In whatever we do, we focus on unleashing the potential of our people in order to provide a professional and client focused service that adds value.
Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd Annual Report 2002
Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited Annual Report 2002
Contents
Regarding the abstract images used in this annual report. “…in whatever we do, we focus on unleashing the potential of our people in order to provide a professional and client focused service that adds value!”
The focus of this report is ‘unleashing the potential of our people’. We chose to illustrate this concept by using abstract images that show light as a metaphor for this unleashing of potential. All the abstract images used in this report are ‘© Digital Vision’.
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Chairman’s Statement
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The Paradigm Shift Towards Adding Value by Adopting Best Practice
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Defining the ‘Soul’ of MITTS Ltd
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A Public Manifestation that “Together we can Achieve More”
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Reinforcing Business Partnership through the Use of a State of the Art Solutions
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Alternative Public-Private Partnership Models?
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The Information Society and Information Economy – New Work, New Workers, New Organisations?
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Nurturing a Culture of Learning and Knowledge Sharing
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The Future is Here!
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Chairman’s Statement
Many a time organisations tend to lose focus of the underpinning strategic elements allow their attention to stray towards organisational structures and related functions, the core of what constitutes a successful or a failing organisation in providing a quali them but, rather, about the real people that make up that entity.
Chairman Joseph R Grima
Directors Anthony Diacono, Anne Mckenna Elizabeth Micallef & Joseph W Izzo
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that are critical to their success. In reviewing their performance and the quality of their service, organisations often technology development, processes and similar aspects. Important as these matters are, they are not, however, ty service. When all is said and done, organisations are not about organisational boxes and the position titles within
We at MITTS Ltd have learned that our success in terms of providing excellent quality services is dependent primarily on the competence, commitment and integrity of the staff members who constitute MITTS Ltd. This Annual Report is about our people: their contribution, development, growth and progression within the company.
responsibilities with those of the work place without the fear of placing their professional career at stake. We are proud to state that we were possibly the first organisation in Malta to have introduced, over two years ago, teleworking together with other friendly measures such as assistance for child care facilities.
MITTS Ltd recognises that commitment demands a relationship of mutual trust and respect; and to achieve this we are continuously strengthening our environment to establish the company as a model employer. Only thus can we optimise the intellectual talent that we collectively have in providing a high quality service to our clients in the Public Service.
MITTS Ltd is a knowledge-based institution: the environment within which it operates continues to change at an accelerated pace. MITTS Ltd cannot deliver excellent quality services to the Public Service if it does not invest in team-building and keeping current the intellectual material and knowledge of its staff. In 2002 MITTS Ltd achieved an average of 6.5 training days per employee; an investment that underlines in no uncertain manner the importance we attach to our people, individually and as members of a team. Yet skills based training is only one part of the professional development that MITTS Ltd promotes. Through a scholarship bursary programme it provides opportunities to its staff members to undertake accredited and career professional development studies leading to Masters degrees in areas that are relevant to MITTS Ltd in providing a continuously improved service.
MITTS Ltd is proud of the measures it has introduced to ensure that our staff grow and develop, and command respect. In order to ensure that MITTS Ltd maintains its focus towards assuring a work environment that allows staff to flourish professionally and personally, MITTS Ltd has this year anchored its work ethic to a fivepoint value system that attaches importance to people, professionalism, empowerment, ever continuous improvement and client satisfaction. Whilst we recognise that we have to be vigilant lest we falter to maintain these values, the core value system we have embraced provides board, management and staff with transparent points of reference against which we can judge ourselves. Moreover, we recognise the importance of women in our workplace and in this regard we have taken steps to support our female staff members to balance their family
eight sessions with the CEO and executive management, on-line electronic suggestion box, intranet and internal newsletter. There is no doubt that MITTS Ltd is not a self-serving institution. Its mandate is to provide strategic value added services to the Public Service in its own daunting challenges to better serve Government and the public at large. Continuous improvement in MITTS Ltd performance is therefore not only necessary but mandatory. The heart of our organisation lies in our people. It is no rhetoric to state that our people are our most precious asset. On behalf of the Directors and on my own behalf I would like to thank the staff at MITTS Ltd who in 2002 made MITTS Ltd Board proud. As Chairman of the Board I am grateful to my colleague Directors and to the CEO and his management team for their support.
J R Grima Chairman
A large and complex organisation such as MITTS Ltd can only operate effectively if its staff members are informed of how MITTS Ltd is performing. Considerable effort is invested in this regard by a number of initiatives including the publication of a synthesis of the minutes of the Executive Committee, quarterly status meetings with all the staff, one-to-one and one-to-
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MITTS Ltd Annual Report 2002
The Paradigm Shift Towards Adding Value by Adopting Best Practice
The Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd (MITTS Ltd) continues to place all its efforts in order to sustain the momentum gained in the past years of continuous improvement and to ensure that the challenges brought about by the exciting change programme in the Public Service and the Company’s adoption of best practices in the application of ICT converge. The need to be in the leading edge, coupled with the inevitable requirement to be flexible, fast responding and innovative are not only characteristics of the information economy and society, but are now an integral part of the strategic and operational fabric of MITTS Ltd. 2001 saw MITTS Ltd consolidate its business strategy, its operations, its internal structure and its processes, together with adopting the paradigm shift of not seeing its clients as such, but as building a relationship of partnership which embraces the concept that together we can achieve more. This consolidation process and the business partnership approach reinforced the Company’s foundations and induced MITTS Ltd to move further in its efforts to bring even more value to its business partners, whilst placing the internal pressure to continue improving on what has been achieved. In this context, 2002 saw considerable efforts in extending quality mechanisms, re-aligning internal structures that are more conducive to the business environment in which MITTS Ltd is operating and heavily investing not only in technology and people, but also in a culture of being client focused and professional in everything MITTS Ltd does.
Re-aligning Ourselves to Add Further Value In January 2002, MITTS Ltd embarked on a journey that turns the often used cliché of being ‘effective and efficient’ into reality. MITTS Ltd was cognisant of the fact that although its internal structures were consolidated, however, the Company through its continuous efforts of trying to translate its client expectations into value added solutions, required to re-align its organisation structure in order to bring in synch what is actually being developed in terms of solutions and services with what is being demanded by the Public Service client base. In this regard, the Company re-aligned its internal structures in order to clearly distinguish solutions that are developed within the parameters of a project, as opposed to ICT services that are offered by MITTS Ltd. The Company moved away from the traditional structure of having a Systems House and a Technical Infrastructure Department, and instead consolidated all projects of a systems or infrastructure nature under a Projects Management Office, whilst having all type of ICT Service Management functions, such as Networks Management; Service Call Centre; Internet and Groupware Services; and Workstation and Server Support all housed under a Service Management Department. Moreover, the Company recognised the increased relevance of integrity, trust and confidence in the ICT institutional ambiance, and thus established an Information Security and Risk Management Department which placed the critical importance of business continuity for the Public Service and in ensuring that the
Public Service has the means to manage the risks associated with Information Management as a core business function for MITTS Ltd. Apart from aligning the delivery arms with the market, MITTS Ltd also looked internally to always keep pace with organisations of the Information Age, through the appointment of a Chief Information Officer for MITTS Ltd and the establishment of the required supporting functions in this Office such as ICT Improvements; Applied Research and Development; Quality Assurance; and Process Improvement. Due to economies of scale, this Office also includes a delivery function in relation to testing of solutions, Data Architecture Standards and Data Protection. Furthermore, as part of the consolidation exercise of ensuring that the delivery arms have the required support structures, Human Resources; Finance; Administration; and Contracts and Supplier Management were consolidated under a Corporate Services Department, whilst Corporate Strategy; Business Development; and Performance Monitoring were migrated to a newly established Strategy and Business Development Department. MITTS Ltd, however, did not stop at just ensuring that its structure is conducive to business requirements, but also continued in the efforts that stemmed from the 2001 vision and strategies which encompassed a wide ranging programme of adopting internationally recognised best practice methodologies, tools and processes. In particular, 2002 saw the continued realisation of three major corporate
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initiatives that initiated in 2001, namely the implementation of a Cost Management Accounting Framework (CMAF); the formal establishment of PRINCE II as the corporate project management methodology; and the ITIL Service Management methodology.
An Integrated Approach towards Management and Financial Information The 2002 saw the mobilisation process following to the 2001 approved framework, for the introduction of the CMAF for MITTS Ltd. A multidisciplinary and interdepartmental project team was established and a Request for Proposals was issued, where two out of three major CMAF components where chosen. The cost accounting engine and a new Human Resource Information System were selected as part of a programme for an integrated framework. Although the third, that is the project management engine is still in evaluation stage where a prototype solution is being tested, however, the selected components will enable the company to produce more detailed analysis on its financial state of health and will allow both management and MITTS Ltd people to have a dynamic and interactive Human Resource Information System. It is planned that the cost accounting engine and the Human Resources Information System will be in place by April 2003.
A Corporate Framework to Manage Projects Managing Projects, being one of the Company’s core areas and strengths, MITTS Ltd identified that in order to increase its competitive edge in this regard, the Company required refining further on its project management discipline whereby one corporate methodology would be applied
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for the management, control and reporting of projects. To this effect, PRINCE II was identified as the ideal international IT methodology and in mid 2002, articulated the first draft policies and procedures related to the adoption of Prince II. A tailored training programme was designed, which will be delivered to all those who are involved in the project delivery lifecycle in the first quarter of 2003. The choice of PRINCE II was not only prompted by the fact that this is a tried and tested international methodology that ensures high quality standards in the management of projects, but also because this methodology focuses on the client and seeks high client involvement at all stages of the project lifecycle, thereby complementing our client focused value system. This significant step forward will realise the vision of a Corporate Project Management Framework ensuring the continuous improvement of one of MITTS Ltd’s core competencies.
Not Only Breathing Quality, but also Exhaling It! The 2001 Annual Report highlighted the importance that MITTS Ltd is placing in ensuring that it delivers quality, where emphasis was placed that MITTS Ltd breaths quality. In essence, however, MITTS Ltd went far beyond simply ‘breathing’ quality, but has now reached a stage where its efforts are placed to ‘exhale’ quality. 2002 was a successful year in this regard, where the international ISO auditors did not only confirm full compliance in the areas that were certified in 2001, but also certified the service management delivery arm as being ISO certified. Such an accomplishment was made possible through the drive of the MITTS Ltd people, who not only reengineered processes and documented ISO procedures, but also managed to marry the
ITIL Service Management methodology within the ISO framework and successfully implemented it. The next delivery arm that is up for ISO certification is the Project Management Office, which through the implementation of the PRINCE II framework is planned to achieve ISO certification in 2003.
Service Call Centre – A Best Practice Concept Turned Reality In 2001 MITTS Ltd had the vision to adopt an industry best practice of setting up a Service Call Centre (SCC) that would not only replace the traditional ‘call logging service’ when a user wants to report a particular problem, but introduce an SCC that would be staffed with technical people who would be able to offer callers a solution to their technical problem and would offer first line diagnosis that could be efficiently routed to the ‘second line’ support personnel for fast resolution. After the successful outcome of the 2001 pilot project, 2002 saw the SCC roll-out its services corporately across the Public Service, Schools and the Local Councils. In 2002, the SCC managed to resolve 25% of logged calls over the phone, thus providing MITTS Ltd clients with prompt resolution, whilst through SCC, the MITTS Ltd service delivery increased in its efficiency through a more efficient escalation of incidents to the appropriate response and support teams. It is planned that by the end of 2003, the SCC would be closing over the phone approximately 30% of logged calls, thus signifying a marked improvement in MITTS Ltd support services.
In 2001, MITTS Ltd sponsored Clint in following an Advanced Diploma in IT which encouraged him to continue with his studies in order to obtain a Degree in Computing and Information Systems. “I am grateful that the Company sponsored me…the Company offered me both financial assistance together with technical and theoretical help which complement my studies”. Clint believes that working with MITTS Ltd has given him an advantage in his studies as the Company is a “centre of information”.
Clint Mintoff Software Developer
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Defining the ‘Soul’ of MITTS Ltd
MITTS Ltd prides itself to be a knowledgebased organisation that places considerable emphasis on continuous learning, on being a caring organisation, and on the importance of instilling values and business ethics in the way it conducts business and interacts with its staff. MITTS Ltd seeks to have a ‘soul’ that regulates its behaviour. Although such a ‘spiritual’ analogy may be viewed with cynicism in some business arenas, MITTS Ltd, however, truly believes an assessment based on cold financial or other scientifically measurable methods are not enough to justify how certain milestones were achieved. In all that is accomplished, the dedication, persistence and effort of the MITTS Ltd people is the common denomination factor that gives MITTS Ltd a competitive edge and which in most cases surpasses client expectations.
The Company, through its two fundamental pillars that of being a caring organisation and that of nurturing a culture of learning, strives hard to distinguish between just having employees considered as staff complement as opposed to having a team of individuals who are respected and valued. Moreover, MITTS Ltd considers its clients as partners and not only as customers, where in so doing, MITTS Ltd strives to be a business ethical organisation that builds on a relationship of trust and understanding with its business partners. All of the above was formally recognised in 2002, not only by the Board of Directors but also by the MITTS Ltd staff who came together to identify the Business Values of MITTS Ltd that will establish the ‘soul’ of the organisation. Five Company Values were identified and formally defined, with statements that reflect
a culture of respect at all levels within the Company and statements that induce a culture of business partnership with MITTS Ltd clients. Whilst living up to these Company Values is not an easy task both the Company as a corporate being and the people that make up MITTS Ltd are formally committed to embrace this culture and to enrich the Company’s soul in order to experience in the best way possible the Information Age. A testimony at a national level of such commitment is the now established ‘Foundation for IT Accessibility’ (FITA) with the ‘Kunsill Nazzjonali Persuni b’Dizabilita’ (KNPD), whilst at a corporate level the family friendly policies and work-life balance initiatives such as teleworking, child care facilitation, special maternity leave and reduced hours clearly indicate the attention given in this regard.
The five Company Values and Value Statements were formally launched in January 2003
The Company Values have been interpreted as symbols for internal and external communications
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MITTS Ltd Annual Report 2002
People:
We are committed to our people
Empowerment:
We will cultivate an environment to develop empowerment with accountability
Professionalism:
We act professionally in all that we do
Client Focus:
We see clients as partners in our success
Continuous Improvement:
We believe there is no limit to our improvement
Debbie joined the company in 1995 as a receptionist. Debbie started off her career working part time and always felt the need of working full time within a “good and big company”. Her chance came when she saw an advert for the position of a receptionist within the then MSU Ltd. “I really appreciate that the company believed in me and gave me the opportunity to work” Debbie says that her life “changed drastically” since she started working with MITTS Ltd.
The most important part of her job is her interaction with people, and this has changed her as a person. Debbie also received training in Customer Care and will very soon be attending a refresher course in Office Automation tools. “I enjoy working at MITTS Ltd. The team I work with in reception is a close one, whilst all MITTS Ltd employees are always ready to help me when necessary”.
Debbie Schembri Receptionist
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“I lived MITTS Ltd in the making!” Tony’s career started twenty years ago at the Government Computer Centre and since then he never looked back, where he graduated in Computing and subsequently completed a Masters Degree in Management from Anglia University (UK). Tony’s experience is far ranging, advancing from the hardware to the systems field, whilst gaining international exposure through attachments in Singapore and Japan. Since the inception of the Company, Tony worked on strategic assignments, where he is now managing the taxation and finance portfolio.
Tony Sultana Systems Manager
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Apart for his family, Tony lives for IT development. His vision still resides within the area of systems development and his biggest satisfaction “is to actively be part
of silent but strategic revolutions – such as the Final Settlement System for the Inland Revenue Department and the first Data Warehouse in Government for the Tax Compliance Unit”. Tony believes in MITTS Ltd and the potential of its people, “…I am a MITTS Ltd man, and my unconditional loyalty goes to MITTS Ltd. Working for such a knowledgeable company gives me the necessary on-going training and the strength to work on a wide spectrum of opportunities which no other company in Malta can provide – and most of all it gives me the challenge to achieve”. “…We have achieved a lot, and I’m proud of telling my kids that I was part of it. Having said that, I still believe that I’m far from what I dream that I can achieve!”.
A Public Manifestation that “Together We Achieve More”
The essence of MITTS Ltd existence is centred on the business philosophy of providing value added solutions to its business partners – its clients. It is needless to say that year after year, the business relationship with its business partners is getting healthier and therefore stronger. The collaborative approach that has now become an established and consolidated relationship between MITTS Ltd and its business partners saw in 2002 various initiatives that spanned even beyond the normal business parameters. As part of a communications strategy that MITTS Ltd launched in mid 2002, the Company established a commitment of living up to the 2001 Annual Report front cover statement of not “…simply delivering ICT solutions”, but of “…partnering with our clients for the successful attainment of their goals”. In this regard, the Company’s communication strategy encompassed the projection of not directly publicising the attainments of MITTS Ltd, but publicly projecting the achievements of MITTS Ltd clients through the assistance of MITTS Ltd.
through which late in 2002, the Company started issuing a monthly e-zine named IT Catalyst, which apart from communicating the developments in MITTS Ltd and the ICT industry in general with Public Service users of MITTS Ltd, also featured client success stories of the past and the present.
In this regard, 2002 saw MITTS Ltd use two major mediums in order to project the clients’ accomplishments – firstly through the screening of features in local ICT themed television productions, where the Ministry of Education (Internet in Schools), the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (the Integrated Administration Control System), the Ministry for Gozo (Gozo Website) and the Ministry of Finance (Departmental Accounting System) were given full media exposure. Secondly, exposure was also given through the revamped MITTS Ltd website
2003 will see MITTS Ltd continue with these initiatives which are much more than being public relations exercises for MITTS Ltd and its business partners, but are aimed at creating a public awareness of all the efforts that are being made by the Public Service in its change programme. It is planned that MITTS Ltd will project the following Ministries and Departments on local television in 2003: >
Exams Department – Exams On-Line.
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Inland Revenue Department – Inland Revenue On-Line.
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Local Councils / OPM Customer Care System (CCS).
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Blood Bank – Blood System.
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Ministry of Health – Cardiac Investigation and Patient Record System (CIPR).
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Ministry of Justice and Local Government – m-Government, Legal Case Management (LECAM).
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Licensing Department – Vehicle Registration System (VERA), Driving Licences System (DLS).
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Reinforcing Business Partnership through the Use of State-of-the-Art Solutions
Our business partners in the Public Service continued moving on steadily and consistently with the Public Service Change Management programme with respect to capacity building and improved business processes in order to improve public services. In 2002, the Public Service also took off with great momentum in terms of re-inventing government in so far as complementing its public services by embracing the ‘e’ era and using alternative delivery channels in order to offer public services round the clock. MITTS Ltd role in 2002 was that of assisting its business partners realise its change initiatives by understanding their needs and applying state-of-the art solutions for the attainment of their goals.
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The extension of the ‘Sistema ghallAmministrazzjoni ta’ Beneficcji Socjali’ (SABS) to the Australian Embassy.
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Further enhancements to the Tax Compliance Unit (TCU) Data Warehouse in support to Government’s efforts to curb tax evasion.
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Further enhancements to the Departmental Accounting System (DAS) in order to control Government’s finances more effectively and get geared up to the upcoming introduction of the accrual accounting principles.
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The consolidation of the statistics programme for the National Statistics Office (NSO).
2002 saw a mix of new initiatives and a continuation of the 2001 programme. MITTS Ltd focused its efforts in both service and project deliveries and continued to reinforce the collaborative approach with its business partners. In particular, in 2002 one could witness the introduction of new or improved services offered by the Public Service that involved MITTS Ltd as a key player.
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The migration of VAT core applications onto a new technological platform and the beginning of new VAT system modules to facilitate information exchange.
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Driving on the Public Service Change Management Road Map The Public Service Change Management Programme encompasses a roadmap which is based on a continuous improvement concept. In essence, the end line keeps on moving ahead with the same pace of the advancements in the local, European and international socio-economic environment. The raison d’etre of MITTS Ltd is centred on continuously supporting Government’s efforts in its continuous programme of change. In 2002 MITTS Ltd continued to deliver solutions in synch with such efforts, where some of the major initiatives included:
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New IT suite of programmes for the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) focusing mainly on the automation of data collection from corporations, tax audits and the enhancements of core systems in line with the Ministry of Finance financial programme. Further rollout of Internet in schools and exploiting this service to the fullest by having such services available in the evening for e-Malta Commission’s ICT awareness programme. The ID cards renewal system.
real revolution occurred insofar as every word now starting with an ‘e’ or is this new dimension actually coming to fruition? The Maltese Government took on board the concept of e-Government with real determination and with a will to prove that it can re-invent itself and offer public services using more delivery channels. MITTS Ltd geared itself up in line with Government’s vision on e-Government and was thus ready to meet the challenge of supporting the eGovernment programme. In particular, following the launch of the ten flag bearers e-Government services in 2001, MITTS Ltd invested in an highly available, secure and scalable architecture that would facilitate e-services, namely the ‘e-Government Web Framework’ and was involved as a pivotal player in most of the e-Government initiatives. In particular, MITTS Ltd was involved in the: >
Launch of Electronic Payment Gateway.
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Development of the m-Government gateway that allows for the delivery of services through mobile telephony.
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Launch of m-Government services such as the Courts Deferrals Notification System.
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The go-live of e-Exams in October 2002 and the Registration of Evening Courses System.
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Development of the web interface for the Civil Case Management System.
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Work for the delivery of the e-Customer Care system.
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Enhancing of the VAT system to move towards e-VAT services such as on line submission of VAT declarations and online payments of VAT, where phase one will go live at the beginning of 2003.
Everything Starts with an ‘e’? For some years now, public fora have projected that the advent of the e-Business and e-Government will induce a paradigm shift – that of the e-paradigm. However, is this ‘e’ paradigm all hype, where the
The ‘e-Government Web Framework’ Supporting the e-Government initiative and providing Government with the eGovernment Superhighway means that MITTS Ltd needed to consolidate the platform and architecture that would facilitate on line electronic services, in readiness for the envisaged extensive roll-out and take-up of e-Government services. In 2002, MITTS Ltd invested heavily both in terms of technical expertise and the architecture. The Company thoroughly researched a number of leading edge technologies and investigated similar solutions adopted by large international organisations, in order to apply best practice to the Web Framework. In 2002, over Lm75,000 were invested to consolidate further the Web Framework, whilst further investment is planned for 2003.
Assisting the Implementation of the National Plan for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) Government’s policy initiative of attaining full membership within the European Union with the next enlargement, has in 2002 reached its culmination, with the implementation of the National Plan for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) in its final stages. In 2002, MITTS Ltd continued to assist the Public Service in its efforts to implement the NPAA according to plan. Stemming from the 2001 efforts, where MITTS Ltd worked very closely with appropriate Departments and Ministries in order to obtain the required derogations
for the utilisation of co-funded or directly assigned funds by the Commission, in 2002, MITTS Ltd gave its contribution in this regard, where the following projects were undertaken: >
Continued enhancements with respect to the EU reporting requirements in connection to the Departmental Accounting System (DAS), together with work on the Accrual Accounting Project.
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Technical consultancy with respect to the introduction of the Schengen Information Systems Project and the e-Customs Application Project.
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The Integrated and Administrative Control System (IACS) with respect to Agriculture.
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NSO related business applications projects.
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New VERA System.
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Information Security related initiatives, such as the widespread implementation of Secure Mail for key areas of the Public Service.
2003 will see continued work on the above, together with assistance to providing access to the European Council Networks.
Safeguarding Information – An Information Security Culture With Government becoming more and more dependent upon information and information technology to deliver its services, coupled with the importance and value of the information Government
manages, the need to ensure the integrity, availability and confidentiality of information has become of paramount importance. Securing information does not, however, preclude the access to information when, how and by whom it is required. To this effect MITTS Ltd has developed an Information Security and Risk Management service line in order to firstly create an awareness of the value of information, how it should be managed and shared, and secondly to ensure that whatever solution is offered by MITTS Ltd is done in accordance to information security requirements. In 2002, MITTS Ltd invested heavily both in terms of skills capacity and in terms of technology capacity in this new field. A fully equipped disaster recovery facility for a number of Government’s critical services, including Government’s corporate e-mail services, the Common Data Base (CdB) and DAS was set up towards the end of 2002, where the plans are that this facility will be extended in scope in 2003. Within MITTS Ltd, a Computer Emergency Response Team was set-up with the aim to issue security instructions and advise the Central Information Management Unit (CIMU) and users on preventive measures that should be taken. The Information Security programme undertaken in 2002 also focused on assisting CIMU with Government’s Security policies, also including the review of the anti-virus framework and the introduction of antispam filter on internet based incoming e-mail. During 2002 a number of presentations were delivered to the Public
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After working in North Italy for a number of years, Charelle joined the company in 1995 and as she herself explains “threw myself at IT without even knowing it”. Charelle is a qualified industrial chemist within production, operations and quality management, and exploited her knowledge of quality management applying it to IT where her first job with MITTS Ltd entailed Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Over the years MITTS Ltd provided Charelle with opportunities for advancement within the Company, where she managed the corporate performance monitoring function and lately moved into business development.
Charelle Abela Monaco Business Development Manager
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Charelle is appreciative of the opportunities MITTS Ltd has offered her “MITTS Ltd and the people within the company have always listened to my ideas and suggestions. This has always helped me to perform better. I have found people within the company who have acted as my mentors which have consequently helped me to self develop. The element of trust which MITTS Ltd shows to its employees is very evident. I can say this after having worked for a number of years with other companies and the difference is visible. Here at MITTS Ltd you do not have to be physically at work to work, I have often thought and developed a concept from home”.
Service top officials in an effort to raise Information Security awareness. In order to ensure that such a culture of securing information is embraced further, preliminary work was initiated in order for MITTS Ltd to obtain certification in the ISO Information Security Standard – ISO 17799.
Investing in a State-of-the Art ICT Framework Having a strong information and communication technologies framework has now become critical to Government not only insofar as its internal operations, but also with respect to the increased roll-out of further e-Government services to the public. Being the operator of both Government’s e-Superhighway and the Secure Government Infrastructure, MITTS Ltd recognised that it has to continue investing in its ICT framework, not only to keep the technology current, but also to have a state-of-the art solution that allows for a secure and reliable service provision to MITTS Ltd clients. In 2002, MITTS Ltd placed considerable effort on three fronts: >
A concerted effort to maintain and improve on the existing Malta Government Network (MAGNET).
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Initiation towards moving to a redesigned MAGNET, which is more robust, resilient and offers even higher levels of security.
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The facilitation of e-Government Services through a MITTS Ltd designed ICT architecture, known as the ‘e-Government Web Framework’ that is highly available, secure and scalable.
Apart from the investment in the electronic communications infrastructure and connectivity equipment, in 2002, MITTS Ltd initiated the process of moving towards a redesigned MAGNET. To this effect, in May 2002, MITTS Ltd issued a Request for Tender to the Telecom Transport Providers (TTP) to provide a technical solution, that in lay man terms would provide the ‘nuts and bolts’ of a redesigned MAGNET, whilst MITTS Ltd would retain the overall management and administration of the network. The local TTPs formed a consortium and submitted a joint bid where it is planned that negotiations and adjudication will take place in the first half of the 2003. Through this second generation MAGNET, which is being named MAGNET II, MITTS Ltd will be able to provide a network that is highly available, is secure and scalable to cater for future growth. It is being planned that should negotiations be concluded in a timely manner, the MAGNET II shall be operational by the end of Summer of 2004.
this. Both organisations and the public in general, increasingly are preferring to communicate with Government through electronic communications. The Maltese Public Service recognised this and has now over 12,000 e-mail accounts in the public service alone. MITTS Ltd, on the other hand, recognised the increasing criticality of electronic communications for the Public Service, and towards the end of 2002, overhauled the whole Internet e-mail infrastructure in order to cope with the increased volumes of e-mail traffic. In 2002 an average of 700,000 Internet e-mails were sent or received per month. The overhauled infrastructure now also provides for antivirus checks on all in-coming e-mails, where such checks are carried out at a central level prior to reaching the intended addressee, and has been also scaled to provide for antispamming measures.
Through MAGNET II, MITTS Ltd will have an ICT framework that will allow Government and MITTS Ltd to leverage new technologies and will consolidate the investment planning philosophy of the company that took off with great momentum in 2001 – that of pro-active investment in order to ensure that ‘the ICT framework will, at any point in time, meet the expectations of its client base’.
Faster Communication – Anytime, Anywhere at a Touch of a Button Instant communication is the rule of the day, and the take-up of Internet subscriptions and e-mail in Malta is a testimony of
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Alternative Public-Private Partnership Models?
It was recognised in 2001 that MITTS Ltd requires additional capacity in order to ensure that the far ranging and challenging programme of works of the Public Service can be fully accomplished. In this regard, MITTS Ltd created mechanisms whereby it could partner with the Private ICT Sector. The outsourcing mechanisms launched in 2001 proved to be beneficial to both MITTS Ltd and its clients, where the collaboration of the Private ICT Sector proved to be successful in most cases. Involvement of the local private sector ranged from desktop support to LAN installations, whilst the development of certain business applications were also done in partnership with the Private Sector. As part of MITTS Ltd strategy of focusing on Government’s sensitive and core areas, and allowing MITTS Ltd to focus its people on its business core activities, it is envisaged that the Private ICT Sector will continue to be involved by MITTS Ltd in order to allow it to complement its internal resource capacity. In fact, MITTS Ltd is viewing the Private ICT sector as being an extension of
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Government’s ICT resource capacity, and in so doing MITTS Ltd is actually embracing an alternative model of Public-Private Partnership. What is, however, a formal Public-Private Partnership is the management of the Swatar Training Centre (STC), where MITTS Ltd, the Office of the Prime Minister and Nucleus Ltd have in 2002 achieved positive results. The STC was appointed as a CISCO Networking Academy and a Microsoft Regional Academy. The latter two enriched the STC international certification portfolio that already included UK’s NCC Certification.
MITTS Ltd has a dedicated support team sited in Gozo which in essence caters for all IT requirements of Malta’s sister Island. The Gozo team is a clear demonstration that through teamwork, innovation is stimulated where the team was the first to roll out remote support using System Management Server (SMS) and where even the most difficult of situations can be tackled with success. The secret of the team’s success can be summed up as being based on self-initiative, team effort and team spirit. “…The team firmly believes that it is essential to provide the client with the best of service within the shortest time possible – and above
all communicate with the individual ensuring that the particular problem has been solved”. “…The team is innovative by reviewing past work performance and thinking of better ways to deliver more”. “…The team believes in delivering to the client in every way to ensure that the end result would be – another satisfied client”. Team members (left to right) Christopher Attard, Noel Zammit, Alan Cini, Charles Said - Technical Team Leader - and Charles Muscat.
The Gozo Support Team
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“MITTS Ltd provided me with challenges and opportunities that have enabled me to pursue my career expectations on an equal level with all other employees”. Priscilla will be celebrating her 9th year anniversary with MITTS Ltd in 2003. She joined MITTS Ltd as a Systems Analyst following the completion of a BSc in Computer Studies and Maths. Priscilla’s career development is remarkable, and believes that MITTS Ltd values people and facilitates individual growth without any discrimination.
Priscilla Bugeja Project Leader
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MITTS Ltd Annual Report 2002
“I see no reason why a female candidate should be discouraged from successfully participating in ITrelated employment. MITTS Ltd offers excellent opportunities for males and females alike, including exposure to the latest technology, continued professional development, family friendly work policies, and above all a place to be a team player in the largest IT company in Malta”.
The Information Society and Information Economy – New Work, New Workers, New Organisations? MITTS Ltd has in the past years taken to heart the emerging new rules of the Information Society and Economy, and has positioned itself to champion this in the local context. ‘The Information Economy - New Work, New Workers, New Organisations’ was the theme of the second bi-annual national conference organised by MITTS Ltd which was held in November 2002. The conference which attracted more than 200 delegates from the Public Service, the ICT industry and the business society, stemmed from three cardinal areas of the Information Economy being, the new way business is being conducted (new work), the new skills that are required (new workers) to meet current technology demands, and the new way work is being organised (new organisations). The conference included discussions related to empowering traders through ICTs, reshaping business through ICTs, the emerging role of Government in
No one would imagine that Kenneth being so young has already 12 years experience in ICT. Kenneth’s first work exposure was in 1991, when Kenneth joined the Company as a Technical Institute Trainee. Following completion of his traineeship, Kenneth joined the Company as a front liner on PC support. His 12 years stint helped to provide him with the necessary qualities which an IT professional requires – exposure to all facets of the IT world. His career progressed when he formed part of the main network group, which saw the actual birth of the MAGNET. Kenneth proudly affirms that “…the years I spent with MITTS Ltd have engraved in my character solid principles of pride in all I do”, where
the Information Age and the implications for Malta’s workforce. This national conference instigated debate on the subject at all levels, including the topical issue of the Digital Divide. Should new work, new workers and new organisations induce new rules, thus widening the digital divide instead of narrowing it? In its National role, MITTS Ltd is a strong supporter of narrowing this divide and has actively initiated initiatives in this regard. Apart from providing continuous support to the 2001 initiated social partnerships with the KNPD, FITA and the Industry to Academia Partnership, in 2002 MITTS Ltd included in its Communications Strategy a series of initiatives that attempt to tackle such an issue. An indication of such initiatives included the participation in eMalta Commission’s themed seminar on bridging the digital divide, a series of articles in MITTS Ltd e-zine (ITCatalyst) with the
inclusion of ICT educational articles and the continued support to the STC which offer basic ICT certification in collaboration with ETC. The theme of ‘New Work, New Workers and New Organisations’, also gave MITTS Ltd the drive to organise Public Service in-house ICT themed seminars on Data Protection in the Public Service and Information Security, whilst the first of a series of Public ICT discussion forums titled ‘Open Source Software: Fad or True Reality’ was held at the Chamber of Commerce in December 2002.
the culture of proaction rather than reaction conditioned his thinking in a positive way. The Company, which saw great potential in Kenneth, assisted him to obtain professional certification in Microsoft engineering, CISCO and ITIL Service Management. “MITTS Ltd gave me the opportunity to become what I am today and is still investing in my future through further training and education to further my career”. Kenneth’s next task is the configuration of the Network Management System which will allow MITTS Ltd to take further pro-active measures in the management of MAGNET and eventually MAGNET II.
Kenneth Attard Technical Services Officer
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Miriam just successfully completed a course in BSc Business and Computing. Her first interest in IT developed during her final year in the Secondary school, where Miriam realised that she could build a career in IT. Miriam learnt about MITTS Ltd during her years at University, where as Miriam says, “…at University MITTS Ltd has a reputation that it invests in its people for them to develop”. With the first opportunity to join MITTS Ltd, she applied and was selected as a Performance Monitoring Analyst in December 2002. In Miriam’s own
Miriam Azzopardi Performance Monitoring Analyst
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words “I feel that I work within a very welcoming team, who as a new recruit helped me integrate well within MITTS Ltd”. Miriam feels that MITTS Ltd offers its employees a lot of opportunities to progress in their careers and she sees herself building a career in IT at MITTS Ltd.
Nurturing a Culture of Learning and Knowledge Sharing
MITTS Ltd, being a knowledge based organisation, and having knowledge as one of its key and primary resources, acknowledged through its Human Resources Strategy that such a fertile resource needs to be cultivated and nurtured in order to ensure that the MITTS Ltd people, which after all, are the competitive edge of the Company, not only remain abreast with developments in the field of business and ICT, but are also given the opportunity to grow and grow further. The emphasis in 2002 was again placed on developing ICT and e-related skills further so as to ensure that MITTS Ltd has the skills capacity in readiness to deliver solutions that are required by its business partners and to be in readiness for the advent of a multi year programme of considerable magnitude in relation to e-Government. As a reinforcement of the 2001 Human Resource Development Strategy, the 2002 focus was again directed towards accredited courses. In particular, MITTS Ltd carried out major human resource development initiatives in Microsoft 2000 certification and advanced web development technologies (.net, HTML, XML, and JAVA). Moreover, in 2002, a strong basis was acquired in database administration and system development tools, whilst new initiatives naturally focused on the emerging importance of Data Protection and Information Security. With respect to data protection compliance, 50 people across departments received extensive training. More training was also directed towards other technical areas and towards management / soft skills such as service management (using the accredited ITIL course), and customer care. The Human Resource Development efforts reached the six days average per employee.
The 2002 Human Resources Strategy for MITTS Ltd was, however, far more encompassing. Knowledge sharing and a culture of learning were the two passwords for the access to the envisioned knowledge based system. Some of the major achievements in this respect included Teambuilding, the sealing of an agreement with the Estonian Informatics Centre, the revamping of the MITTS Ltd archives, the launch of the internal e-Newsletter (eXchanges) and the launch of a corporate intranet, which includes templates, latest news, sharing of MITTS Ltd published documents or presentations and company policies. The next evolution in the strategy of nurturing learning is the introduction of e-Learning in the first quarter of 2003, where in 2002 background work was carried out in order to plan for its roll-out to MITTS Ltd people.
Teambuilding – Next Round!
with the aim of the programme being that of having technical and professional people that originate from different departments have the opportunity to interact as teams in the context of fun but hard working sessions that instigate the culture of team working even further.
Overseas Attachments Over 2002, considerable work was carried out to provide the possibility to MITTS Ltd employees to gain exposure with similar organisations abroad and with clients. In particular, overseas assignments included support at Embassies and the Customs Project in Denmark, however, the major milestone was achieved in August 2002, with the agreement with the Estonian Informatics Centre which now allows for the exchange of employees between both organisations for knowledge transfer periods between three to four weeks. The first fact finding mission took place in November 2002.
The teambuilding programme launched in late 2000 and with its second phase carried out in 2001, saw the programme span across all management levels. The third phase that was rolled-out in 2002, however, went deeper and wider across the organisation where intra departmental teambuilding sessions were organised over a multitude of two-day sessions encompassing all MITTS Ltd people. The teambuilding sessions were aimed at enhancing teamwork also through the sharing of knowledge and experiences. The success of this phase encouraged MITTS Ltd to continue with its drive towards continuously enhancing teambuilding. The next stage, which is planned to commence in May 2003, will now move to the next evolutionary teambuilding stage – that of inter departmental teambuilding,
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The Future is Here!
MITTS Ltd over the years also invested in its strategic thinking process, and year after year is refining its strategic and business planning process in order to firstly identify where the challenges are, and secondly embrace these challenges by planning ahead. Change is constant, a cliché that, however, aptly describes the ICT world - as the reality is, that, as soon as you start planning for the years to come, you immediately realise that the future is here, and that an organisation such as MITTS Ltd has no other choice but to be in readiness today for tomorrow in terms of skills capacity, technology and methodologies to be applied.
Towards the ‘Double Click’ Era? Apart from the Public Service Change Management Programme, where MITTS Ltd will continue to support Government’s programme with the same dedication and drive, the e-Government programme will by far be one of the Public Service’s most challenging initiatives that MITTS Ltd will undertake in 2003. The direction is clear and the expectations of the Public are even more so – access to all possible Public Services at a touch of a button, at any time of the day or night, and from anywhere. The double click sound of the mouse or the cheerful ring tones of
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the mobile phones will start to take over the noisy queues which traditionally are the characteristics of certain public services. It is envisaged that in 2003, Government will proceed with a full programme of works in this regard and MITTS Ltd is expected to continue playing a key role on behalf of the Ministry responsible for e-Government in both e-Government and m-Government initiatives. Such key roles in both the Public Service Change Management Programme and in the e-Government programme will place considerable challenges for MITTS Ltd, where efforts have already been directed on three prongs: (i) continue investing in Government’s information superhighway (MAGNET II) and the Web Framework, in order to be in readiness for the demands that will be placed on the infrastructure from the Public Service, the Public Sector and the Public in general (including private enterprise); (ii) continue investing in people, in order to ensure that MITTS Ltd always has the competency to take up challenges; and (iii) improve service delivery by partnering with our clients and investing in improved client focused systems.
Mark joined MITTS Ltd in August 2000 after successfully completing a BSc in IT. Since the first day of his employment with MITTS Ltd, Mark was always involved in projects that gave him high exposure to new technologies and concepts such as the designing and deployment of an infrastructure to host e-Government Services and the launch of the Government portal. “MITTS Ltd takes care of every IT aspect in Government…this gave me a very wide exposure that I would not have gained by working elsewhere”.
Mark Captur Core Technologies Officer
Mark describes his experience of working within the ambit of e-Government as “…an environment which is always under pressure, but is always rewarding at the end of the day”.
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Further information about MITTS Ltd can be found on the company website at http://www.mitts.gov.mt A monthly e-newsletter, ITCatalyst, is available on the MITTS Ltd Website Any questions regarding MITTS Ltd business should be forwarded to mitts@gov.mt
Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda, HMR02 Malta
Tel: +356 21234710 Fax: +356 21234701 Email: mitts@gov.mt Web: www.mitts.gov.mt
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MITTS Ltd Annual Report 2002
Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda, HMR02 Malta Tel: +356 21234710 Fax: +356 21234701 Email: mitts@gov.mt Web: www.mitts.gov.mt
