Together with its first customers and partners, Microsoft Switzerland is initiating the «Innovate Switzerland» community. The goal: to promote the responsible use of data and public cloud technology in Switzerland and to strengthen the country’s innovative power in the digital age.
«The course for tomorrow’s innovations is being set today,» says Catrin Hinkel, CEO of Microsoft Switzerland. However, the discussion about the use of cloud technologies in Switzerland is all too often conducted in a way that is decoupled from practical experience, she adds. The Innovate Switzerland Community therefore wants to promote exchange among pioneers, advance the digital transformation with targeted proposals and support Switzerland from the bottom up in building a responsible data economy.
In doing so, the community is pursuing a clear goal: «Using concrete examples from business, education and the public sector, we are demonstrating how modern cloud technology enables companies and organizations in Switzerland to make their operations more crisis-resistant, to launch customer-oriented products and services on the market, and to open up new business models and thus new markets,» says Catrin Hinkel.
She added that this also involves using practical experience to develop the regulatory framework. «We are committed to promoting a transparent and fact-based exchange,» says Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland. To this end, Innovate Switzerland is in exchange with industry associations as well as economiesuisse and Avenir Suisse.
With the Innovate Switzerland Community, Microsoft also wants to promote discussion about the use of technologies such as cloud infrastructures. For this reason, Microsoft Switzerland surveyed 30 customers and partners about their experiences and needs in a digital future and compiled the community’s initial findings in a white paper developed by the think tank W.I.R.E..
In addition to Microsoft Switzerland, members of Innovate Switzerland include private companies such as ABB, Bank Avera, Groupe Mutuel and public organizations such as Axpo, the Baden Cantonal Hospital, the City of Zug and the University of St. Gallen. The community exchange is moderated by W.I.R.E..
In addition to the first members, other large companies, SMEs, start-ups, partners, national and Swiss-based international organizations, public institutions and representatives from politics, education and business are expected to join the Swiss Innovate Switzerland Community in the coming months. Interested parties can learn more and register via the Innovate Switzerland Community website.
The community was announced during the official opening of the Microsoft Technology Center on May 20. Microsoft welcomed a group of around 80 guests, consisting of various executives, representatives of the public sector and the media. Keynote speakers included Olivier Schraner, CTO of Technology Services at UBS, Erich Herzog, board member of Economiesuisse, Judson Althoff, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer of Microsoft Corporation, and Ralph Haupter, President of Microsoft EMEA.
