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The Malta Independent | Thursday 9 July 2015
MITA celebrates its 25th anniversary Roderick Spiteri
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ast Friday MITA celebrated its 25th anniversary with an event for all employees at the Verdala Palace. The event served to look back at some of the most important milestones and successes of the past quarter of a century – collectively these have shaped MITA into what it is today. MITA saw its inception in 1990 as the Management Systems Unit (MSU) to serve as a catalyst for
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature
accessible for them. For this occasion, MITA’s Executive Chairman, Tony Sultana looked back at the Agency’s history and explained how MITA changed its core operations throughout the years. Mr Sultana said “MITA is not just a workplace for various employees - it is also a place from where, with determination, employees gave a part of their lives to provide a service to Government and citizens.” He also said that “the
changes that took place, and those that are still to come, give us courage to continuously strengthen the Agency to succeed in its future.” In his address, Hon Josè Herrera, Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth, thanked all the employees who contributed in the past and current successes of MITA, MITTS and MSU. Hon Herrera said “thanks to you and your professionalism, we can continue to develop and look at new horizons. MITA is assisting in the strengthening of operations within the public service as well as to further the range of services offered by Government to citizens and business with the aim of reducing bureaucracy.“ Hon Chris Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, made a reference to innovation and described it “as the key for further research to find new and innovative solutions for Government, individuals and businesses that are already using technology to at-
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
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ITA is celebrating 25 years of operations since its inception in 1990. Throughout the past quarter of a century, the Agency has been instrumental for some of the major reforms through technology in the pub-
lic sector. The Agency still delivers programmes and initiatives focused on digital excellence on a nationwide level. To learn more of MITA’s past and its major milestones, visit www.mita.gov.mt/25years When you hear your smart phone’s ring tone that you’ve
got mail – do you check it immediately or are you able to resist? How long do you take to reply to a work email? And how long do you expect a reply whenever you send an email? A new study about email habits is able to answer these and other questions.
All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
You’ve got mail! tract more customers.” Minister Cardona concluded by saying that “Effective information systems and solutions lead to a stronger economy which in return lead to further investments and the strengthening of the local small businesses community.”
change in achieving reform in the public sector. In 1997, MSU transitioned into the Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited (MITTS) with the role of focusing its core business on information technology by providing cost effective and integrated information systems to Government. MITTS became MITA in 2009 and transformed its operations from delivering IT and training services to the public sector to an Agency focused on digital excellence on a nationwide level. This event was presided by H. E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, The President of Malta, who pointed out that, “when we discuss technology it is important not to forget anyone. When used and applied correctly, technology can provide a lot of benefits. It’s important that as a society we strive so that these benefits are enjoyed by everyone.” The President added that we therefore need to provide help and incentives for vulnarable families and individuals and make ICT more
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The Malta Independent | Thursday 9 July 2015
spam. In second place, 27% of those surveyed pointed to the habit some email senders have of unnecessarily CCing vast numbers of people, which creates high-volume ‘Reply All’ loops of unhelpful and difficult-tonavigate email traffic. The independent study was conducted for GFI Software by Opinion Matters, surveying 500 US workers from companies with up to 500 employees.
For more information on MITA’s 25th Anniversary visit www.mita.gov.mt/25years. Amongst other related material you will find a commemorative booklet and a video highlighting some of the milestones of the past 25 years.
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ork email is encroaching into the personal lives and free time of employees more than ever. 58% of people admit to checking work email at least once a day in their personal time, while 39% admit checking multiple times a day or in real-time through pre-work mornings, evenings, weekends and days off. Furthermore, 39% regularly check their work email after 11pm. These were some of the findings of GFI’s most recent annual independent study into email user habits. Following on from the findings of GFI’s inaugural 2013 study and the company’s 2014 follow-up research, this year’s survey examined how employees interact with email and the main obstacles to effective workplace email use. The biggest hindrance to their everyday email use, according to 37% of those surveyed:
Key findings from the survey include: • Monitoring of work email outside of work hours is inescapable, with 74% of those surveyed regularly checking their work email at weekends • A further 54% admit to checking work email while on vacation • One quarter (25%) feel compelled to reply to work emails within 15 minutes of receipt of an email • In total, 67% of respondents reply to work emails in under one hour, while over 6% take more than a week to reply • Down five percent from 2014, the survey found that 25% of workers surveyed use their work email account for personal activities. The drop suggests increased concern over company monitoring of workplace email and Internet use • Over 36% of work email users surveyed do nothing to organise their email, including archiving, leaving all incoming mail in their Inbox • Just under 13% have had an argument at home due to them checking work email during family time. While most of those replying to email are motivated to do so quickly, those receiving email do not expect such a fast response. Only 11% of those surveyed expect a reply inside 15 minutes, while only 53% expect a reply in one hour or less, far lower than those actually responding in that time. “Setting and maintaining realistic boundaries between work and personal life is important to health, happiness and productivity. This balance is becoming harder than ever to accomplish due to the growth of tablets,
smartphones, and now even smart watches and in-car communications – all of which keep people wired into work even after they go home of an evening,” said Sergio Galindo, general manager of GFI Software. “Companies can and should do more to address this and help staff achieve a sustainable worklife balance. Companies need to put tougher measures in place to tackle spam and malware, and to make archiving easier for people. They also need to set clear policies on acceptable use of work email, as well as regarding when to switch off. Employees need to know it is OK to let everyday work email that arrived after hours wait until the morning and that it is important to prioritise family time and relaxation,” Galindo added. Social occasions are not safe from email erosion The survey revealed a substantial level of work leaking into personal and family occasions. For example: • Nearly eight percent have gone through work email while attending an event at their child’s school • More than six percent have checked email during a wedding • Four percent have actively checked email while either they or their partner was in labour • …and three percent have checked email during a funeral Email still the dominant communications method For the third year running, survey respondents were asked to rank four business communications methods in order of preference. Email remains the most popular communications method, preferred by 39% of those surveyed, although this is down eight percent on last year and down four percent on 2013. Face-to-face meetings come second at 29%, up seven percent on 2014 and 2013. Meanwhile, the telephone (both fixed line and mobile) is still the third most popular form of business communications, holding steady at 24% for the second year running, but down four percent on 2013. Instant messaging is still an unpopular fourth, preferred by just
under eight percent of the survey group. “Despite the seeming challenges and inconveniences of work email, people continue to view it positively, with 84% of
those surveyed rating email a blessing rather than a curse. It is proof that email continues to be a technology people find convenient and effective both at work and at home,” Galindo added.