Being in the cloud is not everything. The complex architectures and myriad moving parts of a cloud ecosystem require modern monitoring capabilities; traditional approaches no longer work here. Anyone implementing cloud infrastructures for business-critical apps - whether on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStack, or CloudFoundry - should be aware of the need for modern monitoring capabilities, according to the monitoring specialists at Dynatrace note the following points:

1. How easy is cloud monitoring to implement, configure and maintain? As environments become increasingly complex, ease of deployment and use of applications becomes a must. Traditional monitoring solutions often require too many manual processes and configurations. This is one reason why most companies today can only monitor 5 to 10 percent of their applications and lose sight of dependencies and availability of business-critical services. The remedy here is a monitoring solution that already uses largely automated processes - from the discovery of the cloud environment to the creation of baselines and the analysis of problem causes.
2. Are there real-time insights into the health of cloud resources? Whether it's a public, private or hybrid cloud, a virtualized data center, or deploying applications on CloudFoundry, organizations should have complete visibility into the health of the entire cloud-based architecture in real time. Only then can you determine if they have their containers under control, how well load balancers are working, and how hypervisor dynamics are doing. There are so many changing components in a cloud infrastructure that determining the root cause of deviating system behavior is very difficult. That's why enterprises should choose a cloud monitoring solution designed from the ground up for dynamic environments. It can illuminate all blind spots and keep up with all the changes in dynamic environments.
3. Firefighting at the infrastructure level or comprehensive application performance monitoring? A solid cloud infrastructure is the backbone of any successful business, but ultimately it all depends on the applications. When they fail, disappointment among users is high. Applications can span many layers of technology, with components ranging from the cloud to the data center to the mainframe. To get a complete view of all applications, monitoring must be possible from multiple perspectives, including digital experience analytics, application performance management, and cloud and infrastructure management. Therefore, enterprises should use a unified monitoring tool that provides an overall view of the cloud infrastructure with all applications running on it.
4. How quickly can the causes of problems be identified? Many companies struggle with overload due to far too many error messages. This is often due to the use of different monitoring tools for data centers, hosts, processes and services. When one of these components slows down or fails, it can set off a chain reaction of hundreds of subsequent errors. Then the IT team is virtually drowning in alerts. That's because traditional tools display countless metrics and charts, but leave it to humans to correlate and interpret that information. The solution lies in showing dependencies and correlations. If every transaction is captured and tagged at all times, the IT professional in charge receives data based on correlations. These hard facts reliably show him what actually triggered the system problems. A quick representation of the cause of the problem is worth its weight in gold when financial values and the company's reputation are at stake.
5. How are performance baselines generated in ultra-dynamic environments? Creating performance baselines for cloud infrastructure monitoring is not straightforward. Traditional APM solutions can require time-consuming and potentially error-prone manual processes here. This is particularly because they rely on averages and transaction samples to determine normal performance. Averages, however, are ineffective because they mask underlying problems by balancing positive and negative outliers. Transaction examples, on the other hand, can lead to false-negative results. For effectively usable cloud infrastructure performance baselines, organizations need a tool that leverages percentiles (mean and slowest 10%) based on completely gapless data. The percentiles thereby show what is really happening, i.e. how most users actually experience the application and site.
6. Does cloud monitoring include integrated log monitoring? Integrated log management and log analysis are among the most important functions of monitoring solutions today. This is because monitoring application performance and analyzing related log files of processes with the same tool helps DevOps, development and quality assurance teams to perform their tasks quickly and efficiently. If log analysis is one of the important tasks of their monitoring process, companies should choose a solution that already includes this feature. Direct access to all log content related to business-critical processes extends the reach of monitoring well beyond traditional APM data sources.
7. Does the monitoring solution scale based on business needs? Last but not least, attention must be paid to the scalability of the monitoring tool. Modern cloud environments use thousands of nodes with hundreds of technologies distributed across data centers worldwide. While more and more monitoring tools can be installed for each silo, questions then quickly arise such as, "How far can the system scale?" and "How long before a newer, faster or larger solution is needed?" Choosing a monitoring solution that provides real-time insights into cloud components is important. But ensuring it doesn't break down as the environment expands is critical. Therefore, organizations should choose a monitoring tool that is designed for large application environments and can therefore scale as needed.

74 % of Swiss managers believe their employees are bored during working hours. This is the finding of the latest labor market study by Robert Half, a recruiter specializing in professional and managerial staff. According to the study, only 26 % of supervisors think that their employees never find their working day monotonous.

Why employees are bored

"Boredom on the job has a demotivating effect and thus has a negative impact on productivity and the company's bottom line," says Yeng Chow, senior manager at Robert Half in Zurich. "Managers should place a high priority on ending monotony. Especially since a lot can already be achieved with simple measures." That's because more than one-third of managers surveyed cited too many and inefficient meetings (34 %) as the main reasons for workplace boredom, followed by underwhelm in daily tasks (32 %). In third place among the causes of boredom, a quarter (25 %) of managers see little variety.

(Source: Robert Half, Labor Market Study 2017, Respondents: 200 managers in Switzerland).

Measures against boredom

Supervisors should address the problem immediately and seek dialogue with the bored employee. But employees should also take action, Chow advises, and lists three concrete measures to counter acute and permanent boredom.

1. Everyone should ask themselves: Why am I bored? Why don't I find my work interesting? Is it because I am underchallenged or are there other reasons? What am I missing to bring about a noticeable improvement?
2. Bored employees should talk to their supervisors and express their desire for change. Concrete suggestions for targeted further training, a new challenge or another activity within the company are the quickest way to solve the problem.
3. If there are no opportunities to diversify the work or to take on new challenges internally, a job change should be considered. Employees should not be opposed to a job change on principle, but - if necessary - consider it as an equal solution.

Professional job counseling and placement can provide support. "Employees want meaningful work with responsibility and creative freedom that fits their qualifications and personality," says Chow. These are some of the factors for happiness in the workplace, according to another study by Robert Half. Says Yeng Chow, "A career change can not only end boredom, but also bring other benefits beyond that. Employees and companies benefit from high job satisfaction."

If compliance is exposed by the corporate culture, "whistleblowers" have already been at work, employee commitment has noticeably diminished and the credibility of the company has been called into question. Such processes are set in motion because the opinion exists that written rules of conduct replace management responsibility, that monetary incentives have a self-regulating effect and that controls are therefore unimportant. As a result, the attitude of a self-satisfied and self-centered understanding of responsibility emerges. This responsibility is ultimately painfully exposed by corporate culture. It is a result of fuzzy compliance policies that allow loopholes, do not demand liabilities, and thus do not allow for accountability. It reveals a culture, a behavior that executives and especially "stakeholders" should quickly notice.

What corporate culture and compliance mean

A corporate culture is reflected in the way in which business goals are pursued and how people interact with one another. Corporate culture includes the entire evolved structure of opinions, norms and values, as well as the unwritten rules that shape the behavior of managers and employees. Compliance, or adherence to rules, is the business term for adherence to laws and guidelines, but also to voluntary codes, in companies.

The origin of the term "whistleblower" in the context mentioned at the beginning is not clearly established. There may be a semantic relationship to the German term "verpfeifen". It is assumed that both English policemen, who used a whistle to draw the attention of other policemen to a criminal, and referees in soccer, who interrupt the game after rule violations by blowing the whistle, were semantically related. Accordingly, there is no need for whistleblowers in a company, because in the hierarchy of such organizations the superiors should perform these tasks - or should they?

Outsourcing" whistleblowing

Would it be better to delegate this leadership?

For example, to companies such as: „SAFE CHANNEL - the digital and efficient whistleblowing system„? Give your stakeholders the assurance that compliance is taken seriously in your company. With a closed whistleblower system, employees, customers and business partners can anonymously, securely and unbureaucratically report violations of legal regulations within the company.

Or to an INTEGRITY LINE GMBH - we solve your problems of integrity?

Or should an anonymous "integrityplatform.org" be set up within a group of companies, which would ask employees to report, even anonymously, if someone does not behave with integrity and promise that the employees themselves will not suffer any disadvantages and that they will receive an answer to the report they have already made using their incident number and password?

Companies write in their mission statements: "We maintain open, transparent and trusting communication." "We take our employees seriously - they are our "know-how carriers" of the future, our human capital is important to us." These are signs that lawyers want to claim trust too strongly via interpretations and long-winded formulations, security via distance and noncommittality. Large companies and corporations in particular, which have grown through acquisitions and mergers, have forgotten how to shape their corporate culture through relationships rather than regulations. According to the saying: "What the law does not forbid, decency forbids". (Lucius Annaeus Seneca).

Points that prevent a corporate culture

How can such developments be detected at an early stage? Basically, it is important to remember that systems do not work simply because there is freedom of the market or freedom of speech et cetera; they work because there are checks and balances. It is above all the way people treat each other that sows trust or mistrust. As a boss, respect and recognition are not simply laid at your feet. With appreciation, trust, understanding and the ability to motivate, they must first be earned. The opposite of this are forms of behavior that are not found in any compliance, but can be easily observed and measured.

• Poor communication - This refers to the self-imposed isolation at the top and the entrenchment behind thick executive doors, predominant communication by e-mail instead of face-to-face, and an inability to accept criticism.
• Unfair payment - Colleagues who are showered with bonuses even though others did the work for them are slowdowns in performance for any company.
• Job Insecurity-"Outsourcing, downsizing, change management" are not just ugly Anglicisms. They also unsettle employees. The fact is: if you constantly have to fear for your existence, you can't be creative.
• Nepotism - Nepotism has probably the most destructive effect on the morale of the workforce. It means that it doesn't matter what you do, the only thing that counts is the boss's favor.
• Overload – Continuous stress can increase employee absenteeism but also production errors and turnover rates.
• Incompetence - It's not just a bon mot: A-people surround themselves with A-people, B-people with C-people.

What you should hear more from bosses

A corporate culture that allows closeness is alive. A boss who lives by it sends out a signal: I'm approachable, available, open - and I'll make time for you when it's needed. If you install flat hierarchies, you have to live them. An organizational chart and copies of laws don't motivate anyone. What bosses should say much more often to show trust are phrases like: What do you think about that? I trust you completely on that. I'm glad to have you on my team. Please / Thank you, I guess I was wrong. You are right! I apologize for that. If you need help, please get in touch. We can't do without you - we need you.

The most famous of all whistleblowers, Edward Snowden, once said about his motives: "Whistleblowers are a result of circumstances. They are the consequence of wrongdoing, not the cause." When corporate culture exposes compliance, it's not too late, but it's high time to turn words into action, with all the feasible consequences.

About the authors:

Hans R. Hässig has many years of experience as a manager at the executive level in SMEs and has worked in industrial companies in Germany and abroad at the corporate level.

Roland F. Fabric has many years of experience as a manager at executive level in SMEs, industry, public administration and healthcare.

They have developed efficient instruments with which corporate cultures can be made visible. The corporate culture can be controlled in a goal-oriented manner via the experienced values and their authenticity. These are influencing factors that always have monetary effects.

Her book "Understanding Corporate Culture" - the basis for long-term success has been published by Cosmosverlag.

www.unternehmenskultur-controlling.ch

SAK, an energy supply company (EVU) in eastern Switzerland, has also been successfully involved in the field of digital technologies for several years. What began in 2010 with the construction of the fiber optic infrastructure in the directly supplied area, experienced a further highlight in 2014 with the launch of its own services. During the evaluation process, SAK chose iWay as its subcontractor at that time. Since then, the two companies have been working closely together and continuously developing SAK's communication services. Today, in addition to a wealth of experience, the companies are linked by a trusting partnership.

Optimally positioned for digital markets

As an Internet Service Provider (ISP), iWay is a well-known name in the Swiss market and provides individual services at a high level of quality. This recipe for success will not change with the takeover, as both the strategic orientation and the organization of iWay will be continued. iWay will remain independent and, with SAK, will have a strong energy supply company as a partner - a valuable basis for developing future offerings even closer to the pulse of market needs. iWay's management and all employees will remain on board. Matthias Oswald, founder and managing director of iWay, says: "The ongoing digitalization offers enormous opportunities, but also continues to develop at a rapid pace. Knowing this, I wanted to take succession planning in hand at an early stage. We have enjoyed a trusting partnership with SAK for several years. I am therefore very pleased about our joining forces."

Close partnership

The two partners complement each other perfectly. While iWay has been active in the national ISP business for more than 20 years and develops digital services, SAK is continuously expanding its fiber optic network. The alliance will now bundle strengths and expertise. As Andreas Schwizer, Head of SAKnet, puts it: "Together we are even closer to the market and can respond quickly to constantly changing customer needs by launching new products. The purchase is retroactive to January 1, 2017. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Preparations for the Prix SVC Nordschweiz 2017 are in full swing and entering the home stretch. With the Prix SVC Northern Switzerland, the Swiss Venture Club promotes entrepreneurship in this region. The award ceremony will be held for the 8th time in Basel. Up to 1,200 guests from business, science, politics and culture follow this Prix and use the opportunity for networking. This year, the following six companies are in the final (in alphabetical order):

The Export Award is intended to show how successfully Swiss and Liechtenstein companies have positioned themselves in the global economy. The award is presented during the Foreign Trade Forum in front of 600 guests from the Swiss export industry by Ruth Metzler-Arnold, Chairman of the Board of S-GE. The award is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized companies. The winners' stories serve as inspiration to other SMEs for their own expansion projects.

New president with many years of international business experience

The independent jury is made up of personalities from the Swiss business, science and media worlds. In 2018, it will come together under a new president: Ralph Siegl, Managing Director Group Management & Operations at the Läderach Group, whose successful development and internationalization he has played a key role in shaping since 2006.

Under the new president, the interpretation of "export" is undergoing a contemporary sharpening: in the future, the jury will no longer judge only the realization of classic exports, but also the general competence of Swiss companies to integrate themselves into global value chains. It is about the choice of foreign markets, which hurdles were overcome during entry and how the company has positioned itself in the individual countries or regions.

Export Award: Recognition for the Hidden Champions

The Export Award offers exporters the chance to receive the public recognition they and their employees deserve. The award creates prestige among customers and partners. The three finalists can expect increased media attention and features in business, trade and regional press. Last but not least, winners and finalists receive a voucher for Switzerland Global Enterprise export services - worth CHF 5,000 and CHF 1,000 respectively.

All Swiss and Liechtenstein companies that sell products or services internationally can apply for the Export Award. The application is simple and the fastest way to apply is via the S-GE website (https://www.s-ge.com/de/export-award). Deadline for application is January 31, 2018.

The Swiss Green Economy Symposium is the most comprehensive business summit in Switzerland on the topic of sustainability. "Successfully crossing borders" was this year's motto, which the speakers followed and presented how sustainable business can also mean successful and profitable business at the same time. The participants found inspiration in this year's partner country: the circular economy is to be a reality in the Netherlands by 2050. This means that raw materials will be used more intelligently and without polluting emissions. "Thanks to this initiative, the Netherlands has become a kind of "living lab" in the field of the circular economy, from whose experience the rest of the world can benefit," offered the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Anne Luwema, in her welcoming speech. Dutch company representatives gave insights into concrete examples of how circular economy has been implemented in the construction or food industry.

The 17 goals for sustainability

An important driver for the implementation of sustainability are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN. These 17 goals are to be achieved by 2030 by all UN member states. Ambassador Michael Gerber, the Federal Council's special representative for global sustainable development, emphasized that a quarter of Swiss companies were already working with these goals. This is because they are worthwhile: $12 trillion by 2030 could be earned by the economy through implementation, he stressed. Dante Pesce, member of the UN Human Rights Working Group and sustainability expert at the University of Valparaiso (Chile), explained the connection with human rights, whose implementation throughout the value chain boosts business performance.

Open trade that focuses on sustainability is also profitable trade, Christian Ewert, director general of the Foreign Trade Association told the audience. His organization is getting a new name: It will be called "amfori" in 2018 and will stand for responsible trade. It wants nothing more than to anchor economy, ecology and social awareness in global trade. When it comes to financing sustainable business, Jean-Daniel Gerber, president of Swiss Sustainable Finance, still sees a great need for action. "There is still no uniform definition of what a sustainable investment even is!"

Technology as a driver

In addition to financial aspects, technology in particular also plays a decisive role as a driver and catalyst of change. Thus, digitization was the topic of various speakers. Prof. Lino Guzzella, President of ETH Zurich, drew attention to the construction sector, which has so far shown little innovation. Now, thanks to digitalization and 3D printing, there is movement in this sector. Siegfried Gerlach, Siemens CEO of Switzerland, explained the four levers of his group: energy efficiency, decentralized energy supply, use of green electricity and modernization of its own vehicle fleet. By 2030, the group aims to be C0²-neutral thanks to state-of-the-art technology.

Digitalization is changing the world of work dramatically, emphasized Hans C. Werner, member of the Swisscom Executive Board, and called for a willingness to embrace permanent change and to go beyond one's own limits. This requires ongoing training with a short time horizon and, above all, a pronounced curiosity for new things. The Smart Changemaker debate with Denise Fessler, CEO InnoPark Switzerland, Simona Scarpaleggia, CEO IKEA Switzerland and Max Schachinger, CEO Schachinger Logistik Holding, was also about personal attitudes, the inner changes that ultimately lead to a sustainable transformation of the organization. "I reflect more than before on my personal responsibility," Denise Fessler described her changed awareness.

Openness of people and institutions to ideas

Cultural change, cooperation, knowledge transfer - these were the most important keywords of Ambassador Raymund Furrer, who shed light on what Switzerland is already doing today with exemplary character to make tourism destinations such as Indonesia more sustainable. An open corporate culture was the topic of discussion between moderator Sonja Hasler (SRF) and Peter Gehler, communications manager of the pharmaceutical company Siegfried. He emphasized that this must be a duty and a matter of course for a company with a global setup if one wants to work in these structures.

Bern's mayor, Alec von Graffenried, spoke out in favor of giving people more responsibility again. He would like to see the neighborhoods strengthened as a strong level below the canton and the city. Hubert M.F. Bruls, Mayor of Nijmegen, the European Green Capital 2018, introduced another aspect to the debate. He spoke of the vast amounts of data produced by large cities and cautioned that people must nevertheless always remain at the center. "We are the most sustainable city in Europe and we have our green capital to thank for that - the inhabitants!"

The openness of people and institutions to ideas from outside is a critical success factor for sustainable innovation. With this in mind, Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer Bühler Management AG, presented the Bühler Innovation Campus, a newly created space in Uzwil for collaboration among all functions, all ages, and all knowledge carriers - internal and external.

More information: 

www.forum.lifefair.org

www.sges.ch

The year is 2030: SDCs - self-driving cars connected via a cloud - are driving everywhere on the roads. Thanks to artificial intelligence, big and smart data, there is no more tailgating, speeding and hardly any accidents. Shopping is done exclusively online, showrooms have replaced stores. Smartphones have been out for a long time. We receive information via a matrix and thus via specially equipped, highly networked rooms or devices equipped with radio chips and augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. We also use a matrix at home - for searching information, shopping, conferences, etc. The controls are voice commands - mouse and keyboard are only used in museums. School will also be different in 2030: on the one hand, knowledge will be taught at home in the matrix, and on the other hand, there will be project work in groups led by coaches. Immediate utopia or science fiction?

The digital future and its potential

We are in the midst of one of the greatest changes of mankind. The Internet of Things and the fourth industrial revolution are still buzzwords for some today, but for others their precursors are already clearly noticeable. Even if one or the other still lulls himself into a sense of security - there is no industry that will be spared from the wave of digitization. The digital tsunami is coming - one way or another. How should you act, how should you react? These are the questions that future thinker and online pioneer Jörg Eugster addresses in his new book. The day after tomorrow - A journey through time to our digital future. In contrast to many of those with reservations, however, the expert on digitization for SMEs is not stoking fear of cyborgs and artificial intelligence, but sees himself as a fear monger and digitization enthusiast who is betting on the huge potential of the digital revolution.

Desire for the digital future

Jörg Eugster not only provides valuable tips, but also answers the burning questions of our time: What skills do employees need to be successful in the future? Which jobs and which industries have a future? Why do companies need a comprehensive digital strategy for their digital transformation journey? Which digital megatrends will occupy us in the future? And he shows that politics is particularly called upon here to create the framework conditions for humans and machines to live together. After all, it wasn't just the Bundestag election campaign in Germany that showed this: The topic of digitization is one that even politicians can no longer ignore! Studies repeatedly show that Germany has a lot of catching up to do. Countries such as Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Estonia, South Korea and the USA are well ahead of us in almost all aspects of digitization. The Day After Tomorrow is not only required reading for supervisory and administrative boards, executive boards and management members of companies of all sizes, and politicians. It is an absolute must-read for everyone who wants to keep pace with digitization, recognize its opportunities, and harness its enormous potential for themselves. A book that whets the appetite for the future.

The author

Jörg Eugster is an online pioneer from the very beginning. In addition to his role as a top expert in online marketing, he is an enthusiastic ambassador for the digital future. However, unlike many worriers, the digitalization optimist does not stoke fear of cyborgs and artificial intelligence. Instead, he believes in the huge potential of the digital revolution, the power of which he brings to the world as a consultant, publicist and speaker. He is an internationally sought-after keynote speaker and lecturer at the renowned Universities of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (Basel) and St. Gallen. With a degree in business administration and an executive MBA, he is also a management consultant, a board member in the technology and media sector, and an expert member of Club 55.

Jörg Eugster:
Day after tomorrow. A time travel into our digital future
264 pages, hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-907100-73-8
29,00 € / 33.00 CHF
Midas Publishing House, Zurich 2017

More information

"I can no longer hear the empty phrases about change. Thus spoke Prof. Dr. Urs Fueglistaller, the host and "father" of the SME Day, in his introduction. As is well known, change has always existed: Already in 2003, on the occasion of one of the first editions of the SME Day, the topic was "SMEs in change". And this time, change will not stop at the event itself. Because the SME Day 2017 started with a "handover of office". Prof. Dr. Urs Fueglistaller of the KMU-HSG has been replaced by Tobias Wolf, himself a graduate of this institute and a young entrepreneur. In the future, he will take over the conference management - for this purpose, Prof. Fueglistaller already handed him the key for the KMU-Tag car, with the remark that he still had to change to the winter tires... Prof. Fueglistaller was seen off into his retirement by the audience with a standing ovation.

Also a factor of the SME Day 2017: Women entrepreneurs

So a younger generation is now taking over the event. They are supposed to embody the current change. And there is enough to change in other ways as well. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jenewein spoke on the topic of "Leadership in Change". He made some recommendations for "disruptive times" in which we find ourselves: Change not only needs leadership, but leadership also needs to change. Agility and adaptability are needed, he said, and this works better in the long term than simply focusing on greater efficiency. It is not only a matter of managing, but also of leading, and the ideal "both/and" must be mastered. "Management is a competence, leadership an attitude," says Jenewein.

Afterwards, moderator Patrizia Laeri talked to entrepreneur Gabriela Manser, CEO of Goba AG. In the context of change and corporate management, she sees her job as "creating conditions so that my core team can do its work". Martina Gerster, Managing Director of Härterei Gerster AG in Egerkingen, experiences her business as "hard as steel" in the literal sense. However, she also sees the economic changes as opportunities - although these must first be recognized. On the other hand, the ever-increasing demands on risk and quality management are standing in the way. These would have an increasingly negative effect on the joy of development.

Many analog problems cannot be solved digitally

After that, Ludwig Hasler made his appearance. He appealed to the audience not to be afraid of taking a wrong turn, and that it was perfectly acceptable to get lost from time to time. With regard to the theme of the conference, he said: "Confidence in change requires the ability to transform oneself. The creativity of humans is becoming increasingly important, because machines will not be able to take over this creativity in the future. The human brain is still superior to any artificial intelligence. And: "Confidence begins with a vista, a will. None of that comes from digital."

"Decisions are exchange rates". That was the headline of Wolfgang Frick's presentation. From his marketing perspective - he is Business Manager Marketing and Assortment Management at SPAR (Switzerland) - he put some of the achievements of the digital transformation into perspective. "Many problems that have arisen digitally are still being solved analogously, but few analog problems can be solved digitally." His appeal to the audience: to be guided less by numbers and more by trust, combined with courage: possibilities - implement - do.

There will only be "digital generations

Finally, it was Philipp Riederle who gave those present the view of the younger generation. Despite being only 23 years old, he probably has a few things ahead of many of those present, such as the conviction that the idea of an "end of work" might not be so far-fetched after all. There is still too much discussion about "infrastructure" at the moment, but too little about social developments. In addition, many technologies have been available for a long time, but too little use is made of their possibilities. And when someone does, they prefer to complain about it instead of taking the initiative themselves. Seen in this light, Philipp Riederle was not very optimistic about the future. Because we are in the process of squandering many of our opportunities. Thus, the SME Day 2017 ended with a rather relativizing assessment - from a representative of the young generation, of all people.

More information: www.kmu-tag.ch

The carpentry trade is facing harsh general conditions. "The customer has become more demanding," says company owner Roland Krummenacher. Since a high-quality piece of furniture still costs a lot, he notes a decline in payment morale among his customers. What should he do then? Send a reminder with a further payment deadline? Send a reminder? A recent study - the European Payment Report 2017 - shows that half of the Swiss companies surveyed fear liquidity bottlenecks due to late payment of invoices and a third even have to accept a loss of sales. SMEs are particularly hard hit: Due to payment defaults - by existing or unknown customers - they even have existential fears.

Economic stability thanks to Receivables management

"There are often knowledge gaps among SMEs on how to proceed professionally and legally in such matters," says Jason Glanzmann, director of serviced portfolios at Intrum Justitia. "Through a consistent Receivables management companies of all types can minimize such outages." Enclosed are a few tips:

• Perform a credit check on your customers.
• Legally, an SME is not obliged to send a reminder to a customer.
• We recommend two reminders each 40 and 60 days after invoicing.
• Send reminders early and consistently. It may well happen that an invoice did not reach the recipient or was forgotten.
• Transparent communication with the customer is very important.
• For reasons of fairness, we recommend that reminder and collection fees be shown in the GTC and that reference be made to the cost consequences in accordance with the GTC on the second reminder.
• Monitor your receipt of payment after invoicing.
• We recommend a consistent escalation and a handover of the claim between 70 and 90 days after invoicing.

Two options for collection

SMEs that hand over their receivables to Intrum after two reminders and within 75 days of invoicing benefit with "AGB75" from a consistent and transparent Collection. They pay neither a success fee nor debt collection and address research costs. "When SMEs opt for the so-called 'AGB90' you hand over the receivables to us after two reminders and usually within 90 days of invoicing. This is accommodating and transparent," explains Jason Glanzmann. The collection is always free of charge for the customers at "AGB90". They only bear the costs of debt collection and address research not paid by their consumers. Thanks to early escalation, Intrum Justitia has a high recovery rate for both AGB75 and AGB90.

Roland Krummenacher decided to protect his SME from payment defaults with such a service package. "It was important to me that I could hand this matter over to an experienced debt collection company and concentrate on running the business."

Contact for more information:

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

To recruit talent, more and more HR professionals are actively approaching candidates. As a survey by Careerplus of around 400 customers shows that 41 percent of respondents already use active sourcing for recruitment. As the name suggests, the roles are reversed in this proactive recruiting measure: it is not the candidate who applies to the company, but the company to the potential employee.

Demanding recruitment measure

Active sourcing is a demanding recruitment measure. Several months or even years can pass from the actual search to the first contact to the cultivation of relationships. It is therefore not surprising that slightly more than one in six companies relies on the support of external specialists for its active sourcing activities for time and financial reasons. Applied correctly, however, active sourcing offers many advantages. In particular, it is a promising measure in the battle for particularly sought-after specialists and job profiles. It also increases the chances of filling vacancies efficiently and effectively.

Examples and tips for active sourcing

From profile definition and search to direct approach and follow-up, recruiters have to deal with a number of questions: Where do I look for and find the right candidates? What is the best way to approach them? And above all: How do I convince them of a new job? In the Careerplus white paper, you will find a detailed description of the six process phases in the sourcing process, as well as practical examples and tips.

In this interview, Helen Wäny, Brand Management & Innovation Specialist at Careerplus, explains what is important in active sourcing and how it can be used to recruit successfully. In the Careerplus survey, you can also find out how widespread active sourcing already is in the HR industry and what other advantages proactive recruiting can offer.

The white paper "Active Sourcing: How to succeed in proactive recruiting" is available as a Download available free of charge.

There are still many myths about security. But companies should only make decisions based on hard facts. For example, 72 percent of attacks today target user identities and applications. Yet only 10 percent of the IT security budget is spent on protecting them. Also underestimated continues to be the threat posed by internal employees. According to Fortune, one in five employees would sell their personal company passwords, nearly half of them for less than $1,000.

Only a few companies are sufficiently prepared

Over 4 million records are compromised daily. More than 2 billion compromised accounts are available for purchase online. Last year, Google discovered between 9 and 49 million malware sites and 22 to 54 million phishing sites each week. "Given these numbers, the real question today is not if a company is under attack, but when," said Andreas Riepen, vice president DACH at F5. "However, only a few companies are really adequately prepared for the worst-case scenario. Last year alone, for example, over 26.5 million websites were hacked. But comprehensive protection through an integrated security architecture is not witchcraft. And even a few simple tips can go a long way in practice."

10 practical tips increase safety

1. Understand the motives, goals, and tactics of hackers: Most hackers are cybercriminals who are only after one thing: Money. And although they have a reputation for constantly coming up with the most ingenious plans, many of their methods are actually quite simple. In the end, they always choose the path of least resistance and look for easy targets.
2. Match your budget to your threat landscape - and plan for cyber insurance, too: Be sure to plan for cyber insurance in your budget. A small amount for consumer confidence is unlikely to ruin your business, but the data breach and associated costs caused by a hacker attack may.
3. Train all employees - from administration to the board of directors: When it comes to security, everyone matters, and that's why it's important to make everyone aware. Educate your users vigorously so they can recognize and defend against targeted phishing attacks. Make them aware of the importance of proper password management (and the danger unprotected passwords can pose), and provide them with tools like Password Safes.
4. Control the access properly: Limit the number of user identities. Multi-level authentication (MFA) for access to your network and its applications can mitigate the risk of identity attacks. Don't use insecure or predetermined username/password combinations. Hash passwords offer virtually no protection at all. Remember that access is a privilege.
5. Manage your vulnerabilities: Use a scanning solution for each network, system, and software type. Prioritize vulnerability management for web applications. Automate vulnerability management for web applications. Patch all devices - desktops, laptops, servers, etc. - monthly, especially if you use Windows.
6. Always provide the necessary transparency, especially for your critical data, because you can't protect what you can't see: Intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), security information event managers (SIEM), data loss prevention (DLP), and other systems must be properly built, implemented, and managed on an ongoing basis.
7. Hire a hacker and/or set up a bug bounty program If a successful attack on a particular application could cause significant damage to your business, it's worth hiring a technician to hack it.
8. Leverage experts, especially in the areas of compliance and incident response: Security-as-a-Service is a great option for effectively managing high-risk controls that require a fast 24×7 response from skilled technicians.
9. Pursue a DDoS strategy: By now, virtually anyone can build IoT botnets without much effort, which can be used to launch attacks on the order of a few terabytes per second. If you don't already have a plan to combat DDoS attacks, you should develop one quickly.
10. Communicate the likelihood and impact of an attack: Inform your board, audit committee, and senior management about potential attacks and their consequences. Under no circumstances should you surprise them at some point with a completely unexpected security breach.

If 10 practical tips are not enough, you can find more information in a whitepaper from F5 Networks. This whitepaper with detailed information on the current data and the threat situation can be downloaded at https://interact.f5.com/ThreatLandscapeReportDE.html download