IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Der «Online-Umsetzungsgrad» liegt in der Schweiz bei 60 Prozent, in der EU durchschnittlich bei 65 Prozent. Dies ergab eine am Dienstag veröffentlichte Studie, die die Beratungsfirma Capgemini im Auftrag der EU-Kommission durchgeführt hat. Untersucht wurden dabei 20 Dienstleistungen in den 25 EU-Staaten sowie in Island, Norwegen und der Schweiz.

Mit der SuisseID startet die Schweiz ab Mai 2010 endgültig in das digitale Zeitalter. Denn ab diesem Zeitpunkt können sich alle Personen in der Schweiz eine sichere elektronische Identität zulegen. Die SuisseID ist als persönlicher Ausweis für das Internet gedacht, der beispielsweise die Einreichung der Steuererklärung oder das Anfordern eines Strafregisterauszuges künftig direkt über das Web erlaubt. Aber auch das Einkaufen im Web, Internetbanking sowie die private und geschäftliche Online-Kommunikation kann durch die SuisseID sicher gestaltet werden.

The report reveals that businesses and institutions have passed an important volume of orders since then; in September 2010 the SECO had already received 110 000 requests for a SuisseID from several big buyers - mainly organisations specialised in electronic commerce, eGovernment and eHealth. Other large-scale projects are planned to be implemented in the next months. The SECO will release a second progress report at the end of the autumn of 2010.

Swiss canton Schaffhausen has presented a pilot version of the eID+ service during the e-Government Days, reported Inside-IT. The eID product was developed by the start-up Procivis with the participation of the software producer Queo Swiss from Solothurn.

The system can be adjusted and integrated with similar platforms in future, such as the planned SwissID. Procivis communicates with various eID providers.

The city of Zug in Switzerland has become the first in the country to implement digital credentials in a live setting, starting in September 2024. The move toward digitizing identity credentials across Switzerland is expected to culminate in a federal-level digital identity system by 2026.

Zug’s eGovernment platform, known as eZug, now integrates the Procivis One software to manage the issuance and verification of these digital credentials. According to an announcement, users don’t need a separate app to access these credentials.

Call it a Swiss digital ID reboot.

That would seem to describe the ongoing situation in Switzerland, where authorities are again making a push toward constructing a national digital ID program designed in large part to enable secure authentication for public and private web services. But questions of who will control it — the national government, or a consortium of private companies — could further delay digital ID progress.

Four months after its public launch, Swiss e-government startup Procivis has released the beta version of its integrated electronic identity and services platform. The fully functional software is ready for piloting and designed to integrate Blockchain-based smart contract capabilities as soon as the underlying technology has matured. Procivis further announced it will provide free access to its solution for partnering NGOs and intergovernmental organisations to support their work in the developing world.

The Swiss authorities are preparing to expand e-voting to more cantons, which would give more citizens the chance to cast their votes electronically. The government on Wednesday said the system should be expanded from its test phase.

Until now, 14 cantons have at various times allowed Swiss living abroad to vote electronically. Three cantons (Neuchatel, Geneva and Basel City) have operated e-voting systems for Swiss-based citizens. Up to two-thirds of citizens who have been eligible to vote electronically have grabbed the opportunity, proving that strong demand exists, the government said.

The foreign ministry says it has replaced its existing IT system for registering Swiss nationals abroad with a new system allowing expats to register with the authorities online.

The online desk allows Swiss citizens living abroad to enter, modify and consult their data at any time and from any location, according to a statement published on Wednesday.

The new architecture — SAGA.ch, now in version 1.1 — is based on the architecture of the German government and recommendations from international standards organizations, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force and the World Wide Web Consortium. Comments and suggestions from the public were also incorporated, although some of those comments will not be included until version 2.0, according to Swiss officials.

An OSOR.eu report says that the control committee sent the Federal Court questions about the DMS system to establish the legal basis for the development of the software. The court responded in August saying it was not entering into competition. Because the cost of the development, which began in 2007, has already been written off and anyone wanting to modify the software would have to bear the costs of those modifications themselves, the court said that it considered there was no cross-subsidisation.

The Swiss IT Conference has founded the company e-Operations Switzerland in Bern, which will assist the Confederation and the cantons in promoting digitisation of the administration. The strategic project is intended to create the conditions for an organisation jointly supported by the Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities, which will in future offer services for the implementation of IT cooperation in the administration.

e-Operations shall provide services in the areas of ​​marketing and needs evaluation, partner and project management as well as provider management and performance controls. However, the company does not consider itself an IT solution provider and does not operate its own data centres.

The project aims to cut down on bureaucracy and boost Switzerland’s e-government ranking compared with other European nations.

Swiss Post and Switzerland’s railway company SBB have joined forces to launch a standard login based on a uniform digital identity.

In a statement issued today (16 December), Swiss Post said: “The aim is to enable private individuals, companies and authorities to reduce their countless logins and passwords to just one in order to guarantee simple and secure access to as many online services as possible.”

Swiss Post has said it is looking to expand its position in the healthcare market through its digital communications technology.

The state-owned postal service in Switzerland is partnering with two major national organisations to increase its role in delivering healthcare information to doctors and patients and other stakeholders.

The company will work with the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) and the Ärztekasse health insurance fund on their joint project, called Health Info Net (HIN).

Swiss canton authorities are blocking central efforts to develop transactional e-government services.