Security in focus: Migros easily shares confidential documents with Sherpany

For many companies, data security and compliance are core priorities. When it comes to digitalisation projects and challenges in the future, cybersecurity is often at the top of the agenda.

Rainer Baumann is COO at Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, the largest retail company in Switzerland. For Baumann, who holds a doctorate in computer science, cybersecurity plays a central role in his work. The difficulty, he says, is that the retail sector is now also a popular target for cyber attacks. "To be able to cope with attacks, we had to build up a highly competent team - virtually overnight - a year ago."

Requirement: Highly secure and easy to use

Overall, Mr. Baumann sees three central challenges for his work:

• Balancing current tasks and considering the future
• The subject of cybersecurity
• The modernisation of Migros' digital core. 

The Migros COO pays special attention to meetings - as an important factor for both security and compliance. For example, he says, it is a huge risk to send important documents by email when preparing for meetings. Therefore, Migros needed a centralised tool for meetings that combines high levels of security with good usability. "We need a simple platform where content can be shared securely and where everyone can access it." 

It was precisely the fulfillment of this requirement that Mr. Baumann found in Sherpany. "I know almost no one who can't get Sherpany running on their respective device and access the information in a reasonable amount of time." In addition, he said, the high security and compliance standards of our meeting management software are especially beneficial to the Migros board of directors - especially given the highly confidential nature of many documents. "Encrypting them when sending them by email would be a mess with passwords." Therefore, for Mr. Baumann, there is also an appreciation of the secure log-in process in Sherpany.

Meeting efficiency as a core criteria

In general, Mr. Baumann sees himself increasingly as a coach in relation to meetings. "I like to help people learn how to better present technically difficult topics and become more effective in meetings as a result." Where efficiency is a significant focus for the COO, he sees this need absolutely met by the use of Sherpany. 

In the run-up to a meeting, he says, it is vital to introduce agenda items and to prioritise them. "Good technical content and adequate preparation are very important to me." In line with this, Migros uses Sherpany above all "in a very classic way" for the preparation and execution of formal meetings. 

Mr. Baumann outlines the process as follows:

• Define the agenda
• Prepare the documents
• Ensure the quality of the agenda items (with appropriate responsibility)
• Send the documents
• Conduct the meeting (including taking notes)
• Prepare and distribute the minutes 

Mr. Baumann is completely satisfied with the meeting management supported by our software. According to him, there is no substitute for Sherpany if you want to effectively hold a meeting at the top management level. Since meetings should really have an impact, quality is the basis for this impact. This means that the time of usually ten to 20 people in meetings must be used in a targeted manner - and not wasted at all.

Advantage: Software can be used immediately

A big advantage of Sherpany, he said, is also that it can be used immediately, without any training. "For me, as a digital native, it's almost too easy." 

Migros is currently using our meeting management software for the board of directors and the company and group management. In parallel, the group is making plans for the future. Mr Baumann confirmed this, saying that

We are considering the extent to which we can also use Sherpany for general meetings.

Rainer Baumann

COO at Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund

The Migros COO is highly enthusiastic about Sherpany and its software solution: "I really like the fact that it's a Swiss company that has identified a problem and built a solution for it in Switzerland." 

The use of Swiss servers is another key benefit for Migros' high compliance requirements: For example, the use of US software carries high risks of exposure to the CLOUD Act, whereas European companies should focus on DSGVO compliance when using cloud technology. Accordingly, our server location being in Switzerland pays off.