Microsoft Innovation Centre in Malta to focus on cloud computing for industry

“It was interesting to see that Malta’s growth in graduation rates over the last five years was the highest amongst the 27 countries,” she said. “We also had the second highest growth performance for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications per billion GDP and we also came second highest in Community Trademarks per billion GDP. Furthermore, Malta also scored highest in Growth Performance for SMEs introducing product or process innovations as a percentage of SMEs. Malta also ranked as the 51st most competitive economy out of the 142 countries studied.”

The event was addressed by Infrastructure, Transport and Communications Minister Austin Gatt, who referred to the Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) that was announced last year by Microsoft Malta as part of an agreement signed with the government and which will involve an investment of €3 million in its setting up. He said: “The MIC has to be a collaboration between Microsoft and the local ICT community and while the government has to be an enabler, the success of this new venture depends a lot on the private sector. Government’s priority has always been the creation of jobs but – more importantly – that of investing in education. Everyone is aware that the ICT market is extremely competitive and we will only strive in a competing world if we can compete globally. This is the reason why the MIC will be targeting cloud computing which we consider is going to be the most important development in ICT for the future years, a sector that is set to grow. The MIC will also be assisting start-ups in ICT business world.”

“We’ve come a long way since the first collaboration between Microsoft and the government in 2000. This collaboration has been a success story for the government but, more importantly, we see how Microsoft has been a success story for Malta,” Dr Gatt added.

Ms Zammit later observed how: “Cloud Computing influences competitiveness, effectiveness and the quality of services provided by both private business and the state sector. The cloud not only makes life easier for the IT departments at organisations but it also translates to estimable growth in GDP and employment. Indeed cloud computing improves the competitiveness of businesses, it reduces their operating costs and allows fast, flexible reactions to dynamic changes in the business environment. Companies able to adapt to changing business conditions in a short time will always be better off than their competitors who can’t.

“Companies basing their operations on the traditional IT resource utilisation model may find themselves in a situation where they do not respond quickly enough to changes, which could result in the loss of new – possibly even existing – customers, and revenue. One ways of limiting the negative effects is to change the IT resource management model to cloud computing. Studies conducted in both Poland and Greece show that a user migrating IT resources to the cloud will get concrete economic returns even after a short time. Furthermore businesses striving to be innovative and interested in dynamic growth will not be able to achieve such goals without the use of new technologies, or might achieve them but much later than their competitors.

“The cloud is making a real difference to businesses today: powering productivity, cutting costs and freeing up IT staff to focus on more mission-critical work. But it’s also helping to restore economic health all over the world. In fact, a new research study conducted by IDC and recently released by Microsoft shows that by the end of 2015, nearly 14 million new jobs worldwide will be created as a result of cloud computing.”

The event was also addressed by Edward Portelli, recently appointed Microsoft Malta’s Business Development Manager with the special task of overseeing and implementing the setting up of Malta’s first MIC.

“Microsoft Innovation Centres are state-of-the-art technology facilities that foster active collaboration on innovative research, technology and software solutions, involving a combination of government, academia and industry participants. There are now more than 110 MICs in over 40 countries worldwide that have so far reached 1.1 million students and ICT professionals in the past three years. In Malta, The MIC – open to students, professional software developers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and academic researchers – will be an opportunity for them to come together, share ideas and projects and turn them into innovative realities,” he explained.

“Whilst each Centre tunes its programmes to the specific market needs of its location, they all provide similar content and services designed to accelerate technology advances and stimulate local software economies through skills and professional training, industry partnerships and innovation. In Malta, our target is to have 1,000 people trained in the latest technology and business skills and 150 new jobs created, as well as 50 start-ups incubated.

“The MIC will be a physical centre offering a series of packages to support companies in their first years of operation such as software, use of hardware, office space and desks, use of meeting rooms and demonstration and prototyping labs and company phone and internet connection, as well as business consulting and mentoring. In the next few months, the site of the Centre will be announced and by summer, the first start-ups will start being hosted and prepared for the incubation process. Our MIC will be providing unprecedented opportunities for ICT students, professionals, start-ups and software houses, among others,” Mr Portelli concluded.