The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in stronger demand for Ergon Informatik’s services from companies looking to digitalise their businesses. To earn themselves relevance and permanence in their customers’ digital ecosystems, they must demonstrate an ever-growing capacity for resilience. CEO Gabriela Keller: “We are delighted not only that we register such great demand, but also that we are able to support these companies with such diverse projects. It shows how well positioned our services are.”

Digitalisation gaining ground
Ergon has been able to celebrate a whole range of successful projects with its regular customers. These include Horgen-based manufacturer Feller, for which Ergon created a cloud-based production system and an Internet of Things hub. Both are fundamental elements of its ‘Wiser by Feller’ home automation solution.

WWZ of Zug optimised its internal processes into a harmonised, user-friendly customer journey to react faster and more flexibly to market needs. Based on an existing Ergon solution for order management, a customised platform for managing orders, fulfilment and invoicing has been created.

At banking software firm Finnova, Ergon deployed the Swiss Open Banking solution as a central element of Finnova’s newly launched ‘Open Banking as a Service’ product. The Ergon solution is based on the standard developed by the OpenBankingProject.ch community, and is seen as the Swiss adaptation of the Berlin Group’s Next Gen PSD2 standard for harmonising payment transfers. It allows banks to implement platform-based business models.

Customised solutions in demand
Ergon also secured customised software projects for a diverse range of exciting new customers. The focus here is on unique business benefits. For example, Luzerner Kantonalbank AG and St. Galler Kantonalbank AG are joining forces with Ergon and Soranus Ltd. as technology partners to launch a mobile add-on to their Pillar 3a securities-based savings plan. Ergon is also enormously proud to have been awarded a long-term contract from the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and the Federal Office of Police, fedpol. It will serve as digitalisation partner to the ‘Joining Forces’ initiative that aims to digitalise the criminal prosecution process.

With a customised platform for art collectors, MYARTBANK plans to revolutionise the global arts trade. It will create a blockchain-based platform, independent of auction houses. Blockchain also offers considerable potential in the public sector. Working alongside the Cantonal Chancellery of Canton Zurich and the University of Zurich Blockchain Center, Ergon has developed a practical guide to analysing the blockchain compatibility of business cases in the cantonal administration.

Patent registration for Ergon innovation
With a process for which a patent is pending, Ergon is creating an important cornerstone for the digital transformation in architecture, engineering and construction in the field of augmented reality (AR) and building information modelling (BIM). BIM models simplify daily workflow during the construction phase. The pending patent enables easy and flexible access to 3D BIM models in an AR application. This is done by using a positioning method directly in the field: fast, anywhere and with the convenience of a smartphone or tablet.

This new ‘BIM-to-Field-Augmented’ approach is already in successful use in the Fieldwalk collaboration app, which displays all relevant building data from the digital 3D BIM model. The process enables all of the different parties on a building site, and later in facilities management, to be part of an integrated planning system.

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Product range expanding
Innovation also continues apace in the Security segment, with Airlock having attracted 11 new customers in the DACH region. It is adding a microgateway to the Secure Access Hub in response to moves towards DevSecOps, micro-segmentation and zero trust architectures. The new component is a lightweighted alternative to the Airlock Gateway and can be deployed as a container in microservice architectures. The Airlock Microgateway will soon also be available as a community edition offering key basic functionality free of charge.