2015 was a successful year for the association and we are starting 2016 with a targeted campaign consisting of both online and offline advertising.

Transcription

1 Annual report 2015

2 FISCAL YEAR OF THE ASSOCIATION 2015 was a successful year for the association and we are starting 2016 with a targeted campaign consisting of both online and offline advertising. PAGE 2 We are very pleased to start 2016 with 61 members in our association. Sixty-one members means an increase of almost 20 per cent compared to last year. We would like to thank all of our members for the trust they have placed in us. We are encouraged to exert more energy to the initiative, continue to expand the network and increase our previous momentum. In order to continue to spread the message Do more. Live better. IT St.Gallen rocks!, we used specific instruments in 2015 to appeal to the target group and increase awareness of the initiative. Lastyear we focused on the targeted use of the instruments employed as well as the careful use of available resources. We participated in more than 15 recruiting and networking events, both in St.Gallen and at institutions outside of St.Gallen with ICT-related education to encourage direct contact with potential candidates. CEO talks and after-work events were held with the aim of enhancing networking within the association. An HR circle was also carried out for the first time. The continued expansion of the website was carried out in two stages and now incorporates two languages, clarity in the presentation of all association members and diverse design improvements with forward-looking functionalities on the job platform. And all of this for companies as well as candidates and interested persons. In the second half of 2015, the initiative was advertised for the first time with an online campaign via various online channels. The campaign s success can be seen in the massive increase in the number of page views, likes on Facebook and Twitter followers. Information was also spread using daily news updates and Facebook postings along with a newsletter that was regularly distributed. An extensive billboard campaign featuring member companies was launched in November This offline campaign was focused on billboard presence along the Rorschach-St.Gallen-Zurich train corridor and presence in cities with ICT-related educational centres such as Rapperswil, Buchs, Winterthur and Zurich. The association also placed various publications and articles in the Handelzeitung, the swissict magazine, the special supplement of the Tagesanzeiger and the St.Galler Tagblatt. ICT-related success stories from member companies were also linked to the IT St.Gallen rocks! initiative and publicized using press releases and placements in trade journals. Since its founding in 2013, the IT St.Gallen Association has gone through the same phases experienced by most start-up companies. The parameters consolidate and develop for 2015 created the need to establish professional processes and structures due to the fact that the workload could no longer be handled with previous personnel resources.

3 FISCAL YEAR OF THE ASSOCIATION Further strengthening of awareness of the St.Gallen Lake Constance region as an ICT hub, attracting ICT professionals to the region and creating a demand-oriented and forward-looking educational programme are also goals of the IT St.Gallen Association for In order to purposefully and professionally implement the necessary measures, the association s year is starting off with additional staff support at the office. Following the previous building phase, the IT St.Gallen Association is preparing to enter the growth phase in This will mean honing the association s profile and revising the organisational structure. Association members will be informed of the steps that this entails and integrated into the process to the extent that this is structurally possible. Despite these organisational challenges, the IT St.Gallen Association will again launch targeted measures and actions to increase awareness of the St.Gallen Lake Constance region and reach desired target groups. In addition, focus will increasingly be put on online-advertising and video content while moving away from static image content. Presence at recruiting and networking events will be similar to last year. The CEO talks and after-work events should increase networking within the association. The HR circle should also encourage exchange, networking and a transfer of knowledge between HR managers. The 2016 campaign will include elements of both online and offline advertising. The individual measures and actions envisaged for this are continuously monitored for their effectiveness and optimised. Further promotion of the "IT St.Gallen rocks! initiative will take place over online channels including Facebook and Google. The use of additional online channels has already been outlined and ideas have been developed. Offline advertising will include cinema advertising for the first time. The use of additional offline channels such as publications and articles in trade journals and magazines has been planned and concrete actions are being prepared. Additional ICT-relevant news from members will continue to be published as news messages, Facebook postings and newsletters. I look forward to continued creative collaboration for achieving the objectives for the St.Gallen Lake Constance ICT region. Hermann Arnold Co-founder / President of the Board of Directors Haufe-umantis AG President of Verein IT St.Gallen Hermann Arnold PAGE 3

4 THE ASSOCIATION IT St.Gallen rocks! We are The St.Gallen Lake Constance region is THE place in Switzerland for entrepreneurial ICT and offers potential with 2,000 ICT companies and 15,000 employees. An association of ICT companies and the ICT hub in the region of St.Gallen Lake Constance 44 companies, 10 training partners, 7 network partners and the public sector Our goals Strengthen awareness and positioning of the ICT site Recruit skilled workers in the ICT sector Create a demand-oriented and forward-looking training programme Executive Board Contact President: Hermann Arnold, Co-founder / President of the Board of Directors Haufe-umantis AG Vice President: Markus Ammann, Owner of Ammann ConsultingOne Treasurer: Isabel Schorer, Head of Economic Development for the City of St.Gallen Actuary: Peter Imthurn, Managing Director of GUS Schweiz AG Committee member: Martin Pulfer, Head of Human Resources at Namics AG Committee member: Erik Schmidt, CEO Zoot International AG The executive board uses the economic development department of St.Gallen's city council as the office of the Verein IT St.Gallen. Verein IT St.Gallen info@itrockt.ch itrockt.ch facebook.com/itrockt PAGE 4

5 PARTNER Companies New companies in 2015: Bildungszentrum BVS St.Gallen KCS.net AG Leica Geosystems Ltd Liip AG Metrohm AG New Vision Consulting GmbH Optimatik AG Pool Informatik GmbH Squeng AG Syconex GmbH Zentrum für berufliche Weiterbildung (ZbW) Zoot International AG The ICT sector is characterised by dynamic and successful SMEs. They typically have high productivity and anticipate increasing demand for IT services in all sectors, including in the areas of enterprise software, business process engineering and - outsourcing, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and content management systems (CMS) as well as Internet technology, e-commerce, IT security and SaaS. The joint aim is to counter the lack of specialists in the ICT sector. Educational partners New educational partners in 2015: HTW Chur Kantonsschule am Brühl St.Gallen Web Professionals GmbH Wirtschaftsinformatikschule Schweiz WISS Qualified specialists form the basis of a prosperous ICT sector. To this end, an attractive educational and specialty skills offering is fundamental. Several educational partners now already support the initiative IT St.Gallen rocks!. Our joint aim is to expand training and further education offerings in ICT and IT companies. Network partners New network partners in 2015: Java User Group Switzerland A network comprises an organised group of people and institutions with the same interests wishing to benefit from mutual support. The initiative "IT St.Gallen rocks! and our network partners have the same intentions. They all come from various sectors yet have a common aim: strengthening the eastern Swiss economy, notably the ICT cluster, and together we are working to achieve this objective. PAGE 5

6 PARTNER Government St.Gallen city council and the St.GallenBodenseeArea support the initiative IT St.Gallen rocks!. St.GallenBodenseeArea: The St.GallenBodenseeArea is the official joint venture of the cantons of St.Gallen, Thurgau and both Appenzells for the international promotion and development support of Switzerland s most cost-efficient region, the St.Gallen- BodenseeArea. In this economic region with more than two million residents, roughly 2,000 ICT companies employ more than 15,000 people. The St.GallenBodenseeArea is conveniently located between Munich,Stuttgart, Zurich and Milan, and the Zurich international airport is only 30 to 60 minutes away. The St.Gallen BodenseeArea is also one of the most attractive economic areas in Europe witha unique cost-benefit ratio. Davidstrasse St.Gallen sgba.ch invest@sgba.ch T Standortförderung Stadt St.Gallen Rathaus 9001 St.Gallen standort.stadt.sg.ch T PAGE 6

7 IT ST.GALLEN ROCKS! SPONSORSHIP NewVision CONSULTING Ammann ConsultingOne / E-Experts GmbH / Frontify AG / Goldfish Software GmbH / netz.werk köppel & partner GmbH / Pool Informatik GmbH / Steffen Informatik AG / Squeng AG / Syconex GmbH / Zoot International AG EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS NETWORK PARTNERS GOVERNMENT PAGE 7 Updated:

8 NUMBERS The association s 2015 fiscal year in numbers 28,376 Users at itrockt.ch 138,171 Page views at itrockt.ch 61 Association members 496 Newsletter recipients Sessions at itrockt.ch Like data on Facebook 155 Twitter followers 9 Newsletters despatched 17 Events (labour market, network, association meeting) 92 Posted news at itrockt.ch Job platform itrockt.ch/jobs ( ) clicks and jop postings average number of job postings 118 posted and revised job announcements PAGE 8

9 FINANCES Balance sheet ASSETS Cash on hand Bank ' , Total assets 235' , LIABILITIES Accounts payable VAT (- = assets / + = debt) Deferred income 49, , , , , Total liabilities 235, , Income statement 1 OPERATING INCOME Income from package sales Launch funding from city council Income from Lokremise event Merchandising income Advertising income 303, , , , , , Total sum of operating income 308, , EXPENSES Advertising Internet Printed matter Administrative costs/office Input tax reductions Interest income Interest cost/bank charges Expenses from Lokremise events Expenses from other events Merchandising expenses 264' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Total sum of expenses 308' ' PAGE 9

10 FINANCES 1 The cash-equivalent services of the executive board members and their companies are not to be found in the income statement. In order to enhance transparency, these items are listed here: Management of the office (economic development department of St.Gallen city council), compensation for the executive board (Haufe-umantis Ltd., Ammann ConsultingOne, Zoot International AG, Namics Ltd, GUS Schweiz AG, St.Gallen city council economic development department), further personal commitments of the executive board members. All these items were provided to the association free of charge. If they had had to be purchased at market prices, they would currently be valued at CHF 200,000. In addition, Alltag Agentur AG is offering its services on preferential terms. The audit department of St.Gallen city council states in the report on the annual accounts: In our review we came across no items from which we would have to conclude that the annual accounts do not convey a picture of the asset, financial and revenue position of the IT St.Gallen Association that reflects its actual circumstances in compliance with the relevant laws and statutes. Many thanks. March 2016 Publisher: Verein IT St.Gallen c/o Standortförderung Stadt St.Gallen Rathaus CH-9001 St.Gallen itrockt.ch info@itrockt.ch Editorial department: Isabel Schorer Board Member of Verein IT St.Gallen and Head of Economic Development for the city of St.Gallen Sabine Nussbaumer Project manager Verein IT St.Gallen Design: Alltag Agentur PAGE 10