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The Malta Independent | Thursday 28 May 2015
Architecting for the cloud with open standards
Noel Cuschieri
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he globalisation of services over the internet, also known as the cloud, has seen IT architects extend their design boundaries beyond their firewalls into the world wild web. Information technology is ‘deliberately‘ relinquishing some control to increase the ease and speed of deployment for all sorts of readymade ICT services, software and even entire solutions. And for those that want to build solutions from the ground up, there are also a variety of infrastructure platforms (such as Microsoft’s Azure, Amazon’s AWS, etc.) that allow IT departments to install and manage anything they need from the comfort of their web enabled device. This new way of doing IT is also reaching people on the street through their always connected mobile device and a vast App ecosystem. We are now used to have an App for everything, from
a flashlight to a word processor to a drum simulator. Everything you can imagine has probably already been made or is being packaged into an App. Now imagine if you could get those existing services and connect them at will to create new creative opportunities like you would with toy blocks. Social networks and other services that know some aspects about you (with your consent), already provide the ability for other systems to reuse your data. For instance you can use your Facebook or Google account to login in other Apps or websites that support it, avoiding the complexity of managing a login for each additional system. Even before Apps came along, the web of
HTML pages meant that there was the freedom to link web resources without any restriction. This was mainly possible because HTML is an open standard, meaning that nobody can claim royalties on its use and that the specification of how it can be developed can be seen by anyone; it was basically engineered to be usable by multiple parties that wanted to work together. The main difference nowadays is that to link two systems, we need to ensure they can and want to talk to each other. So what can we do to build IT systems on top of existing yet distinct cloud services? The easy answer is to look for cloud services that are interoperable by design and that can easily be replaced should the need
arises. In reality this sort of evaluation is not so trivial. So the next best thing is to share some lessons learnt. First and foremost, it is always advisable to know what you want and why you want it, before jumping into the details of the when, where and how. Secondly, remember to keep track of each service you procure and how it relates or depends on other services it uses (and not just IT). These first two points are meant to instigate awareness of the services you employ or want to procure. Ideally try to sketch a diagram illustrating the big picture to have a better idea of what your IT ecosystem could look like; try to focus on the relationship between functional constituents rather than the detail of each component. Start with what you really need and introduce features as you gain traction; Rome wasn’t built in a day so take your time. So what about cost? A big chunk of the equation is the total cost of ownership for each service or solution that we acquire. The price, whether it is a recurring subscription or a onetime cost, is only one of the cost factors. Something which is often ignored is the cost you will eventually have to pay to migrate or replace the service. Our advice is to lump that cost with the purchase of the original service and to look for solutions which adopt open standards that are recognized and implemented by the
Roderick Spiteri
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature industry. Usually, those organisations that implement open standards employ business models that compete with other vendors by offering superior features; try to avoid those services that make things easier just to lock you in their service. You can also consider trying things out yourself before going to the market, but that will depend on the skills you have in-house or the specialty of the service required. Lastly and if you do nothing else, look out for case studies and speak to people that have tried to do what you are trying to do and ask them about their experience; chances are you are not the first to do it. Noel Cuschieri is an Enterprise Architect, Technology Direction and eGovernment Department at MITA
Free Office 365 to all teachers
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ollowing the resounding success of the Student Advantage scheme, Government in alliance with the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and Microsoft Malta has announced that educators are able to access the same Office 365 ProPlus benefit as their students through Teacher Advantage. This €1.2 million investment was unveiled earlier today by Hon Evarist Barolo, Minister for Education and Employment and Hon José Herrera, Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth. Mr Tony Sultana, MITA Executive Chairman, said that this extension is possible through the agreement that Government has with Microsoft. Those eligible are teaching grades of all State Schools, Church schools, Independent schools, MCAST, Higher Secondary and Gozo Sixth Form. In total there are over 12,000 educators in Malta and Gozo eligible for this offer. Mr Ruben Caruana, Enterprise Partner Group (EPG) Lead for Microsoft Malta, explained that similar to the Student Advantage, this scheme is open to all educational institutions worldwide that license Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for staff and faculty members. Extending the Office 365 ProPlus benefit to educators ensures that teaching grades are using the
latest versions of Office and the same feature set as their students. They will also be able to use familiar applications such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel anywhere, anytime and across virtually any device (PC, Mac, Windows, Android, iOS). It will allow them to install full Office on up to five PCs or Macs and unlock the editing capabilities of the Office apps for tablets and smartphones. It also gives them access to all their Office documents both at school and at home. With Office 365 ProPlus teachers can take advantage of several Office apps and addins like Office Mix to record and publish class lectures. Moreover, all eligible participants are allowed to sync up to five different devices - PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Educators also get 1TB of free on-
line space though OneDrive. This package is valued at €99 per educator per year. Mr Marco Bonnici, MUT Senior Vice President said that the MUT welcomes this initiative as educators need to be equipped with the latest technologies to continue to provide the best educational experience to students. “It is important that the Government is extending this scheme to various teaching grades in all three educational sectors to enable educators to keep abreast with technologies which are already used by students”. Mr Bonnici added that the MUT augurs that this investment in educators is complemented by investment in hardware and in the continuous upgrading of infrastructures. Hon Herrera said that the Student Advantage scheme was a re-
sounding success. More than 40,000 students were eligible and data shows that between them they downloaded the Office 365 suite more than 72,000 times. “ICT is one of the main drivers of our economy and thus schemes like these give us the opportunity to extend the benefits that we can garner from ICT to people who on a daily basis educate our children,” added Hon Herrera. Hon Bartolo said that through this scheme, with a total investment of €1.2 million, more than 12,000 educators are set to benefit. “Together with MITA and Microsoft my Ministry made sure that this scheme is open for all compulsory level schools in Malta and Gozo – irrespective on whether they are run by the state, church or independently. We need to equip our educators with the latest tools available. They are the ones who shape our future generation,” said Hon Bartolo, emphasising that the work of ed-
ucators and influence ripples beyond the classroom. Hon Bartolo also thanked the Malta Union of Teachers for their input in the discussions and plans of this scheme. Registration is simple. Eligible participants from state schools should have received an email on their academic mailbox with information and a unique verification code. They have till 16th June 2015 to visit mita.gov.mt/teacheradvantage and register with their unique verification code. By the end of June 2015, they will receive another e-mail with information on how to activate and start using their free Office 365 suite. Educators from Church Schools and Independent Schools are advised to check with their school representatives on how to activate their software For more information visit mita.gov.mt/teacheradvantage
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The Malta Independent | Thursday 28 May 2015
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
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he way we use software is changing – an increasing amount of software and applications that we use all the time are not even installed on our computers, tablets or smartphones. Today we look at cloud computing and how organisation can implement solutions whilst keeping in mind the
concept of open standards. Following last year’s success of the Student Advantage Programme, Government has announced the Teacher Advantage Programme. This programme will see educators benefiting from €1.2 million worth of free Microsoft Office 365 suite. The stakeholders involved in the process are the Ministry for Ed-
ucation and Employment, MITA, MUT and Microsoft Malta. In a recent study 70% of drivers have admitted that they have glanced at their phone while driving. We used to think that if we saw a fellow driver looking at their phone, it’s because they are texting someone. The study shows that texting is just one of
the ac-
tivities that people do with their phone whilst driving. All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
70% of drivers use their mobile phone. This is what they get up to…
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hen you see the driver next to you looking at their phone, it’s no longer safe to assume they’re texting or sending an SMS. New research from AT&T shows that nearly 4in-10 smartphone users tap into social media while driving. Almost 3-in-10 surf the net. And surprisingly, 1-in-10 video chat. 7-in-10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving. Texting and emailing are still the most prevalent. But other smartphone activity use behind the wheel is now common. Among social platforms, Facebook tops the list, with more than a quarter of those polled using the app while driving. About 1-in-7 said they’re on Twitter behind the wheel. AT&T will expand the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign from a focus on texting while driving to include other smartphone driving distractions that have emerged as our relationships with our devices have changed. “When we launched It Can Wait five years ago, we pleaded with people to realise that no text is worth a life,” said Lori Lee, AT&T’s global marketing officer. “The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are
doing while driving. For the sake of you and those around you, please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone.” Smartphone activities people say they do while driving include text (61%), email (33%), surf the net (28%), Facebook (27%), snap a selfie/photo (17%), Twitter (14%), Instagram (14%), shoot a video (12%), snapchat (11%), video chat (10%). Other unsettling findings include:
• 62% keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving. • 30% of people who post to Twitter while driving do it “all the time.” • 22% who access social networks while driving cite addiction as a reason. • Of those who shoot videos behind the wheel, 27% think they can do it safely while driving. The survey findings will be used to help drive awareness of the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel, and to encourage life-saving behaviour change. AT&T will collaborate with social platforms to share the message, and will launch a virtual reality tour to help people understand that it’s not possible to drive safely while using a smartphone. Twitter will collaborate with AT&T to share messages on their platform about the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel. Samsung, Bose and Google will support the immersive tour experience, which will be delivered through Samsung Gear VR, with sound from Bose headphones. Google Cardboard will make it possible for people to use their own smartphones to see the 3D virtual reality program. Visit www.ItCanWait.com to learn more