ARCHITECT SYSTEMS Development AG Privacy Policy
This privacy notice (the “Privacy Notice”) informs you about how ARCHITECT SYSTEMS Development AG (“we”, “us” or “Company”) collects and processes your personal data (“Data“), when using our website (www.architect.systems, the “Website”), any of the services provided on or through the Website (the “Services”), or in any of the other situations set out in Section 3.
This Privacy Notice is aligned with the Swiss Data Protection Act (“DPA”) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). However, the application of these laws depends on each individual case.
Controller
The responsible person for processing your data under this Privacy Notice (“Controller”) unless we tell you otherwise in an individual case is:
ARCHITECT SYSTEMS Development AG
Zugerstrasse 76b
6340 Baar
Switzerland
You may contact us regarding data protection matters and to exercise your rights at: [email protected]).
Obligation to Provide Data and Your Sharing of Third-Party Data
You are in general under no obligation to provide us with any Data. However, if you do not provide the required information regarding certain use cases set out in Section 3 (in particular Registration Data, as defined in Section 3.3), we may not be able to process your corresponding request, provide the related Services or get in contact with you.
If you share with us Data regarding any other individual than yourself (e.g. relatives, family members, colleagues, etc.), we assume that this Data is correct and that you have informed the affected individuals about this Privacy Notice. By sharing such Data with us, you confirm that they have given their permission for you to disclose such Data to us and for you to allow us, and our service providers, to use it. You are welcome to provide them with a copy of this Privacy Notice.
Processed Data, Purpose, Legal Basis and Methods
We process the following Data about you for the purposes and legal bases outlined below:
In order to fulfill the indicated purposes, your Data may be processed via various methods, either physically or electronically, including via generative AI tools such as ChatGPT Team and Microsoft CoPilot.
3.1 Website
The Data processing related to your use of our Website is limited to Data that is required to functionally operate, provide and secure the Website and the Services provided thereon (“Website Use Data”) and for web analysis purposes (“Website Analysis Data”).
Categories of Data: When accessing our Website (and through our Website the Services), the collected Website Use Data and Website Analysis Data include: server name; IP address; information about the operating system; cookies; type of end device; browser name and version; date, region and time of access; referral URL; amount of data transferred; address of the website from which you were redirected to our Website; name of Internet provider; protocols; etc..
Purpose and Legal Basis: The processing regarding the Website is based on our legitimate interest to operate and secure our Website and our Services, in particular for security reasons to ensure the stability and integrity of our systems (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable). In addition, we may perform basic web analysis based on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR, if applicable) to optimize the Website regarding usability and to gain insights about the use of our Website and Services (see also Section 3.10 / Cookies). The collected Data will not be merged with other personal data or disclosed to third parties.
3.2 Communication
We may be in contact with you by use of different channels, e.g. if you fill out forms on our Website, send us e-mails, or by using other electronic (or hardcopy) communication means, whereby Data may be exchanged (“Communication Data”).
Categories of Data: If you fill out our contact forms, send us an e-mail or another form of electronic message (or hardcopy message, e.g. a letter), the collected Communication Data includes: name; e-mail address (or other form of communication identifier, e.g. messenger nickname); phone number; additional contact details; subject matter; type, manner, place, and time of communication; corresponding message content; related metadata; other information you choose to disclose in your communication to us; etc.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We use Communication Data to communicate with you, process your inquiry and any possible further questions you might have in relation to the performance of our Services (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, if applicable)). We may also keep this data to document our communication with you, for training purposes, for quality assurance and for follow-up inquiries (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable).
3.3 Services
When using our Services, you may be required to open an account or create a login (“Registration Data”). When using our Services, we collect further Data related to the used Services (“Usage Data”), including Contract Data (as defined in Section 3.6) (altogether “Service Data”).
Categories of Data: The collected Service Data includes: name; last name; username; password; e-mail; phone number; address; contact details; profession, role and function; bank details; date of birth; customer history; information about the use of our Services; etc.
Purpose and Legal Basis: In general, Service Data will be used to provide our Services (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, if applicable). We may also process Service Data, in particular Usage Data, for market research, to improve our Services and operations, and for product development, based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable). We may also use Service Data to document our Service delivery, for training purposes or for quality assurance, based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable).
3.4 Marketing and Newsletters
We may process your Data for marketing purposes and relationship management, in particular newsletters (altogether “Marketing Data”). If you subscribe to our newsletters, you can unsubscribe from our newsletters at any time by using the option to unsubscribe contained in the newsletter or by sending us an email to the address mentioned in Section 1
Categories of Data: The collected Marketing Data includes: contact information (e.g. first name, last name, company type and name, business function / title, e-mail, address, etc.); information about your preferences (e.g. your areas of interest); Communication Data; Service Data; Contract Data; etc.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We process Marketing Data to further develop the Website and the Services (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable). In addition, we and selected third parties may use Marketing Data for marketing purposes and relationship management, for example to send you personalized content or advertising, if and to the extent that you give us your consent, provided this is required by applicable law (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR, if applicable). You can object to such marketing activities or withdraw your consent at any time.
3.5 Job Applications
We may process such of your Data as you provide to us in connection with an application for a job opening (“Application Data”).
Categories of Data: The collected Application Data includes: contact details and personal information (e.g. name, address, email, telephone number, date of birth, nationality/citizenship); application documents (e.g. CV, information about previous employers, references and job references, data on professional experience, information on education and further training, further qualifications); information about your working permit situation,; any other information you choose to provide to us in connection with your application; etc.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We process Application Data for the assessment of your application and potential negotiation, preparation, conclusion and performance of an employment contract with you (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, if applicable). In case no employment contract is concluded, but you provide your consent to us to retain your application for further job openings, we may do so based on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR, if applicable).
3.6 Contracts
If we enter into a contract with you, or into negotiations regarding such contract, we may collect Data in relation to the conclusion or performance of such a contract (“Contract Data”). In general, we collect this Data from you or other contractual partners and from third parties involved in the performance of the contract, but may also use Data from third-party sources (e.g. credit information or market data providers) as well as from public sources.
Categories of Data: The collected Contract Data includes: information about the conclusion of the contract; information about the contract (e.g. duration, type of contract, etc.); information about the performance and administration of the contracts (e.g. information in relation with billing, customer service, technical assistance and the enforcement of contractual claims, etc.); information about deficiencies, complaints and changes of a contract as well as customer satisfaction information; financial data (e.g. credit information, information about reminders and debt collection, etc.); Registration Data; Service Data; etc.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We use Contract Data for the preparation, conclusion, performance and administration of our contractual relationships and any questions or inquiries that might arise in that relation (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, if applicable). We may also keep this data to document our communication with you, for training purposes, for quality assurance and for follow-up inquiries (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable).
3.7 Safety and Security
We process the Data to protect our IT and other infrastructure. For example, we process Data for monitoring, analysis and testing of our networks and IT infrastructures including access controls.
Categories of Data: All of the Data described above.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We use the Data for security and security purposes (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable).
3.8 Compliance with Law and Legal Procedures
We process the Data to comply with legal requirements, e.g. to fulfil tax obligations, and we might have to request further information from you to comply with such requirements or as otherwise required by law and legal authorities. Furthermore, we may process your data for the enforcement of legal claims and for the defense in legal disputes and official proceedings.
Categories of Data: All of the Data described above.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We use the Data in order to comply with legal obligations, directive and recommendations from authorities (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR, if applicable).
3.9 Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Business Development
We process the Data as part of our risk management and corporate government in order to protect us from criminal or abusive activity. As part of our business development, we might sell businesses, parts of businesses or companies to others or acquire them from others or enter into partnerships and this might result in the exchange and processing of data based on your consent, if necessary.
Categories of Data: All of the Data described above.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We use the Data in order to comply with internal regulations, including such purposes as compliance, risk management, corporate governance and business organization, to protect us from criminal and abusive activity, and to develop our business (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable).
3.10 Cookies
Our Website uses cookies and we may also allow certain third parties to do so (see Section 3.11 / Tools below). Cookies are small files that are managed by your browser and are directly stored on your device whenever you visit our Website. You can disable the use of cookies in the preferences of your browser, but this might have as a consequence that not all functions of our Website or Services will be available to you or function properly anymore.
Categories of Data: Website Use Data, Website Analysis Data and such further Data.
Purpose and Legal Basis: We may use cookies on our Website to provide certain features on the Website and to ensure a user-friendly experience (e.g. session cookies), as they allow us to recognize your browser on your next visit in order to provide you a user-friendly experience based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, if applicable). Enhanced web analysis using cookies is carried out based on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR, if applicable). By continuing to use our website, we assume that you consent to the use of such techniques.
3.11 Tools
We use the following tool(s) to ensure a tailored design and the continuous optimization of the Website:
Google Analytics: Google Ireland (based in Ireland) is our provider of “Google Analytics” and acts as our processor. Google Ireland relies on Google LLC (based in the US) as a processor for its services (both “Google”). Google uses performance cookies to track the behaviour of visitors to our Website (duration, frequency of pages viewed, geographic origin of access, etc.) and compiles reports for us on the use of our Website on this basis. Although we can assume that the information we share with Google is not personal data for Google, it is possible that Google can draw conclusions about the identity of visitors from this data for its own purposes, create personal profiles and link this data to the Google accounts of these persons. If you consent to the use of Google Analytics, you explicitly agree to such processing, which also includes the transfer of personal data (in particular usage data for the Website, device information and individual IDs) to the US and other countries not offering adequate data protection from a Swiss/EU perspective. Information on the data protection of Google Analytics can be found here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7318509?hl=en.
3.12 Third-Party Offerings
The Website may contain third-party offerings. Please note that when you use such link, your Data such as IP address, personal browser settings, etc., are transmitted to these third parties. We have no control over, do not review and cannot be responsible for these third-party websites or their content. Please be aware that the terms of this Privacy Notice do not apply to these third-party websites or their content, or to any collection of your Data after you click on links to such third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy notices of every website you visit. Any links to third-party websites or locations are for your convenience and do not signify our endorsement of such third parties or their products, content, or websites.
Disclosure and Transfer of Data
We may disclose your Data to recipients as set out in Section 4.1, which may include cross-border data transfers as further defined in Section 4.2.
4.1 Categories of Recipients
We may make your Data available to the following recipients in compliance with the applicable legal requirements:
Our Group Companies: group companies process the data for the same purposes as we use it, including advertising for their own range of services;
b. Service Providers: we may share your information with service providers and business partners around the world with whom we collaborate to fulfil the above purposes (e.g. IT and technical services providers, business information providers, newsletter management service providers, advertising service provider, security companies, telecommunication companies, lawyers, etc.) or who we engage to process personal data for any of the purposes listed above on our behalf and in accordance with our instructions only;
c. Contractual Partners: if required by the respective contract, we will pass on the Data to other contractual partners, dealers, subcontractors, etc. (to the extent the disclosure results from such contracts, e.g. if you use our Services under a contract that we have with your employer);
d. Authorities: we may pass on personal data to offices, courts and other authorities in Switzerland and abroad, if we are legally obliged or entitled to such disclosures or if it appears necessary to protect our interests, the authorities are responsible for processing da-ta about you that they receive from us;
e. Transaction Partners and Advisors: if we sell or buy any business or assets, we may disclose the Data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets to whom we assign or novate any of our rights and obligations (e.g. in relation to mergers, acquisitions or other business transactions involving us or our group companies).
4.2 Cross-Border Transfer of Data
We may transfer, process or store your Data to or in countries outside Switzerland or the EU/EEA/UK. Some of those countries may not offer an adequate level of data protection. We only transfer data to these countries when it is necessary for the performance of a contract or for the exercise or defense of legal claims or if such transfer is based on your explicit content or subject to appropriate safeguards such as the US-EU Data Privacy Framework, the US-CH Data Privacy Framework and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCC“), adapted to Swiss law if applicable and required
Profiling and Automated Decision Making
We might analyse aspects of your individual’s personality, behavior, interest and habits and make predictions or decisions about them for the purposes laid out in Section 3, e.g. to perform statistical analysis or to prevent misuse and security risks. This analysis identifies correlations between different behaviors and characteristics to create profiles for individuals. For example, we may use profiling to determine in which services you might be interested. We may also use profiling to assess your creditworthiness. We do not use profiling that can produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you without human review.
In certain circumstances, automated decision taking might be necessary for reasons of efficiency and consistency. In such cases, we will inform you accordingly and take the measures required by applicable law.
Storage Periods and Erasure
We only process and retain Data for as long as it is necessary to fulfil our processing purposes, comply with the legal retention periods, meet our legitimate interests regarding documentation or where storage is a technical requirement. Additionally, the Data may be retained for the assertion or defense of legal claims, until the relevant retention period ends or the claims in question have been settled.
Except in case of contrary legal or contractual obligations, we will erase or anonymize your Data once the storage or processing period has expired. Regarding specific use/data categories, we will in general retain your Data as follows:
Website Use Data: As long as required to enable the requested access and secure the stability and integrity of our systems.
Website Analysis Data: Will be stored for as long as required to perform the analysis and will thereafter be deleted or anonymized.
Communication Data: Will be deleted after responding to / completing your inquiry, if and to the extent (a) we are not legally obliged to retain such Data (e.g. for accounting or document retention purposes) and (b) we do not have an overriding legitimate interest to retain such data for documentation, quality assurance or similar business purposes or for the assessment or exercise of or for the defense against legal claims.
Cookies: Cookies will be stored on your device for the time period required to achieve the related purpose and will thereafter be deleted by your browser.
Service Data: In general as long as you are accessing (or have the right to access) our Services, and such Data will be deleted after termination of your contract and/or deletion of your account, if and to the extent (a) we are not legally obliged to retain such Data (e.g. for accounting or document retention purposes) and (b) we do not have an overriding legitimate interest to retain such data for documentation, quality assurance or similar business purposes or for the assessment or exercise of or for the defense against legal claims.
Marketing Data: We generally keep Marketing Data which is not part of any other data category for as long as related marketing measures are ongoing and 12 months thereafter, if and to the extent (a) we are not legally obliged to retain such Data (e.g. for accounting or document retention purposes) and (b) we do not have an overriding legitimate interest to retain such data for documentation, quality assurance or similar business purposes or for the assessment or exercise of or for the defense against legal claims.
Application Data: We generally keep Application Data for the duration of the application process and 3 months thereafter, unless you ask or allow us to retain your application for a longer time. We may retain Application Data for longer for the assessment or exercise of or for the defense against legal claims, if applicable.
Contract Data: We generally keep Contract Data for the duration of the statute of limitation duration regarding contractual claims, as calculated from the end of the contract, if and to the extent (a) we are not legally obliged to retain such Data (e.g. for accounting or document retention purposes) for longer and (b) we do not have an overriding legitimate interest to retain such data for documentation, quality assurance or similar business purposes or for the assessment or exercise of or for the defense against legal claims.
Data Security
We have put appropriate technical and organizational security policies and procedures in place to protect your Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. However, we and the Data can still become victims of cyber-attacks, cybercrime, brute force, hacker attacks and further fraudulent and malicious activity including but not limited to viruses, forgeries, malfunctions, and interruptions which is out of our control and responsibility. We have also put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
We limit access to personal data in general. Those individuals who have access to the data are required to maintain the confidentiality of such information.
Your Rights as Affected Data Subject
You have various rights under applicable data protection law in relation to our processing of your Data:
Information, i.e. to ask us whether we are processing Data about you, and if so, to provide you with further information related thereto;
Correction, i.e. to ask us to correct your Data if it is incorrect or incomplete;
Deletion, i.e. to delete your Data (to the extent we are not under a legal obligation or have an overriding legitimate interest to retain such Data);
Restriction of Processing, i.e. to ask us to temporarily restrict our processing of your Data in certain circumstances.
Data Portability, i.e. to ask us to provide you in electronic form (to the extent technically feasible and in certain circumstances) the Data you have provided to us;
Withdrawal of Consent, i.e. to withdraw your consent if and to the extent you have previously given your consent to any specific purpose of processing of your Data. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent (or any processing based on any legal basis other than your consent);
Objection to Processing, i.e. to object at any time to the processing of the Data pertaining to you under certain circumstances, in particular where the Data is processed in the public interest, on the basis of a balance of interests or for direct marketing purposes; and
Complaints, i.e. if you believe that our processing of your Data contradicts the applicable data protection laws, please let us know or contact the appropriate data protection authority (Switzerland: Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), Feldeggweg 1, CH-3003 Berne, www.edoeb.admin.ch); however, we kindly request that you contact us first so that we can take note of your request and implement it accordingly.
Please note that the foregoing rights are subject to legal restrictions and may interfere with or make the provision of our Services impossible.
In case you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us as specified in Section 1. Before responding to your request, we may ask for proof of identity. This helps us to ensure that your Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.
Changes to this Privacy Notice
Due to continuous development of the Website and the Services/contents thereof, changes in law or regulatory requirements, we might need to change this Privacy Notice from time to time. The version published on the Website is the version that currently applies.
Last Updated: 10.01.2025