"Digitization is rapidly changing current business models and the traditional corporate ways of financing do not work any more in most cases. The importance of performance topics is increasing, new forms of job-sharing und leadership are developing that require new corporate structures and strategies. In a nutshell, digitization is changing our society as well as our companies." With these sentences, Prof. Roland Falb, Managing Partner, Roland Berger Vienna, opened the symposium. The panel of experts put on an exciting discussion on impact, necessary changes and chances of digitization for the audience. Dr. Vladimir Preveden, Co-Managing Partner, Roland Berger Vienna, formulated his experience in digitization projects for industry and service clients: "Particularly regarding the digitization challenges, the importance of re-organization and future-oriented distribution concepts will increase for companies which want to continue to be successful in the market. In this area, the demand of consulting has increased, innovative concepts are required."

"Digitization is absolutely necessary to promote intelligent growth and further develop our economy based on knowledge and innovation. If we want to fully utilize Europe's economic potential, we need reliable and powerful broad band and mobile networks capable of transmitting huge date volumes", Wilhelm Molterer emphasized in his opening statement ‒ he is Managing Director of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) ‒ and continued: "At the same time, we have to seize the chances provided by the digitization of industrial production and related services. After all, Europe is one leading provider of machines and plants. We have to take the development seriously and heavily invest in these technologies. With EFSI in the center of the European investment offensive, the European Investment Bank allows digitization to be for the benefit of all economic areas and to arrive at regions beyond centers of population."

"We are entrepreneurs only if we regard digitization as a chance", Herbert Ortner declared in his opening statement. "Digitization allows for more business and for sales with higher margins, offers more customer value and stronger customer retention, but it requires a different management and organization of the company", the CEO of Palfinger AG explained. "Employees have to precisely know the targets, the company has to speak in one language only. Digitization requires different hierarchies and more flexibility, moreover the distribution of responsibility to various persons."

Walter Rothensteiner, Chairman of the Board, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG, takes the digital era as a given: "It is up to ourselves how we deal with it. For our customers, the importance of banking independent of place and time is strongly increasing. There is a large demand of digital services. Raiffeisen's answer is the Digital Regional Bank. In the next three years, we will invest 70 million Euro and push multi-channel distribution as well as the networking of regional and digital presence."

Changing customer demands are a future challenge for Margarete Schramböck, CEO of A1 Telekom Austria, too: "Intelligent networks are the basis for Europe being an industry site, our telco services will increasingly become part of our customers' added value. A main task for us will be to design these changed customer relations in an optimal way", she declared in her opening statement.

After the official panel discussion, the same procedure as every year: the summer night party was opened in the Palais Liechtenstein gardens. "For the decision makers in Austria, the summer night party has been a welcome opportunity to network and exchange ideas since a number of years", Prof. Roland Falb said. Among the more than 400 guests, there were Petra Stolba (Österreich Werbung; Austria Tourism), Dr. Alois Ecker (CEO, Energie Burgenland), Dr. Michael Fischer (CEO, SMATRICS) and many more representatives of well-known large companies.