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On 14 November 2024, the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne announced Switzerland’s impressive new position in its World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR). For the first time, Switzerland has risen to second place among 67 countries, marking its best ranking since the WDCR’s inception in 2017. This achievement reflects Switzerland’s strong progress in high-tech exports, e-participation, and cybersecurity, solidifying its status as a global digital leader.
The World Digital Competitiveness Ranking evaluates digital competitiveness based on three key pillars: knowledge, technology, and future readiness, each of which includes several detailed sub-factors. Switzerland holds its top position in knowledge, rising to fourth place in technology and fifth in future readiness, making it one of the world’s most attractive hubs for digital investment and innovation. The nation continues to perform well in areas such as talent, regulatory framework, and scientific concentration, fostering a strong environment for international expertise and digital knowledge transfer.
Despite this strong standing, there is still important work ahead. Key areas such as the digital identity (E-ID) and the electronic patient record (EPR) require continued progress. Franziska, CEO of digitalswitzerland, remarks: “To make these initiatives a success, we need not only investments but, above all, trust in technology, data security, and institutions”. Building digital trust is essential to secure Switzerland’s long-term competitiveness and develop a sustainable digital infrastructure. The path to a digitally advanced Switzerland lies in smart, secure, and future-oriented solutions that simplify citizens’ lives while upholding high standards of data protection.
In the last three years, four percent of the SMEs surveyed in the Cyber Study 2024 have been victims of a cyber attack, which, extrapolated to Switzerland as a whole, corresponds to around 24,000 companies. 73% of those affected suffered significant financial damage. While 68% of the IT service providers surveyed consider the risk of a cyber attack to be high or very high, more than half of the SMEs surveyed rate the risk of a serious attack as low. This false sense of security could have serious consequences for companies if they do not take action quickly. It is also worrying that four out of ten companies have no emergency plan and no business continuity strategy in the event of a serious cyber attack. “Cybersecurity must be a priority. We can improve digital literacy in SMEs and minimise risks through awareness-raising and training. To this end, Mobiliar has launched a mobile event series called ‘Cyber on Tour’, which offers employees of SMEs the opportunity to experience cyber threats first hand and actively protect themselves against them” says Simon Seebeck, Head of the Cyber Risk Competence Centre at Mobiliar.
Most of the IT service providers interviewed for the study recommend that Swiss SMEs take the issue of security more seriously (43%) and train their staff (29%). When it comes to choosing the right IT service provider, Andreas W. Kaelin, co-founder and managing director of Allianz Digital Security Switzerland ADSS, advises: “IT service providers have a direct influence on the cyber resilience of their SME customers. It is therefore important that they can prove their technical and organisational expertise, for example with the CyberSeal quality seal.”
The study shows that efficient digital tools such as password managers, biometrics and passkeys are only used cautiously in SMEs. Swiss SMEs find it even more difficult to implement organisational measures such as security concepts or to carry out security audits and staff training.
In the last three years, five percent of the private individuals surveyed were affected by a cyber attack. And yet the majority of respondents believe that they are fairly well to very well informed about how to protect themselves from cyber attacks. Around half rate the cyber security of their own household as high. This assessment is at odds with the behaviour of the majority of respondents: for example, over a third of survey participants mostly use the same password for different services, and many do not carry out updates in a timely manner. “The gap between awareness and action is worrying”, emphasises Katja Dörlemann, President of SISA. “While many recognise the importance of cybersecurity, few are taking concrete steps to protect their digital lives. It is crucial that both individuals and companies take proactive steps to mitigate the increasing threats.”
The difference between the perceived and actual threat is also evident in the area of online shopping. Almost three quarters (72%) of respondents are not at all or only rarely concerned about being defrauded on online shops or booking platforms, although 13 per cent of respondents have actually experienced in the last five years paying for something they did not receive.
The study shows that almost two-thirds of respondents would like to be better informed about how to protect themselves online, but that they lack the will or ability to take action. Kristof Hertig, Lead Cybersecurity & Infrastructure, digitalswitzerland, points out: “Cybersecurity information already exists today. However, it needs to be better communicated to the public. In the fast-paced world we live in, cybersecurity is a distant thought for many.”
The 2024 Cyber Study emphasises the urgent need for additional precautions against cybercrime to be implemented in both private households and companies. “Small and medium-sized enterprises and private individuals in particular need help to strengthen their resilience”, says Nicole Wettstein of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). “Cooperation between companies, IT experts and political decision-makers is key to promoting secure digital everyday life in Switzerland.”
How can Switzerland future-proof its public administration through digital transformation? The new study “Res Publica Digitalis” by digitalswitzerland highlights promising strategies, showing that while Switzerland’s federal system faces unique challenges, it also fosters flexibility and innovation.
The study makes it clear that efficient and cost-saving digitalisation is only possible through close partnerships between authorities at all levels. In light of proposed federal budget cuts, such collaboration is not just an opportunity but a necessity.
Successful case studies from the cantons of Aargau, Schaffhausen, and Schwyz, as well as the cities of Lucerne, Bern, Lugano, Lausanne, and the Swiss Post, illustrate how citizen-centric eGovernment can succeed. These partnerships are already setting new standards for a sustainable and modern public service offering.
Read the full study to discover what the future of digital public administration could look like!
The mission of digitalswitzerland is to unite the private sector, the public sector, the academic community and the population of all language regions in Switzerland around a leading digital agenda. Such an agenda enables Switzerland to be a leading nation in terms of innovation, business location and digital competitiveness. With this in mind, experts, visionaries, industry pioneers and innovative companies from the public and private sectors as well as academia came together at the PalaCinema Locarno on 7 August to highlight the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence on the modern business world. Three forward-looking questions were at the centre of the event: How can the Swiss creative tech ecosystem develop? How can Switzerland benefit from the supercomputers in Ticino? Why do the regions need to join forces in the age of AI?
Internationally renowned speakers presented their thoughts on the rapid progress of artificial intelligence: Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal, Zack Kass, long-time top manager of OpenAI, Alex Osterwalder, internationally renowned bestselling author and strategy consultant, Henrik Werdelin, serial entrepreneur and Martin Hoffmann, Co-CEO of On AG. The 6th Digital Gipfel Schweiz, organised by digitalswitzerland, provided a relevant platform for exchanging views on the opportunities and risks of technology.
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.
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