Swisscom is Switzerland’s leading telecom company, with international activities throughout Europe. With over 21,000 employees, it generated a net revenue of CHF 11.6 billion in 2016.
The teams at Swisscom were using different tools to plan and execute their events. Web Essentials built an all-in-one event management platform that goes beyond the standard features of generic event planning tools. It is versatile, scalable and integrates with Swisscom's existing infrastructure.
Originally called "KIME", the tool evolved further to become a corporate event management SaaS called Zoon.
Client | Swisscom AG |
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Services | Web App Development Supporting Services |
Duration | Multiple ongoing project phases since 2014 |
Team | Dedicated KIME team: 1 Product Owner, 1 Technical lead, 1 QA and up to 5 developers |
Technologies | PHP Flow Framework, MySQL, CouchDB, Elasticsearch, Angular JS |
Tools | Jenkins, npm, Grunt, Vagrant, GIT |
Because of the app, event planning can be overseen by 2 employees instead of 8, and ticket processing by 1 person instead of 6
A functional early release of the product meant Swisscom could already start using it while it was continuously improved
Users can access diverse event management functions via one backend to quickly create any size or type of event
KIME event platform is a multi-frontend platform anchored by an all-powerful core backend. Users can manage attendee groups, events and event parameters on a detailed level. Highlights include:
The employee frontends are used to organize internal events, from lunchtime yoga sessions to multi-day corporate functions.
Employees can generate their own events, and attendees can create teams, assign roles and invite other team members within the event. Features such as event "likes" and news stories make KIME fun and social to use and foster community spirit among colleagues.
Users can filter events based on time, location and type and view what their colleagues have signed up for. If an event is fully booked, they are added to a waiting list and automatically notified if space becomes available.
For the yearly Swisscom Games, over 3500 Swisscom and subsidiary employees are invited to a multi-day and multi-site sports event. KIME handles event registration, volunteer management, accommodation, travel arrangements, tickets and more.
The ticketing frontend is an online shop offering benefits and tickets to Swisscom-sponsored events. Employees can browse and purchase tickets via credit card, easing the burden on the Accounting department and generating extra income for Swisscom. Key Account Managers also use this frontend to reserve tickets, invite clients and monitor their responses, making the process fully transparent. This frontend has increased ticket sales and reduced the manual ticket processes resources needed from 6 people to 1.
The compliance process was added to the ticketing frontend to comply with new Swiss regulations. The challenge was to incorporate a compulsory paper-based step into a digital process. Now KIME automatically guides beneficiaries in printing, signing and submitting an eligibility form before tickets are released.
Not all Swisscom event attendees have KIME user profiles. So we made it possible to build event-branded microsites in KIME to market events and allow external sign-ups. Access can be public, or via group or personalized access codes loaded with a discount or extra benefits such as a VIP dinner. Organizers can monitor sign-ups and access code use to see who is visiting their event site.
The mailer tool makes it possible to send newsletters to specific receiver groups, be it by internal department or function, users with particular attributes, event attendees, or external users via an Excel list upload. The groups are generated within the platform and used to automatically populate the newsletters with user data such as email addresses, ticket details or barcodes. An intuitive user interface with custom content elements makes creating unique Swisscom branded newsletters easy and fast.
These backend functions are key to KIME's versatility.
Operations are bookable elements that allow the breaking down of large events into sub-events (e.g. workshops or breakout sessions), which can be further customized using rules according to the unique needs of each operation.
The rules engine allows parameters to be defined per user group. Examples could be:
Additional services could be hotel rooms, parking spaces or meals that can be booked along with event registration, generating commission for Swisscom and simplifying the booking process for attendees and organizers. Together with operations and rules, services can be set up to vary depending on booking constellation and user type – and thus making an upsale in the very moment it matters.
In a professional world where everyone talks about simplicity, KIME IS simplicity. It is the first tool I look at in the morning and the last at night. It works with you to create the events exactly as you want them - no compromises or workarounds needed
Wolfgang Megert, Swisscom AG
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KIME has developed with the team over the last 4 years into a powerful product of which the team is incredibly proud. It is a great feeling to see footage of KIME in action at Swisscom events with thousands of attendees, made possible because of the system we have created.
Chomnit Chouy
Product Owner, Web Essentials
Web Essentials remains a trusted provider for the ongoing mobile and web app development, technical project management, training and maintenance.
The product is now available under the name Zoon, for companies looking for an enterprise corporate management tool to manage their complex event needs.