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Study on digitalisation and cybersecurity in SMEs 2023
8 out of 10 SMEs entrust their digital infrastructures to external IT service providers and also seek advice from them in the area of cybersecurity. However, there is hardly any progress in the implementation of measures to protect against cybercrime. The results of the latest study on digitalisation and cybersecurity in SMEs make it clear: the more companies identify themselves as digital pioneers, the more often they implement technical and organisational measures to strengthen cybersecurity in their company. However, while in previous years around one fifth of the SMEs surveyed always saw themselves as digital pioneers, in 2023 this figure is only around one tenth.
The survey was carried out on behalf of the Swiss Mobiliar Insurance Company Ltd, digitalswitzerland, Allianz Digitale Sicherheit Schweiz, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW – Digital Transformation Competence Centre and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW.
Read the study in German. For further analysis, read the Whitepaper in German, French and Italian.
Read the press release in German, French and Italian.
Read the press conference presentation in German.
Zurich, 14 November 2022 – Digitalisation has picked up speed in many industries. But the health sector is lagging far behind. For the digital transformation of the healthcare system to succeed, the needs and fears of the Swiss population must be taken into account.
The results of the study “The digital healthcare system from the perspective of the population” published by digitalswitzerland show that the Swiss population is willing to use a digital healthcare system as long as it offers clear added value – such as better user-friendliness, improved diagnoses and treatments, and lower healthcare costs.
However, for this to happen, the population needs the necessary competencies as well as transparent communication on the part of the healthcare industry in order to create trust.
From 10 to 14 October 2022, more than 4,500 companies and over 100,000 participants from 170 countries will take part in GITEX, the biggest technology convention of the year happening in Dubai. The SWISS Pavilion, organised by digitalswitzerland and T-LINK as part of Swisstech, will attend with 18 organisations and research institutions. This is where developers and pioneers meet to exchange ideas and present new products. Pioneering applications in the fields of Metaverse, AI, Web 3.0, Blockchain, 6G, Cloud Computing, FinTech and Big Data are the focus of the action.
Oliver Wyman study “Switzerland’s Digital DNA”
Confidence in the Swiss population’s own digital competence is growing only slowly. More than a fifth of all people still feel unable to keep up with the pace of technological progress. The benefits of digitalisation are nevertheless considered high in all areas of life. The willingness to disclose personal data for digital services is growing – despite an increased awareness of cyber risks. At the same time, satisfaction with digital services varies. This is the result of the sixth edition of the study “Switzerland’s Digital DNA”, which is published jointly by the international strategy consultancy Oliver Wyman and digitalswitzerland as part of Swiss Digital Days 2022.
Selected highlights:
Find an infographic with further key findings here in German.
The IMD Institute for Management Development in Lausanne published its world rankings on “Digital Competitiveness” today. The results for Switzerland were explained in more detail at the Digital Competitiveness Summit 2022 being held by digitalswitzerland, IMD and EPFL on the IMD campus in Lausanne. Switzerland climbs to 5th place out of 63 countries surveyed (2021: 6th place). It already occupied this position in 2019, before the pandemic affected the economies as a whole.
Switzerland makes progress
Switzerland’s rise in the rankings is due to its good performance in the factor “knowledge”, which the World Competitiveness Center defines as “the necessary know-how to discover, understand and develop new technologies”. This factor is one of a total of three main categories according to which the researchers rank the results of the studies. The other two factors are future readiness and technology.
Nevertheless, the ranking makes it clear that Switzerland’s digital skills are in need of improvement: The availability of digital skills is less positively assessed by managers today than it was a year ago; this criterion has dropped to 18th place (from 11th). The scores for university graduates in the natural sciences (26th place), women with university degrees (30th place), the number of female researchers (31st place) and R&D productivity measured by the number of publications (35th place) also remain relatively low – despite improvements in most of these areas.
Overall, the findings shed light on the factors that make it easier for governments and the private sector to improve their capabilities to protect digital infrastructure from cyberattacks, the experts say. They also show how this promotes the adoption and diffusion of digital technologies.
Read the full press release in German and French.
See Switzerland’s results here.
The forecasts for the demand of skilled workers in previous years were always too conservative: Switzerland’s ICT sector is growing faster than expected. However, Switzerland is losing ground to other nations.
The study “Opportunity costs of the ICT skills shortage” published by digitalswitzerland shows: The weaker growth of the Swiss ICT sector compared to surrounding countries will make Switzerland less and less attractive for foreign skilled workers, which can have serious consequences over time. The study reveals what these consequences are and what actions economy, politics and education could take.
The study was created by IWSB Institute for Economic Studie Basel on behalf of digitalswitzerland.
Read the full study here in German.
5 September marked the kick-off of Swiss Digital Days 2022, which include more than 200 free offers for the population. The big highlight on opening day: the unveiling of a unique, Switzerland-wide crypto-art project in cooperation with Swiss Post. The study “Opportunity costs of the ICT skills shortage”, also published today by digitalswitzerland, once again highlights the importance of the Swiss Digitaltage, as it impressively shows the consequences of the skills shortage on Switzerland’s competitiveness in the medium to long term. To actively address this problem, a substantial part of the Digital Days programme revolves around the promotion of future skills of young talents, for example through the main format “NextGen: Future Skills Labs”.
Read the press release in German, French and Italian.
Read the press conference presentation in German.
Read the study in German.
Study on digitalisation and cybersecurity in SMEs 2022
With the propagated “end” of the pandemic, the flexibility of SMEs is also coming to an end. Primarily working from home has not become established, as the results of the latest study on digitalisation and cybersecurity in SMEs show. The situation is similar with cybersecurity: despite a strong presence in the media, the topic has a low priority among the companies surveyed. The implementation of organisational and technical measures to improve cybersecurity has also not increased. One third of the surveyed SMEs outsource their IT security to external service providers. The quality of the services offered is thus crucial for the security of small businesses in Switzerland.
The survey was carried out on behalf of the Swiss Mobiliar Insurance Company Ltd, digitalswitzerland, Allianz Digitale Sicherheit Schweiz, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW – Digital Transformation Competence Centre and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW.
Read the study in German. For further analysis, read the Whitepaper in German, French and Italian.
Read the press release in German, French and Italian.
Read the press conference presentation in German.
Six new Executive Committee members were elected at today’s General Assembly in Bern.
Philomena Colatrella (CEO CSS); Anna Takihara (Google) & Jill Kümin (Google) in job-sharing tandem; Rainer Baumann (COO Migros Genossenschafts Bund); Adrian Müller (Swico) and Sabine Magri (COO UBS Switzerland) are newly appointed to the Executive Committee by the digitalswitzerland General Assembly. With Sascha Zahnd, who was named president a year ago, the digitalswitzerland Executive Committee comprises 23 members.
Since the founding of this Switzerland-wide, cross-industry initiative in 2015, more than 240 association members and politically neutral foundation partners now support Switzerland on its way to becoming a leading digital nation.
The reporting obligation is important, but still needs clarification
digitalswitzerland considers the introduction of a reporting obligation for operators of critical infrastructures in the event of cyber attacks to be an important and correct step. The Federal Council’s proposal still needs to be clarified in some points so that ambiguities can be avoided.
Read the media release in German or French.
The full statement is only available in German.
Media contact
Andreas W. Kaelin, digitalswitzerland, Office Bern
Phone +41 31 311 62 45 │ andreas@digitalswitzerland.com
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