Drivers & Trends

Latest

• WealthTech in Southeast Asia: Private Wealth, Digital Transformation, and the Outlook for 2026 and Beyond

  Co-authors: Liam Reeve, PhD Candidate, The University of Hong Kong; Urs Bolt, WealthTech Expert This article will provide a WealthTech update for the year 2025 in SEA, and an outlook for 2026, and beyond.

  Banking & Financial Services•Urs Bolt•31 Dec 2025•13 minutes

  

• The AI Promise Problem

  The “AI promise problem”: how overhyped AI and robotic solutions blur the line between vision and reality - and why trust is the new currency in AI.

  AI & Machine Learning•Britta Daffner•8 Dec 2025•5 minutes

  

• When simplicity leads to stupidity

  Digital services are supposed to make our lives easier – and they do. But with every simplification, knowledge is lost. Why the boundless convenience of technology makes us lazy and how we can use it more responsibly again.

  UX Design•Materna Group•2 Dec 2025•6 minutes

  

• Monetize Your Startup - 11 Revenue Models to Master Business Growth

  Complete guide to startup monetization strategies. Explore 11 revenue models with real examples, best practices & implementation tips from a serial founder himself.

  Strategy / Vision•Benjamin Talin•30 Oct 2025•14 minutes

  

• NIS2 explained in detail for small and medium-sized enterprises

  The NIS2 Directive will affect around 29,500 companies in Germany from 2026, including many SMEs. In future, management will bear personal responsibility for information security, risk management, and business continuity. Fines can be up to €10 million or 2 percent of turnover. Core obligations include the introduction of an ISMS (e.g., ISO 27001 or VdS 10000), the systematic anchoring of risk management and business continuity, and compliance with incident reporting requirements (24 hours, 72 hours, 1 month). In addition, companies must take into account overlaps with the GDPR, the Supply Chain Act, and the Cyber Resilience Act. Conclusion: NIS2 is not purely an IT issue, but a matter for top management. Acting early strengthens security, resilience, and trust in the supply chain.

  IT-Security & Cyber Security•Christopher Schroer•30 Sept 2025•13 minutes

  

• Cryptocurrencies: Opportunities, risks, and safe handling

  Learn how Bitcoin & Co. work, what risks lurk, and how to protect your crypto assets with secure wallets and smart strategies.

  IT-Security & Cyber Security•eBanking aber sicher!•5 Sept 2025•7 minutes

  

• Strategy Doesn’t Need Another Dashboard. It Needs a Diagnostics and Insights.

  If you're running a business, you might be misled by traditional business analytics and dashboards. The future is all about business diagnostics.

  Strategy / Vision•Benjamin Talin•17 Aug 2025•12 minutes

  

• AI in marketing requires new evaluation standards

  This article argues for a paradigm shift in the use of AI in marketing: Efficiency should not be the primary goal of AI deployment. Instead, it should be quality. The quality of the customer journey. The quality of the customer experience. The quality of the product. The quality of the service. When it comes to brand experiences, the starting point should always be “strategy first” or “brand strategy first,” not “AI first.”

  Marketing•Kai Bösterling•30 Jul 2025•16 minutes

  

• Women entrepreneurs – these four factors determine your success when starting a business

  More and more women in the DACH region are successfully starting their own businesses—driven by a desire for greater freedom and self-fulfillment. But what makes the difference between failure and growth? This article highlights four key success factors for female entrepreneurs: from early validation of the business idea and the targeted use of digital tools to strong networks and long-term thinking. Women who want to start their own business will find practical tips and inspiration here.

  E-Commerce & Mail Order•Alexandra Anderson•21 Jul 2025•4 minutes

  

• TISAX® label for SME enterprises: practical implementation of information security

  For many medium-sized suppliers, the TISAX® label is no longer a voluntary decision, but rather a ticket to the automotive industry in Germany. However, instead of viewing the TISAX® label as merely an obligation, it offers an opportunity to strategically and effectively anchor information security. This article shows what that means in practice.

  Beginner / Basic•Christopher Schroer•18 Jul 2025•6 minutes

  

• AI Agents Were Tasked With Running a Company

  AI agents are hyped as the future of work, with CEOs predicting they’ll replace significant parts of the corporate workforce. But a recent Carnegie Mellon study shows that reality hasn’t caught up: when AI agents were tasked with running a virtual company, even the best models completed less than a quarter of their assignments. From poor social understanding to a lack of flexibility and self-awareness, the current generation of agents struggles with real-world complexity. While early use cases — like AI in software development or CEOs using avatars in earnings calls — show promise, full automation is still far off. The real opportunity? Augmenting human teams, not replacing them.

  AI & Machine Learning•Britta Daffner•26 Jun 2025•5 minutes

  

• Compulsory insurance for natural disasters – does Germany need a new protection concept against natural hazards?

  The flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in 2021 made it clear that Germany is inadequately prepared for extreme weather events. While the risk posed by climate change is increasing, only around 50 percent of German homeowners have natural disaster insurance—compared to 98 percent in France. Is compulsory insurance based on the French model the right way forward for Germany, or are there more convincing alternatives?

  Insurance•Materna Group•11 Jun 2025•6 minutes