Publications

The CIO as business expert and transformation manager

Taking responsibility for the IT of an organisation means showing willingness to go out on a limb. The CIO must be able to convince his critics effectively. In the conflicting areas of business and IT he gets the chance to distinguish himself as a dynamic leader. Prerequisites to achieve this are business expertise and the application of appropriate models enabling him to govern the IT instead of just administrating it.
Published in "ICT in Finance", in German, March 2010, PDF, 230 KB

The future of small and medium cable TV network operators

Many small and medium municipal utility plants and technical companies own and operate a cable TV network. Meanwhile, large urban energy suppliers realise fiber optic networks suited for TV, Internet, telephone and future multi-media services. In the long term, such infrastructure will establish itself in rural areas as well. How should small and medium cable TV network operators rise to this challenge?
Published in "VSE-Bulletin" Nr. 6, in German, June 2009, PDF, 200 KB

Integrated IT portfolio management as a key factor for IT industrialisation

Since the bursting of the Internet bubble at the latest, the ICT sector has endeavoured to enhance both efficiency and effectiveness - a balancing act between standardisation to optimise costs and flexibilisation to fulfil customer requirements. The industrialisation of information management in the broadest sense is accompanied by the change from project to product orientation. In the process, the focus is turned on a customer-oriented and standardised market service portfolio as well as an optimal supervision of service development and of the use of available resources.
Publication in German, March 2009, PDF, 124 KB

IT outsourcing critically scrutinised

The outsourcing of IT services has been common practice for years and is applied widely. Nevertheless, insecurities remain: there are not only success stories. In the media, we hear of failed outsourcing efforts and outsourced services which have to be insourced again.
Publication in German, March 2009, PDF, 54 KB

KPI reporting in practice - closing the gap between vision and reality

Implementing KPI (key performance indicators) reporting is a complex task. The gap between vision and reality often cannot be closed, because the conceptual basic principles and thus the different requirements of the involved stakeholders have not been coordinated carefully enough. Most often, KPI reporting concerns the entire organisation. Consensus ist essential.
Publication in German, October 2008, PDF, 145 KB

Why distribution channels often cannibalize themselves
Finding the proper distribution system for the Swiss SME market

In order to be able to develop the market of Swiss SME (small and medium enterprises), the choice of the proper distribution system is one of the most crucial strategic decisions. All too often, companies are bound to suffer losses, because the costs for the build-up of new distribution channels have been underrated or not been calculated thoroughly.
Publication in German, September 2008, PDF, 107 KB

Telecom strategies for municipal utility companies

Nearly all municipal utility companies own a fiber optic cable network which is used with differing intensity. Many of them are discussing the option to put more ressources into telecom. This would be done primarily to put the existing fiber optic cable network into better use and to enhance customer retention and revenue.
Published in "VSE-Bulletin" No. 16, in German, September 2008, PDF, 114 KB 

Network corporation: the current discussion in Switzerland and the example of Liechtenstein

A provocative request by Sunrise and Orange is now up for discussion: These telecom operators want Swisscom to be separated into two corporations, Swisscom Networks and Swisscom Services. A new independent network corporation shall provide non-discriminatory access for everybody. Why this proposal? What would be the pros and cons of a network corporation and who would benefit from it? How is this situation handled elsewhere, especially in our neighbouring country Liechtenstein?
Publication in German, August 2008, PDF, 51 KB  

Strategic realignment for SME

In case of market deregulation, how should small and medium enterprises (SME) adjust their strategy? We take a look at the Intercai approach to strategic consulting.
Publication in German, June 2008, PDF, 48 KB   

IT governance in organisation structures - an area of conflict?

The strategic significance of information technology is assessed quite differently in the pertinent literature. While innovative IT solutions have led to market advantages and even breakthroughs during the past decade, the issue is being judged ambivalently today. Only the implication on an organisation concerning risk assessment is widely agreed upon. Thus it comes as no surprise that both importance and definition of IT governance are judged differently as well. In practice it is found that areas of conflict still remain to be adjusted after the implementation of IT governance.
Publication in German, January 2007, PDF, 158 KB 

Convergence in the Swiss telecommunication market

Today, convergence is a fact - there is network, service and business convergence, and several drivers indicate that convergence will change the ICT market as a whole. New business models will develop, exisiting network operators will have to change in fundamental way, surprising winners will establish themselves, and there will be sudden losers.
Abstract of the Intercai report, in German, July 2006, PDF, 66 KB

Business continuity management (BCM)

The fact that organisations are now so dependent on their IT systems has meant that during the last twenty years the IT department has led the way in planning how to recover from an unexpected event. But restoring data and system access is not enough when there is nowhere for the employees to answer the phones or suppliers cannot deliver critical components. Incidents as simple and common as an extended power loss, telecoms failure or the loss of building heating may cause crucial business functions to be disabled.
Publication in German, July 2006, PDF, 197 KB

Value-based IT Governance

Confidence, transparency and security call for governance. Not only corporate governance, but also IT governance establishes itself as a key discipline in larger enterprises. By using a model we show what is understood by integrated IT governance and under which tense circumstances the necessary drivers for the success of internal IT have to be found.
Published in "Computerworld" No. 4, in German, Januarv 2006, PDF, 50 KB

SMEs have the biggest potential

In their own interest, mobile network operators should pay more attention to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This entails, however, that the operators seriously deal with the SMEs' needs.
Published in "Handelszeitung", in German, March 8, 2006, 229 KB

Mobile service portfolio to attract SMEs

This report analyses the telecommunication needs of the Swiss telecom business customer market for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and proposes a mobile service portfolio for this important but neglected market.
Publication in English, April 2005, 504 KB

IT governance - hot or not?

Why IT governance is more than just a trend and a catchword.
Published in "Infoweek/SwissICT Magazine" , in German, August 15,  2005, 131 KB

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