primarily professionals in the retail sector, at 56 percent, who are worried about their own job security. The figures are lower in the industry and manufacturing sectors (39 percent) and services (36 percent).

Dealing with Corona: Good marks for Swiss employers

Just under two-thirds (61 percent) of professionals rate their employer's handling of the Corona crisis to date as good or even very good. Only 8 percent rated their behavior as poor or insufficient. The best marks are awarded by employees in the industry and manufacturing sector, while employees in the retail sector are the most critical.

Source: XING

Since the beginning of January, Lyreco has been expanding its strategy in the area of sustainability and environmental protection and has been operating exclusively with electric delivery trucks in two Swiss cities. Since then, customers in St. Gallen and Basel City have been receiving their orders using this environmentally friendly means of transport. With its range, the electric variant is particularly suitable for city trips. Electric vehicles have many advantages. In particular, the low air pollutant and noise emissions are significant.

Lyreco has been committed to sustainability and environmental protection for years. Since 2012, CO2 emissions have been reduced by 30%. The focus on a low-emission delivery solution began with the launch of the e-rickshaws in 2017 in downtown Bern, Basel and the city of Zurich. With the e-rickshaws, Lyreco Switzerland says it is expanding its commitment to the environment. The goal is to offer low-emission parcel delivery in all major Swiss cities by 2023, the company writes. To this end, another ten city tours will be equipped with e-vans over the next eighteen months. The next electric-powered delivery van will be deployed in the city of Zurich, the company says. In Switzerland, 60 chauffeurs in company-owned vans deliver 6500 customer orders every day.

Source: Lyreco

For the fifth year in a row, the world's most popular passwords are now "123456" and "password" (password). This is the result of the software company NordPass, which each year anew a list of the Top 200 worst passwords published. To compile this list, the company evaluated more than 5 million published passwords accessible on the Dark Web. Such password databases mostly come from Europe and North America.

Many passwords circulate on the dark web

"In recent years, a gigantic database of private user information has come to light as a result of numerous data leaks and breaches. And lately, it seems like every few days we hear about a new such incident," said Daniel Markuson, digital privacy expert at NordVPN. "With access to such masses of sensitive data, cybercriminals can make use of it in a variety of ways. And that's exactly why using the same credentials for different services, websites and platforms is so dangerous."

Bad passwords: The top 10

Listed below are the ten worst passwords of 2020 that should never be used for Internet accounts under any circumstances:

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. picture1
4. password
5. 12345678
6. 111111
7. 123123
8. 12345
9. 1234567890
10.  senha

How to create a strong password

Below are a few tips on how to create strong passwords that you still won't forget after a few minutes:

• Never use short passwords. The more characters a password has, the longer it takes for a hacker or other shady cybercriminal to crack it.
• Create a complex password. Use upper and lower case, symbols, special characters and numbers to create strong passwords.
• Use long passphrases. Using words from the dictionary is not recommended, but a combination of 6 to 7 random words is a good method. A combination like "left elephant shoes purple rugby vacation" is difficult to guess because of the length and randomness, but easy to remember.
• Rely on a mnemonic. Create memorable sentences by building a mnemonic. For example, a sentence like "I love to eat pizza with my friends in my free time!" can be coined. The first letters of the words then form the password "1leidFmmFPze!".
• Use a password manager. Strong passwords are difficult to remember, which is why a password manager is a good idea. Among the most popular are NordPass and 1Password.

Strong passwords are especially essential for services and websites where sensitive information is shared. These include online banking, shopping websites, home Wi-Fi, personal and work email, and some social media accounts.

The 17-strong crew at Revotool AG, which operates in Switzerland and Austria, has good reasons to celebrate: the company's 30th birthday and the fact that the employees are mastering a triple challenge in their day-to-day work. They attract manufacturers of high-quality work equipment, tools and consumables for construction and assembly as suppliers. Second, as importers, they serve dealers with products from the Revotool range. Third, they sell equipment - including custom-made products - and services to dealers.

On the road with renowned manufacturers

The team led by owner and managing director David Meier seems to be doing all this very well: Revotool AG has now become a long-standing partner in Switzerland and Austria for many companies active in the construction and ancillary construction trades, working with renowned manufacturers such as Panasonic or Hikoki and with over 1700 dealers. "We give our maximum. For example, if it is necessary to develop a custom-made tool, we are very happy to do it with our own mechanics and together with external specialists and the customer," stresses David Meier. "We appeal to companies to contact us even for particularly difficult requests. We're here to help." When it comes to service, she also singles out the crew at Revotool AG: "We repair defective equipment very quickly and offer replacement equipment. We are known for our express repair boxes. Our customers can put their devices in the boxes in their workshops and ask us for a replacement. The next day they will receive the new device. Those who book our all-inclusive service also have insurance included," adds David Meier. Revotool AG is also known for the devices of its own brand. With its company logo, the Uetendorf-based company gives these a stamp of quality that dealers and end customers particularly trust.

Revotool AG: More present than ever in its anniversary year

For David Meier, the anniversary is both satisfaction and confirmation. "The 'plant' Revotool AG continues to thrive and grow. This observation makes me happy. Apparently, the market still needs us after 30 years. Therefore, we do not want to take off. Quite the opposite: we want to and have to learn more every day and confirm ourselves again and again." In the anniversary year, communication is a concern for him. "We want to become even better known and are in the process of adapting our website. In addition, we are now also active in social media and have published the first issue of our company and customer magazine, `Revotool-time`. For our customers from French-speaking Switzerland, this is of course also available in French," says David Meier.

More information

Leomat specializes in vending machines that supply employees in companies with coffee, sweets and snacks at any time of day. What can be done when employees no longer work in the office but in their home offices - and the vending machines are used less as a result? The company from eastern Switzerland, which claims to be the only manufacturer of food vending machines in Switzerland, has a simple answer: "We deliver the products from the vending machine to the home office. If the workplace shifts, so do our services," says Managing Director Daniel Büchel.

New service "LEOPak

The new service runs under the name "LEOPak", is available immediately and is aimed at Swiss companies - no matter which locality in Switzerland, LEOPak will be shipped there. It is a matter of course for the company from Eastern Switzerland to react to changing situations and to always look for innovative solutions, adds Daniel Büchel. Especially in these challenging times, it is also important to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them.

Snack and other snacks

The LEOPaks supplied contain the same products as Leomat's vending machines. Currently, customers can choose from five different packages. There are packages with coffee beans or instant coffee. And those who prefer tea are also catered for. The remaining packages contain cold drinks. What they all have in common is that snacks and sweets are included for the small hunger in between or the snack break. "We also put together packages with other product mixes on request," notes Daniel Büchel. And if it will be possible to maintain the cold chain, lunch menus can also be delivered as LEOPak in the near future, which have so far been selling successfully through the vending machines.

Source and further information: Leomat 

As long as the topic of Corona dominates our (working) lives, many companies have no choice but to experiment with a wide variety of online formats in the event and communications sector. "Otherwise, they run the risk of losing touch with their employees and customers, and no longer acquiring new customers," says Jens-Uwe Meyer, management consultant and keynote speaker with many years of experience as a TV producer.

Well-known personalities alone are not enough for an online event

"Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the demand for keynote speakers for online formats has been rising continuously," emphasizes Yan Doll, DACH Country Manager at the speaker agency Athenas. But simply having a well-known personality or recognized specialist speak is not enough for an online event to work. Both experts agree on that. That's why they advise potential organizers to heed the following three tips, among others.

Tip 1: Impressive pictures please

In television, there is a term called "talking heads". It refers to people who seem to parrot on the screen forever, without any visual variety for the viewers. They are ratings killers. Many YouTubers have the same experience with videos in which they only talk on camera. This is interesting for a minute or two at most, then viewers tune out. "Even at live events, there has been a trend for years to visualize the speakers' messages with images and videos," Meyer emphasizes. "For online events, this is even more important. That's why their organizers should think about the visual concept very early on in the planning process."

Tip 2: Rather shorter, but more frequently

In the past, one to two-day formats have prevailed for face-to-face events in the congress and conference sector, with 30 to 60-minute presentations as the event framework; in between, there are coffee breaks and small workshops. For the following reason: The arrival and departure of many participants often took so long that they had to spend the night on site. So, from the organizer's point of view, they had to be offered a program around the clock to make this time investment worthwhile.

"In online conferences, meetings and kick-offs, you have to get the key messages across in a much shorter time than in traditional face-to-face events," Doll emphasizes. Speeches should be shorter and interactive elements such as audience questions via chat or interviews should be integrated into the presentations. Meyer adds, "The ideal length of an online event is 30 to 120 minutes maximum." For companies or speakers, this means: Get your message across. And for event organizers? Instead of monumental events, go for series of events.

Tip 3: Create highlights

Let's be honest: Are you happy when one video conference, one online meeting follows the next in your agenda? If so, you are an exotic: most people are not. The so-called "no-show rate" for online events - i.e. the number of registered participants who don't "show up" - is correspondingly high. It is significantly higher than for face-to-face events. "This is also because the organizer does not suffer any financial loss from the participant's point of view," says Doll, explaining the phenomenon. After all, he doesn't have to rent a room for the online event or set up a buffet for the get-together afterwards.

At the same time, however, in principle all interested parties worldwide could participate in an online event, provided language barriers are overcome - which makes the effective number of participants difficult to calculate. "Define your target group very precisely in advance," Meyer therefore advises. In addition, it is important to create highlights and communicate them accordingly. "Then address the potential participants in a graduated, targeted manner several times to arouse their curiosity. Increase their interest in the event - also via social media channels. And keep interest high after registration, for example, with content appetizers. Then the no-show rate is lower."

An online event is not a second-rate alternative

The Corona pandemic is forcing many companies to radically rethink their communications strategies. It will also change the way events are planned and executed in the medium and long term. "What we are currently experiencing is not a flash in the pan," Doll is certain. "Professionally executed online events will play a major role in corporate communications even after the pandemic." So will the number of "so-called hybrid conferences, which combine face-to-face events with live broadcasts," Meyer adds.

Meyer advises companies that want to equip themselves for the new digital communications world to take the above "basic tips" to heart and then simply get started and gain experience. There is no lack of technical possibilities. However, as is so often the case in business, the key to success is "knowing how.

Persons quoted in the text:

• Jens-Uwe Meyer is active as a top keynote speaker for innovation, digitalization and leadership in German and English-speaking countries and in Asia. He also designs virtual events for companies and leads them to success (Internet: https://jens-uwe-meyer.de).
• Yan Doll is the responsible Country Manager for the DACH region of Athenas, a speaker agency with numerous locations worldwide. The company arranges well-known speakers and personalities for presence and online events (Internet: https://www.athenas.de).

The "Cloud Trends 2021" study was conducted in 2020 for the second time with a total of 150 Swiss IT decision-makers. Their responses only partially confirmed the predictions they had made in 2018: from the on-premise focus in 2018 (47.7 % of Swiss respondents store their data in on-premise solutions - either in their own data center or in a private cloud), data actually migrated towards the public cloud by 2020, albeit only half as fast as expected.

Cloud Trends 2021: Public cloud share will continue to grow

By the end of 2020, more than half of Swiss IT decision-makers wanted to outsource 51.4 % of their data to the public cloud in 2018; in fact, their own data center still accounts for 39.4 % and public clouds for only 45%. The colocation share increased from 12 % to 13.2 % percent since 2018. Overall, it can be observed that the migration of data to the cloud is only happening half as fast as in the past.
as expected by Swiss decision-makers in 2018.

For 2022, respondents expect the following picture when it comes to application location: public clouds 55.4 % (+16 %), colocation 12.9 % (-0.3 % and own data center 27.4 % (-12 %)x - so the big push into clouds has been delayed by 2 years.

Applications that stay close

However, not all data migrates to the same infrastructure. Four groups can be distinguished. The first group comprises the applications that remain in the vicinity: For ERP, CRM, supply chain management and storage, a migration towards the cloud is discernible. In 2018, up to three quarters of the data load is still in the company's own data center. By the end of 2020, they have already been distributed much more strongly to colocation and public cloud solutions, albeit much less strongly than expected. The cloud share is currently 26.4 % on average. Business-relevant data does not need to be scaled quickly, and security and direct access are also important. For
However, by 2022, over 50 % of these critical applications are expected to be sourced from the public cloud.

The localists

The second group can be called the localists: HR, marketing automation and backup were already strongly represented in the public cloud in 2018. In the case of HR applications, 56.7 % of respondents will be using the public cloud at the end of 2020 (+15 %), marketing automation 73.3 % (+9.2 %) and backup 44.2 % (+2.3 %). The reason: here it is a matter of flexible access and secured performance. In the area of marketing automation, the data must also be easily available to external partners and service providers. For HR and marketing automation, stagnation is expected up to 2022, while the cloud share for backup is expected to grow by 20 %.

The cloud mixed models

For database applications, a broad spread across deployment models was expected in 2018. This has not materialized by the end of 2020 and own data centers continue to dominate here. Everything from the private cloud in the company's own data center to the hyperscaler is in use here. In this application group, it depends on the industry and the specific data handled in each case which infrastructure offers the most advantages.

Your own data center deserted? Not as fast as expected!

In 2018, Swiss decision-makers expected a large migration to the cloud. But instead of only 26.3 % of all applications, 39.4 % will still be operated as a monolithic application or in a private cloud in their own data center at the end of 2020. The resilience of the own data center is particularly well demonstrated by the Development/Testing area, for which 85 % public cloud shares were expected in 2018. Instead, the real shares at the end of 2020 show that there has been no more significant shift to the public cloud. The area even declines slightly from 72 % to 71 %.

2020: The multi-cloud world

The study shows that the trend toward multi-cloud is continuing or has solidified. As early as 2018, 60 % of the decision-makers surveyed reported that they use up to five service providers for Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service. By the end of 2020, 64.7 percent said they were already using up to 10 cloud providers. Here, the focus has clearly shifted towards diversity.

Cloud Connectivity Hubs are the interface to all infrastructures

IT decision-makers looking for the right infrastructure for their future business success will find the best location in so-called Cloud Connectivity Hubs. There, they can operate their own private clouds securely and efficiently, but also have secure, high-performance access to hyperscalers and local public clouds through the colocation location. In this way, hybrid clouds can be set up efficiently. This is also shown by the growth of colocation as a deployment model from 12 % to 13.6 %.

Source: Interxion