The total revenue of the largest domestic IT companies, featured in the annual Top 1000 ranking by ITWelt.at, has now increased for the twelfth consecutive year. This reinforces the IT sector&rsquo;s reputation as a driving force of the Austrian economy, especially in the face of multiple crises, and is a result of the ongoing rapid digitalization in the country.

Across the various categories of the Top 1000 ranking, all sectors, including IT trade, saw clear growth. Leading the pack is the &quot;IT Services&quot; sector, with an 8.7% increase, reaching a revenue volume of approximately 10 billion euros. This marks the first time the sector has taken the top spot in the industry comparison and has tripled its growth over the past two years.

This is a strong indicator of the current transformations within the IT industry: whether it&rsquo;s cloud or as-a-service models, these services are in higher demand than ever.

IT Industry Booming: Record Growth in IT Services

IT service expert EBCONT has not only joined the ranks of growth drivers but has exceeded all expectations, securing a top position at 56th place in the latest ITWelt.at Top 1000 ranking. As one of the last Austrian family-owned IT companies, EBCONT demonstrates that it can not only compete with, but surpass large global providers in the Austrian market&mdash;all while preserving its family roots. In the IT services category, EBCONT ranks even higher at 21st place, placing it among the few privately-owned companies to be counted among the best.

EBCONT Surpasses Expectations and Secures Top Position in IT Ranking

However, where there&rsquo;s growth, there are also challenges: the rapidly expanding IT sector faces a shortage of nearly 30,000 skilled professionals. Alfred Harl, Chairman of UBIT (Management Consulting, Accounting, and Information Services) at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WK&Ouml;), outlines the issue across three key areas: &quot;We need to retain employees within companies and offer attractive working conditions and fair compensation to IT professionals nearing retirement to keep them in the workforce. Schools should provide meaningful foundational IT education for young people, and the dropout rate in IT programs at universities, currently at 50%, must be reduced.&quot;

For years, EBCONT has been addressing these challenges both internally and externally by focusing on key areas. The company&rsquo;s initiatives include personalized talent development, flat hierarchies, a hybrid working model even before the pandemic, numerous team events and benefits, as well as a strong emphasis on diversity. These efforts have resulted in a low turnover rate, top-tier candidates, and a highly satisfied team. EBCONT is also proud of its progress in increasing the proportion of women in the workforce&mdash;while the industry average is just 18%, EBCONT boasts a 20% female representation.

Carina Skladal, Division Manager for UX/UI and one of EBCONT&#39;s diversity leads, shares: &quot;From day one, new female colleagues are empowered. Through initiatives like Women@EBCONT, founded almost three years ago, joint internal and external events, and collaboration within one of the six diversity dimensions, we&rsquo;ve made significant strides. In 2023, we unified six teams under the EBCONT Diversity Charter across all dimensions, earning us Austria&rsquo;s top diversity award, the MERITUS from Pride Biz Austria.&quot;

The IT Sector Faces a Shortage of 28,000 Skilled Workers

The total revenue of the largest domestic IT companies increased to 30.86 billion euros in 2023, marking a rise of almost 6% compared to the previous year. EBCONT has achieved an outstanding position in the current Top 1000 ranking by ITWelt.at, securing the 56th spot overall. In the IT services sector, the owner-managed company ranks even higher at 21st place. This demonstrates that the Austrian family business is capable of competing successfully with large global providers in the domestic market while maintaining its family roots.

EBCONT surpasses all expectations in Top 1000 ranking

Elisabeth Weidner, UX/UI Designerin bei EBCONT und Expertin in DesignOps, er&ouml;ffnete den Abend mit einer Best Practice. Wie kann DesignOps die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Design, Entwicklung und Projektmanagement optimieren, um konsistente, hochwertige Designs zu schaffen, die den Gesch&auml;ftserfolg f&ouml;rdern? Ihr Res&uuml;mee: &bdquo;DesignOps ist nicht nur Effizienzsteigerung &ndash; es ist die Br&uuml;cke zwischen Design, Entwicklung und Projektmanagement.&ldquo;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The DesignOps Universe: Accelerating Your (Design) Team's Performance

In the second talk, <a href="https://www.bitpanda.com/de">Bitpanda&#39;s</a> Elif Alp-Marent (UX Manager), Rudolf Stefanich (UX Research Lead), and Julian Moser (Head of UX) discussed the importance of UX Metrics. They emphasized that effective design relies not just on tools but on strategic planning, empathy, and a deep understanding of users. Their memorable quote, &quot;We&rsquo;re not just designing for the spaceship. The goal is to reach the moon,&quot; encapsulated the essence of their philosophy.

Despite the summer heat, the meetup attracted numerous interested attendees who found the exchanges and presentations to be very inspiring. The general feedback was, &quot;Despite the heat in Vienna, the UX Vienna Meetup was an impressive event with two insightful talks. I&#39;m already looking forward to the next event.&quot;

Elisabeth Weidner was particularly enthusiastic about her experience: &quot;My first external talk in English was a great experience. Thanks to UX Vienna and EBCONT for this opportunity.&quot;

Data, Design and Beyond: The Why and How of UX Metrics

The 236th UX Vienna Meetup was marked not only by top-notch presentations but also by special highlights such as exclusive giveaways, including the coveted Figma Shortcuts Mousepad. After the talks, attendees had the opportunity to network in the inviting atmosphere of the Millennium Tower. The stylish &quot;Star Wars&quot; decorations in the office further contributed to the positive vibe. EBCONT was particularly pleased to have secured long-time partner Bitpanda as a speaker. The event was a great success and set new standards for future meetups. Our thanks go out to all the visitors and our speakers!

&nbsp;

Successful Highlights and Inspiring Networking

On August 13, 2024, over 50 UX enthusiasts gathered for the 236th UX Vienna Meetup at the EBCONT headquarters in the Millennium Tower, Vienna. The event provided attendees with exciting insights into two central topics in the UX world: DesignOps and UX Metrics.

236th UX Vienna Meetup: Insights into DesignOps and UX Metrics at EBCONT


June is Pride Month, and this year EBCONT accompanied it with various activities. Once again, it was celebrated appropriately with an EBCONT Pride boat trip, featuring around 150 internal guests, to promote greater visibility.

For the first time, the internal EBCONT Rainbow Run took place, with 26 participants raising almost &euro;1,000 for an LGBTIQ+ organization, marking a resounding success.

The rainbow month was also complemented by participation in prominent panel discussions on EBCONT&#39;s Diversity Best Practices and lessons learned, such as at the <a href="https://businesscircle.at/human-resources/konferenz/inclusive-business-diversity-excellence-summit/" style="text-decoration:none">DEI Summit</a>, the <a href="https://rainbow-day.de/" style="text-decoration:none">Rainbow Day</a>,&mdash;a career and networking fair for those who live and appreciate diversity&mdash;and at Pride partner events organized by Microsoft and Drei, where EBCONT experts are now welcome guests and contributors.

Carina Skladal, co-initiator of the EBCONT Diversity Initiative, is proud of what has been achieved so far: &quot;I am delighted that we can once again conclude June with this very special EBCONT Pride Boat Lounge and hopefully carry this vibe beyond June. Today on the Danube, we will make a statement for acceptance, respect, and equal rights. Furthermore, the many vibrant colors should ensure visibility.&quot;

Johannes Litschauer, Managing Director of EBCONT, supports this clear statement: &quot;We are a family business and bring together many cultures and diversities with our over 600 employees. We want to offer our colleagues a diverse home free from hate and discrimination.&quot;

Visibility was also the keyword for one of the evening&#39;s highlights. This year&#39;s Pride Boat Opening was highlighted by two community representatives: EBCONT colleague Daniel Schabauer, aka <a href="https://www.erikaempire.eu/" style="text-decoration:none">Erika Empire</a>, and Felix Schiller, also known as drag artist and DJ, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dieschillerin/" style="text-decoration:none">Die Schillerin</a>.

Unvarnished and to the point, the two addressed in an interview the issues of private and professional coming out, legislation, and threats surrounding the community, and where we can collectively work for more respect and acceptance.

Daniel Schabauer: &quot;There are homosexual and queer individuals everywhere. Being able to be a Drag Queen at your employer is not something taken for granted by God. We are a minority and we need support from straight allies!&quot;

This support exists at EBCONT as well, where they show understanding and solidarity for the rights and equality of LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, and others) individuals. They actively fight against discrimination and advocate for the recognition and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people in society.

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EBCONT Pride Boot 2024

,,Pride ship ahoy!" was the call at the end of June on the Vienna Danube towards Greifenstein. This year, Danube cruise ship MS Kaiserin Elisabeth became the exclusive venue for the monthly lounge event of the Austrian IT company EBCONT.

June 2024 – a clear sign from the EBCONT Pride Team!


Generative AI, particularly through the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), represents a significant leap forward in AI development. These models are capable of generating human-like text, making them valuable for a wide range of applications from chatbots to content creation. LLMs learn from vast amounts of data, allowing them to perform complex language tasks and provide sophisticated responses.

While Generative AI offers immense potential, it also brings challenges, with privacy being a paramount concern. Instead of exposing sensitive data to public websites or external sources, entities must ensure their data remains within their own secure environments. When LLMs are trained on public environments, there is a risk that data could be used to inadvertently learn and memorize confidential information, potentially leading to privacy breaches. Ensuring data privacy and compliance with regulations becomes a complex issue, necessitating advanced solutions to safeguard sensitive information.

The Revolutionary Impact of Generative AI

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems have emerged as a robust and widely embraced solution for tackling the privacy concerns inherent in LLMs. These systems combine the power of LLMs with vector search capabilities, enhancing their ability to retrieve and generate relevant information quickly and securely. RAG systems can transform ingested images, documents, and audio into embeddings, which are then represented with dense vectors. These vectors can be efficiently compared with user queries through similarity measures, ensuring that private data is not memorized by the model. RAG systems excel in indexing and searching large datasets, making them powerful tools for information retrieval.

However, vector-only RAG systems face significant limitations. They often struggle with bias, lack of context understanding, and the potential for inaccuracies in their responses, commonly referred to as &quot;hallucinations&quot;, issues that were already inherent in LLMs. Bias arises because these models can perpetuate the biases present in their training data, leading to skewed outputs that reflect existing patterns rather than objective and deterministic calculations. Furthermore, vector-only RAG systems have difficulty grasping nuanced meanings beyond textual information alone, lacking the deeper contextual understanding required for more complex reasoning.

These challenges stem from the complexities of natural language processing and the limitations of current algorithms, which may not always represent the full context and underlying relationships accurately. While vector-only RAG systems mitigate privacy concerns, we still require advancements in contextual understanding and bias reduction to fully realize the Generative AI potential.

The Strengths and Limitations of Vector RAG Systems

Graphs offer a compelling solution to the challenges faced by LLM-based and vector-only RAG systems. Unlike traditional data models, Graphs excel at representing and consolidating heterogeneous and interconnected knowledge from diverse business domains.&nbsp;

A key strength of Graphs is their ability to represent relationships between nodes - documents, concepts, entities - offering a holistic view of interconnected data points. This relationship structure allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the context and dependencies within the data, which is crucial for contextual reasoning and generating deterministic relevant responses.

Furthermore, leveraging Graphs can significantly reduce bias, as they incorporate a broader context and a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between data points. This helps in providing more balanced and unbiased outputs compared to traditional vector-only approaches. Additionally, Graphs enhance content relevance by ensuring that the information retrieved and used is contextually accurate and pertinent to the user query. They also maintain privacy more effectively by structuring data in a way that minimizes the exposure of sensitive information.

By addressing the limitations of vector-only RAG systems, Graphs offer a powerful framework for developing more transparent, interpretable, and responsible AI systems, ultimately leading to better decision-making.

The Unique Strengths of Graph Technology

Illustration of a complex international money laundering process. Funds are transferred from source accounts through multiple hops and participating accounts, facilitated by an offshore bank, before reaching the target accounts. The true value lies in the connections within the ecosystem, and Graph Analytics enhances fraud detection through comprehensive network tracing and analysis.

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A Graph serves as a perpetual hub of a business&#39;s expertise digitized, seamlessly integrating domain-human knowledge with enterprise processes data. By representing these two pillars of organizational intelligence in a structured and interconnected manner, Graphs become invaluable assets that can be leveraged across various business processes. This comprehensive digital blueprint of an organization allows businesses to:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Preserve Expertise: Safeguard the specialized knowledge of experts, ensuring that critical information is not lost due to employee turnover or organizational changes.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Enhance Decision-Making: Provide decision-makers with a holistic view of interconnected data points, enabling more informed and strategic choices.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Optimize Processes: Streamline and improve business processes by integrating contextual knowledge into everyday operations, from customer service to product development.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Support Innovation: Foster innovation by making it easier to identify patterns, correlations, and opportunities within the vast amounts of data that businesses generate.</li>
</ul>

By leveraging Graphs, organizations can ensure that their accumulated expertise and integrated data assets continue to drive value and innovation. This digital transformation not only enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations but also ensures that the organization&#39;s knowledge remains an enduring and dynamic asset.

A Graph as the Digital Business Intelligence Hub

Graphs are already making a tangible impact across various industries. By leveraging the unique strengths of Graphs, organizations can address specific challenges with precision and reliability. Here are some key verticals where this technology is transforming operations:

Making Faster Decisions

Graphs enable more agile and informed decision-making by providing a comprehensive view of interdependencies and relationships. Key applications include:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Digital Twins: Creating digital replicas of physical assets with detailed interdependencies, enabling better monitoring, simulation, and optimization of operations.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Supply Chain Management: Enhancing visibility across the supply chain by mapping out complex relationships between suppliers, manufacturers, and the natural interdependencies of products and their components. This leads to more efficient and responsive supply chain operations.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Inventory Management: Optimizing inventory levels and reducing waste by understanding the relationships and dependencies between different inventory items and their usage patterns.</li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

Deepening Personalization

For customer-centric businesses, Graphs enhance personalization and customer engagement by providing deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences. Applications in this vertical include:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Product and Service Recommendations: Analyzing purchase patterns and user behavior to deliver highly personalized product and service recommendations, improving customer satisfaction and sales.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Customer 360: Building comprehensive, 360-degree profiles of customers by integrating data from various touchpoints, enabling more personalized and effective customer interactions.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Customer Insights: Gaining deeper insights into customer preferences and behaviors, allowing businesses to tailor their strategies and offerings to meet the unique needs of their customers.</li>
</ul>

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Uncovering Hidden Networks

Graphs can uncover hidden networks and relationships that are crucial for detecting and preventing fraudulent activities. The applications include:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Fraud Detection: By analyzing complex transaction networks, Graphs can identify unusual patterns and suspicious activities, enhancing the accuracy of fraud detection systems.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Entity Resolution: Graphs can consolidate data from various sources to resolve ambiguities and correctly identify entities, improving data quality and reliability.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Know Your Customer: Enhancing KYC processes by integrating diverse data points to build comprehensive profiles of customers, ensuring compliance and reducing risk.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Anti-Money Laundering: Identifying and analyzing intricate financial networks to detect and prevent money laundering activities, ensuring regulatory compliance and safeguarding financial institutions.</li>
</ul>

Solving Real-World Problems with Graphs

The integration of Graphs with Generative AI creates a powerful synergy, hereby defined as Augmented Intelligence. This approach enhances GenAI systems by providing contextualized business reasoning, leading to interpretable, explainable, and ethically responsible AI outcomes. Moreover, it democratizes access to data-driven insights, ensuring that the users can comprehend and leverage them effectively.

Graphs improve contextual understanding by capturing relationships between entities, which enables AI systems to retrieve contextually relevant information from diverse knowledge sources. This enriched context enhances the relevance and accuracy of AI responses, making the systems more effective in handling complex queries and providing valuable insights and enabling users to ask direct queries and receive complete answers based on the enterprise data landscape. Drawing on verified and specialized knowledge sources, AI delivers more accurate and relevant information crucial for decision-making processes.

By combining the strengths of Graphs with the generative power of LLMs, organizations can develop AI systems that not only perform exceptionally well but also adhere to high standards of transparency and ethical responsibility. This synergy supports better decision-making, strategic planning, and operational efficiency, ultimately leading to more informed and reliable outcomes.

Augmented Intelligence: Combining Graphs with Generative AI

Implementing the advanced approach of combining Graphs with Generative AI involves a well-defined data governance pipeline. This process ensures that data is accurately integrated, contextually enriched, and ethically managed. The key components of this pipeline include:

<ol>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Data Integration from Domain Experts:
	<ol>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Collection: Gather data from various sources, including databases, documents, and expert knowledge.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Normalization: Standardize data formats to ensure consistency and compatibility.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Validation: Verify the accuracy and reliability of the data through domain-experts review and automated checks.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Annotation: Enrich the data with metadata and annotations that capture domain-specific knowledge and nuances.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Graph Creation:
	<ol>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Modeling: Design the schema of the Graph to represent entities, relationships, and attributes relevant to the domain.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Population: Ingest data into the Graph, linking entities and establishing relationships based on the schema.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Optimization: Optimize the Graph for performance, ensuring efficient querying and retrieval of information.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Maintenance: Regularly update and refine the Graph to incorporate new data and improve accuracy.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Vector Search Integration:
	<ol>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Embedding Generation: Convert text, images, documents, and audio into high-dimensional vector embeddings using machine learning models.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Indexing: Organize these embeddings in a vector database to enable fast and efficient similarity searches.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Query Processing: Implement algorithms to compare user queries with the indexed embeddings, retrieving the most relevant information.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Relevance Tuning: Continuously refine the search algorithms to improve the relevance and accuracy of search results.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Application of Language Models:
	<ol>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Model Selection: Choose appropriate LLMs that can interact with the Graph and vector search systems.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Fine-Tuning: Customize the LLMs to align with the specific requirements and contexts of the enterprise.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Integration: Seamlessly integrate the LLMs with the Graph and vector search to enable enriched and context-aware responses.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Monitoring: Continuously monitor the performance of the models, ensuring they deliver accurate and reliable outputs.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">User Experience:
	<ol>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Interface Design: Develop user-friendly interfaces that allow users to interact with the system easily and intuitively.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Personalization: Implement features that personalize the user experience based on individual preferences and behavior.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Feedback Mechanisms: Incorporate feedback loops that allow users to provide input on the system&rsquo;s performance, which can be used to make ongoing improvements.</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">Training and Support: Provide training and support to users to ensure they can effectively utilize the system and understand its capabilities.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

Enterprise-Ready Implementation

The integration of Graph Technology with Generative AI represents a transformative step in AI development. By addressing critical challenges in privacy, bias, and contextual understanding, this approach enhances the transparency and responsibility of AI systems. As we advance, the continued focus on these principles will ensure that AI remains a force for positive and ethical progress in our data-driven world. The Graph will be at the heart of this transformation, providing a stable foundation for leveraging human expertise in every aspect of business operations. This synergy of advanced AI and structured knowledge will pave the way for more reliable, responsible, and innovative solutions in the future.

&nbsp;

Conclusion

In today's data-driven world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries by providing unprecedented capabilities in automation, prediction, and decision-making. However, as we integrate AI systems more deeply into our lives and businesses, the need for explainability, interpretability, and ethical responsibility becomes critical. This article written by Diogo Braga, Machine Learning Expert at EBCONT explores why leveraging Graphs can enhance these aspects, creating a more reliable and ethical AI landscape.

Why Graph Technology for AI Reasoning

In the realm of data management and analysis, spreadsheets have long been a go-to tool for businesses of all sizes. However, what starts as a simple solution can quickly evolve into a tangled web of complexity, leading to what is commonly referred to as technical debt. This accumulation of shortcuts, quick fixes, and inefficient practices can hinder productivity, scalability, and overall performance. So, how do we address this issue and reduce the burden of technical debtt.

<h4>One effective strategy is to deconstruct complex spreadsheets into well-structured data models. By transitioning from the ad-hoc nature of spreadsheets to a more standardized and scalable architecture, businesses can mitigate technical debt and pave the way for smoother operations. Let&#39;s explore this approach through two real-world scenarios:</h4>

Client 1: The Web Agency 
Imagine a scenario where a web agency compensates its sales team based on commissions. To manage this process, they rely on a bidirectional spreadsheet where account managers input various metrics to calculate their compensation. However, as the agency grows, so does the complexity of the spreadsheet. Each account manager has unique objectives and cost points, resulting in a convoluted and difficult-to-maintain system. 
By converting this spreadsheet into a well-understood data model, the agency can streamline the commission calculation process. Implementing a standardized architecture allows for clearer data management, easier scalability, and reduced maintenance overhead. Account managers can still input their metrics, but the system ensures consistency and reliability, mitigating the risks associated with technical debt.

<h4>Client 2: The Security Matrix</h4>

Another common scenario involves using spreadsheets as security matrices for applications. Initially effective for managing a limited number of users and roles, these spreadsheets become unwieldy as the application scales. Clients may find themselves hiding numerous columns to navigate the complexities of user permissions, leading to confusion and inefficiency. 
By transitioning to a structured data model for managing security permissions, businesses can regain control over their access control mechanisms. Hierarchical relationships and complex configurations can be more effectively modeled and managed, improving both security and usability. By addressing the underlying technical debt, businesses can ensure that their systems remain robust and adaptable in the face of change.

Cutting Technical Debt: Transform Spreadsheets into Data Models

Technical debt inside of common applications and documents&nbsp; is a hidden cost that can accumulate over time, weighing down businesses and stifling innovation. By converting spreadsheets into well-structured data models, organizations can untangle the complexities of their systems and pave the way for smoother operations. Whether it&#39;s commission calculations or security management, embracing change and investing in efficient data architectures are essential steps towards reducing technical debt and ensuring long-term success.

Concluding on Technical Debt: Embrace Structured Data Models

In the realm of data management and analysis, spreadsheets have long been a go-to tool for businesses of all sizes. However, what starts as a simple solution can quickly evolve into a tangled web of complexity, leading to what is commonly referred to as technical debt. This accumulation of shortcuts, quick fixes, and inefficient practices can hinder productivity, scalability, and overall performance. So, how do we address this issue and reduce the burden of technical debt?

<h4>Converting Spreadsheets to Data Models</h4>

One effective strategy is to deconstruct complex spreadsheets into well-structured data models. By transitioning from the ad-hoc nature of spreadsheets to a more standardized and scalable architecture, businesses can mitigate technical debt and pave the way for smoother operations. Let&#39;s explore this approach through two real-world scenarios:

Client 1: The Web Agency 
Imagine a scenario where a web agency compensates its sales team based on commissions. To manage this process, they rely on a bidirectional spreadsheet where account managers input various metrics to calculate their compensation. However, as the agency grows, so does the complexity of the spreadsheet. Each account manager has unique objectives and cost points, resulting in a convoluted and difficult-to-maintain system. 
By converting this spreadsheet into a well-understood data model, the agency can streamline the commission calculation process. Implementing a standardized architecture allows for clearer data management, easier scalability, and reduced maintenance overhead. Account managers can still input their metrics, but the system ensures consistency and reliability, mitigating the risks associated with technical debt.

<h4>Client 2: The Security Matrix</h4>

Another common scenario involves using spreadsheets as security matrices for applications. Initially effective for managing a limited number of users and roles, these spreadsheets become unwieldy as the application scales. Clients may find themselves hiding numerous columns to navigate the complexities of user permissions, leading to confusion and inefficiency. 
By transitioning to a structured data model for managing security permissions, businesses can regain control over their access control mechanisms. Hierarchical relationships and complex configurations can be more effectively modeled and managed, improving both security and usability. By addressing the underlying technical debt, businesses can ensure that their systems remain robust and adaptable in the face of change.

<h4>Technical debt inside of common applications and documents&nbsp; is a hidden cost that can accumulate over time, weighing down businesses and stifling innovation. By converting spreadsheets into well-structured data models, organizations can untangle the complexities of their systems and pave the way for smoother operations. Whether it&#39;s commission calculations or security management, embracing change and investing in efficient data architectures are essential steps towards reducing technical debt and ensuring long-term success.</h4>

Straddling the line between the ambitious visions we see in the media and the reality of delivering actionable data insights can feel like navigating a maze. But fear not! EBCONT is here to roll up his sleeves and tackle some of the hurdles you might face in today's IT world.
In this series, we're diving deep into the trenches, shedding light on the real-world  challenges and presenting practical solutions. Here comes no 3 of our blog post series!


The Burden of the Magic Spreadsheet

Dashboards are the cornerstone of Business Intelligence (BI) projects, serving as the visual interface through which businesses interpret and act upon their data. Yet, despite their importance, many dashboards fall short of meeting the initial expectations of stakeholders. In this discussion, we delve into the common pitfalls of dashboard design and explore strategies to ensure a successful end-to-end analytic journey.&nbsp;

Let&#39;s provide a more detailed breakdown of the challenges outlined as well as the possible approaches::

<ol>
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Disconnection from Customer Requirements occurs when dashboard design fails to meet the specific needs, expectations, and goals of end-users, resulting in a misalignment that undermines the delivery of relevant insights and functionalities. 
	To overcome this obstacle, it&#39;s essential to prioritize Actionable Insight. This approach entails deeply understanding and prioritizing end-users&#39; needs and goals, actively involving stakeholders throughout the design process, conducting thorough user research, and continuously seeking feedback to iteratively refine the dashboard design. By doing so, designers can ensure that the final product closely aligns with customer requirements, enhancing its effectiveness and usability.</li>
</ol>

&nbsp;

<ol start="2">
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Overemphasis on Visual Appeal occurs when aesthetics overshadow functionality, potentially resulting in cluttered interfaces that detract from delivering actionable insights. While visually appealing dashboards can initially attract users, an excessive focus on visual elements may lead to cluttered interfaces and distract from the primary goal of delivering actionable insights. 
	To address this challenge, designers should embrace Data Visualization Best Practices. This approach involves selecting appropriate chart types, utilizing effective color schemes, and striking a balance between visual appeal and usability. By adhering to these guidelines, dashboards can present information in a visually engaging yet informative manner, ensuring that aesthetics complement functionality rather than overshadow it.</li>
</ol>

&nbsp;

<ol start="3">
	<li style="list-style-type:decimal">Lack of Contextualization presents a significant obstacle in dashboard design, emphasizing the critical need to offer users more than just raw data. Without adequate contextualization, users may struggle to fully grasp the implications of the insights presented, hampering their ability to make informed decisions based on the data at hand. 
	To address this challenge effectively, designers should adopt the Approach of Crafting Compelling Data Stories. This approach involves going beyond merely presenting data points and instead focuses on contextualizing the information within the broader business narrative. By crafting narratives around the data, designers can provide users with the necessary context to understand the significance of the insights and how they relate to real-world scenarios. 
	 
	By weaving engaging stories that highlight key trends, patterns, and insights, dashboards become more than just visual representations of data; they become powerful tools for driving action and facilitating informed decision-making. Additionally, incorporating elements such as case studies, scenarios, and real-life examples further enhances the relevance and applicability of the data presented. 
	 
	Ultimately, by prioritizing the creation of compelling data stories, designers can transform dashboards into dynamic platforms that not only inform but also inspire action, empowering users to leverage data-driven insights to drive business success.</li>
</ol>

By addressing these specific challenges, dashboard designers can create more effective and user-friendly solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

<h3>Summary</h3>

In the realm of Business Intelligence, dashboards play a crucial role in transforming data into actionable insights. However, their effectiveness hinges on more than just visual appeal; it requires a deep understanding of user requirements, adherence to best practices, and the ability to craft compelling data narratives. By addressing the common pitfalls of dashboard design and adopting a user-centric approach, organizations can enhance the success of their BI initiatives and drive informed decision-making.

&nbsp;

Unveiling Dashboard Design Pitfalls and Pathways to Success

Gregor Sieber (Executive Vice President / Head of Consulting and Innovation at EBCONT) delves deeper into best practice :&rdquo;Dashboard design is really where expertise in data and a deep understanding of the abilities of the underlying architecture must be met with equal skills in user experience design. This is why we like to support our customers with an interdisciplinary team that is inspired by our agile approach.

&nbsp;

For more information please contact <a href="mailto:gregor.sieber@ebcont.com" style="text-decoration:none">gregor.sieber@ebcont.com</a>.

&nbsp;

In the realm of Business Intelligence, dashboards play a crucial role in transforming data into actionable insights. However, their effectiveness hinges on more than just visual appeal; it requires a deep understanding of user requirements, adherence to best practices, and the ability to craft compelling data narratives. By addressing the common pitfalls of dashboard design and adopting a user-centric approach, organizations can enhance the success of their BI initiatives and drive informed decision-making.

Summarizing BI Success: Overcoming Dashboard Design Challenges

Straddling the line between the ambitious visions we see in the media and the reality of delivering actionable data insights can feel like navigating a maze. But fear not! EBCONT is here to roll up his sleeves and tackle some of the hurdles you might face in today's IT world.
In this series, we're diving deep into the trenches, shedding light on the real-world  challenges and presenting practical solutions. Here comes no 2 of our blog post series!

Navigating the Pitfalls of Dashboard Design: Enhancing Business Intelligence Success

Innovation and Expertise Under One Roof

Our strengths lie in areas such as strategy and consulting, enterprise software development, UX/UI design, data integration, quality assurance, DevOps, and IT operations. EBCONT stands for creative and customized solutions precisely tailored to our clients&#39; needs, from planning to successful implementation.

New Home in Salzburg

With our locations in Vienna, Graz, Linz, St. P&ouml;lten, Vorarlberg, Germany, Pinkafeld, and New York, EBCONT is now also represented in Salzburg. This expansion brings us closer to our clients and talents on-site. Salzburg, Austria&#39;s cultural capital, becomes another hotspot in our network.

Top Service On-Site

Close to the customer and regionally rooted: The team led by Salzburg site manager and IT expert Benjamin Beer serves clients in and around Mozart&#39;s birthplace, offering the advantage of close, local collaboration.

We are, of course, also looking forward to applications from the region! Learn more at <a href="http://www.ebcont.com/karriere" rel="noreferrer" target="_new">www.ebcont.com/karriere</a>.

Salzburg, June 19, 2024 - EBCONT, a major player in the Austrian IT services industry, continues its success story by opening a brand-new location in Salzburg. With over 700 employees and more than 120 satisfied customers from various sectors – including the public sector – EBCONT offers tailored IT solutions and covers the entire lifecycle of IT projects. Our AI and data science professionals bring the latest technologies directly into our customers' projects.

EBCONT conquers Salzburg: IT power now also in Austria´s cultural capital.

With the upcoming Accessibility Act 2025, which is based on Directive 2019/882 &quot;European Accessibility Act&quot; (EAA), the discussion around alternative texts for images is gaining importance. This law, which comes into effect on June 28, 2025, obliges website operators and companies in the media, education, and book sectors to make their digital content accessible to everyone.

Background

Alternative texts are short descriptions that explain the content of an image. They are used in HTML and other document formats and appear when the image cannot be loaded or when, for example, a screen reader reads the image for users with visual impairments. These texts should be brief, concise, yet informative to best support the users. Tags, on the other hand, are keywords or phrases assigned to an image to categorize it and make it searchable in search engines or media archives.

&nbsp;

What are Alternative Texts and Tags?

Generating such image descriptions, especially for large amounts of existing data, represents a considerable effort, prompting many organizations to consider using AI to automate this process at least partially. However, there is a high demand for quality.

Where is the Challenge for Organizations and Companies?

The investigation results make it clear that AI solutions for alternative texts and tags are a highly sensible method. The right models can automatically generate correct and meaningful results. However, it must be emphasized that no model delivers error-free results, which is why manual control of the results remains necessary. Despite these limitations, machine learning models offer an efficient and useful solution for complying with the Accessibility Act.

This conclusion aligns with the view of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, which is also convinced that AI is a suitable solution for complying with the Accessibility Act (Source: https://www.boersenverein.de/beratung-service/barrierefreiheit/faq/#accordion--42).

&nbsp;

Given the rapid development of multimodal generative AI models and, as seen in the test cases, the suitability of different models for various scenarios, it is advisable to make the invocation of a specific AI model interchangeable. This generally means setting up a processing infrastructure for your own data where different models can be controlled via configuration or modularity. Typically, a generic pre- and post-processing of the data is necessary (e.g., reading, format conversion, writing metadata back, etc.). Additionally, model-specific processing steps may be required. Due to the development of the models, it is advisable to build the infrastructure in such a way that tests can be conducted easily and a high degree of automation is present. It is important to ensure that manual control by humans can be carried out with minimal effort.

&nbsp;

 Architectures for Using AI for Alternative Texts and Tags in an Enterprise Context

Against this backdrop, we at EBCONT conducted a comprehensive comparison of various artificial intelligence solutions. We examined leading commercial large-language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 Vision by OpenAI and Claude-3 Sonnet by Anthropic. We also considered open-source models like LLama and out-of-the-box cloud services like Azure Computer Vision and AWS Rekognition. All these systems were tested with the same media assets to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each model and identify the suitable AI solution for specific use cases.

&nbsp;

The data used had different levels of complexity. We analyzed images with and without text and people in various qualities, sizes, and formats, including photographs, drawn images, and generated content. The evaluation was partly carried out on behalf of customers using copyrighted data from EBCONT customers. Below, we provide examples using freely available content.

Analysis

This image was described with varying precision by different models. Alternative texts from Azure Computer Vision, such as &quot;A tower in the water&quot; and &quot;Church tower in calm waters,&quot; are correct in content but should be more informative to describe the image sufficiently in detail.

Open-source large-language models like LLava generally describe images correctly but occasionally produce faulty descriptions. For example, in an image showing bright green trees, the incorrect description &quot;yellow bushes&quot; was generated: &quot;The image shows a small white tower with a red tip standing in a quiet lake. Behind the tower are mountains with green and yellow bushes.&quot;

Alternative texts from commercial large-language models provided appropriate and concise results: &quot;An old church tower with a pointed roof rises from a lake, surrounded by wooded hills and mountains under a partly cloudy sky.&quot;

The tags generated by the AI solutions, such as &quot;bell tower,&quot; &quot;lake,&quot; &quot;nature,&quot; and &quot;mountain,&quot; were all accurate.

&nbsp;

Example 1: Photo

The peculiarity of this image is that it contains text, which should be included in a good image description. Our analysis showed that out-of-the-box services and open-source models often struggle with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), leading to alternative texts like &quot;A light box with text on it&quot; or &quot;A bright light panel with the text TAKE HIS AY, 0 E T!&quot;. Commercial LLMs like GPT-4 and Claude-3, on the other hand, showed significantly fewer problems in this area, providing more accurate descriptions: &quot;A light panel bears the inscription &#39;MAKE THIS DAY GREAT!&#39; in colorful letters. The background is blurred and in bright tones.&quot;

For this image, precise tags like &quot;text,&quot; &quot;electronics,&quot; &quot;display panel,&quot; and &quot;sign&quot; were created by the various AI solutions. However, some models also returned incorrect tags like &quot;number&quot; or &quot;cell phone,&quot; most of which were generated by open-source models. Commercial services like Azure Computer Vision and AWS Rekognition provided not only the most accurate but also the fewest erroneous tags.

&nbsp;

Example 2: Photo with Text

Images like this one, which have increased complexity, led to less precise and sometimes incorrect results from the tested AI solutions. It was noted that out-of-the-box cloud services often provided inadequate descriptions like &quot;A cartoon of a boy and a girl&quot; through generalization. The best results for complex images were achieved by LLMs. Although open-source models delivered quite good results here, this study again showed that commercial LLMs provide the best results: &quot;A cartoon of two children with speech bubbles showing various ways to factorize the number 990. One child seems to be explaining or teaching, while the speech bubbles show various factorization equations.&quot;

Despite the increased complexity of the images, the AI solutions still returned appropriate tags such as &quot;cartoon&quot; and &quot;illustration.&quot;

&nbsp;

Example 3: Image with Text

The analysis of this comprehensive comparison showed that artificial intelligence is a suitable solution for creating alternative texts and tags. Significant differences in the accuracy of various AI models emerged, especially in the alternative texts. Some systems were particularly good at handling photographic content, while others were more efficient at processing drawn or generated images. However, the key factors were the complexity and text content of the images.

Simple images were mostly correctly described by all tested AI solutions, albeit with varying levels of detail. For images with text or more complex content, the study showed that only generative language models (LLMs) could provide adequate alternative texts. The study concluded that commercial LLMs such as GPT-4 Vision and Claude-3 Sonnet achieved the best results.

It is important to mention that all generative LLMs occasionally produced inaccurate or faulty alternative texts. However, the study showed that this occurred significantly less frequently with commercial LLMs than with open-source models.

Another aspect of LLMs is that they sometimes fail to generate alternative texts. This happens when one of the content filters is activated, preventing the creation of an alternative text. For example, GPT-4 has filters for &quot;hate,&quot; &quot;self-harm,&quot; &quot;sexuality,&quot; and &quot;violence.&quot; This study concluded that these filters are sometimes configured too sensitively. For example, in an image of a woman sleeping in bed, the &quot;sexuality&quot; filter was mistakenly activated, and no alternative text was generated.

The generation of tags produced satisfactory results for most images through various AI models. For higher complexity, Azure Computer Vision proved to be the best solution for our media assets, as the error rate was the lowest.

Results

A comparison of currently available tools and methods by Niklas Großmann.

Accessibility & AI: Generating Alt Texts for Images with LLMs? 

Every organization faces challenges that could be addressed if they were able to harness the full potential of the data within their grasp.&nbsp;In most organizations, there are sources of data that would create actionable insight if they were joined together in a common analytic context. Frank Blau, Data Architect and IT consultant at EBCONT points out that this situation is not abnormal, but that it should be addressed in an effective Data Architecture strategy. 
 
In today&#39;s data-driven world, organizations are inundated with large amounts of data flowing in from multiple&nbsp; sources. This creates a series of distinct problems that are commonly faced:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Data is stored in different systems (for perhaps good reasons) that do not communicate with each other and cannot be used to uncover insights that their alignment would reveal.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Data is arriving in such high velocity that it cannot be consumed effectively by business stakeholders</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Data arrives in different formats and structures, and more than one approach is needed to understand and consume them.</li>
</ul>

This is where modern data architecture steps in, offering a framework to bring together disparate data into a cohesive structure that can fuel analytics, business intelligence, and the power of (Gen)AI.

Data is not always in the most convenient location to deliver the insight that it may reveal. This may be due to regulatory or even good design principles. Being able to address the needs for holistic insight requires understanding the fundamental requirements driving those location choices and how best to enable the data to contribute to the desired analytic outcomes. Modern data architecture supports several approaches to dealing with these concerns:

Data Federation: the creation of virtual views across multiple sources of data to offer the user a unified perspective.

Data Modeling using Modelstorming:&nbsp;Rather than monolithic waterfall models, application of Agile techniques to data modeling, focused on process outcomes, can produce more adaptable and functional data models. Model storming is a collaborative process where cross-functional teams brainstorm and iterate on data models and analytical approaches. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, organizations can uncover novel insights and innovation.

ETL and ELT processes: Both of these are processes for extracting, transforming and loading data from one system (typically transactional) for use in another system (typically analytic). The difference between them is where and when the transformation is occurring; In ETL it happens before you load the target system and in ELT it happens after.

Data Hubs: A data hub is a centralized repository designed to facilitate the storage, management, integration, and distribution of data from various sources. It serves as a central point in an organization&#39;s data architecture and allows for significant improvements over a data federation approach.&nbsp;

While delivery of a system-level data architecture model is still a core activity in the overall data management process, it has limitations that are exposed as teams begin to work with it&nbsp; in agile processes. When one team is working holistically to realize a product (the data model) over the entire architecture, and the developers are working on discrete stories, features and sprints, there is a mismatch in goals and activities that is not effective or productive. In order to accommodate this (necessary) evolution of the modeling process, we have embraced the iterative techniques of agile development in order to better align with these principles. Iterative processing involves a cyclical approach to data analysis, where insights inform subsequent iterations of data modeling and analysis. This iterative approach enables organizations to adapt to changing business requirements, refine their analytical models, and uncover deeper insights over time.

The process to deliver this goal is called modelstorming. This is a collaborative effort between the data architects, developers and importantly, the users of the data architecture. It is a workshop-based approach that strives to deliver a joint understanding between all relevant parties. These participants should be able to deliver the following inputs:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Participate&nbsp; in discussions about&nbsp; business processes.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Identify key elements of processes to be recorded and measured.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Describe data related to the processes being discussed.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Collaborate on a consensus for the goals and outcomes of the project</li>
</ul>

While there should still be well-considered system architecture and data management artifacts, the deliverables for the data modeling team will also be more discrete data models, sometimes just at the level of a single inter-application process, such as an API interface or message queue. These component artifacts should also be consistent in form and content with the broader data modelling deliverables. Examples of iterative modeling outputs include:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Business Event and Modeling diagrams (also known as BEAM) that uncover and document discrete business processes and events.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Hierarchy Charts to describe relationships between dimensional attributes</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">An event matrix that describes the relationships between events and dimensions</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Data mart schemas that describe business-facing perspectives for consumption</li>
</ul>

 
From Silos to Synthesis: Conquering Data Fragmentation the Data Hub Pattern

Fragmented and Siloed Data One of the primary hurdles organizations face is the existence of data that may provide more insight when joined with other data in the broader landscape. Departments often store data in isolated systems, leading to fragmented information and inhibiting cross-functional insights. Silos can hinder collaboration, innovation, and ultimately, the ability to derive meaningful value from data. For example, one system such as a web platform may contain the analytics used to derive customer intent, while another ERP system may contain the transactional activity for your customers. Without synthesizing these disparate data sources, it is difficult to understand the quantitative relationship between intent and purchasing. In another example, there may be incoming data related to patient status that is generated by machines and sensors. Naturally this data is used operationally for the monitoring of patients, but if it is brought into a data architecture where it can be analysed across a broader population (with appropriate regulatory compliance), there may be opportunities to uncover treatment modalities that offer better outcomes for more patients.

Crafting the Data Lifecycle: Modeling, Extracting, and Transforming 
At the heart of modern data architecture lies data modeling. This involves designing a blueprint that defines how data is structured, stored, and accessed within the organization. A well-designed data model provides a common language for stakeholders and ensures consistency and accuracy in data interpretation. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) and ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) processes play a crucial role in data integration. These fundamental practices involve extracting data from various sources, transforming it into a consistent format, and loading it into a centralized repository or data lake. By automating these workflows, organizations can streamline data ingestion and preparation, enabling faster insights. 
 
Data federation has emerged as one solution to break down these silos. By creating virtual views of data across disparate sources, organizations can access and analyze information seamlessly. This approach fosters agility and flexibility, allowing for real-time insights without the need to physically consolidate data into a single repository, which can be a considerable time and cost savings. It should be noted that many popular tools such as PowerBI and Tableau, allow you to materialize this approach directly within the visualization tool, including transformations, aggregations and joining to multiple sources simultaneously. While this virtual approach can work well when your data is relatively co-located, the weakest link in your data chain will ultimately determine the quality and performance of the system, making this an approach that is often unsuitable for tasks such as building novel applications that should make use of such harmonized data.

Data Hub: The Centralized Nexus for Actionable&nbsp; Insights 
One emergent approach is the development of a data hub, where multiple services and repositories are combined into a single point of innovative interactions. &nbsp;This data hub serves as a centralized nexus for storing, managing, and accessing integrated data. It acts as a single source of actionable truth,&nbsp; providing a unified view of the organization&#39;s data assets, regardless of format or schema. While the data hub is not a replacement for a data warehouse, it may be delivered as a means to collect and conform complex source data that may be arriving in different formats, granularity and velocity.&nbsp; By leveraging a data hub&rsquo;s ability to deliver harmonized data at scale, organizations can simplify data management, improve data quality, and empower users with smart data mastering and self-service analytics capabilities.&nbsp; High-performance data hubs can also be deployed as a component in a hybrid architecture, offering a best-of-breed solution between the federated data, data mesh and data warehouse platforms.&nbsp;

EBCONT has demonstrated considerable success delivering data hub solutions across a broad range of markets, platforms and architectures. We offer the ability to collaborate on a deep dive analysis of how your business requirements can inform an intelligent decision about how this approach can fit into your data management strategy.

Driving Innovation: Iterative Modelstorming

Disconnected data and common data models

While there are often good reasons for an organization to separate data into different tiers of storage and access, many times these tiers and their artifacts become an impediment to a holistic analytic perspective. Understanding these processes and roles and creating a data management strategy is at the heart of an effective data architecture to mitigate this. Being able to understand the ways that data can become disconnected and how to bring it back into a performant conformed perspective would be a key deliverable of your architecture. Starting with collaborative data modeling or modelstorming, and adopting appropriate features like iterative processing, ETL/ELT and data hubs are fundamental building blocks for addressing these challenges.

Frank Blau explains: &ldquo;Bringing together a customer&#39;s disconnected data into a common data model and data access layer is crucial for analytics, business intelligence, and to harness the power of (Gen)AI. Data architecture is the practice of deciding how to build this data model, and with what tools. And that is what we at EBCONT can help.&rdquo;

And Gregor Sieber (Executive Vice President / Head of Consulting and Innovation at EBCONT) delves deeper into best practice :&rdquo;One of our customers in the finance and regulatory space faced the challenge of needing to access data stored in a large number of IT systems whenever they wanted to roll out a new web-based customer product, which created a lot of overhead and duplicated dependencies. As parts of the data were inconsistent, it was also a danger that the validation logic for this data would become inconsistent between the different customer products. By moving to a data hub approach, we were able to centralize the data mastering approach and provide a single, consistent, and scalable API for all new customer products. This has greatly accelerated the creation and roll-out of new products and improved the governance on a data and processing level, which is an essential advantage for organizations in the finance space.&rdquo;

For more information please contact <a href="mailto:gregor.sieber@ebcont.com" style="text-decoration:none">gregor.sieber@ebcont.com</a>.

Summary

Straddling the line between the ambitious visions we see in the media and the reality of delivering actionable data insights can feel like navigating a maze. EBCONT is here to tackle some of the hurdles you might face in today's IT world.
In this series, we're diving deep into the trenches, shedding light on the real-world challenges and presenting practical solutions. Whether it's taming unruly data sets or optimizing your IT infrastructure, EBCONT has a roadmap to guide you.

Unlocking Data Unity: Strategies to Tackle the Disconnect Dilemma

With extensive BSI C5 Type II certification as well as comprehensive certifications according to ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISAE 3402 Type II, IDW PH 9.860.1, and PCI DSS, plusserver meets the highest requirements for data and operational security. The recently sealed partnership with EBCONT enables companies to access a reliable European and secure cloud infrastructure and securely migrate and operate existing applications.

A standout feature of the provider is its dedicated 24/7 support available in both German and English. This additional support ensures that customers receive the best possible service at all times. 
The cooperation between plusserver and EBCONT is a significant step in offering top-notch and data-sovereign cloud solutions to German and European businesses that meet the highest security standards.

Korbinian Kreitner, Manager at plusserver, is enthusiastic about the new partnership with EBCONT: &quot;We are excited to expand our partner ecosystem with an established IT service company like EBCONT. The combination of our cloud platforms and EBCONT&#39;s application expertise is an exciting package for the digitalization of all businesses. &#39;Elastic on pluscloud&#39; is also a great kickstart to our collaboration and creates anticipation for the next joint projects.&quot;

Christopher Anderlik, Executive Vice President at EBCONT, adds: &quot;plusserver and EBCONT are united by the individual customer&#39;s desire for reliable, certified, and scalable enterprise cloud solutions on an independent, European, and data-sovereign cloud. This makes us perfect partners and, combined, the ideal solution for customers with special requirements.&quot;

We are pleased to announce that plusserver, one of the leading German cloud providers, is now a partner of EBCONT. plusserver operates four of its own data centers in Germany and stands for European sovereignty and data independence.


German cloud provider plusserver new partner of EBCONT


The &quot;Top Salary Satisfaction Austria 2024&quot; ranking presents an impressive selection of companies distinguished by outstanding salary satisfaction among their employees. The top ten reflect the diversity of the Austrian work landscape, with the intriguing observation that service, human resources, internet, and IT industries perform particularly well, placing multiple companies in top positions.

The results extend beyond a simple ranking, providing a detailed insight into various industries that reflect the diversity of the work environment in Germany and Austria. This breakdown allows both employees and companies to analyze and compare salary satisfaction in specific sectors systematically.

For job seekers, the ranking serves as a valuable resource to identify potential employers in their preferred sector who not only offer financial recognition but also provide a supportive work environment.

Psychology in the Workplace: Salary as a Key Factor for Increased Satisfaction and Productivity

For the &quot;Top Salary Satisfaction Ranking 2024,&quot; clear quantitative and qualitative selection criteria were used. Only companies in Germany and Austria with an existing kununu employer profile, at least 20 reviews (of which five were in the last twelve months) in relevant categories, and at least five listed job titles were considered. A total of 6,550 companies in Germany and 1,049 companies in Austria were selected.

Qualitative criteria required a score of at least 3.5 stars in relevant kununu categories, a salary position above average for at least 50 percent of the stated job titles, and a recommendation rate of at least 70 percent.

Johannes Litschauer, Managing Director of EBCONT, is delighted with the confirmation:

&quot;We are extremely proud to be among the top ten companies in Austria in the &#39;Top Salary Satisfaction Ranking 2024&#39; by kununu and the S&uuml;ddeutsche Zeitung. We see this as confirmation of our focus as an employee-oriented company that places particular emphasis on a positive work atmosphere and fairness in the workplace.&quot;

How was salary satisfaction determined?

Looking for attractive employers? The ,,Salary Satisfaction” ranking by the German SZ Institute in collaboration with kununu provides guidance on which companies truly impress their employees. kununu, in partnership with the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), has identified the top companies in Germany and Austria with the "Top Salary Satisfaction 2024" ranking. We are proud to be among Austria's top 10!

Where also salary satisfaction matters! 
EBCONT in the Salary Satisfaction Ranking Top 10!

Artificial intelligence has become widely known in society since the emergence of ChatGPT at the latest and is on everyone&#39;s lips. From an IT consultant&rsquo;s point of view, a rising number of requests are mainly related to chatbot solutions, but we do try to show them the variety of different AI solutions. As a matter of fact, not every use case requires a generative approach. However, you could combine different strategies in order to get the best out of it.&nbsp;

A greater challenge arises, for example, from more complex structures in a service task that are stored in many different documents and requests. For example, I may have terms and conditions, specific instructions, questions about specifications or pricing, special requirements, all of which may be in different languages. In most conventional cases, you first have to spend a few hours screening the documents and summarizing the valuable and relevant findings. Accordingly, scaling is also limited, both in terms of time and content.

The &ldquo;traditional&rdquo; approach of a Machine-Learning-based solution would be the creation of a multi classifier in order to tag the requests accordingly. This already works well in many situations, but depends on a well-prepared and well-trained (and maybe even pre-labeled) training data set. The paradigm of Zero Shot Learning tries to break with that as prior training is not considered as mandatory anymore. However, when it comes to usable solutions for a business client, you will prefer a solution approach that is not too generic, but fitting to your specific needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For the implementation of enterprise solutions, LLM alone therefore only offers limited benefits, as previous examples will prove that have not been consistently integrated. Despite of recent studies showing that the bigger LLM could be more than just a stochastic parrot, leading to the situation in which the evidence is mounting that there is a basic understanding in these models (see &ldquo;Random Graph Theory&rdquo;), in terms of enterprise-ready solutions, you cannot rely on the randomness in connecting the dots. Hence, you will need a combination with semantic knowledge and hard facts.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Especially in the field of language processing with NLP and the now popular generative models, the methodology of so-called &quot;Retrieval Augmented Generation&quot; (RAG) promises to enrich the strengths of Large Language Models with fact-based knowledge and therefore deliver accurate results. This means a contextually relevant transfer of information. Despite existing for almost 5 years now, RAG technology (along with graphs) is one of the recent hot topics as it includes relevant sources that could be added to the response to a query. Hence, custom information will be integrated into a LLM without requiring another tedious retraining.

Another concern is to be found in privacy &amp; security, but also transparency. On the one hand, you would like to have a proper and clear evaluation of the quality of your output, but without revealing your company data. It is also necessary to clearly define what happens to your data and how it is processed and stored. This also requires a proper implementation of your RAG technology.

Diverse AI Solutions: Beyond Chatbots

There are a couple of platforms that might help you with solving all of these issues. Among the tools leveraging this technology, Squirro has emerged as a particularly notable application. Let&#39;s explore the multifaceted applications of RAG and take a closer look at how Squirro is making a difference.

Following out-of-the-box capabilities are provided by Squirro:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Pre-Trained ML Models, ready to use</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Pre-Built Data Connectors for an easy data integration</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Pre-Built Chat and Analytics Dashboards</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">An End-to-End Automation Workflow (also visualized)</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">No-Code Configuration &amp; Integration</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Full Platform Observability</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Enterprise Security &amp; Access Control</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">SaaS / Managed Service Options</li>
</ul>

From a technology perspective, Squirro is a preferred solution for RAG not only because of its ability to use company and external data at scale, but also because it respects enterprise grade security by using Access Control Lists, Encryption and ISO standards.

Generative AI generally plays its strength for an enhanced self-service as it offers users an accurate full-answer automation and enables AI conversations with website content. Responses are AI-formulated but with high quality, which is important in preventing escalation. Cost reduction is a vital part of the service automation process. All of these topics (and more) are covered by the Squirro platform with its easy-to-handle UI.&nbsp;

Once a project is created (either empty or by choosing from a template), one could select data sources, load and enrich data. The integration process is ensured by different connectors and with a few single clicks you will be able to create a proper connection. Possible data sources could be e.g. from web, social media, a Python SDK, but also data from Jira could be indexed. As Business Intelligence tools are included, too, we could use a bidirectional approach for using aggregated reporting data in a workflow as well.&nbsp;

Introducing Squirro - Out-of-the-Box Features for Enterprises

The AI studio offers training and publishing of machine learning models in terms of tagging, classification, entity extraction or trend detections.

Another mentioned advantage of Squirro is the convenient structure of creating automated pipelines, which minimizes &ldquo;forgetting&rdquo; important data preprocessing steps.

&nbsp;

As the output is created, results will also show relevant sources of how the response was processed. This overcomes LLM hallucination by providing the evidence. This built-in feature comes in very handy and is quickly adjustable.

One final feature I&rsquo;d really like to point out is the concept of communities used in Squirro. We could specify the interests of the users, whether they shall relate to clients, products, countries or a custom entity. Hence, the content will be personalized and optimized for each user.

So what are possible applications for this solution and who is to be targeted? The audience is broader than you think. For once, you could enhance your search engines not only based on keyword matching, but also on the context and nuance of the user&rsquo;s query. Content creation and summarization is a key element of these models. Let&rsquo;s also not forget Market Intelligence for businesses as vast amounts of data is available to provide insights and forecasts, making sense of discovering market trends and customer feedback.

But also Customer Support, Service Automation (think about support ticket systems and service desks!) are glad if an AI-based tool would help them classify their incoming work accordingly, as this lowers their effort of directing the question to the correspondent topic and person responsible. A detailed support by retrieving and synthesizing information is therefore possible on the fly, significantly improving user experience. As for SquirroGPT for Service Management, employees will have the ability to instantly find relevant information from a knowledge base using natural language.

Bigger companies with different departments would profit from an automated classification which reduces the resolution time (benchmarks of Squirro state over 95% accuracy in ticket attribution and reduction of resolution time by more than 30%).&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<h3>Free Webinar Invitation: Explore Squirro for Service Insights 
 
To sum up, we are looking forward with confidence to the new challenges we could face with the help of tools like Squirro. In case of interest, I&rsquo;d be happy to also invite you to our webinar where I will show you the benefits of using Squirro for Service Insights. I&rsquo;d also like to recommend checking out the trial version to get a better overview.&nbsp; 
 
Event: Boost Your Service Management to New Heights with Generative AI 
19.03.2024, 09:00 CET - ONLINE 
Register now:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eventbrite.at/e/free-webinar-boost-your-service-management-to-new-heights-with-genai-tickets-845617824677?aff=EBCONT">Click here</a> 
&nbsp;</h3>

<h3>Links:</h3>

<h3> 
<a href="https://www.ebcont.com/en/services/ai-big-data-and-search">AI, Big Data and Search</a></h3>

<h3><a href="https://squirro.com/service-insights">Automated Service Management With Generative AI</a></h3>

SquirroGPT: Next-Generation Service Management

In a world shaped by ChatGPT and artificial intelligence, businesses encounter complex challenges in handling service tasks. This article not only illustrates how companies can address these challenges but also introduces an innovative solution with RAG and SquirroGPT. Explore how Squirro not only masters complex structures in documents but also ensures data privacy and transparency.

How to automate your Service Management with RAG and SquirroGPT

The new branch also brings us closer to our customers, helping us to further improve our services and offer customized solutions for the individual needs of our local customers. We are delighted with this expansion and look forward to a successful collaboration in Lower Austria&#39;s capital.

As the site manager, Klaus Gruber clearly sees the synergies: &#39;At EBCONT St. P&ouml;lten, we open our doors to new talents and are in close proximity to educational institutions such as universities of applied sciences and technical high schools. This strategic location allows us to bridge the gap between theory and practice by reaching out to dedicated applicants from these academic institutions.

We look forward to providing creative minds the opportunity to unfold within our dynamic team and collaboratively craft innovative solutions. Welcome to EBCONT St. P&ouml;lten, where the future is shaped!

Synergies wherever you look

Das IT Unternehmen eröffnet in St. Pölten

EBCONT in St. Poelten

Alongside branches in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Germany, Pinkafeld, and New York, we are now also present in the capital of Lower Austria for our clients, candidates, and, most importantly, for our EBCONT team on-site, bringing their professional home right to the doorstep.

We are excited to announce the inauguration of our 11th branch, this time in St. Pölten. With this step, we enhance our local presence and bring ourselves even closer to our customers in this flourishing region.


EBCONT IT opens its doors in St. Pölten

Sustainable partnerships through tailored solutions: The ongoing collaboration with renowned clients such as Schrack Seconet or KSV1870 paves the way for the development of individually customized solutions. These solutions are characterized by outstanding technological expertise to meet specific requirements. The result of this customer-centric approach is sustainable partnerships of lasting value.

One of EBCONT&#39;s longest client partnerships is with KSV1870. The company, also known as Credit Protection Association of 1870, is one of the oldest credit reporting agencies in Austria. It provides credit assessments and debt collection services to assist businesses in evaluating the creditworthiness of customers and in managing debt and collections. KSV1870 develops software for its specialized areas as well as for highly specific systems that require particular support. In this regard, EBCONT provides valuable assistance.

Gerhard Wagner, Managing Director of KSV1870, explains what makes the collaboration successful: &quot;We have been working successfully with EBCONT for two decades and can recommend this collaboration. When an Austrian company is facing significant internal changes, especially in the technical and organizational aspects, I can highly recommend EBCONT: the company, due to its impressive development over the last 20 years, has the necessary expertise, size, and resources to successfully overcome any challenge. At the end of the day, what matters is success and results, and the EBCONT team has proven this in our long-standing collaboration.&quot;

KSV1870 recommends EBCONT and values the expertise

Gerhard Wagner, Managing Director

KSV1870

As a company within the Securitas Group Switzerland, the austrian company Schrack Seconet specializes in security solutions and systems. The range includes fire protection, access control, building automation, and communication systems, delivering innovative products and services to enhance the safety and efficiency of buildings, including fire alarm systems, voice evacuation systems, video surveillance systems, and access control systems.

&quot;Thanks to the collaboration with EBCONT, we have expanded our knowledge in the field of digital applications, web applications, and mobile device apps. It was crucial for us to work with a partner who enables us to grow in the development of these topics,&quot; says Thomas Kern, Head of PM &amp; CoE at Schrack Seconet, expressing confidence in EBCONT&#39;s performance.&quot;

And Gerlinde Scholler, Head of PMM, emphasizes the interpersonal aspect in the years-long collaboration: &#39;Collaboration, communication, and interaction with each other are as important as having someone you can rely on. It is this professional and highly structured approach combined with creativity and the joy of exchanging ideas with us as clients that makes it so special. The result is tangible transparency and enthusiasm in our joint projects. And we&#39;re not just speaking from our perspective as a customer: when our counterparts also enjoy the process, then everyone benefits from the collaboration.&#39;&quot;

Schrack Seconet values creativity and transparency

Thomas Kern, Head of PM and CoE and Gerlinde Scholler, Head of PMM

Schrack Seconet

"Customer Experiences in the Spotlight" is the new motto at EBCONT. For many years, companies like Schrack Seconet or KSV1870 have been working in partnership with our teams. The secret to success lies in sustainability and tailor-made solutions.


KSV1870 and Schrack Seconet – Customers in the spotlight

The presentation clearly conveyed the following message:&nbsp;

EBCONT is the go-to partner for multichannel publishing solutions and e-learning. For years, we have been successfully building e-learning, content processing and content delivery apps with the integration of semantics and AI for leading publishers and also support them in the introduction and customizing of a CMS. We rely on proven tools such as MarkLogic, SiteFusion and the Fonto Editor.

Exciting presentations by EBCONT&#39;s Frank Blau, our AI expert Gregor Sieber and publishing professional Andreas Hubmer provided inspiration and a fantastic opportunity to discuss the future of digital publishing.

&nbsp;

Frank Blau, Principal Data Architect at EBCONT, fascinated in his impulse around the historical parallel between Gutenberg and modern CMS and explained how CMS is changing industries and labor markets and how companies can use CMS by unleashing the power of structuring and restructuring with CM.

Gregor Sieber, Executive Vice President EBCONT, showed in his presentation how customers can use the Publishing AI Hub&nbsp;solution, customers can use sustainable AI tools in various phases of the content value chain while retaining control over the data, how AI-related processes can be orchestrated and automated or how AI solutions can be deployed on a managed infrastructure. The EBCONT team relies on proven tools such as SiteFusion CMS, MarkLogic/Progress and OpenAI for a modern, AI-powered publishing approach.

For years, we have been creating digital solutions for publishing interactive exercises for our customers in the educational publishing industry. We build on the DITA XML standard and combine SiteFusion and Fonto to create a customized solution for your needs, both in the editorial process and in publishing, Andreas Hubmer, Head of EBCONT Germany and proven publishing professional, was able to convince in his presentation.

One highlight was certainly the presentation of the &quot;dpr digital publishing award 2023&quot; in the category &quot;Product/Business Model&quot; to Thieme for the software medical product &quot;foscoMED&quot; developed by EBCONT according to Thieme specifications!&nbsp;

The dpr Digital Publishing Report thus recognizes &quot;foscoMED&quot; as an outstanding project for the digital transformation of media. The award ceremony took place on October 18, 2023 at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Thus, the entire EBCONT team was able to record the time invested at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2023 as extremely positive and successful and looks forward to continuing these promising relationships and shaping the future of publishing together.

&nbsp;

It was a very successful three days for EBCONT and the SiteFusion ProConsult team at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2023 last October. The invitingly designed exhibition stand was besieged by numerous interested guests every day and it was great to see how our company's solutions and services aroused so much interest among the public.


EBCONT rocks at Frankfurt Book Fair 2023

However, the sensible use of generative AI in conjunction with the secure use of company data is one of today&#39;s key challenges. Above all, it is essential to process your own information securely and to retain data sovereignty. On the other hand, the results should be meaningful and not misleading. In addition to its own developments, EBCONT also relies on collaboration with its partner network. Elastic&#39;s generative AI (GKI) approach, for example, offers a tool for enriching previously created generative models with private data in a secure and GDPR-compliant manner. &quot;It is crucial to have implementation partners who both understand the underlying mathematical methods and have a holistic view of the customer&#39;s business processes,&quot; says Gregor Sieber, Executive Vice President and Head of Innovation at EBCONT.

Sensible and secure

But given the wealth of possibilities, how can I as a company find out whether AI can help me in practical use?&nbsp;

There are simple ways to check whether cloud-based ideas work quickly and conveniently as a test version and can be expanded on a large scale later. Nevertheless, we need to ask ourselves which model is best suited to the problem. Hybrid approaches could be a good solution here, especially because traditional machine learning models work well in self-managed systems and can deliver reliable results.

This means that in such an approach, both cloud-based technologies and traditional, self-managed systems are combined to take advantage of both approaches. This can mean, for example, that certain parts of a system are hosted in the cloud, while other parts are operated locally or in in-house data centers. This combination enables a flexible and optimal solution that utilizes both the scalability of the cloud and the reliability of traditional systems.

How can AI help?

However, AI should not be considered in isolation, but as part of an overall system that is scalable on the one hand, but as user-friendly as possible on the other. This is the only way to ensure that the use of AI in a company is supported and supported by all users, and EBCONT&#39;s team of experts can help with this, be it in machine learning and data topics, UX/UI, architecture or project management and business analysis.&nbsp;

AI as part of an overall system

In the manufacturing industry, for example, simple recommendation systems (so-called recommenders) lead to a significantly more precise target group definition for products. The supply chain and its relationships can be mapped using graphs so that the effects of a change in the supply chain are immediately visible and measures can be taken or simulations run.

For banks and insurance companies and in the field of cyber security, graph-based solutions help to uncover previously unknown patterns to prevent fraud or hacker attacks.&nbsp;

Combining previously trained language models with company data opens up new possibilities for seamless and automated documentation and optimized searches in archives, leading to significant improvements in the use of existing data and documents in service, sales, marketing and customer support.

In the healthcare sector, the use of synthetically generated training data will play a greater role in terms of data security, especially when it comes to not having to use sensitive data directly, but being able to simulate it and still obtain reliable results.

Last but not least, the public sector is increasingly benefiting from the practical use of artificial intelligence. The Federal Ministry of Justice&#39;s solution, which won the eAward 2022 in the field of &quot;Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence&quot;, enables courts to exchange information efficiently and transparently. At the same time, data protection and citizens&#39; personal rights are guaranteed (Learn more: <a href="https://www.bmj.gv.at/ministerium/aktuelle-meldungen/Einsatz-von-k%C3%BCnstlicher-Intelligenz-bei-der-Anonymisierung-von-Gerichtsentscheidungen--Justiz-gewinnt-eAward-2022.html" style="text-decoration:none">https://www.bmj.gv.at/ministerium/aktuelle-meldungen/Einsatz-von-k%C3%BCnstlicher-Intelligenz-bei-der-Anonymisierung-von-Gerichtsentscheidungen--Justiz-gewinnt-eAward-2022.html</a>).

AI as a solution in many business areas

Learn more about our range of AI services.

<a href="https://www.ebcont.com/leistungen/ki-big-data-und-suche" target="_blank">https://www.ebcont.com/leistungen/ki-big-data-und-suche</a>

Since the introduction of Chat GPT at the latest, digitalization and artificial intelligence in particular have arrived in the middle of society and have thus become tangible and applicable for the general public without dedicated AI knowledge.

EBCONT shows the benefits of AI in practical use.


We start at 6:00 am at the Vienna-Nord delivery base. The already presorted letters are further arranged according to the route sequence of the district. Today, mail carrier Daniel, who has been with the postal service for 17 years, takes me along to the Gro&szlig;feldsiedlung.

Once we&rsquo;re done, we head to the bus. After a few stops, the tour begins. We drop letters and parcels into mailboxes, exchange signatures for RSb items, and engage in conversations with the local residents. Daniel mentions that many people have no one but him and that his work carries a social aspect because of this.

After 4 hours and covering roughly 8 kilometers on foot, all deliveries are complete, and we head back to the delivery base. For me, it&#39;s time to log everything, impressions, photos, and notes, into a Miro Board.

Why all this? It wasn&rsquo;t just me out there as a mail carrier; UX/UI Designer Gjeneta Osmanaj from EBCONT in Liesing and Design Manager Jutta Doppelreiter from the <a href="https://www.post.at/" target="_blank">Austrian Post</a> in Penzing were also on the route. These observations marked the beginning of an initiative to enhance the software used by mail carriers on their handheld devices.

We are following the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, employing observation as a method in the initial &quot;Understanding&quot; phase. Shadowing helps us gain insight into people&#39;s daily lives, their tasks in various scenarios, the processes, and the challenges in this job. This knowledge will inform decisions in the subsequent design process.

Design is Science

In the following weeks, we&#39;ll progress through the additional steps of Human-Centered Design. All information will be gathered, categorized, assessed, and then prioritized. We&#39;ll create personas, visualize user flows, and evaluate the existing application using heuristics.

The analysis phase revealed that minimal adjustments to the user interface regarding color, consistency, and wording could significantly reduce the onboarding phase, particularly for career newcomers.

<ul>
	<li>Using colors makes the user interface more understandable.</li>
	<li>Consistent use of colors, components, and words makes it easier to comprehend, allowing users to reach their goals faster.</li>
	<li>Strategic UX Writing enables quicker scanning for keywords, contributing to more efficient usage.</li>
</ul>

With a clear focus on user-centric design and continuous improvement of user experience, we are confident that our insights will positively impact the mail carriers&#39; work and ultimately the satisfaction of our postal customers.

We look forward to the upcoming steps in our design process and aiding mail carriers in performing their crucial work more efficiently and user-friendly.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Efficiency through Good User Experience

Burning soles and tired, yet content. No, I haven’t run a half-marathon. I spent a day accompanying a mail carrier from my district on their route.

A day as a postwoman

The award makes a decisive contribution to improving the situation of LGBTIQ+ people in business and the world of work in Austria. Austrian companies and organizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of a diverse workforce and inclusive communication. Pride Biz Austria presents the Meritus award every two years to highlight initiatives in this area. The award was presented for the first time in 2009. It recognizes companies and organizations for their outstanding diversity management in the area of sexual orientation and gender diversity. This year&#39;s Meritus trophies were presented on November 9 in the presence of WK&Ouml; President Harald Mahrer at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber in Vienna.

&nbsp;

On November 9, 2023, three winners from a record number of 39 submissions were honored at a festive gala. And EBCONT more than deservedly took home the victory in the "large company" category.


&quot;We are delighted with the record number of submissions for the Meritus and it clearly shows the importance of the &#39;sexual orientation and gender diversity&#39; dimension in diversity management. After all, individuality is the greatest asset that employees can bring to the table and must be recognized accordingly. Many have already recognized this and we would like to thank all those who submitted entries and our supporters for their commitment,&quot; says Astrid G. Weinwurm-Wilhelm, President of Pride Biz Austria.

Main prize &quot;Large Company&quot; deservedly goes to EBCONT Group GmbH 
But what were the criteria for winning?&nbsp; 
EBCONT has a Diversity Charter, which is implemented by a dedicated Diversity Team, and 6 Dimensions Teams are constantly working on a wide range of services for all EBCONT colleagues. In addition, the company is strongly committed to competence building on diversity-related topics such as unconscious bias and active exchange with the LGBTIQ+ community and also offers coaching and anonymous advice.

Straight Allies as a support and multiplier 
But nothing works without the help and open support of straight allies, such as those at EBCONT, who show understanding and solidarity for the rights and equality of LGBTIQ+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and actively fight against discrimination and campaign for the recognition and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people in society.

Carina Skladal, co-initiator of the EBCONT Diversity Initiative, is proud of what has been achieved so far: &quot;I am delighted that our work and the tireless energy that drives our EBCONT Diversity Team have been recognized and awarded in this way.&quot;&nbsp;

Leopold Machacek, Managing Director of EBCONT, is delighted:&nbsp; &quot;Winning the Meritus, probably the most important award for outstanding commitment in the dimensions of sexual orientation and gender diversity, is on the one hand confirmation that we have embarked on a sustainably good path in diversity management, but much more of an incentive to act even more confidently as a pioneer in the economy and beyond.&quot;

&nbsp;

EBCONT goes Meritus

Meritus Award 2023

EBCONT wins the Austrian Diversity Award Meritus!


Thomas Mantsch, proud site manager, and EBCONT CEO Johannes Litschauer were pleased about the many visitors at the new EBCONT hub at Marktplatz 1.

In 2008, the first &quot;real Pinkafelder&quot; came on board at the up-and-coming IT family business, then based in Neulengbach, Lower Austria, and many more were to follow. Currently, we count more than 20 colleagues who either come directly from the Burgenland hub or have successfully graduated from the HTL Pinkafeld and have thus left a sustainable and positive footprint at EBCONT for many years.

&nbsp;

So sustainable that we opened our first branch office in sunny Burgenland in September of this year, so that we can be even closer to our future applicants and bring our active colleagues their professional home to their doorstep.

Thus EBCONT stands with 9 locations!

<a href="https://web.ebcont.com/unternehmen/Pinkafeld">https://web.ebcont.com/unternehmen/Pinkafeld</a>

September 8th marks a new era in EBCONTs history. Our new location in Pinkafeld, Burgenland, was ceremoniously opened in bright sunshine in the city center of this traditional school town with politicians, representatives of the local HTL and FH, media, partners and lots of guests from the EBCONT family.


EBCONT IT opens in beautiful Pinkafeld!


In addition to the IT headquarters in the Millennium Tower, EBCONT currently has another 9 locations: one office each in Vienna South, Linz, Salzburg, Graz, Hard in Vorarlberg, Saarbr&uuml;cken in Germany, in the Big Apple, and also brand new in Pinkafeld and St. P&ouml;lten, where we have just moved into our first office. 
 
Our location strategy is also an organic one. Employees who relocate, clients who need our help locally or long-standing alliances with partners underpin the respective decision for a new location. And our teams are enthusiastic. 
 
In our series &quot;The EBCONT Location Tour&quot;, we would now like to invite our locations and the people on site to appear before the curtain. 
 
The first location is Graz, managed by Patrick Iszovits and Christoph Eder and home to 25 colleagues and 3 four-legged friends. 
&nbsp;

Spot on Graz

EBCONT Team

And the team is harmonising perfectly! In addition to the day-to-day job, lunch breaks are held together, bouldering, hiking or a tobogganing tour in winter are on the agenda.

But let the pictures and words speak for themselves!

Interested in becoming part of the team? 
Click&nbsp;<a href="https://web.ebcont.com/karriere/jobs">here</a>&nbsp;for the current vacancies.

EBCONT has grown organically and healthily over the last few years. New colleagues from over 40 nations are part of the team.
But new things are also being created regionally and internationally.

Spotlight on our EBCONT locations


June is Pride Month, and at EBCONT this year it will be accompanied by various activities, such as a Pride Breakfast with Luan Pertl on the topic of &quot;gender diversity&quot;, participation in the Pride Run as well as in the Pride Biz Networking Lounge and internal educational work on various topics related to diversity and Pride.

Pride month is immensely important for the queer community. When rainbow flags appear everywhere and more people dare to show themselves in public, it&#39;s like the drummers who stand on the sidelines during races and give the runners strength for the next kilometers with their beats, or the spectators who cheer you on with signs and shouts so that you don&#39;t give up.&nbsp;

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Carina Skladal, co-initiator of the EBCONT Diversity Initiative, is proud of what has been achieved so far: &quot;I am happy that today we are closing the month of June with this very special EBCONT Pride Boot Lounge and hopefully we can carry this vibe beyond June. We will set a sign for acceptance, respect and equal rights today on the Danube Canal. Also, the many bright colors should provide visibility.&quot;&nbsp;

Johannes Litschauer, Managing Director of EBCONT, strongly supports the clear statement: &quot;We are a family business and unite many cultures and diversities with our more than 600 employees. We want to offer our colleagues a diverse home without hate and discrimination.&quot;

&nbsp;

Visibility was also the keyword for one of the evening&#39;s highlights. One of Austria&#39;s most successful drag artists graced the EBCONT Pride Boot: Philisha Conditioner is not only a regular in Vienna&#39;s bars and clubs with her energetic dance performances, but also conquers the stages at Pride celebrations all over Europe. The interview with two EBCONT colleagues was unvarnished and to the point, showing what outing, legislation and threats to the community are all about and where we can work together for more respect and acceptance.

But nothing works without the help and open support of Straight Allies, as they also exist in EBCONT, who show understanding and solidarity for the rights and equality of LGBTIQ+ people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) and actively fight against discrimination and work for the recognition and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people in society.

EBCONT Pride team goes on board.

EBCONT Pride Boat 2023

Das EBCONT Pride Team ging an Bord und feiert Diversity und Respekt für alle.

EBCONT Prideboot 2023

Pride ship ahoy!" was the motto on the Vienna Danube Canal this Thursday. This week, the MS Vindobona became the exclusive venue for the monthly lounge event of the Austrian IT company EBCONT.

EBCONT Pride Team goes on board!

For the first time, the Institute for Management and Economic Research (IMWF Austria) has surveyed the public reputation of Austrian consultants.

A total of around 1,850 companies were surveyed. The popularity of Austrian consultants was measured using indicators available online, such as performance and comments on rating platforms or social media, and over 1.2 million data points were evaluated using AI. Attention was paid to the different perspectives of reputation, such as product quality, innovative strength or service orientation of the consulting firm. The &quot;Top Consultant&quot; award is only given to those companies that can demonstrate a top rating in their category.

EBCONT has made it to the top IT companies in our industry! We are proud of the award TOP IT Consultant 2023!

Johannes Litschauer, Managing Director of EBCONT is pleased about the award:&nbsp;

&ldquo;It makes us very proud that in the first year of the existence of the award &quot;Top Consultant&quot; we have already been awarded as one of the best IT companies by the IMWF in cooperation with the daily newspaper Kurier. We see this as confirmation of our path as an employee-oriented company that places great value on a good working atmosphere and fairness in the workplace, as well as on honest and transparent communication both internally and externally.&quot;

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There are many external consultants, but what about their reputation and who are the best?


EBCONT named Top IT Consultant 2023

A company is only as strong as the managers who steer it. For this reason, the recent appointments of CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and COO (Chief Operating Officer) at IT service provider EBCONT are crucial for the future of the family-owned company.

As the new CFO, Claudia Fischer brings an impressive track record and a wealth of experience that will support the Austrian IT company EBCONT in the years to come. With a background in finance, taxation and economics, she has been leading EBCONT&#39;s finance department for over 4 years and together with her team is responsible for both strategic and operational national and international finance and accounting, including bookkeeping, invoicing, time recording, payroll, controlling, taxation and SAP.

Markus Stangl in his role as the new COO is a true EBCONT veteran and has been on board since 2007, just a few years after the company was founded. The IT expert is responsible for the operational structure of the IT company and focuses on managing day-to-day operations and human resources, improving business processes and customer management, and ensuring that EBCONT teams work seamlessly together to maintain as well as further improve the customer experience for which the family-owned IT company has been valued for many years.

The appointments of Claudia and Markus signal another important step in the growth of the EBCONT group and are a clear sign of the appreciation and trust the company has in its colleagues from within its own ranks.

Johannes Litschauer, CEO of EBCONT: &quot;Only with satisfied employees who can also develop accordingly will we be able to consolidate our position as market leader in the long term and continue to exist as a healthy and family-oriented company. And by encouraging colleagues to share ideas and perspectives, the company will be able to respond quickly to changes in the market and increase its competitiveness.&quot;

EBCONT group - top 3 IT service provider in Austria - strengthens with immediate effect with Claudia Fischer as CFO and Markus Stangl as COO the management CEO trio around Johannes Litschauer, Alexander Deles and Leopold Machacek.



EBCONT group - a new era of corporate management

In 2023 we are celebrating International Women&#39;s Day again, there are events, talks and offers for and by women everywhere. 
And this day is very controversial in itself! Do women still need an International Women&#39;s Day? I&acute;d say yes!&quot;

Why?

<ul>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Because many women don&#39;t have the courage to step forward and assert themselves.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">Because at EBCONT we have many women from other cultures and countries where being a woman is not as &quot;simple&quot; and safe as it is in Austria.</li>
	<li style="list-style-type:disc">And because we can use this day for reflection and ask ourselves questions as:
	<ul>
		<li style="list-style-type:circle">What else do we need as a woman?</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:circle">What should we leave behind?</li>
		<li style="list-style-type:circle">Who can help us?</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

However, all the women&#39;s events around March 8, 2023 do not hide the fact that equality between men and women is far from being achieved. There is still a lot to do!

Iit is no longer enough to become stronger in the community and to support others, we must also start looking for allies: this brings us to the topic: Male Allyship.

We have to get together as well as look for male sponsors at work who push us. Men need to be brought on board so that they can understand how we tick and act and help us take an important step forward on our path to equality.

One of THE feminists and women&#39;s rights pioneers, the incomparable Frida Kahlo said: 
&quot;Laughter has made us invincible, not as those who always win, but as those who never give up.&quot;

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Women@EBCONT Day 2023

Together with the business magazine Trend and the market research institute Statista, kununu has determined the best employers in Austria in 2023. This makes us one of the top IT service providers in Austria - and thus very proud!

Since 2015, companies that have received particularly good ratings have been awarded the &ldquo;Top Company&rdquo; seal at kununu.com. As of this year, however, only the most popular around five percent of all employers on the rating platform receive this award - based on ratings from their own employees and applicants.

Johannes Litschauer, Managing Director of EBCONT, is delighted with the award:

&quot;It makes us very proud that we have again received the award as &quot;Top Company 2023&quot; from kununu this year. We see this as confirmation of our path as an employee-oriented company that attaches great importance to a good working atmosphere and fairness in the workplace. Especially in the current challenging times and the reorganization of working life in the hybrid office, it is all the more important to have satisfied employees and to be able to rely on them!&quot;

We were awarded the kununu Top Company seal again- this means that we are among the top 5% of the most employee-friendly companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland!


We did it again! EBCONT is again top employer of 2023.

What is important in these challenging times is cohesion, empathy and mutual helpfulness. We also try to align ourselves with this in our daily activities at EBCONT.

It&#39;s now a year since the war broke out in Ukraine and we are trying to help where we can. For us, as a company with colleagues from almost 40 nations, it is an affair of the heart.

In order to help those in need in Ukraine quickly and without any bureaucracy, we support CARITAS with five-digit donations, most recently with &euro;10,000 for the Kharkiv region.

We provide EBCONT real estate for accommodation - we are currently accommodating several families, and last year we tried to bring some everyday Austrian life closer to the personal destinies and people of our country with an in-house German course for refugees belonging to EBCONT members.

Employees from Ukraine receive time credits to help friends and relatives, and we support them with administrative, school or other complex issues.

The EBCONT intranet contains important links to aid organizations as well as FAQs on legal issues relating to benefit entitlements, health insurance and e-cards.

Our top jobs can be found on the following platforms:

<a href="https://ebcont.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6b194013911fbcc5fd83c003d&amp;id=0b3001351c&amp;e=d4c985f29d" style="text-decoration:none">https://austrianjobs-for-ukraine.at/</a>

<a href="https://ebcont.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6b194013911fbcc5fd83c003d&amp;id=0b3001351c&amp;e=d4c985f29d" style="text-decoration:none">https://www.jobs-for-ukraine.at/&nbsp;</a>

<a href="https://ebcont.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6b194013911fbcc5fd83c003d&amp;id=83c250cb04&amp;e=d4c985f29d" style="text-decoration:none">https://www.ukrainejobs.at/</a>

Because at EBCONT it&#39;s the people counts that count!

&nbsp;

Ukraine – It's the people that count


As a further highlight, the EBCONT UX/UI team hosted a meetup on November 10th 2022 in the Millennium Tower on the subject of &ldquo;Accessibility&rdquo;. More than 60 guests accepted the invitation and thus made the event, which was designed as an eco-event, a complete success.

The kickoff was designed by Fredrik Fischer, DisAbility Consultant at myAbility, and introduced the topic to the viewers, who were there both on site and online. In summary it can be said: people do not have a disability, but are prevented from interacting with, for example, an interactive system. Once you have internalized this as a developer or designer, it quickly becomes clear that it is not the responsibility of the user to change anything. On the contrary, it is up to UX/UI designers and developers to design applications in such a way that nobody is prevented from using them.

&nbsp;

Accessibility Event@EBCONT

In further impulses, Roland Kalusa (UX/UI Designer) and Anne-Victoria Meyer (Frontend Developer) from EBCONT showed tips &amp; tricks for the design and implementation of barrier-free apps and websites.

The first lecture dealt with the importance of accessibility in mobile use and how not only people with disabilities can benefit from it. Roland treated design criteria for perceptibility, usability and comprehensibility, tools and characteristics of the respective platforms were presented, as well as a short overview of the mobile WCAG criteria, standards and best practices. The new POST app served as an example, where our EBCONT design team had played a key role in its design.

Anne-Victoria again showed how developers can develop forms with low barriers, for example so that forms can be filled out with both the mouse and the keyboard. Or with which attributes in HTML changes such as error messages can be recorded by a screen reader. The UX/UI expert also strongly advocated using native HTML elements such as &lt;select&gt; instead of developing components for input fields yourself. The standard elements already provide many features out of the box and are also barrier-free.

All in all, exciting learning for the participants.

The fact that so many attended the event shows how important digital accessibility is. We at EBCONT hope that we have made a contribution to breaking down barriers in interactive systems in the future.

With new knowledge and more awareness of accessibility, it will be a top priority for us as the EBCONT team to ensure more inclusion in the upcoming projects.

<a href="https://www.myability.org/">https://www.myability.org/</a>

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What we can do better in the implementation

Accessibility means the freedom from barriers to media, e.g. the Internet. This means accessibility and usability for everyone, regardless of a possible disability.

Unfortunately, there is still a big difference between what is required in terms of accessibility in tenders in the IT environment and how it is then lived in everyday project work. There is often a lack of knowledge, but also of empathy on the part of the people involved, which means that accessibility is neglected during implementation.

In Austria, 18.4% of the population is affected by a permanent disability. Therefore, as an implementation partner in projects, it is our responsibility to ensure that everyone has sufficient access to websites, portals or apps. Therefore, in November 2022, the EBCONT UX / UI team focused on this with different measures.

The first day of a two-day expert training course by myAbility, a social enterprise that is committed to an equal opportunity and barrier-free society, was about creating awareness for people with disabilities. A lot was also said about the right wording, which is an important part of treating each other with respect.

An open exchange with people with disabilities and a &ldquo;Sensing Journey&rdquo; helped the participants to gain an insight into their daily activities. An expert who was born with a cataract showed which tools she uses to consume analogue and digital content and which information helps her to find her way around. Another expert, who suffered from a mental illness during his student days, described very vividly the effects this has on his life and how the sensitive use of colors in user interfaces has a positive effect here as well.

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Training for EBCONT UX/UI designers and developers

The second day of the training focused on the design and development of low-barrier user interfaces. In the course of this, our EBCONT website was checked for accessibility with Braille displays and screen readers. Based on the valuable input obtained, various solution approaches were discussed in the team with myAbility.

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Full EBCONT focus on digital accessibility with experts, training and lectures.


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