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The German startup world could be on the verge of a groundbreaking change as the German cabinet is expected to pass the Future Financing Act tomorrow. This law brings with it significant innovations in the area of employee equity participation. According to a recent survey commissioned by the digital association Bitkom, three out of four startups hope that the new regulations will make employee ownership more attractive.
Currently, 38 percent of the startups surveyed offer their employees the opportunity to share in the company's financial success. An impressive 48 percent of the companies surveyed can imagine introducing such employee share ownership schemes in the future. Only 6 percent of respondents are fundamentally opposed to the concept.
The survey reveals that 73 percent of startups would benefit from improved employee ownership plans. These are considered important for a variety of reasons: 87 percent of respondents would like to additionally motivate their workforce to make an active contribution to the company's success. A further 77 percent see them as a way of retaining employees in the company over the long term. Similarly, 63 percent of startups have been able to attract personnel on the basis of such shareholdings who would otherwise be difficult to recruit because of their salary expectations.
The current participation models show that virtual shares (33 percent) are currently the most frequently used, followed by share options (6 percent) and real shares (3 percent). Among the startups that already offer employee shares, executives are involved in 37 percent of cases. In 36 percent of the companies, selected employees participate alongside executives. In 27 percent of cases, all employees even receive a share.
The planned solution to the problem of so-called "dry income" is particularly encouraging. In the future, taxes will only be due when employees can actually realize profits from their shareholdings. Previously, taxes were already levied when employees changed employers, which affected the attractiveness of employee share ownership.
However, there are also critical voices. The planned flat tax rate of 25 percent was removed from the government draft, which raises uncertainties about the exact tax burden. This issue is to be clarified in the further parliamentary process.
The survey makes clear that many startups have so far refrained from employee share ownership, primarily because of the bureaucratic burden (30 percent), the complicated legal situation (27 percent) and the lack of tax appeal (26 percent). Despite these obstacles, 48 percent of respondents see the possibility of employee ownership as promising and could envision using this option in the future.
With the upcoming Future Financing Act, employee ownership in the startup scene could finally get the boost it deserves. The expected regulations could not only boost corporate success, but also help to retain highly qualified employees at the up-and-coming companies in the long term.
Google Ads has introduced new features ahead of the upcoming holiday season to provide marketers with improved insights and optimized ad options. These new features include enhanced search placements as well as more efficient local inventory ads.
The new features at a glance:
Advanced Insights:
Google Ads has updated the product page to provide more detailed information on product issues such as inventory, missing feed information, and high bid targets. This should help marketers better understand category, brand, product type and custom label performance.
Updating Local Inventory Ads: The launch time for local inventory ads has been reduced on average. In addition, a new ad format for local stores has been introduced that combines data from local product feeds with images and information from the company profile.
A new ad format for local stores has been introduced that combines data from local product feeds with images and information from the company profile.
New A/B Experiments: Marketers now have the ability to quantify the impact of online-only bidding vs. smart bidding for store visits and store sales using A/B experiments.
Enhanced access to the top search spot: a new interactive ad format displays business information and encourages customers with specific interest in local shopping to take productive business actions.
The integration of AI-driven tools plays a central role in transforming business operations. Such tools enable companies to act faster, better understand their customers' intentions, and better engage them along the purchase path. Google is introducing new tools designed to generate insights and maximize the potential of Google AI.
As the trend of online shopping for local purchases gains momentum, Google has expanded access to the top-slot search ad format and significantly reduced the average launch time for local inventory ads. This reflects that online search was used for 96% of shopping occasions during the holidays.
For the upcoming holiday season, Google Ads is providing improved insights into product issues. In addition, the new Performance tab in Merchant Center has been revamped to make it easier to access product, price and competitive performance insights.
Acknowledging the longer consideration period for gifts during the holidays and the growing number of resources and channels for shoppers, Google has made offers and shipping instructions more visible and customized in Shopping ads and free listings.
A representative survey of 605 companies with more than 20 employees in Germany, commissioned by the digital association Bitkom, shows that only 2 percent of respondents consider Germany to be the leading nation internationally in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Nevertheless, 25 percent of respondents rate German companies among the world's leaders in AI research.Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst emphasizes Germany's long presence in AI research and the outstanding scientists in the country. However, he urges greater use of these strengths for marketable AI solutions.Wintergerst points out that AI is a cross-sectional technology and requires a broad application base in industry.He also criticizes Germany's restrictive rules on the use of non-sensitive data, which would hinder the development of AI.
The survey results show that currently 41 percent of companies see the U.S. as the leading nation in AI, followed by China with 23 percent.Japan, Israel and Taiwan are well behind at 7 percent, and 4 percent each.The forecast for 2030 looks similar, with 38 percent of companies seeing the U.S. as the leader, 25 percent seeing China, and only about 1 percent seeing Germany.
Bitkom's upcoming Big-Data.AI Summit on September 20 and 21, 2023, in Berlin will address concrete applications of AI in companies, best practices, cross-industry strategies, industry-specific solutions, technologies, trends and societal challenges in the field of AI.
Microsoft has taken a significant step to increase business efficiency by introducing Microsoft Azure ChatGPT. This innovative solution enables organizations to seamlessly integrate ChatGPT into their internal networks. This development promises to streamline workflows by leveraging ChatGPT's capabilities, including code correction and content editing.
Microsoft has released Azure ChatGPT as an open source project on GitHub and provides private Azure hosting for this purpose. This approach makes it effortless for companies to integrate ChatGPT, especially those already using the Azure platform.
ChatGPT, the AI-driven language model that has garnered global attention, is now a critical tool for professionals around the world. Its applications range from boosting productivity to being used as a creative assistant. The enterprise variant of ChatGPT, offered through ChatGPT on Azure Solution Accelerator, mirrors the familiar user experience and is deployed as an exclusive internal resource.
Detailed instructions for deploying Microsoft Azure ChatGPT can be found in the GitHub repository and provide a comprehensive guide to installation and deployment.
Leveraging the benefits of Microsoft Azure ChatGPT.
According to the developers, the adoption of Microsoft Azure ChatGPT offers multiple benefits for organizations looking to streamline their operations.
Among the key benefits are:
Privacy guarantee: Microsoft Azure ChatGPT has robust privacy safeguards that ensure sensitive information remains secure and isolated from external entities such as OpenAI.
Advanced Control: Enterprises gain full control over network traffic and can restrict interactions to their internal network.In addition, the integration includes enterprise-level security measures for comprehensive protection.Increased value: The solution enables organizations to derive additional value from internal data sources by enabling seamless integrations.Customizable plug-ins facilitate integration with on-premises services such as ServiceNow, fostering an ecosystem that meets the unique needs of the organization.
Adding value: The solution enables organizations to derive additional value from internal data sources by enabling seamless integrations.
Customizable plug-ins facilitate integration with on-premises services such as ServiceNow, fostering an ecosystem that meets the unique needs of the organization.
The Microsoft Azure ChatGPT initiative represents a notable step toward harnessing the potential of AI for internal workflows. By introducing an enterprise-centric variant of ChatGPT, Microsoft is not only aiming to increase productivity, but also provide organizations with a customized, controlled and private AI experience that meets their operational needs.
As the business world evolves, technologies like Microsoft Azure ChatGPT are becoming integral tools for companies looking to stay ahead in the competitive landscape. With the solution's flexibility, security, and integration capabilities, businesses are given the opportunity to unlock new potential in their efforts.
For companies looking to optimize their operations using the power of AI-driven voice processing, Microsoft Azure ChatGPT proves to be a compelling solution that offers privacy, control and value enhancement in one comprehensive package.