If your company is particularly digitally fit, then it is worth applying in the Digital Excellence Award category. Here we distinguish between the subcategories of large companies (over 250 employees), SMEs (under 250 employees) and non-profit & government. If your team or company has launched an outstanding and innovative product or service, then it is worth applying for the Digital Innovation of the Year category. If your company is not yet completely digital and does not have a particularly digital product, the Highest Digital Quality category allows you to already have parts of a product or first results of the company's change honored. There are 6 areas in this category:

• Customer Experience
• Innovation management
• Corporate and leadership culture
• Process automation
• Data management
• ICT

All applicants in these categories are assessed by swissICT's expert panels to see if they qualify for a certificate. If you meet the criteria of the expert jury, then you will receive, for example, a Highest Digital Quality certificate for outstanding digital customer experience. The best certified applicants across the board enter the race for the Highest Digital Quality Award.

The first step is to register on the website. You can log into the application tool and go through the questions. If you see that you have entered the wrong category, or that the application is too time-consuming for you, you can still change your mind. Then, once you've decided to submit an application for one or more awards, make a binding registration in the application tool. This is all free of charge. Only when you have answered all the questions and submitted the application at the end, the processing fee for your participation will be due and invoiced. The basic fee is 600 CHF. For each category you apply for, you pay 300 CHF. The basic flat fee also includes a ticket to attend the Digital Economy Award ceremony, regardless of whether you win an award or not.

To ensure the professional level of the evaluation process, a participation fee is charged in the categories Digital Innovation of the Year, Digital Excellence Award and Highest Digital Quality. The high standards of this multi-stage process give the award its high credibility. Each submission is analysed by the jury. The juries meet several times, first determine a short list, discuss it on the jury days, and then select the finalists and subsequently the winners of the respective categories. To ensure the professional level of the evaluation process, a participation fee is charged in the categories Digital Innovation of the Year, Digital Excellence Award and Highest Digital Quality. The high standards of this multi-stage process give the award its high credibility. Each submission is analysed by the jury. The juries meet several times, first determine a shortlist, discuss it on the jury days, and then select the finalists and subsequently the winners of the respective categories. For the Next Global Hot Thing category, the Scouting Partners exclusively nominate the finalists (approx. 5 per Scouting Partner). For the nominees, the subsequent participation in the judging process is free of charge. The pre-selection of the Scouting Partners ensures the level of the finalists on the one hand and reduces the effort on the part of the candidates and the jury of the Digital Economy Awards on the other. In the NextGen Hero category for individuals, both nomination and application are free of charge.   The Swiss Digital Economy Award AG operates on a cost-covering, but non-profit basis.

For the Next Global Hot Thing category, Scouting Partners exclusively nominate the finalists. Are you already in the network or ecosystem of one of the Scouting Partners? All the better, then get in touch with the organisation to find out your chances for a finalist spot. If not, it may still be worth contacting one of the Scouting Partners. Because if the Scouting Partner can't adequately fill its finalist spots, you may be able to take over a spot with a little luck.

The categories Digital Innovation of the Year, Digital Excellence Award and Highest Digital Quality require you to answer between 20 and 60 open questions. The more precise and better you answer the questions, the greater your chances of being nominated as a finalist. After you have created your login, you can browse through the questions first and then decide on the appropriate category later, if you do not already know this in advance. You can also always adjust the answers.  Only with your final registration for a certain category will the processing fee for your participation be due and invoiced. The basic fee is 600 CHF. For each category you apply for, you pay 300 CHF. The basic fee also includes a ticket to attend the Digital Economy Award ceremony, regardless of whether you win an award or not.

Your application will be sent to the jury of the respective category. You will then have to be patient until the end of August, when the jury defines the shortlist for the jury days in September. On the jury day itself, the entries from the shortlist will be discussed in detail. For most of the award categories, you will also have the opportunity to present yourself by means of a short pitch. Shortly thereafter, the finalists will be announced. If your application clears this first hurdle, your chances of winning an award increase further. As a finalist, you will then be reviewed in more detail by the jury. The procedure varies from category to category and is up to the juries. Usually you will be invited to an in-depth meeting by the jury or at least two jury members will visit and interview you and your team. The jurors then meet again and nominate the winners of each category. The winners will then be formally announced at the Award Gala Night on November 11, as the closing event of the Digital Day, at Zurich's Hallenstadion.