The Government Committee, which met in Lausanne on Thursday, November 16, confirmed the Rectorate team proposed by HES-SO Rector Luciana Vaccaro. The Rectorate is thus composed of the following persons for the next four years:

• Luciana Vaccaro, Rector
• Yves Rey, Vice Rector Teaching
• Geneviève Le Fort, Vice Rector Quality
• Christine Pirinoli, Vice Rector Research and Innovation (new).

Christine Pirinoli, 52, takes up her position as Vice Rector Research and Innovation on March 1, 2018. She is currently a member of the Management Board of HESAV - Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud, where she is in charge of aF&E, international relations and services. She holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from IDHEAP and a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Lausanne. She combines her excellent knowledge of the higher education landscape with many years of experience in research leadership and governance.

The current Vice Rector Research and Innovation Patrick Furrer, who will not extend his mandate, will hand over his duties at the end of February 2018. His commitment and achievements were acknowledged, including namely the introduction of a funding system with stronger incentives for research in the HES-SO, the establishment of the research unit aF&E, which offers a proactive service to researchers, the creation of the HES-SO Innovation Award or even the introduction of procedures that meet the requirements of Open Access.

The appointees form a team of complementary profiles that will support Rector Luciana Vaccaro in all the tasks that need to be accomplished over the next four years. These include, in particular, further developing the HES-SO in the face of the challenges of digitalization and World 4.0, supporting research in the universities in order to further enhance their quality and performance, guaranteeing the institutional accreditation of the HES-SO, and strengthening its national and international positioning. The HES-SO is the largest university-level higher education institution in Western Switzerland. It forms a wide network of higher education institutions across seven cantons and has 21,000 students from six academic disciplines. It awards more than 5,000 bachelor's and master's degrees annually, and more than 96 % of its graduates find a job within less than a year of graduation.

www.hes-so.ch

Nearly 300 visitors attended the Adobe Symposium on November 16, 2017, according to the organizer. The event at Stage One mainly attracted Adobe customers and partners as well as those interested in marketing and experience trends. Angelo Buscemi, Country Manager Adobe Switzerland and Austria, summed up: "The Adobe Symposium more than exceeded our expectations. We are very pleased that we were able to demonstrate at our Swiss event the great influence that marketing is already having in the area of experience. It was also possible to show concretely how companies can increase the customer experience across all available channels and thus win the loyalty of their customers. Many of the participating companies are pioneers and are already using the new possibilities for themselves and for their customers. What emerged very clearly at the symposium in Zurich is that companies absolutely must integrate the topic of customer experience into their marketing strategy in order to be successful in the long term. As Vijayanta Gupta pointed out in his presentation, "experience is the new loyalty.""

Partnerships as the basis for new customer experiences

Angelo Buscemi opened the event together with David Burnand, Director, Enterprise Marketing EMEA at Adobe. Vijayanta Gupta, Head of Product & Industry Marketing and Industry Strategy EMEA, then explained his personal connection to Switzerland and gave the audience clear examples of how successful customer experiences can be created. Michael Gubelmann from Microsoft presented how the partnership between Adobe and Microsoft will make itself felt and how sales and marketing can be linked in the best possible way. Marc Eaman, Director, Experience Cloud, Technical Marketing Adobe, showed how companies can make experience their business model, true to the motto of the event.

Customer experience put into practice...

Before noon, two breakout sessions were held. These were thematically divided into "Creative", "Marketing" and "Advertising". In a creative session, for example, Sebastian Pfotenhauer from Ringier AG explained why virtual reality is a game changer in today's world and how VR can best be integrated into a multiplatform strategy. From the field of marketing, Nicolas Mériel from Swisscom presented how Swisscom is already using artificial intelligence and what new opportunities it can open up. In two further breakout sessions, Stefan Gass from Veeam Software gave tips on how to optimize B2B business through "connected customer brand experiences". Secondly, the hot topic of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was also discussed thanks to Heiner Bünting, Senior Legal Counsel EMEA at Adobe. Bünting explained what the General Data Protection Regulation means for companies in concrete terms and how they should prepare for it.

...and some magic

In the afternoon, Felix Wenger, Head Distribution & Channels at Raiffeisen Switzerland, and Karsten Krämer, Senior Manager Digital Portals Deutsche Lufthansa AG, presented use cases from their companies. Marco Tempest, a cyber illusionist, was able to captivate the audience once again at the very end, combining technology, story telling and a bit of magic with his performance.

Source and further information: Adobe System (Switzerland) Ltd.

The Swiss trading company Optiremo AG (company fictitious) has recently started to distribute its products from the medical, measurement, control and optics technology worldwide. CEO Florian Kälin now also maintains good contacts in China and was recently even able to win a customer for a large delivery of industrial pressure measuring instruments. However, the customer has not yet paid his invoice. Florian Kälin is therefore asking himself how he can reduce the risk for his company and what he can do to ensure payment transactions. "Often, external influences such as the economic situation, prevailing customs, language and generally the communication between two business partners affect payment morale," says Pance Antevski, Team Leader International Service Line at Intrum Justitia Ltd. "Moreover, since laws differ from country to country, collecting international receivables not an easy task." After all, if international or bilateral agreements are in place, this reduces the risk of payment defaults.

Recommended procedure for receivables management abroad

What precautions should companies take before starting international activities to prevent reminders and debt collection abroad?

• Avoid particularly risky, unstable regions and countries.
• Make sure that the business partner is a member of a national trade association.
• When signing a contract, make sure the terms and conditions are clear.
• Agree in the GTC/contract that Swiss law applies and the place of jurisdiction is in Switzerland. If this is not possible, then agree on an international arbitration.
• Find out about the financial situation of the future contract partner.
• Get as much contact information about the business partner as possible.
• Clarify whether the negotiating party may actually make decisions on behalf of the company.

Course of action in case of late payment...

In this case, the delay in payment has already occurred. Pance Antevski: "Florian Kälin should therefore contact the customer within a short period of time and clarify why the invoice has not been paid. If he cannot clarify this within 30 days or if the contractual partner does not give a clear answer, he should look into the idea of handing the case over to a specialized company for international debt collection with local representation. In doing so, it is crucial that Optiremo AG provides as much information and documentation as possible."

... and after the case opening

Optiremo AG wants to enforce payment by means of international receivables management. Therefore, the debt collection provider first transfers the case to its representation in China. "Our locally stationed employees, who are very familiar with the national conditions, endeavor to obtain the realization of the claim within 60 days by taking pre-legal collection steps," emphasizes Pance Antevski. If within this period it turns out that the claim is disputed and no agreement can be reached, it will notify Optiremo AG of a recommendation with the next (legal) steps.

International debt collection: important facts in brief

• Is international debt collection expensive? Pre-legal collection by Intrum Justitia AG usually incurs no or only minimal costs. All further steps that may incur additional costs are communicated to the client in advance and are only carried out after the client's consent. Thus, cost transparency is always available for the company placing the order. Only in the case of successful international receivables management does the customer pay the agreed commission.
• How long does such a process take? The duration of the process is individual and depends on the complexity of the case. Added to this is the varying efficiency of the courts in the respective country.

Contact for more information:

Intrum Justitia AG, sales.ch@intrum.ch, +41 44 806 85 57

More articles on the topic:

• Credit check: Is your customer solvent?
• Minimize payment defaults with receivables management

The year 2017 is coming to an end - once again an eventful one from the perspective of IT security. Various IT system providers are thinking about digital trends in the IT industry: A study by Adobe, for example, shows that customer requirements are more important to today's IT managers than the functionality of their systems. And IT service providers such as F5 Networks are also venturing an initial outlook for the coming year.

IT trends 2018

• applications as a safety hazard: Organizations continue to spend most of their security budgets on protecting the network - and forget about securing user identities and critical applications. But this is precisely where cybercriminals are now targeting. The security concept should therefore focus on the areas that really matter and effectively combat dangerous behavior and incidents. Then companies can focus on the threats that pose the greatest risk to their operations.
• Protect data comprehensively: It is no longer enough to protect the network perimeter. Data confidentiality must be ensured during capture, transmission and at the storage location - whether in the cloud or in the data center. If data is modified by unauthorized persons or automated bots, there must be backups or redundant data storage. Cybersecurity tools should provide complete visibility to all threats in the process. Protecting any infrastructure means secure data access at any time, from any device, in any environment.
• Securing critical infrastructure: Water, electricity and fuel supply infrastructures are becoming increasingly digital - and thus attractive targets for cyberattacks. Hackers' motives range from stealing data, damaging reputations and disrupting business operations to threatening citizens. In addition to complying with IT security law, critical infrastructure operators should work with vendors and penetration testers to look for open vulnerabilities and define risk mitigation measures.
• EU-DSGVO is just around the corner: As of May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) will apply. Then, affected organizations will have to describe the exact nature of each security incident, specify the number of compromised data sets, provide contact details of the responsible executives and list the countermeasures taken. Potential fines can be as high as 4 percent of global revenue or 20 million euros. But companies that handle it correctly can gain major competitive advantages.
• Artificial intelligence: more benefits and risks: Optimized AI solutions will form the basis for a new generation of cognitive applications. These will not only provide users with highly personalized services in real time, but also become predictive and preventive. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), these applications will increasingly form the core of large-scale systems, combining numerous sensors with real-time analytics to optimize decision-making. Advances in wearable and embeddable devices (wearables and embeddables, respectively) will thereby lead to high user-friendliness, but also to novel risks for security and privacy.
• Skills shortage worsens: The shortage of cybersecurity professionals will continue to worsen. This requires combined measures including investment, political will and a change in culture. Cybersecurity is not an obscure science, but part of our daily lives. Career opportunities are endless in a fast-paced, dynamic marketplace driven by the latest technology. So organizations need to be more aggressive in seeking suitable talent for tomorrow's teams.
• 5G is on the way: Companies should start planning for a 5G implementation now. They need to consider how they plan to support the technology, how it will affect customer usage, and how it will change the way they work with partners. Fundamentally, companies need scalable networks that can handle the massive traffic increases. In addition, security threats need to be addressed from the outset without compromising accessibility.

Further Digital Trends

According to a study by Adobe, IT managers are increasingly required to react flexibly to customer trends and to provide the corresponding infrastructure for personalized real-time services. Keeping up to date with changes in customer expectations and behavior is therefore currently the biggest challenge in their job for 40 percent of IT decision-makers. This aspect is now even more important to them than concerns about the functionality of their IT systems (31 percent). Only the threat of security breaches and cyber attacks (41 percent) has a similarly high priority. These are the findings of the aforementioned study entitled "Digital Trends 2017 in the IT Industry". This was conducted by the market research institute Econsultancy on behalf of Adobe. More than 14,000 marketing managers and over 500 IT executives were surveyed as part of this global study. According to the study, the consolidation of data for a uniform view of the customer enjoys the highest priority in larger companies (57 percent). In smaller companies, the problem of isolated data stocks in different departments and systems is not quite as pressing (35 percent). In addition to data protection (55 percent, large companies: 54 percent), support for all end devices for mobile working is increasingly in focus in medium-sized companies (41 percent, large companies: 32 percent).

At the top of the agenda: the further development of digital workflows

Aside from all the IT trends in 2018, the impact of digital technologies on internal company processes is clearly noticeable for IT decision-makers of all company sizes, according to the Adobe study. For almost half of them (49 percent), optimizing digital processes is one of the top priorities. Among the most common projects is the switch to paperless, end-to-end digital workflows. One in two companies has already actively tackled this challenge (large companies: 47 percent, small companies: 53 percent). Other important measures currently cited include shifting more technology to integrated cloud solutions (42 and 31 percent respectively), integrating electronic signatures (41 and 26 percent respectively) and linking automated workflows with backend systems with the aim of reducing processing times (40 and 44 percent respectively). Overall, IT executives feel more challenged than ever to keep pace with key innovation technologies. In this context, IT executives in large companies are under significantly more pressure to keep up with new technologies and innovation trends than their colleagues in smaller companies (46 percent vs. 36 percent).

Sources: F5 Networks, Adobe

It will be some time before "Homo Deus," as described by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari in his much-discussed new book of the same name, becomes active in our working world. Perhaps this vision of a human-machine hybrid will never become reality. Nevertheless, the first steps in this direction have long since been taken: artificial intelligence is making its way into the workplace, as are virtual and augmented reality; even data chips worn subcutaneously are already being tested. All these aspects may be utopia or dystopia. But the One Workspace concept is highly topical because it enables a better working life and is therefore being implemented by an increasing number of companies. In doing so, a number of challenges have to be mastered: processes have to be rethought, employees have to be equipped with the right competencies, and the management culture has to be subjected to new approaches. Often forgotten or mistakenly ignored, but just as important, is the topic of legal compliance of IT and the special topic of data center compliance. This is where operational and financial risks are hidden that can be avoided. On the contrary, active management enables cost optimization and legal certainty for companies and employees.

Why One Workspace?

Modern knowledge workers use different devices (PC, laptop, smartphone, tablets, etc.) and different types of applications for their work, such as mobile, virtual or physical apps and SaaS apps. They use different data containers, e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, Sharepoint, and very many digital identities, such as the Active Directory account in the company, Google ID, Apple ID, etc. Devices and applications are also often privately funded and organized, but used for work. Private and business data sit side by side on the devices and data containers. The employees' demand is to be able to work at any time, at any place and with any device, i.e. to have unrestricted access to applications and data and to act in a way that is both data and legally secure. The variety of mobile devices and the operating system versions running on them alone pose major challenges for IT. Combined with the variety of applications and the demands that modern license management places on the enterprise, context-based provisioning and management of the modern workplace becomes an extremely complex task. Just one example: How does IT manage to know which employee needs which Office 365 subscription and which components of the license they are using at all, or whether the license spend may be unnecessary in light of non-use? Nevertheless, every company wants to support and improve the productivity of its increasingly mobile employees and efficiently exploit the possibilities of the devices and applications. People and technology should work together optimally for business success. With the time-honored methods of workplace management, this cannot be achieved in an increasingly cloud- and mobile-savvy world. That's why the One Workspace concept has begun its triumphant march through companies. With One Workspace, employees have all their devices, applications, data, identities and services available to them through a personal cloud. Organized, managed, serviced, and IT and legally secured, this cloud workspace is delivered to any device at any time at the right service price.

The devil is in the details

Companies want to actively control their process costs, for example in the service desk, and have sovereignty over their data, including their commercial data. In other words, they also want to actively control their licenses. However, application licensing is highly complex. In practice, most applications on mobile devices come from public apps stores, where employees obtain them themselves. What most employees don't consider: Some apps are free for personal use, but not for professional use. And even if they are paid apps, the license is often only valid for private use. In addition, manufacturers often offer volume purchase programs for paid apps, which are interesting for companies in order to reduce costs. Individual purchases by employees therefore make little commercial sense in most cases. Indirect licensing is no less relevant when software is used that may require access licenses for databases or application servers (CAL Client Access License) in the server environment. In this area, active control by the company is of even greater relevance. This may involve considerable cost risks. Manufacturers have significantly more opportunities here to set prices, differentiate and modularize. And they use this to the best of their ability. The example of Oracle alone shows that even small things can have a major financial impact. What may be a "piece of cake" for the database administrator may make the person responsible for licensing turn pale.

Transparency about processes and costs

One Workspace solutions provide a remedy. They provide transparency about the licenses used in the company on PCs, mobile devices, cloud-based workstations through to the data center and the associated costs, thus enabling active control. By enabling usage measurements, they give IT an overview of which applications are installed on which device and how frequently they are used. If private devices are in use in the company, corporate policies should be introduced to regulate access to this partially private information before usage measurements are carried out. In principle, there are clear legal requirements for the introduction and use of technical equipment that is suitable for monitoring the behavior or performance of employees - regardless of whether the devices are private or company-owned. In many companies, employee representatives also play a major role in safeguarding such interests. IT, however, needs control over the applications if it is to actively manage both security and cost aspects. Depending on the results of the survey, IT has various options: With a One Workspace tool, for example, unused licenses can be uninstalled on the devices or the application portfolio can be reduced right away. Maintenance contracts can also be optimized, the purchase of unnecessary updates can be limited and framework agreements can be renegotiated.

Covering the entire digital lifecycle

However, One Workspace solutions not only bring benefits in license management. They cover the entire lifecycle of a workspace. From the individual configuration of the workspace and its integration into the company's IT landscape to the services desk and license management, all aspects are covered and can be controlled centrally by the company. The One Workspace concept also provides everything for today's and tomorrow's knowledge workers, keyword Generation Z, to be able to work unhindered and productively in the age of digitalization. Because with a One Workspace solution, the foundation is laid to be able to cover future scenarios as well. Whatever devices and functionalities the Internet of Things and wearables and virtual reality development will provide for tomorrow's work. All these devices and functionalities need to be managed - One Workspace solutions specialize in just that. Investments in One Workspace systems are therefore also investments in the future of the workplace.

One Workspace at Swiss Companies

The topic of One Workspace has already arrived in Switzerland as well. Swiss companies have recognized the challenges posed by the rapid changes in the way work is done today and in the near future. However, many people in charge are not yet giving the topic the right weighting. At the same time, it is strategically important to provide future generations with customized workplaces in good time and to operate them optimally in terms of costs as well as IT and data law. After all, in the global knowledge economy, corporate success depends to a very large extent on the productivity and satisfaction of employees. The sooner companies act, the more likely they are to have a lasting impact on their success in the market and on the labor market.

Oliver Bendig is CEO of Matrix42.

From the ten nominated, innovative IT-based projects and companies, the interdisciplinary jury of experts at the Swiss ICT Award 2017 chose the universally usable IoT automation software from Nomos System AG. It decodes all currently known automation protocols for multimedia, software, service as well as buildings and connects them at will with proprietary IoT apps. The Newcomer Award goes to Advertima for its Experience Management System (EMS), which can learn from past data thanks to machine learning algorithms to constantly improve performance. Around 800 guests from the Swiss ICT industry, research, business and politics attended the award ceremony in Lucerne on November 14, 2017.

Automation software paves the way for the Internet of Things

Nomos System AG's win of the Swiss ICT Award 2017 is justified in several ways in the jury's commendation. Those who begin to use IoT quickly discover that the protocols, software and hardware are mostly proprietary and not compatible with each other. An IoT automation software that decodes all automation protocols for multimedia, software, service and building and connects them with proprietary IoT apps at will is then the solution. The jury therefore honored the foresight, courage and implementation of this initiative and declared Nomos System the winner. The number of IoT components and protocols is growing rapidly in the coming years. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to enable simple and integrated operation. In its laudation, the jury went on to say that Nomos System had created a strategic advantage for itself through the modularity of its platform.

Swiss ICT Newcomer Award 2017 for learning algorithms

This year's winner of the Newcomer Award is Advertima AG. According to the jury, this company impressively demonstrates how technology can increase the efficiency of advertising and information. Advertima combines advertising in public spaces with a variable target group approach, which is made possible by the latest technology. The electronic billboard uses sensors to record anonymized, biometric key data of the person approaching it and is thus able to make an allocation according to gender, age and other profile data relevant to advertising. The jury was particularly impressed by the overall concept of the Experience Management System (EMS). Thanks to machine learning, EMS can learn from past data and thus constantly improve target quality. Such machine learning algorithms are forward-looking and capable of producing even more amazing applications.

Swiss ICT Special Award 2017 for Urs Hölzle

The Swiss ICT Special Award 2017 was presented to Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President of Technical Infrastructure at Google. Urs Hölzle, who grew up in Liestal/BL, started at Google in 1999 as the eighth employee. The Swiss computer scientist, previously a professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara, was Google's first chief engineer, responsible for "30 PCs with improvised cabling" and gave himself the job title "Search Engine Mechanic" because there was "always something to physically mend". Today, as Senior Vice President of Technical Infrastructure, he is responsible for the entire technical infrastructure of the Internet giant worldwide, whose development and expansion he has played a key role in shaping. In the process, Urs Hölzle is also consistently committed to reducing energy consumption in data centers.

In addition to the high standard of education in Switzerland and the proximity to the technical universities of Zurich and Lausanne, it is not least thanks to Urs Hölzle that Google started with a few employees in Zurich in 2004. The expansion of the Zurich offices into the largest Google development center for machine learning outside the U.S. would probably not have been possible without the Swiss computer scientist. Patrick Warnking, Managing Director of Google Switzerland, calls him the "godfather" of the project.

At the time of moving into the new offices on Europaallee at the beginning of 2017, 2000 employees were working at Google Zurich - in the next few years, up to 5000 employees are expected to be stationed here. Zurich's Director of Economic Affairs and Cantonal Government Councillor Carmen Walker Späh, commented at the opening event in January 2017: "Google is an important employer, cooperation partner of universities and image bearer for Zurich as an ICT location. With the opening of the new development center on Europaallee, Google is reaffirming the great importance of the Zurich region as an international starting point for digital transformation. I am extremely pleased with this commitment to our business location, and I would like to thank Google and its employees for their trust in our location."

Swiss ICT Public Award 2017

For the second time, the audience at the conference was able to vote for the winner of the "Swiss ICT Public Awards" in addition to the readership of Swiss IT Magazine. The most popular candidate turned out to be swisscognitive. The winner was chosen from among the nominated finalists of the Swiss ICT Award and the SwissICT Newcomer Award.

Videos with further information about the finalists and prize winners of the Swiss ICT Award 2017 are available at here.

The St.Gallen Rhine Valley surprises with its unexpectedly powerful economy. Numerous companies are world market leaders in their respective fields. Thanks to high-tech and high-quality products, the Rhine Valley is one of the leading technology locations worldwide. It is responsible for almost half of the export volume of the canton of St.Gallen. Over 90 percent of the goods produced in the Rhine Valley go to customers abroad.

The franc shock coupled with the strong export orientation presented the Rhine Valley economy with special challenges. How are the companies doing today? What challenges have they faced in the last two and a half years and which measures have been successful? Do they still believe in Switzerland as a place to work? The Rhine Valley companies SFS Group, Bauwerk Parkett, Coltène/Whaledent and Leica Geosystems recently provided information about this in a joint press release.

Comprehensive package of measures to counter the Swiss franc shock

SFS Group, headquartered in Heerbrugg, is one of the world's leading companies for mechanical fastening systems and precision molded parts. The company's main customers are customers in the automotive, construction, fittings, electrical and electronics industries. Precision components from SFS contribute, for example, to increasing passenger safety or improving fuel consumption and emission levels in cars.

SFS's Swiss production plants export around 90% of their products abroad. The prices are typically set in euros, but the costs are mainly incurred in Swiss francs. In addition, the main competitors have their cost base in euros. To restore competitiveness, SFS responded with a comprehensive package of measures built on four pillars, according to CEO Jens Breu: "SFS acted quickly, consistently leveraged its strengths, reduced its dependence on the Swiss franc and actively lived its partnership with its employees."

Thanks to the measures taken following the appreciation of the Swiss franc, productivity at the Swiss production sites increased by 15.9% compared with 2015 in terms of contribution margin per employee. The current figure even exceeds the 2014 result before the abandonment of the minimum euro exchange rate by 5.8%. The company is convinced that it will continue to be able to compete successfully on an international level from its base in Switzerland. In Switzerland, for example, the focus on the development and manufacture of innovative products is being driven forward. Increasingly, know-how-intensive as well as technologically sophisticated and capital-intensive products and processes are being used. In return, the manufacture of other products is being transferred to foreign locations. However, the level of employment in Switzerland can be maintained.

Merger as a challenge and means of success for Bauwerk Parquet

With sales of around CHF 280 million and around 1,900 employees, Bauwerk Parkett is one of Europe's leading parquet manufacturers. After five difficult years, the St.Margrethen-based company is also well on the way to returning to its familiar strength. CEO Klaus Brammertz expects 2017 to close with a good result. The biggest challenge, but at the same time the most successful measure during the Swiss franc shock was the merger with BOEN AS, which had already been initiated at that time. The franc shock forced an accelerated merger of the equally large but culturally very different companies. "From today's point of view, this was by far the most important measure to ensure that we are even stronger today than we were before 2015," says Brammertz. After all, the merger generated access to growth markets and low-cost production facilities in Eastern Europe. However, the Swiss plant location still offers the most reliable basis for the Group and is its most important sales market. "That is why we invested more than 2 MCHF in Switzerland in both 2016 and 2017 and will continue to do so," as Brammertz affirms. He identifies challenges mainly in the expected decline in construction activity in Switzerland, the rampant "stinginess is cool" mentality and the growing importance of some wood substitute products.

Coltène/Whaledent: Maintain high quality and innovation despite strength of the Swiss franc

Coltène/Whaledent, the leading international company in the development, manufacture and distribution of dental consumables and small appliances, also initiated immediate measures in January 2015 to counter the franc shock. In particular, an immediate response was required in the purchasing of raw materials. In addition, efficiency programs and optimizations were launched to get costs under control. "We deliberately refrained from wage cuts or overtime," as CEO Martin Schaufelberger reported. "After adjusting to an exchange rate of CHF 1.10, the current rate of CHF 1.15 is helping us."

Despite the challenges posed by the strong Swiss franc, it was important for Colténe/Whaledent to keep up in terms of quality and innovation, because this is the only way to maintain prices. The plant in Altstätten employs top people with good training and high motivation. But: The wage costs are also top class and increases are expected every year. Nevertheless, the management around Schaufelberger believes in Switzerland as a place to work. "It is the place where we can run our business best. We know our way around here, whether it's suppliers, engineering and consulting partners, the labor market and government requirements. I can't think of any place I'd rather solve problems like currency shock." Coltène/Whaledent is a Rhine Valley company in terms of shareholders, employees and many suppliers. For this reason and because of the various advantages of the location, more than CHF 11 million is being invested in a new building for production and offices in Altstäten. "We are thus cementing our location in the region."

High-performance innovation factory Leica Geosystems in Heerbrugg

Leica Geosystems AG, now part of Hexagon AB, continues to be successful, as CEO Jürgen Dold confirms. "We are sticking to our global growth strategy, which is based on three proven pillars. First, we are pursuing innovation in all of our product lines without interruption and are adding additional technologies to our portfolio through targeted acquisitions. Second, we are expanding our global market presence not only by investing in our distribution network in growth markets, but also through new digital sales channels and new services. Third, we are working to continuously improve our productivity across all our businesses and functions. The franc shock has not changed our strategy, but it has accelerated certain measures in the area of efficiency improvements."

In recent years, there have been a variety of macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that had to be overcome. The high level of innovation and continuous efficiency improvements are certainly the main reasons why Leica is able to position itself well in a very demanding global market environment. In the short term, the challenges will remain similar. The company must continue to be agile on the road to overcome macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. In the medium term, it will be exciting to see how quickly the digitization of cross-company business processes will progress. "New technologies will enable us to transform a wide variety of business processes." The CEO is convinced that Leica Geosystems, as part of Hexagon, is excellently positioned to exploit the opportunities of digitalization for its sustainable growth.

Leica Geosystems will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary in Heerbrugg. The company has been at home in the Rhine Valley since 1921. A high-performance innovation factory that successfully launches around 40 new products on the market every year. "In the recent past, we have introduced additional new agile development methods that enable us to bring highly innovative products to market even faster," says Dold. Heerbrugg is one of the largest sites in the Hexagon Group and is not only of central importance for Leica Geosystems, but also for Hexagon, which has expanded its corporate research here.

Further information: Association St.Gallen Rhine Valley, www.rheintal.com

Swiss CFOs are more optimistic about the future than at any time since the Swiss National Bank (SNB) lifted the minimum exchange rate for the Swiss franc in mid-January 2015. Economic optimism and a mood of growth are spreading through the carpeted floors - one can almost speak of prospects for a boom: 74% (previous quarter 71%) of CFOs assess the economic outlook for Switzerland as positive; almost four-fifths (79%, previous quarter 76%) are budgeting for more sales in the coming twelve months. More than two-thirds of CFOs (68%, previous quarter 66%) rate their company's financial outlook as positive. And 41% (previous quarter 38%) expect higher margins, so that Swiss companies' profits should also improve in the coming year.

Boom with uncertain omens

According to the survey of 114 CFOs conducted by Deloitte in September, investments are also on the rise. The majority of these are planned in Switzerland - a good sign for the domestic economy. In addition to the generally positive economic data, the weakening Swiss franc is probably also largely responsible for the increased optimism. However, this makes the positive mood vulnerable to a possible resurgence of the Swiss franc. Accordingly, currency risks are once again moving into the focus of Swiss CFOs. However, as the majority of Swiss companies have now adjusted to the more volatile environment and currency risks, this risk is now less pronounced than in the past.

The second most important risk is internal corporate problems, while geopolitical risks have again slipped somewhat out of focus. "Swiss companies have broad confidence in the economic framework data in Europe and in the stability of world trade. They also seem to have increasingly adjusted to the current imponderables of US politics. They have made their own companies fit and expanded their analytical and reaction capabilities. They are also making innovative products and services more independent of external risks," says Michael Grampp, Chief Economist at Deloitte Switzerland.

Swiss franc shock largely digested

"Swiss CFOs are looking forward to the upswing - all relevant indicators are pointing upwards," Grampp's further assessment. "However, the economic upturn expected for 2018 still has to be realized, and there is no slackening of efforts. In general, however, it can already be said that Swiss companies have largely digested the franc shock and that its effects are less severe than had been suspected at the time. Many companies in exporting sectors had sharply cut back on investment and employment. Now, the willingness to invest is back on a broad front. Export-oriented companies are also much more likely to expect their workforces to grow than the rest."

European companies have a positive attitude - with the exception of the UK

The survey, which was also conducted simultaneously in other European countries among more than 1,500 CFOs, shows that in most countries, CFOs have a better view of the future of their own company than in the last survey six months ago. The CFOs also have high and further increasing sales expectations, anticipate more investments and a significant increase in the number of employees - a very pleasing sign in view of the still high unemployment in the Latin countries.

However, the prospects for an economic boom are also more favorable elsewhere than they already are. Of the major economies, France presents itself as almost euphoric in terms of several key figures (corporate outlook, investments or employee numbers), but Germany (sales), Italy (margins) or Spain (investments) also report very good figures. Perceived uncertainty is decreasing across the board in the major economies - except in the UK, where most key figures have deteriorated in view of the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

Interest rate turnaround in Switzerland not before 2020

In the survey, the majority of CFOs from the euro zone still expected interest rates to rise within a year. They are now likely to be rather disappointed by the ECB's interest rate decision at the end of October. For two-thirds of eurozone CFOs, however, monetary policy is not a key issue and they would not change their strategy even in the event of an interest rate turnaround.

"CFOs, especially from economically stronger countries, are rather critical of the ECB's monetary policy. The majority of them consider it too loose and fear the emergence of real estate bubbles or overreactions on the financial markets. They don't want to wait much longer for the interest rate turnaround and long for a return to monetary policy normality," says Dennis Brandes, Senior Economic Analyst and co-author of the survey.

The smallest number of CFOs who expect interest rates in their country to rise within twelve months is found in Switzerland. "Companies in Switzerland are now more likely to expect the negative interest rate policy to last longer again. The SNB can hardly raise interest rates ahead of the euro area, even with stable economic growth, so we do not expect an interest rate turnaround before the beginning of 2020," is Brandes' assessment.

Source and further information: Deloitte CFO Survey

The full-service digital agency Namics conducted a study on the topic of "Customer Experience in Private Pension Provision - Will Personal Advice Remain Indispensable in the Digital Future?" For the study, the e-business experts evaluated the customer experience when concluding private pension products. The result: the customer experience is only satisfactory and fails to inspire. The most important touchpoint is still the personal consultation, which, however, has a high potential for optimization. More than 800 customers of more than 24 different banks and insurance companies who have taken out private pension plans in the past were surveyed. The companies surveyed include Allianz, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse and PostFinance.

Customer needs: Fear of old-age poverty and lack of individual offers

Financial service providers must understand and be able to respond to the needs and requirements of their customers. The study shows which goals customers pursue with a private pension plan and what the triggers are for dealing with this topic:

Those who define such clear needs also demand correspondingly personalized products. That's why more than 80 percent of respondents want to take out a product that optimally meets their individual needs. However, these products are often missing, as the study shows: 42.0 percent of customers state that their current product is not tailored to their needs.

Customer types: Active and passive behavior patterns

The study shows clear differences in customer behavior with regard to interaction with companies. These are particularly evident in the search for information within the customer journey. Two types of behavior can be derived:

The "multimedia active" actively inform themselves via all channels and prepare for a conversation. They are receptive to advertising via both traditional and online channels and need advice as a supplementary touchpoint. The "Personally Passive" hardly inform themselves and expect to receive all information in the consultation. They are not receptive to advertising and must be made aware of the topic by the advisor or by people close to them. Here, too, the consultation is the central touchpoint - this is where all the information is obtained and decisions are made about possible approaches.

Customer Journey: The most important touchpoints and channels from trigger to completion

The two types go through the same customer journey. However, they differ greatly in some cases in their choice of touchpoints and channels. For example, 60.6 percent of the "multimedia active" customers cite online advertising as the trigger for finding out about private pension provision. Among the "Personally Passive," the figure is only 12.9 percent. The choice of touchpoint also differs in the information phase. Whereas 79.8 percent of the "multimedia active" users obtain information from bank and insurance websites, only 19.3 percent of the "personal passive" users use this touchpoint. When it comes to contact, however, both types agree: at over 77 percent, direct contact with the customer advisor is a key channel. Both also agree on the desire for personal advice. When it comes to closing the deal, there is again a serious difference, especially when it comes to sending documents. Here, 52.6 percent of the "multimedia active" are in favor of the online portal, while only 28.2 percent of the other group are.

Customer satisfaction: Enthusiasm looks different

According to the study, the customers surveyed are satisfied overall, but not enthusiastic. This was determined by the Customer Experience Index (CXi), which measures overall customer satisfaction. This shows a solid performance of 72.9 percent for the industry as a whole. In comparison, the perception for insurance companies with a CXi of 75.6 percent is slightly higher than for banks (cf. 68.8 percent). Customers thus experience the conclusion of a private pension product as "moderately positive".

The complete study on customer experience is here available as download.

The Koch AG company from Appenzell is active in road construction and civil engineering and operates a gravel and concrete plant as well as an excavation and gravel washing plant. Environmental protection is a major concern for the family business, which is run by Urs, Benno and Sacha Koch. Thanks to a stationary washing plant, up to 75 percent of the excavated material containing gravel is recycled, transports are massively reduced and the volume of landfill is conserved. This ensures an environmentally oriented supply and disposal of construction materials.

Endowed with 10,000 francs

Urs P. Gauch, Head of Corporate Clients at Raiffeisen Switzerland, particularly emphasizes the courage to find new solutions: "With Koch AG, we have found a winner that creates several added values with an innovative idea - not least for the environment." Koch AG thus prevailed over the five other finalists to win the entrepreneurial prize worth 10,000 Swiss francs.

Audience Award presented to Bütschwil Käse AG

In addition to the entrepreneurial prize awarded by the expert jury, the public was able to vote for their personal favorite in the run-up to the award ceremony. Bütschwil Käse AG received the public prize of 5,000 Swiss francs in front of around 300 guests. The event was moderated by Annina Campell and rounded off by a guest speech from Bernhard Heusler, former president of FC Basel.

The Raiffeisen Entrepreneur Award Eastern Switzerland is a pilot project. An expansion of the Entrepreneur Award to other regions in Switzerland will be examined after the evaluation of the pilot project.

More information

Not only large companies such as banks, insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry are threatened by cybercrime. Swiss SMEs are also facing a growing number of attacks from the Internet. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts took this as an opportunity to survey small and medium-sized enterprises on the topic of information security last year.

Lack of knowledge on cybercrime prevention

Now the two authors Oliver Hirschi and Armand Portmann from the Department of Information Technology have published the results of the study. Lead author Hirschi summarizes the results as follows: "In many SMEs, there is a lack of knowledge on how to deal with the topic of information security." This is despite the fact that around 40 percent of the companies surveyed said they had recently - i.e. in the 12 months prior to the survey - been affected by cyber attacks such as malware or phishing emails.

The study is based on an online survey that the researchers conducted among 230 SMEs. These included companies from a wide range of industries such as services, consulting, trade and healthcare. Almost two-thirds of the companies allow their employees to edit business emails on private devices. Just under a third allow access to all IT applications. "That naturally increases the attack surface," Hirschi said, "as does the use of cloud services," such as data storage that can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Almost 60 percent of companies use these in some form.

Great damage due to misuse feared

If a company is affected by cybercrime, this leads to it becoming more involved with the topic of information security. The focus of interest is on safeguarding business operations. This happens against the backdrop of a great need for confidentiality: over two-thirds of companies assess the damage that would result from the improper publication of their confidential data as great or very great.

Protective measures are therefore important. "Despite this, the vast majority of companies said they allocated no or only minimal resources to the topic of information security," says Armand Portmann, co-author of the study. Many companies also said they had not trained their staff in dealing with threats in the year prior to the survey. As a result, the management and control of information security is weak in many places: Not even half of the SMEs regularly check their security measures for effectiveness. This also explains why standards or guidelines for information security are rarely used. The situation is better when it comes to technical measures. These include backups, virus scanners and firewalls. According to the survey, almost all of the companies surveyed use these.

Wanted: more staff, more training

In view of these results, the two study authors see a need to catch up, especially in the organizational and personnel areas: To improve the situation in Swiss SMEs, the companies would have to provide more resources for information security and better prepare their employees for the dangers of cyber attacks in training courses.

Source: Lucerne University
Continuing education on information security: www.hslu.ch/information-security-privacy
Tips for more IT security include here

On Sunday, September 24, 2017, Swiss voters rejected the "Retirement Provision 2020" bill at the ballot box. As a result, VAT rates will fall from January 1, 2018, as the additional financing of the IV through VAT by 0.4 VAT percentage points will expire at the end of 2017. At the same time, as of January 1, 2018, the VAT rates will increase by 0.1 percentage points due to the financing of the expansion of the railroad infrastructure (FABI). For this reason, the VAT rates will change as follows from 1 January 2018:

• The normal VAT rate of previously 8 % is now 7.7 %
• The special rate of 3.8% will be reduced to 3.7 %.
• Reduced rate: remains as before at 2.5%

The detailed effect of the change in tax rates can be seen from the VAT Info 19 Tax rate change as of January 1, 2018 take out. In any case, it is advisable to settle as much as possible as of 31.12.2017 still with the VAT rate valid now in order to avoid costly settlements with the new VAT rates in the next year.

In addition, the partial revision of the Swiss VAT Act will come into force on January 1, 2018. While this will not bring any significant changes for domestic companies, it will have consequences above all for the tax liability of foreign companies. For example, the tax liability of a foreign company that makes deliveries in Switzerland or provides telecommunications and electronic services to end consumers is no longer determined solely by its turnover in Switzerland, but by its worldwide turnover. If a company achieves a turnover of less than CHF 100,000 with such services in Switzerland but at least CHF 100,000 worldwide, it will now be liable for VAT from the first franc of turnover in Switzerland. On the other hand, low-value shipments will continue to be tax-exempt upon importation. However, under the new VAT Act, (online) traders who generate annual sales of more than CHF 100,000 in Switzerland with such shipments will be subject to VAT. This means that they must invoice these deliveries with Swiss VAT.