adesso BLOG

You’ve probably heard a lot about the Online Access Act, but what is it exactly? Why is the Online Access Act important for Germany? What are the specific challenges and how implementation is progressing? I will answer these questions in my blog post.

An efficient and flexible design of the IT systems is the basic prerequisite for high-performance banking operations. Even though the modernisation of IT is a great challenge, a benefit- and customer-oriented modernisation of the IT landscape is a mandatory prerequisite for more efficiency, customer orientation and sustainability of banks. In my blog post, I explain how core banking systems are brought up to the latest digital standards. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

On 24 November 2021, Germany’s Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats concluded on a coalition agreement that sets the course for the next legislative period. A central component is formed by energy industry specifications, measures and guidelines to enable a transition of the German energy sector and to accelerate the energy transition. We summarise the key points in our blog post.

In addition to many other changes, the implementation of MaKo 2022 (Market Communication 2022) has also resulted in the introduction of a new market role: from 1 April 2022, the energy service provider (Energieserviceanbieter, ESA) will expand the range of roles in market communication. In our blog post, we reveal the potential to stimulate competition in metering and thus have a decisive influence on the entire energy sector.

Pensions are important for every employee. They have the right to request from their employer that part of their future earnings – up to four per cent of the contribution ceiling for the statutory pension fund – are paid into their company pension scheme through the conversion of earnings into pension contributions (deferred compensation). This is an important measure to protect workers from old-age poverty. But everything has now changed due to COVID-19. To reflect the new reality, the 2022 contribution ceiling is set to be reduced under the draft bill from the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS). How and to what extent are company pension schemes affected by this change? What challenges does this pose for companies, employees, insurance companies and pension providers? And how can these be overcome? You can find answers to these questions in the following blog post.

The impact of digital transformation is also being felt in the lottery industry. Covid-19 has placed companies in the sector under immense pressure, with many customers unable to purchase lottery tickets at sales outlets once the lockdown was imposed. In addition, not all providers allow legal online gaming yet. It is high time that the industry address key trends that influence the lives of its customers and, ultimately, its bottom line. This blog post outlines five trends that lottery companies must now be ready for.

Purchasing is tougher. The road to the digital transformation of the insurance industry is rocky. But we’re on the verge of a breakthrough. Corporate startups will be only one of the many manifestations of a newly digitalised insurance industry. Other manifestations will include new platforms, non-corporate startups and solutions created by tech players. In this blog post, I explain why this is the case and why corporate startups will be making a significant contribution.

The company pension scheme is promoted by the German Act to Strengthen Occupational Pensions (Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz, BRSG) of 2018. This provides a state subsidy for employers who pay their low-income earners a company pension. But who is a ‘low-income earner’ and how much is the contribution? What challenges do insurance companies and pension providers have to face? And how can these be overcome? I’ll explain all in this blog post.

Since 2016, utility companies in Germany have been obliged to digitalise their metering operations by the German Metering Point Operation Act (Messstellenbetriebsgesetz). Up to now, this has primarily focused on the electricity sector, but that is about to change with the draft bill for the Regulation on the Amendment of the German Heating Costs Ordinance (Verordnung über die Änderung der Heizkostenverordnung), which will also focus on submetering. In my blog post, I will explain everything you need to know about this topic.