14. December 2023

Merry Christmas

As 2023 comes to a close and the festive season is just around the corner, we would like to take a brief moment to thank you, our customers and partners. Our collaboration, inspiring discussions and joint activities have made this year special.

For the year to come, we wish you plenty of energy for new projects, a breath of fresh air and, above all, good health. We are already looking forward to many more shared experiences and successes!

With this in mind, happy holidays and a great start to the new year!

Three gnomes in front of a sparkling grey background with the hand lettering
21. September 2023

Diwodo 2023

What is the essence of digitization? Discovering innovations, making them tangible and getting to know creative implementers: This is exactly what the Digitale Woche Dortmund – #diwodo in short – is all about. From September 25 to 30, over 200 workshops, presentations and networking events will be held on all future topics – uncomplicated, open to all and free of charge.

Our experts have prepared the following presentations for Diwodo 2023:

Was Dein Browser über Dich verrät

Unsere Browser, die wir täglich verwenden, geben beim Besuchen von Webseiten viel mehr Informationen preis, als wir denken. Damit wird es Webseiten leicht gemacht, uns als Besucher eindeutig zu identifizieren und das auch ohne Login. Versuchen wir uns zu schützen, könnte das dazu führen, dass wir es dadurch den Webseiten sogar noch leichter machen.

In diesem Talk geht es darum aufzuzeigen, was die verschiedenen Browser den Webseiten, die wir besuchen verraten und was wir dagegen tun können (oder auch nicht).

Weitere Informationen und Anmeldung

Der Dokumentenversteher: inhaltsbasierte Workflows automatisieren

Der Datenaustausch zwischen Unternehmen findet heute zu einem großen Teil in Form von elektronischen Dokumenten (meist als PDF) statt. Um eingehende Dokumente weiter verarbeiten zu können, müssen relevante Daten aus den Dokumenten ausgelesen und in das betreffende interne System (meistens ein ERP) eingetragen werden.

In diesem Talk skizzieren wir Lösungsansätze bei Automationsprojekten – und wie wir dabei mit den Herausforderungen speziell bei Dokumententypen umgehen, die wichtige Daten in Form von Tabellen enthalten.

Weitere Informationen und Anmeldung

SCRUM & UX: Koch dir dein agiles Genussmenü

Mhhh, ein leckeres, selbstgekochtes Menü, eine Flasche Wein – wer kann da schon “Nein” sagen. Und es ist so einfach, wenn man nur einem der Millionen von Rezepten im Internet folgt, dass uns genau anleitet.

SCRUM ist da ganz ähnlich. Nimm die richtigen Zutaten, folge dem Prozess, führe durch die SCRUM Events und heraus kommen deine Artefakte. Das gleiche gilt für User Experience Design: Zutaten, Prozess, Ergebnis. Aber halt!

Wir wagen das Experiment und kombinieren UX und SCRUM zu einem einzigartigen Menü. Und: Wir verraten dir unser Geheimrezept. Du wirst die Bausteine von SCRUM und UX kennenlernen, wie sie zubereitet und gekocht werden und wie du dann den Feinschliff auf deinen ganz eigenen agilen Prozess aufträgst.

Weitere Informationen und Anmeldung

17. July 2023

Karakun in Prantls 5A Podcast

Prantl’s 5A stands for “Angenehm Anders Als Alle Anderen” (“Pleasantly Different from Everyone Else”). The monthly podcast peels back the strategic uniqueness of successful IT companies by talking directly to their entrepreneurs with long-time strategy consultant Urs Prantl.

In the last episode of Prantl’s 5A before the 2023 summer break, Karakun co-founder and CEO Elisabeth Maier was his guest. By the way, the first Prantls 5A podcast with a female entrepreneur!

In the podcast, Elisabeth and Urs talk about the history of Karakun, our values and offering.

7. July 2023

Java Forum Stuttgart 2023

On July 13, 2023, we will be actively participating for the first time in the Java Forum Stuttgart (JFS) at the Liederhalle Culture & Congress Centre.

As a moderator, Karakun Scrum Master Claudine Zillmann will accompany various talks and thus ensure a unique conference experience for participants. In addition, we will present Karakun at our stand number 17 and show what we stand for and in which business areas we are active.

What is the JFS?

The JFS is an annual one-day conference with Java as its guiding topic. The JFS is primarily designed for developers but is equally beneficial to attendees’ decision-making skills. Use the forum to inform yourself about Java-related topics or to get the latest news from the Java and JVM environment. The spectrum is covered by basic lectures, field reports and information about specific products.

Visit our booth

We will show Karakun’s range of services by presenting selected customer projects. Of course, we will also answer questions about job vacancies and employee benefits. For example, we currently look for experienced Full-Stack Software Engineers for Java, Web and Mobile (f/m/d). Just drop by – we look forward to talking to you.

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7. June 2023

Karakun @ SwissText 2023

From June 12 to 14, 2023, text analysis experts from industry and academia will meet at SwissText 2023 at the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland in Neuchâtel. In addition to our commitment as a Gold Sponsor, we will be moderating the “Battle for NLP Ideas” for the first time. This is a collaborative event where participants group together to brainstorm innovative ideas based on the latest NLP technologies. The best ideas are presented on stage and shared with the whole conference.

Efficient processing of information requests with PID Cockpit

When the revised Swiss Data Protection Act (revDSG) comes into force in September 2023, companies must have implemented technical and organizational measures to protect personal data following the new legal requirements. One of these processes is the response to requests for information from individuals. For this purpose, we have developed the PID Cockpit, a solution that offers users enormous time and cost savings.

This AI-based software solution lets users efficiently identify personal data in heterogeneous IT environments. For this purpose, PID Cockpit can search all data sources whose files can be accessed (directly or via API). It is irrelevant whether the data is structured or unstructured.

Poster about the PID Cockpit presented by Holger Keibelel at SwissText 2023.

Our Language Analytics & Search Solutions expert Dr Holger Keibel will present the PID Cockpit to interested visitors during the poster session. In addition, visitors can get comprehensive information about our HIBU platform at our booth in the attached exhibition. HIBU is a flexible software platform for the cost-effective development of customer solutions, especially in the areas of intelligent search solutions, content analytics and workflow automation.

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Visit HIBU website
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14. April 2023

prostep ivip Symposium 2023

For the 26th time, industry experts and executives will meet at the ICS Stuttgart on May 3 and 4, 2023 – this year with the motto “Pioneering Digital Transformation for Sustainable Systems”. We will be present again with a booth and live demos of our data management software EXOKNOX.

Innovative data management systems for modern product development

The EXOKNOX product family consisting of EXOKNOXhub and EXOKNOXlyzium is part of integrated development cycles, thus contributing to more efficiency in developing mechatronic products.

Typical development process of mechatronic products showing how EXOKNOX and EXOKNOXlyzium can help to achieve more efficiency.

While very good CAD product data management systems are already available for the classic design of components, the situation is quite different for component and system properties such as stiffness, damping, pressure loss or torque behaviour. These properties determine the DNA of the entire vehicle to a considerable extent.

Being the first fully comprehensive and future-proof data management solution for this product-relevant development data, we close the gaps in companies’ system landscapes. EXOKNOX is the reference implementation of the prostep FDX standard.

Pyramid showing in which areas EXOKNOX is filling the white spots where no integrated data management software is available on the market.

By Engineers for Engineers!

Our exhibition team will be happy to show you how EXOKNOX can make your product development much more efficient and reduce time-to-market by up to 75%.

Design the future of your work today and test EXOKNOX.

Request online demo
download exoknox free
4. April 2023

Happy 5th anniversary, Karakun!

On April 1, 2018, Karakun AG started its business in Basel. The company does not only focus on its customers but also places great value on employees who share the company’s values and carry them to the outside world. A strategy that paid off, as the company was able to position itself as an outstanding employer and fill vacancies with excellent employees despite a shortage of skilled professionals. Today, employee benefits are regularly put to the test and adjusted. As of 2023, all employees benefit from a 40-hour week with 30 days of holiday (at 100% workload).

Subsidiaries in Germany and India

“Karakunies”, as the employees call themselves, are active at four locations. In addition to the headquarters in Basel, Karakun founded branches in Mumbai (India) and Dortmund in 2020. The acquisition of EXOKNOX GmbH, a software company specialising in digital engineering solutions in the automotive industry, added a branch in Stuttgart. Of course, remote working is available at all locations.

Business development

On the revenue side, the company can look back on a stable turnover situation. The core business “Solutions”, i.e. project business with customers from a wide range of industries, and the increasing licence and maintenance revenues are of great importance. Customers are start-ups and large listed companies from different industry sectors. Karakun also celebrates its first successes in the new strategic area of public sector projects.

The company uses a considerable portion of the revenue for investments in the product business with the plan to ensure the future viability and sustainability of Karakun. Over the years, the company invested around 10 to 15 % of the annual turnover in the development of products – regardless of market fluctuations caused by Covid, the global political situation, shortage of skilled professionals or supply chain problems. Karakun plans to continue this strategy in the coming years.

The developments in the company’s industry solution for the Swiss electrical industry, VOLTA, show that this strategy is fruitful. The product team is more than busy with the introduction of new customers as well as customer-specific extensions. The team has grown accordingly to ensure future product development and guarantee maximum customer support.

When we launched Karakun, we expected to be successful in the market. However, the scale has far exceeded expectations.

Dr. Elisabeth Maier
Dr. Elisabeth Maier
CEO

Cooperation with universities

However, Karakun not only stands for high-quality and sustainable software solutions. The company also places a strong focus on research and innovation. To this end, Karakun experts work with several research institutions and universities as lecturers or in research projects.

In the AI environment, Karakun and its partners DSwiss and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) researched the industrial application of the latest Deep Learning technologies (pre-trained language models) in a project funded by Innosuisse. The results significantly reduce the efforts and costs of using such methods in customer projects.

Karakun is also well-known in the world of open-source software. In addition to active participation in Eclipse Working Groups and other widespread projects, the company has developed its open-source product, OpenWebStart. Thanks to OpenWebStart, companies and organisations worldwide can use their applications based on the deprecated Java WebStart technology without further actions. Until today, OpenWebStart has more than 300,000 downloads. The estimated number of active installations is more than 400,000. Companies like Deutscher Wetterdienst, DXC Technology or the Charité Berlin use OpenWebStart.

“When we launched Karakun, we expected to be successful in the market. However, the scale has far exceeded expectations,” says Dr Elisabeth Maier, CEO of Karakun. “Without the commitment of every single employee, this would not have been possible. However, we also know that we cannot rest on our laurels. By expanding our customer base and investing heavily in our products, we are already setting the course for tomorrow.”

22. March 2023

First DesignGarten in 2023

It’s 5:50 pm on a Thursday in the Karakun office. The rustling of crisp bags and the sound of beer bottles on their way to the fridge break the silence. The last checking glance across the meeting room is interrupted by the doorbell. Wooosh. The lift arrives, and in steps the first guest of the second Karakun DesignGarden on 9 March 2023.

In a round consisting of 5 UX enthusiasts, the participants first discussed questions about UX training or how to gain a foothold in the user experience design area. After a few drinks and pizza, the participants worked on two concepts and supported each other in their daily business.

Like at the first DesignGarten Basel, we enjoyed welcoming design colleagues and are already looking forward to the next round in summer 2023, which will take place on 28 June 2023 from 6 pm at our offices in Basel.

Sign up at meetup.com
19. January 2023

Karakun @ Voxxed Days Ticino

The eighth edition of Voxxed Days Ticino will take place on 20 January 2023 at Palazzo die Congressi in Lugano. The hybrid software conference offers a broad spectrum of interesting talks from local and international speakers. With Markus Schlichting and Iryna Dohndorf, two Karakun experts are also part of the schedule.

Singularity by mistake – why my AI is wiping out humanity

Iryna Dohndorf

In movies, we are often led to believe that an artificial intelligence has the ability to autonomously rise up against humanity and usher in the end of the world. Given the current state of technology, however, this nightmare idea is nothing more than a mere fantasy.

But why are technology giants such as Elon Musk nevertheless “afraid” of the AI future? Is our AI really going against humanity or is it actually just doing exactly what we have asked it to do?

In this lecture, Iryna Dohndorf looks at the failed attempts of machine learning algorithms and their resulting outcomes, some of which are significantly more amusing than you would expect.

Pushing documentation (so it doesn’t hurt anymore)

As developers, we love solving problems with technology. It helps us make our users’ lives – or at least their jobs – easier. But what happens when technology suddenly causes more problems than it solves?

Both we as developers and the admins of our solutions appreciate good documentation in such cases. But what is “good” documentation? How much documentation is sufficient and what does it take? How can documentation be created and maintained without getting too far away from the code? Or to put it another way: how do you integrate a dev toolchain with documentation tools?

After this talk, you will know which tools we use to make it easier for us to create, maintain and use documentation in our everyday development work. We will take a look at setups and approaches to solutions in current projects with small and large “helpers” from the open source world – from AsciiDoc with Gradle to DocToolChain and Antora.

Do you wish to learn more about us and our topics? We look forward to welcoming you at our booth. Alternatively, you are of course welcome to contact us by e-mail or phone.

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23. November 2022

ASAM International Conference 2022

The 5th ASAM International Conference continues the biennial series of ASAM International Conferences that address aspects of ADAS / AD development, with a focus on standardization. In 2022, after a one-year delay due to Corona, we are bringing together decision makers and technical experts again to share their experience and discuss possible next steps.

For more information please visit the ASAM Website.

At our booth, we will present our product family EXOKNOX for efficient management of engineering data to the public.

Exhibition back wall explaining EXOKNOX product family

In the context of a typical development process, EXOKNOXhub and EXOKNOXfree contribute significant efficiencies at the beginning of a development loop, right through to the construction of digital and real prototypes.

EXOKNOXlyzium comes into play when these prototypes produce results, such as raw timing data or bus data, which need to be managed, analyzed and compared with previous results.

Want to get to know EXOKNOX in detail?

email us
digital engineering solutions
11. November 2022

Software for efficient data protection

The revised Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG) will become effective on September 1, 2023. By this date, companies must have implemented technical and organizational measures to protect personal data following the new legal requirements. Violations could result in severe penalties.

In addition, there is an increasing risk of cyber attacks in which unprotected or inaccurately stored customer and employee data are exploited. That leads to reputational damage and, in the worst case, to the loss of annoyed customers.

Together with our partner krm, we wrote the following article about why software solutions are essential for effectively and efficiently implementing data protection measures. This article was published in issue 11/2022 of Swiss IT Magazine.

Swiss IT Magazine 11/22

Identifying personal data in heterogeneous IT environments

One such application for automating manual processes is our award-winning PID Cockpit. The „PID Cockpit“ is a joint development between Karakun and the Swiss Information Governance Competence Centre (krm.swiss).

This AI-based software solution lets users efficiently identify personal data in heterogeneous IT environments. For this purpose, the PID Cockpit can search all data sources whose files can be accessed (directly or via API). It is irrelevant whether the data is structured or unstructured. The system recognizes industry- and company-specific text types when set up correctly. It can be run on local servers or in the cloud, as required.

The benefits for users are simplicity and the associated time and cost savings. Automated, transparent AI processes also minimize errors and make search results reproducible and consistent.

Would you like to learn more about the PID Cockpit? We would be happy to advise you. You can get a first overview in our product flyer.

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4. November 2022

Take One, Action!

Its 6pm on a Wednesday night in November. The office is dark and empty. Everybody went home to their loved ones. Everybody? Wait, there is still light in the meeting room. Bowls of chips, chilled bottles of beer, laptops, colored pens and 6 heads in a discussion? What is going on in the Karakun Office?

Agenda of DesignGarten Basel
Agenda of DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Discussions at DesignGarten Basel
Pizza and beer at the first DesignGarten Basel
Pizza and beer at the first DesignGarten Basel

You just witnessed the start of the very first DesignGarten taking place. The DesignGarten is a new meeting format similar to the Developers Hackergarten. A group of passionate people meet to discuss design topics, work on projects, test out new ideas- all related to the area of User Experience Design. We started by collecting the topics everybody brought and then started discussing about User Experience Design and collaboration. How to collaborate within the company, with developers, with the customer? Everybody shared their insights and thoughts, and we ended up having a very vivid discussion which continued way into our tasty pizza dinner. After dinner we tackled a more practical issue by looking into the details of a design project: An “Open Space Allocator”- a concept for an app which will help planning and scheduling sessions for open space conferences and events. We talked about potential users, functionalities, risks, and implementation ideas.

Take Two. Aaand – Action!

All the participants enjoyed the first DesignGarten and are looking forward to the next one, which will take place in the beginning of 2023. Simply join the DesignGarten meetup group at https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/designgarten-basel/ and get notified. Or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn. We look forward to meeting you next time!

DesignGarten Meetup Group


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