Innovation as a key driver of business per­for­mance

The digital trans­for­ma­tion represents a huge oppor­tu­nity for Switzer­land. However, the population will only accept the advance of digitalisation within society if trust in secure services and the correct handling of sensitive data is assured. The way in which Swisscom brings trustworthy innovations to the market for its cus­tomers will play a key role in both its own success and that of its cus­tomers. Trust in new tech­nolo­gies will become even more im­por­tant going forward, which is why Swisscom aims to become ‘Innovators of Trust’ for Switzer­land and its cus­tomers. Innovative strength and trust are core values of Swisscom and central to successful tech­no­log­i­cal and social de­vel­op­ment. With this in mind, Swisscom is already addressing relevant and promising future topics intensively. Swisscom strives every day to delight its cus­tomers with the best products and services (‘Delight cus­tomers’). Swisscom is driving its growth by developing advanced products and services (‘Innovate for growth’). It also supports forward-looking solutions to make its own processes even more efficient, for example through process digitalisation (‘Achieve more with less’). Finally, Swisscom is focusing on innovation to help position itself as the best ICT employer, attract the best talent and retain it (‘Perform together’). In order to achieve this, Swisscom works closely with partners, universities, start-ups and es­tab­lished tech­nol­ogy com­pa­nies.

In its Silicon Valley office in California, Swisscom has been engaged in trend and tech­nol­ogy scouting since 1998. The office comprises an innovation lab with its own data centre and serves Swisscom as a source of in­for­ma­tion on tech­nol­ogy de­vel­op­ments in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. It also maintains local partnerships with promising start-ups and leading US tech­nol­ogy com­pa­nies whose products and business models are then launched in Switzer­land.

Swisscom Ventures has been investing in start-ups since 2007 and networking them with Swisscom in order to stimulate innovation. In the year under review, Swisscom made in­vest­ments in nine new com­pa­nies and eleven follow-up in­vest­ments in existing holdings. These include Scandit, a leading smart data capture company. Ad­di­tionally, Swisscom uses the Swisscom StartUp platform to support entrepreneurs and start-ups in Switzer­land through consulting, discounts on IT and cloud services, expert know-how, coaching programmes, financing and community events.

Over 240 start-ups from 27 countries have applied for a funding programme as part of the Swisscom StartUp Challenge. The three winners of the StartUp Challenge secured an op­por­tu­nity to take part in a customised acceleration programme at the Swisscom office in Silicon Valley. They also gained access to the Swisscom ecosystem. They can now access workshops, coaching and a network that includes com­pa­nies from the deep tech segment as well as investors. Swisscom Kickbox is an employee-driven intrapreneurship and innovation programme with a clear process, tools and resources for innovation projects. It promotes a culture of innovation within the company and works at various strategic levels: for example, in the de­vel­op­ment of sophisticated customer-centric products and services and in employer branding to help Swisscom attract the best talent. Swisscom Kickbox is also available to other com­pa­nies via the spin-off rready AG.