Swisscom and Ajila digitise the conclusion of contracts

From quick account opening to planning applications with countless enclosures: thanks to the cooperation between Swisscom and Lucerne’s Ajila, all processes including the conclusion of contracts have now been fully digitised, meaning printing, signing and rescanning are no longer necessary. This is made possible by a new common platform. In order to underpin the long-term strategic partnership, Swisscom is acquiring a substantial stake in Ajila Holding AG.

Even 20 years after the breakthrough of the Internet, many time-consuming processes in business and public authorities have still not been completely digitised. Customers and citizens often have to print out forms, scan documents, sign them by hand – or even send them in by post. It’s the same picture in the back office, where digitised processes require printing and physical archiving when dealing with external parties for lack of legally binding and reliable digital systems. Swisscom and Ajila from Sursee offer a comprehensive platform to remedy this situation: “Digital Deals” is a cloud solution that enables the complete, legally compliant digitisation of business processes. “Thanks to the new platform, business processes can be handled online without intermediate steps or media disruptions. Swisscom and Ajila are thus supporting companies in their digitisation efforts and enabling them to quickly and securely introduce contemporary customer experiences,” explains Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Head of Digital Business Unit at Swisscom. In addition, to enable legally valid signatures, Swisscom’s All-in Signing Service, which fulfils the legal requirements of both Switzerland (ZertES) and the EU (eIDAS), is connected. The first customers of the new platform are already online. Swisscom also intends to use the platform for its own business processes.

One click instead of 1000 forms

Ajila is contributing its experience in digitising forms and contracts to the partnership: ranging from account opening or insurance claims to driving licence orders, Ajila has already digitised 10,000 forms and contracts for 270 international customers across all industries and lines of business. “Even today, we still encounter authorities and companies that have to manage thousands of forms – this is where we can help to make it one click. For the customer and for the clerk,” explains Beat Steiner, one of the founders of Ajila. And Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler adds: “Swisscom’s experience in the Digital Signing unit and our cloud infrastructure brings together what belongs together to make everyday life easier. We are digitising Switzerland’s contracts.” Daniel Stöckli, the other founder of Ajila: “We are pooling Ajila’s know-how and experience with Swisscom’s existing infrastructure.” In order to put the cooperation on an optimal footing, Swisscom is acquiring a substantial stake in Ajila. The company from Sursee was founded 16 years ago and today employs 37 people at locations in Sursee and London.

Together with partners such as Ajila, Swisscom is positioning itself as the leading trusted service provider in Switzerland and making the simple and secure issuing, use, storage and authorisation of basic documents and certificates possible. “In this way, we are supporting companies and administrations in the complete digitisation of their business processes, thereby making life slightly easier for end customers,” explains Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler.