Is the Swiss economy ready for the digital age?

Schools and the administration are not yet ready. And smaller companies are adapting faster than large ones. The "Digital Transformation Report 2015" published on Wednesday summarizes key digital skills and findings from almost 200 surveys. With the "Digital Maturity Check Plus", companies can compare their digital maturity with this reference data.

The internet and mobile have changed our communication, our purchasing behavior, our media usage and even our lives. Companies cannot escape this "digital reality": the highly dynamic nature of technologies and changing business models require companies to regularly review and adapt their own strategic position in the digital competition. However, the differing understanding within companies regarding the necessary skills and digital maturity makes this task very challenging for managers. Against this backdrop, the University of St. Gallen and the strategy consulting firm Crosswalk, together with a panel of experts, have developed the "Digital Maturity Model", which management can use to manage the digitalization of the company as a whole.

The survey conducted between November 2014 and February 2015 provides an interesting picture of the state of digital development in Swiss companies and organizations:
 

• Companies in the information and communication sector have the highest level of maturity, while schools and administration have the lowest.
• Small companies with fewer than 100 employees achieved a higher overall level of maturity than larger companies. Above all, skills such as a willingness to take risks, an open error culture and digital affinity are more pronounced in these companies.
• Participants from management rated their company significantly better than employees at other hierarchical levels.
• "Flexible working", "Digital affinity" and "Business area expansion" are the criteria for which the participants achieve the highest levels of fulfillment.
• In contrast, "performance measurement", "automation" and "analytics" are the areas in which most participants perform less well.

"We are very pleased to be able to offer the management of companies and organizations a comprehensive and up-to-date basis for shaping the digital transformation of the company with the "Digital Transformation Report 2015"," says Bramwell Kaltenrieder, Managing Partner of Crosswalk. The study report, which presents the "Digital Maturity Model", survey results, best practice examples, industry evaluations and recommendations for action, can be downloaded at Crosswalk.ch/dtreport2015 can be ordered free of charge.

With "Digital Maturity Check PLUS"  Crosswalk offers a consulting package based on the "Digital Maturity Model" and the study data, which provides management with points of reference and areas of action on the path to becoming a digital company. The "Digital Transformation Report 2015" is part of the "Swiss Digital Transformation Initiative", which was established by the Institute for Information Systems (IWI-HSG), "Best of Swiss Web" and Crosswalk and is supported by Swisscom.