How Company Data Travels Fast, Securely – and Without a Paper Jam

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) provides various web services that allow access to company data. Businesses can retrieve, update, and exchange data efficiently between the federal government and the cantons. To make optimal use of these services, they needed to be integrated directly into the cantons’ existing business management software.

The challenge:
The solution had to work not only with current systems but also remain open for future integration with other cantonal applications. The goal was a flexible, future-proof system that would enable secure and seamless data exchange between authorities – regardless of which cantonal application was being used.

To make data exchange between the cantons and the federal government more efficient and secure, a web-based application was developed that uses standardized web services to retrieve, transmit, and reconcile company data. The focus was not only on seamless integration with the existing cantonal business software, but also on ensuring compatibility with future applications.

Special attention was paid to security: an integrated encryption feature ensures that sensitive data is transmitted securely. The result is a flexible, future-proof solution that allows various cantonal systems to connect effortlessly to SECO’s web services – securely, efficiently, and universally applicable.

The outcome is an efficient, adaptable solution that simplifies data exchange between the federal government and the cantons, enhances data security, and reduces administrative workload.

To make SECO’s web services as accessible and efficient as possible, we developed a standalone, configurable console application designed to adapt to varying requirements. The solution was delivered as a fixed-price project and allows precise targeting of different web services. Actions are controlled via input parameters, which can also be transmitted in encrypted form if needed.

Communication between cantonal applications and the system is handled via XML files, ensuring a simple and standardized connection. To guarantee secure and seamless data exchange, several mechanisms were integrated:

• Direct interaction with SECO’s web services
• Standardized data exchange between cantonal applications and the system via XML
• Validation of incoming data to detect errors early
• Data transformation into the required format
• Central configuration of service parameters via a single file
• Secure encryption and decryption of sensitive configuration data