Enhancing Digital Capabilities: ETH Zurich Partners with Ardoq for Digital Transformation

With a student body of over 21,000 and a workforce of 12,000 individuals, ETH Zurich relies heavily on a robust and modern digital infrastructure. In pursuit of strengthening their digital foundation, the institution has chosen Ardoq as its strategic partner.

Ardoq is experiencing rapid growth thanks to its highly sought-after digital business management solution. The company has solidified its position as a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture (EA) and is redefining traditional EA by bridging the gap between architects and decision-makers across various organisational levels. Ardoq serves large enterprises across diverse industries and has gained significant traction in the educational sector. Their client roster includes renowned institutions such as The University of British Columbia, University of St. Andrews, and now ETH Zurich, a top-ranking Swiss university.

Christoffer Rou, Lead Account Executive at Ardoq, expressed his delight, stating, “I am very pleased to announce that ETH Zurich chose Ardoq as their partner on the transformation journey. I am proud of all our customers, but it is impossible not to get inspired by the work and outcomes at ETH Zurich. Their high level of engagement and knowledge obviously run through the whole organisation, from teaching and research to IT and Architecture,”

ETH Zurich, a global leader in science and technology education with a rich history of research and innovation, is committed to shaping the future and serving society’s interests. IT services play a pivotal role in their operations, influencing how they communicate, work, gather and analyse information, share knowledge, and run their operations.

Paul Signer, Service Architect at ETH Zurich, emphasised the importance of technology in their activities, saying, “Technology is a part in almost everything we do: how we communicate, how we work, how we gather information, how we analyse information, how we share knowledge, how we run operations, how we connect. And at our department, we need to have control of what services, applications and integrations are in play at any given moment.” To support their modernisation efforts, ETH Zurich has chosen Ardoq, a digital business management platform designed to facilitate automation, collaboration, information crowdsourcing, and enable more agile and informed decision-making.

The IT Services department at ETH Zurich, responsible for providing information and communication technology services to support teaching, research, and administration, is embarking on a new initiative to modernise their architecture. By selecting Ardoq, they aim to establish a solid digital foundation for the university by connecting numerous business applications to their corresponding business capabilities and functions.

Signer explained, “Our goal is not to guard the information, but to share it and to leverage it for strategy execution. Ardoq is a challenger in its field, and our mutual dedication to innovation and transformation is a good starting point. They have a proven track record from working with large enterprises, the platform is flexible and user friendly and we see that our digital management efforts can grow alongside the product opportunities.”

In the realm of Enterprise Architecture, maintaining an overview of ETH Zurich’s expanding technology landscape is crucial. By aligning hundreds of business applications with their respective capabilities and functions, the IT Service department is laying the groundwork for the university’s digital future. This enhanced control and insights will not only reduce risks and cut unnecessary costs but also enable more efficient day-to-day IT operations, ultimately delivering improved services to students and staff.

Signer concluded, “We know that the technology landscape at ETH Zurich will only grow further going forward. The work we are doing today will make it easier for us to adapt to new technologies tomorrow, and that will benefit both the people at the university and their work. This initiative definitely demands a lot at the start in terms of correct documentation, but it is definitely an investment for the future of ETH Zurich.”

Christoffer Rou from Ardoq commended ETH Zurich’s team, saying, “Paul and his team conducted a thorough process prior to choosing the Ardoq platform. All the way they demonstrated great knowledge about what architecture and its challenges and opportunities is all about. At Ardoq we believe that it is never really just about application portfolio management and rationalisation for example, but how it enables better decision making processes and strategy execution. ETH Zurich definitely has the right mindset, so I am really looking forward to following them on their transformation journey ahead.”