What WEF and the Davos discussions really mean for Swiss SMEs
Cybersecurity, AI and data protection in 2026
Every January, Davos becomes the global stage for big conversations. AI, cyber threats, geopolitics, regulation, digital sovereignty.
For many Swiss SMEs, the World Economic Forum can feel distant, as it perceived as a party for multinationals and politicians. But behind the headlines, the messages coming out of Davos matter directly to Swiss businesses.
Here’s what Swiss SMEs should really take away from WEF discussions and why it matters now, not in five years.
Cybersecurity is no longer an IT problem
One message from Davos is clear: cyber risk is now a business risk.
They are addressed beyond IT because:
- Many SMEs sit inside critical supply chains (IT providers, logistics, manufacturing, finance, healthcare). Attackers often exploit the weakest link, which is frequently a smaller, less protected organisation.
- The real cost is not only the ransom. Downtime is often more damaging. What would it cost your business to be down for a day? A week? Longer?
- insurers and regulators are raising their requirements and SMEs are facing a lot of work to be done in the way they view IT
What this means for Swiss SMEs
- Backup and recovery must actually work and be tested
- Access to critical systems must be tightly controlled
- Cyber resilience matters more than perfect security
👉 The question is no longer “can we be hacked?” but “how fast can we recover?”
AI is moving faster than security and regulation
AI is everywhere in Davos conversations but with a growing concern: adoption is outpacing control.
Companies are using:
- generative AI tools
- AI-powered analytics
- cloud-based AI services often without knowing: where the data is processed, who has access to it & whether sensitive data is being exposed
What this means for Swiss SMEs
- AI tools can expose confidential data if their use is not governed.
- Employees may use AI without clear rules or use it anyway when it is restricted, increasing the risk of shadow AI.
- Without a clear approach, compliance risks quickly follow.
👉 AI needs governance to support innovation, not block it.
Data protection and sovereignty are back at the center
At Davos, data protection is becoming a strategic issue.
With increasing geopolitical tension:
- data access laws can change quickly
- cloud providers may face external pressure
- companies must know who controls their data and encryption keys
What this means for Swiss SMEs
- knowing where data is stored is not enough
- control over access and encryption is becoming critical
- Swiss and EU regulations will continue to tighten
👉 Data protection is about control, not just location.
What Swiss SMEs should focus on now
Priority actions:
- ensure backups and recovery plans really work
- secure identities and access to cloud services
- Define clear rules for AI usage not just to tick a governance box, but to give teams the confidence to use AI responsibly and effectively
- understand where sensitive data lives and how it’s protected
How keyIT helps Swiss SMEs
At keyIT, we translate global discussions into practical actions for Swiss companies
- cybersecurity and cloud resilience
- AI usage policies and data governance, AI Adoption
- data protection aligned with Swiss and EU regulations
Final thought
Davos 2026 shows a shift in priorities, where data protection and control over your data are your priority. No one is making an enemy of AI; AI is an accelerator if used wisely.
Here is a final message for the SMEs: cybersecurity, AI and data protection are becoming decisive factors for resilience.
👉 The companies that act early will be the ones still standing when the next crisis hits.
