Hackathon participants at NEXUS CONNECT 2026 in the conference room

Hackathon runners-up at Nexus Connect 2026

05 Feb 2026 Reading time: 4 min. By Zöllner Office

60 participants from all over Germany. One goal: to bring AI into real business cases. Our AI engineer represented the company – and got to dive deep into NFON AG’s AI portfolio and the botario platform at the NFON/botario workshop.

The hackathon: 90 minutes, 9 teams, one goal

The finale got serious: nine teams were drawn at random. Each team had just 90 minutes to develop a business case and prepare a pitch for a jury. The best three teams were awarded.

Our case: overloaded administrative switchboards

Switchboards constantly at their limit, expensive to run, partly outsourced or not staffed at all – and whose main job is often merely putting calls through. Our AI engineer thought: don’t just talk about it. Build it.

The technical build in 90 minutes

Nia Front Desk set up as the central point of answer

Intelligent routing to the responsible departments

Voicebot built on the botario platform

Questions on vehicle registration and re-registration answered automatically

Callbacks and appointments arranged with the licensing office

So alongside the concept he took on the entire technical build as well. In 90 minutes. 🤯 Technically an outright feat.

The plot-twist moment

And then came the unexpected moment: the presentation was deleted by accident. In the end it was “only” the runners-up title.

Team presentation at the hackathon – stage with NEXUS CONNECT branding

Despite the technical feat and the well-thought-out concept, things turned out differently than expected.

Award ceremony – team on stage receiving the prize

Conclusion

All the same: huge respect to the team – strong idea, strong execution, strong commitment. That is exactly how innovation happens. Second place is a great result and shows what is possible in next to no time with the right tools and the necessary know-how.

Team with the NFON robot and the award
NEXUS CONNECT 2026 trophy – AI Deal 2025 for Zöllner Büro- & IT-Systeme GmbH