Deutsche Telekom : Medium-sized companies sought as digital champions

• Digital Champions Award: Recognition of digital leaders
• SMEs from all over Germany apply by July 4, 2021

The Digital Champions Award rewards successful examples of digitalization in medium-sized companies.

Digitalization gets companies through the crisis and makes them fit for the future. In recent months in particular, German SMEs have ventured into new territory: they have improved offerings, optimized processes or rebuilt business models. Companies generated more reach for their products and services, achieved more revenue or benefited from greater flexibility. This was possible thanks to digital technologies.

How do you shape such a transformation? Positive examples are now getting a stage: For the sixth time, WirtschaftsWoche and Deutsche Telekom are jointly looking for the best digital solutions in Germany. They will be rewarded with the Digital Champions Award. 'In order for SMEs to remain economically successful in the future, they must courageously commit to digitalization,' is the call from Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier, patron of the Digital Champions Award. 'The Digital Champions Award impressively shows how digital pioneers have profitably integrated technologies and solutions into their companies.'

Apply by July 4, 2021

The Digital Champions Award is targeted at the family business as well as the market leader: They have used digital solutions in their business in a particularly consistent or innovative way. The aim of the award is not only to recognize the most significant projects of medium-sized companies. Above all, it intends to make these projects known to a broad public.

The Digital Champions Award is presented as a national or regional award in four categories:

• Digital products and services
• Digital processes and organization
• Digital customer experience
• Digital transformation of medium-sized companies

The national award recognizes more complex and large-scale digital projects. The six regional editions aim to further advance digitalization in the regional economy. The best regional champion will be announced together with the national winners at Digital X 2021 on September 7 and 8 in Cologne.

In August, an independent jury will evaluate who is among the best digitalizers in Germany. Experts from the University of St. Gallen and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne will support them.

Find out more about the application, the conditions for participation and the award ceremony here (in German).

Background: Digital X, Europe's largest initiative for digitalization, connects companies. The focus is on learning from each other and becoming more resilient. The new Digital X knowledge platform with contributions on relevant business topics and the high-profile highlight event on September 7 and 8 in Cologne will contribute to this.

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