Annual Report 20014

Annual Report 2004

Table of Contents 2

Chairman’s Statement

5

Experience and Evolution

6

Investing in People

9

Valuing Intellectual Capital

10

Strengthening and Innovating Internal Capabilities

15

Focusing on Core Business Areas and Government's Strategic Programme

21

MITTS Ltd: Focusing on Core Business

23

All Set for the Future

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Chairman’s Statement David Spiteri Gingell

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The focus in 2004 was directed primarily towards five thrusts: (i) incrementally moving towards the core business focus of management of the infrastructure; management of designated strategic applications; management of projects, change and implementation; and management of information security; (ii) the delivery of work that is of a high quality and that meets our clients’ expectations; (iii) the rationalisation of costs and overheads; (iv) the continued upgrading of the ICT infrastructure environment; and (v) the continued investment in knowledge and skills.

consultancy in the reform of Bermuda’s tax process.

To a large extent, MITTS Ltd has been successful on most of these thrusts. In terms of the core business realignment MITTS Ltd in 2004 completed the reform of its internal cost structures by eliminating cross-subsidisation amongst various services offered. The ability to place the true cost against each of the services provided, now allows MITTS Ltd to assume a more aggressive pace in the divestment of services designated as non core. In 2004 a tender was in fact issued for the sub-contracting of PC support of a population of 3,000 desktops and related peripherals – approximately 50% of the population of PCs in the Public Service for which MITTS Ltd is responsible for.

In order to improve the quality of work delivered by MITTS Ltd and meet the service expectations of our clients, MITTS Ltd over the past years worked hard to introduce international disciplines that would enable it to strive and audit itself against international standards. The Company in 2004 attained full ISO 9001:2000 certification for all of its departments and processes – the last to be accredited being the afore mentioned Department of Information Security and Risk Management. PRINCE II is introduced as the Company’s project management methodology. In 2004 we intensified our work related to the introduction of the ITIL Service Management methodology.

In tandem with the above, MITTS Ltd, unless otherwise directly instructed by the Government, did not participate in small application development and front end interfaces for e-government services – rather, changing its role towards that of a contract manager or systems integrator. Furthermore, in terms of 2nd generation strategic applications such as the Human Resources Information System and the Departmental Accounting System, MITTS Ltd role was transformed to one of business process change and functional analysis as against that of be-spoke developer. It is pertinent to mention that in 2004, MITTS Ltd was successful in two international tenders issued by the Government of Bermuda – the first for training in IS planning and budgeting, and the second for business and functional analysis

It is pertinent to underline that in spite of the efforts and investment to upgrade our abilities to perform excellently in terms of quality and service provision failures do at times occur. In order to ensure that failures when they occur are experiences from which lessons must be learnt and which should act as a spur for further improvements, an Office of Internal Audit was constituted reporting to a Board Audit Committee under the stewardship of the Deputy Chairman of MITTS Ltd.

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I cannot not mention that in 2004, the relatively young (created in January 2002) Department of Information Security and Risk Management earned its mettle. Working together with the Cabinet Office and the Infosec Authority the Department was instrumental in the attainment of the appropriate EU accreditation for the management of EU Classified Information and for the setting up of the EUGovernment Communications Centre.

MITTS Ltd has for the past five years adopted the strategic philosophy that the sustainability of the Company is ultimately dependent on its ability to manage its structured costs. Over the past year various measures have been

board members david spiteri gingell (chairman), dr.godwin grima, claudio grech, john aquilina, joanne genovese

introduced to maintain the pressure for cost reduction – with measures ranging from the review of human resources practices to the introduction of appropriate tools and software to increase productivity. Moreover, a tough stance towards resourcing has seen the Company’s complement since 2002 fall by 6% and the wage bill by 3% despite the yearly cost of living increases. Moreover, it is pertinent to add that despite inflationary pressures all the Company’s administrative overheads decreased by 30% from 2002 to 2004.

As the entity responsible for ICT for the Government of Malta, MITTS Ltd has a responsibility to ensure that it provides the Government with a stable ICT environment and one that is continuously evolving in view of changing needs and new technologies. 2004 saw MITTS Ltd, together with a private sector consortium constituting of Maltacom plc and Melita Cable plc, embark upon an ambitious and complex ICT project costing Lm3 million over a 12 year period – the decommissioning of the Malta Government Network (MAGNET) and its replacement: MAGNET II. It should be noted that unlike its predecessor, MAGNET II was in its entirety designed, implemented and commissioned

by Maltese ICT professionals. MAGNET II is definitely a strong representation of how far Malta has evolved in terms of skills and experience in ICT since the heady days of the early 1990s.

Further investment was carried out by MITTS Ltd in the introduction of automated tools to improve service delivery as well as its capacity to act pro-actively. With regards to the former, MITTS Ltd introduced a service management suite of tools that will allow it to handle incidents, problems and other service areas far more efficiently and transparently.

In terms of the latter MITTS Ltd continued with the implementation of its network management suite of tools thereby

strengthening its capacity to provide 24 by 7 pro-active monitoring of the complex ICT infrastructure for which it is responsible.

MITTS Ltd is ultimately a knowledge based organisation.

The Company is only as strong and as successful as the intellectual capital, skills and abilities resident in its staff – both collectively and individually. The challenge of maintaining a high skill level in the ICT environment is not to be underestimated: ICT is fast evolving, technologies changing virtually overnight placing considerable pressure on any ICT organisation to ensure that both it and its staff are not rendered irrelevant as it fails to re-shape and reskill itself. MITTS Ltd places considerable importance on this aspect and aggressively seeks to ensure that its staff are exposed to new technologies and that training is an inherent part of the Company’s strategic business goal, as well as inculcated within its culture. In 2004, in order to increase its facilities and options in this regard, MITTS Ltd introduced an e-Learning Centre – initially directed towards soft skills, but incrementally being broadened to encompass technical skills as well – currently covering CISCO, ITIL and Microsoft.

On the whole, I believe that 2004 was a successful year for MITTS Ltd. This is the merit of the outgoing Chairman and Board of Directors, of management, and of staff. I believe that MITTS Ltd has what it takes, in so far that it remains a learning organisation and maintains aggression and hunger for high quality and excellent service delivery, to meet the policy goals set for it by Government.

David Spiteri Gingell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

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The qualities, attributes and experiences that the company has added to its identity throughout these years, has given it an emotional intelligence that transcends mere expertise and know-how.

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Experience and Evolution Going beyond mere expertise and know-how

MITTS Ltd has over its fourteen years of history epitomised change. Conceived originally as an integrated business solutions agency catalysing the Public Service Reform initiative launched in the late 80s, its initial brief had been holistic. At the time, Information Technology was simply one of the main remits of the organisation along with institutional reform. Eventually, as environmental conditions and national priorities evolved, MITTS Ltd narrowed its mission to a more technical role as Government’s ICT provider for the Public Service. Under these circumstances the company has learnt that change and its ability to manage change are key to its success. Not only. In its evolution from an operations-based, reactive and technology-driven concern, to a more dynamic, business-driven and knowledge-based enterprise, it has recognised that the underlying driving force for this high degree of adaptability is its human element: the capacity of its employees to accept change as a vehicle for ongoing improvement and selfdevelopment in today’s rapidly changing and dynamic ICT environment.

An Aptitude for Relationship Building The qualities, attributes and experiences that the company has added to its identity throughout these years, has given it an emotional intelligence that transcends mere expertise and know-how. MITTS Ltd has participated in projects and conducted operations in circumstances that were at times difficult, unprecedented and for these reasons challenging.

In the process it has interacted with people, built relationships with them and made a name for itself by striving to provide quality services. It is precisely in these human interactions that MITTS Ltd excels. Building credible relationships is not done overnight. It is a process that takes years, often involving an institutional sensitivity to the environment that is not easy to achieve without partnership, teamwork, vigilance, continuous improvement and self-adjustment.

The human experience that results from this continuous process of change and evolution, is probably the unique attribute that has over the years given MITTS Ltd the necessary self-confidence to take on first-time challenges outright, and eventually rise to the occasion. 2004 has been a year that is very representative of this confidence factor enjoyed by the company. Building on the major organisational and technological improvements of the previous two years, 2004 has been primarily a year of institutional and technological consolidation that has found the company very well prepared for the unique challenges it has taken on.

A Cultural Transformation Remarkably, 2004 has been a year that saw a strengthening of the cultural transformation of MITTS Ltd. At the heart of this transformation is the internalisation of the five company Values: people, empowerment, professionalism, client focus and continuous improvement. The transformation process has strengthened, as the concept of Values has now matured to a point which predisposes employees for newer and better ways of doing things. The year, in fact, saw a number of challenging internal reform initiatives that immediately put to the test the new mindset.

The initiatives themselves were aimed at changing traditional business practices by leveraging technology to increase the Company’s ability to be far more responsive and pro-active, thereby improving service to customers. Foremost among these were the implementation of a new Service Management System and a number of ancillary, but no less fundamental initiatives, such as the launch of the Client Portal and the implementation of the Network Management System. The experience gained by staff driving and carrying forward these changes has been immeasurable, injecting confidence in the Company’s ability to continue with the transformation.

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Investing in People

MITTS Ltd invests strategically in its training budget as it believes that its capacity to effectively deliver can only be as good as its intellectual capital

The drive to manage by Values began in 2002 when the five core company Values were conceived through an active process of employee participation. While the Values launched and actively promoted in 2003, throughout 2004 MITTS Ltd intensified the drive to instil these Values in its people’s hearts and minds at all levels, from the Board of Directors down to students attached to the organisation. Stylised representations of the five core Values were displayed in conspicuous and strategic points of the premises. Internal HR processes such as performance appraisals and policies were aligned with the Value system. The Values have since even been adopted as criteria for the selection of the annual MITTS Ltd awards scheme. Teambuilding events too were organised to revolve round the five core Values.

Empowering Middle Managers Seeking to empower middle managers and uplift their skills to a level that is consistent across the company, the Management Development Programme (MDP) that was begun in 2003, was on the following year re-evaluated and reinforced. From the foundation phase of a classroombased academic model, it was taken to the next level: a master-classes model where a number of topics were identified, and individual speakers were invited to deliver sessions on designated core modules relating the ensuing discussion to the everyday realities of the organisation. This new model proved successful and has borne its first fruits in this year’s performance appraisals.

Training with a Higher Return on Investment Training is one of the main instruments used by the company to ensure that its workforce is continuously skilled, professional and freshened up on all the latest technologies and methodologies so that the best possible solutions are delivered to its clients. MITTS Ltd invests strategically in its training budget as it believes that its capacity to effectively deliver can only be as good as its intellectual capital. Annual training needs analyses are conducted to ensure that training

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is targeted and tuned to the specific needs of the company, as well as to account for emerging technological innovations.

Seeking to attain a higher return on investment and maximise training delivered in proportion to cost, in 2004 the company explored new and creative ways of using training delivery media. It adopted a blended learning approach whereby trainees attending an e-learning course, were also invited to actively participate in follow-up seminars where the tutor would consolidate the learning provided and answer any questions relevant to the subject matter.

Other successful measures involved staff wishing to obtain certification in ICT topics related to their position within the company. The company encourages employees to follow training in their own time, eventually obtaining their refunds after successful completion of their examination.

By adopting these lateral thinking approaches the company succeeded in increasing the number of employees trained, while at the same time allowing for a tangible reduction in costs and time required for training delivery.

Major training delivered comprised ITIL Foundation (elearning), CiscoWorks, CISCO Networking, Microsoft Momentum 2004, MS Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and MS Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure to account for areas related to ICT service management. Courses in MS.NET Capabilities and Developer Skills Builder for MS.NET specificically addressed training needs in software development. Specific courses in Computer Auditing, ISO 17799 Information Security Management System and E-Policy Orchestrator training were tailored to address skills in the area of security and management. A number of employees also attended a Task Force - Computer Security Incident Response Team seminar to reinforce computer emergency response capabilities. In all, these training initiatives were delivered to a total of 190 employees.

Furthermore, a large number of people across the company were trained on the new Service Management System, as well as on the Network Node Manager tool. An average of 7.5 training days annually per employee (excluding on-thejob training) was delivered throughout the year.

Getting a Feel of the Climate In June 2004 MITTS Ltd invested in a Climate Survey which was administered across all Departments. The outcome was a snapshot of the mood of the employees in general, their rating of the company, and whether they lived by the five core Values of the company. The instrument used measured seven global factors of corporate climate: equity, leadership, standards, professionalism, teamwork, work and involvement. These global factors were broken down further into 22 sub-scales.

At a corporate level, the results showed that the scores obtained on each of the seven global factors tend to fall in the middle range of the scale or higher with only one or two areas requiring some improvement. But fairly good ratings were achieved on most others. For example, four in five employees claimed that they were satisfied with their work, and 79% felt empowered to take decisions. Three out of four believed the physical working environment was good. Significantly, 73% of respondents felt they received support from the company when they needed it, and 85% thought they had sufficient variety in their job. 2005 will see efforts focused on improving the identified areas that require strengthening.

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We believe that in today’s rapidly evolving and highly competitive business environment, intellectual capital is the real engine of growth and innovation

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Valuing Intellectual Capital People transform information after going through a long process of learning and understanding. Because much of that knowledge is so personal, it becomes difficult to capture, organise, access and re-use. The challenge of the future is to research innovative ways to contain the knowledge drain that is typically the result of natural staff turnover, latency or employee mobility.

MITTS Ltd recognises the value of its people and the value of the knowledge they give to the enterprise. Its employees carry their own professional capital and experience which they have gained both within the company and without.

It therefore understands the need to preserve this knowledge and provide an environment that is conducive to its dissemination. After all, the company itself represents the embodiment of its employees’ individual experiences. Any new skills and competences gained by an employee automatically become part of the organisation’s institutional identity and knowledge pool. MITTS Ltd believes that this knowledge pool represents its intellectual capital - nothing less than the organisation’s collective knowledge, experience, skills, competences and the ability to acquire more of them.

Because the company believes there is an intrinsic value in knowledge management and that it is a valuable asset for further growth, it has achieved the first of a series of important milestones aimed to develop this concept.

A Cultural Transformation In April 2004 the first phase of the MITTS Ltd portal was launched. Far from being a mere revamp of its website and intranet, it is a customisable credentials-based portal where relevant information can all be found in one place. Visitors to the portal are recognised upon log-in and given personalised access to the Employee Portal, Client Portal and soon the Supplier Portal. Placing special emphasis on communication, collaboration and personalisation, the Employee Portal offers myriads of services such as articles, reports, news, updates on internal initiatives, corporate communications, access to the Quality Management System, policies, templates, documents, software tools, links, even a To Do list and a projects status dashboard. Undoubtedly the most distinct feature of the portal is the centrality of access and customisability of certain information resources.

From the portal, an employee can gain direct access to email, calendaring, time recording, and the most frequently used documents.

But apart from the tangible benefits of the services available on the Employee Portal, it is the cultural transformation that was undertaken that is the real success of this initiative.

Corporate communications sent via email have long become a thing of the past, not to mention the exchange of published documents. “It’s on the portal” is the usual reply one gets when asking for a published document such as a business plan, article or procedure.

A Knowledge-Based Enterprise Decidedly, the Employee Portal and the new ethos it has instilled among employees, will serve as the logical springboard for enhancing its collaborative potential and nurturing the transition to a truly knowledge-based enterprise. Plans are in place for prototyping an Electronic Records and Document Management System (ERDMS) in 2005. Research is also planned for developing the concept of lower level portal personalisation and collaboration through the adoption of mini-portals, “wikies” and “blogs”.

The concept of knowledge management was also introduced at an operational level when the legacy Support System was replaced by a new Service Management System. The incident management module of this system features functionality that allows support staff to build upon the knowledge acquired through the process of problem analysis. Once an incident becomes a known problem, adequate parametrisations are carried out to the system so that support officers seeing to a particular customer call, are given direct on-line access to Check Lists, FAQs, a list of known errors and advice related to that particular incident.

The introduction of this very innovative concept has actually permitted a quantum leap in the level and quality of service to customers.

But there is more to the immediate tangible gains that stem from the knowledge management undertones of the Employee Portal, the ERDMS and the Service Management Programme. We believe that in today’s rapidly evolving and highly competitive business environment, intellectual capital is the real engine of growth and innovation. It is the sum value of any enterprise’s collective knowledge, experience and competences. Ensuring that appropriate investments are made to manage, develop and nurture this human asset, is for us a logical conclusion. No enterprise of some calibre can afford to overlook this factor.

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Strengthening and Innovating Internal Capabilities

To be able to keep up the pace and continue delivering a first class service to its customers, MITTS Ltd has adopted strategies and tactical approaches that aim to automate certain processes and revive economies of scale

The network infrastructure, hardware, business systems and related services required to support the business of Government have over the years grown dramatically in both size and complexity. By contrast, the number of engineers, administrators and specialists needed to man this operation has remained quite the same.

To be able to keep up the pace and continue delivering a first class service to its customers, MITTS Ltd has adopted strategies and tactical approaches that aim to automate certain processes and revive economies of scale.

Service Management: all at one go!

2004 stands out particularly for a number of initiatives that have come to fruition after a long period of detailed planning, research and preparation. The Service Management Programme, for example, saw the roll-out of the new Service Management System that would allow the Service Management Department functions, especially the Service Call Centre, to benefit from a tool that offers the functionality and resiliency worthy of a complex ICT service organisation such as ours.

The process for selection and procurement of the system began as early as mid-2003, until the successful bidder was awarded the contract in March 2004. After a period of very challenging contract negotiations, the new solution was implemented in August to take advantage of the week-long summer recess. But prior to that, service management policies and procedures had to be defined. As many as 220 members of staff were trained for the adoption of these policies and procedures and on the system itself. Data was collated, cleaned, prepared and migrated from legacy systems into the new one. The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) data too was inventorised, cleaned, prepared and migrated to the new system.

After a week of intensive rehearsals and simulations, the system went into live operation with Incident, Problem and

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Change Management modules all at one go, along with a CMDB with 7,800 configuration items.

Don Page and Tony Brough, from Marval Training & Consultancy Limited, had this to say about us in their Strategic Review Document dated 1/2/2005:

The Malta Government Network is monitored round the clock by our 24x7 Command and Control Centre. Any problems in the network are automatically recorded on the Service Management System to which the Network Management System has been integrated.

"The work carried out to-date in the creation of the MITTS CMDB can already be classed as a leader in its field. Marval have been so impressed with the approach and continued improvement in MITTS that we would like to nominate MITTS for the ITSMF Service Improvement Project of the Year award and also put them forward for the BCS awards."

The third and final phase, planned to be completed in 2005, is directed to integrate all the software tools deployed, address non-standard based legacy components that have not yet completed their duty life cycle, and improve the automation of remote network fault detection and resolution.

Besides allowing faster logging of calls, categorisation of incidents and reporting facilities, the Service Management System allows common incidents to be linked to prevent duplication, and prompts the Service Call Centre officer with a check list, advice and FAQs related to the particular incident being handled. Approximately 6,000 incidents are handled by the Centre every month, with nearly one-third of these calls resolved over the telephone. The teamwork, dedication and commitment shown by all the players that pursued this exciting experience has been extraordinary.

Launch of the Client e-Services Portal After the successful launch of the first phase of the Employee Portal in April 2004, the MITTS Ltd Client Portal was concurrently launched in August 2004 to enhance the online collaborative experience with our clients. The facilities offered on the portal include the publication of announcements, the provision of important links, and the logging of as many as 50 different types of Requests For Service (e-RFS) which may range from a very basic service such as an email, internet or system login account, to a more articulated service such as a new Local Area Network (LAN) design.

A Quantum Leap in Network Management MITTS Ltd completed Phase 2 of the Network Management Programme. The previous phase had achieved visibility of all the network components and allowed pro-active and real time detection of network faults before these could result in network downtimes. The second phase achieved centralised control of the network. This was done by deploying tools that allowed software updates, upgrades and configurations to be done centrally, remotely and in batch mode. With less technical staff needed for on-site interventions, the net results have been an optimisation of economies of scale and a decrease in the overall cost of ownership.

Customers who authenticate themselves on the Portal can submit their requests on line. These are then forwarded for approval to the relevant authority through a workflow process that ensures that requests are passed on to the correct implementors for actioning within a specific time span. Requesters may also track the status of the request from submission to final closure. The integration of the eRFS application with the Service Management System has led to much faster and more accurate processing of requests.

Thanks to this system, the paper-based process for the submission of Requests For Service was completely phased out by November 2004.

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In 2004 approximately 3,500 users in the Public Service have been migrated to the new architecture covering network domains across the Ministry for Social Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Ministry for Gozo. It is planned that the entire EMA project will be concluded by the end of 2005.

The third phase of the MITTS Ltd Portal, planned for mid 2005, will consist of the roll-out of the Supplier Portal.

Through this system, suppliers too will be able to benefit from a similar collaborative experience currently being offered through the Client and Employee portals.

Building an Enterprise Management Architecture for Government The Enterprise Management Architecture (EMA) project is one of those projects that focus on the hidden aspects of the ICT infrastructure, and because of this are not given the merit they rightfully deserve. In reality, this project has a profound effect on the quality and robustness of the wide area network, or the MAGNET as it is better known, as well as on Desktop and Office Automation (OA) services provided to the Public Service. Its ultimate aim is that of reducing Total Cost of Ownership through the consolidation of OA server hardware and the streamlining of support capabilities and logistics, mainly by implementing a Standard Desktop Configuration across the Public Service. With the new architecture in place, Windows network domains can be consolidated and managed centrally. Thanks to a powerful set of services and tools, and the right policies in place, MITTS Ltd is now in a position to offer capabilities such as centralised and automated software distribution, remote desktop troubleshooting and software and hardware configuration inventorisation. Indeed some of these are already available or are being piloted. Domains that have been consolidated will also benefit from business continuity services through an identical active-active fail-over set-up at the company’s Active Data Centre that is planned to come into being in the relatively near future as part of the MAGNET II project.

In 2004 approximately 3,500 users in the Public Service have been migrated to the new architecture covering network domains across the Ministry for Social Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Investment, Industry

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and Information Technology, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Ministry for Gozo. It is planned that the entire EMA project will be concluded by the end of 2005.

Capitalising on MAGNET II: Consolidation and Reduction of Total Cost of Ownership In reality, the major upgrade of the wide area network to MAGNET II, the EMA, the Service Management System (SMS) and the Network Management System (NMS) are all closely related. MAGNET II represents the foundation that will lead to an Enterprise Architecture for Government.

The EMA is the second architectural layer over which MITTS Ltd will be able to roll out and consolidate all central and site-based ICT services. The SMS and NMS are the services that will continue to execute their remote monitoring and trouble-shooting functions, but with the added advantage of greater visibility, increased proactiveness, higher bandwidths and above all the resiliency and redundancy features of MAGNET II. In 2004, MITTS Ltd has tested and commissioned the MAGNET II fibre optic infrastructure and networking components that were laid out by the consortium entrusted with the work. Migration of all the 55 Government sites connected is targeted for completion by mid 2005. This will be a major milestone that will open the doors for the implementation of VoIP technologies across Government, and the realisation in earnest of the ICT consolidation programme. The thrust of this programme is to maximise MAGNET II by centralising the vast majority of ICT services into two resilient locations, the Corporate Data Centre and the Active Data Centre. These two Data Centres, though housed in separate locations, will function effectively (in active-active mode) as one Data Centre.

The primary benefit of consolidation is a reduction of the Total Cost of Ownership in the provision of ICT services

to Government, since ICT resources can be maximised through economies of scale achieved by deploying Storage Area Network (SAN) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions. Used in combination with active-active Data Centres, higher service up-times become a logical conclusion.

Throughout 2004 MITTS Ltd has consolidated a number of servers within its own operation and has successfully completed two important pilot consolidations covering a number of client sites: the new redesigned and fully redundant Document Registry system platform, and the consolidation of a number of Office Automation servers affecting users at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology and at the Ministry of Finance.

Entrenching Enterprise Architecture as a Core Business Enterprise Architecture (EA), for an organisation such as MITTS Ltd operating a complex heterogeneous environment, is of fundamental importance and criticality.

In the absence of a sound EA, the establishment of a coherent and consistent merging of various technologies and responding to business strategic needs, domains spanning functions such as Business Applications, Data, Network, Hardware and Operating Software such as Operating Systems, Database Management Systems and so forth, will be impossible to attain.

Securing the MAGNET The Security and Risk Management Department in 2004 finally came into its own. The process of capacity building initiated in 2002, when the company strategically established security as a core business, was realised in 2004. The department, which has a resource body of fourteen compared to four in 2002, was set up as a result of a reskilling of the existing staff complement.

The Security and Risk Management Department earned its kudos in 2004 when it successfully ensured that the Government Communications Centre with the EU, together with the appropriate security procedures, obtained the appropriate accreditation from the Council of Europe InfoSec. Moreover, in addition to mobilising itself in preparation for security certification in ISO 17799, the Information Security and Risk Management Department successfully implemented anti-virus software updating mechanisms which are so critical for business continuity today. In September 2004 MITTS Ltd hosted its first Taskforce – Computer Security Incident Response Teams (TF-CSIRT) international conference. This event heralded international recognition of Malta’s role and contribution in the concerted fight against security threats, and constituted a major manifestation for the local ICT community to step up its efforts to co-ordinate national initiatives and improve information-sharing capacities in this regard.

MITTS Ltd has since 2001 invested considerably to embed the skills and methodologies to have a sustainable EA function entrenched as a core business.

It can be stated that in 2004 this goal has been met – a task that is not as simple as it may sound. The challenge in future years is to ensure that this important function retains the critical mass that the Company successfully reached in 2004.

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2004 was the year that ushered Malta’s entry into the European Union. Faithful to its commitment to support the business of Government, MITTS Ltd has been key to a number of critical application related projects designed to support and facilitate the new economic and political circumstances

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Focusing on Core Business Areas and Government's Strategic Programme

The year 2004 was the year that ushered Malta’s entry into the European Union. Faithful to its commitment to support the business of Government, MITTS Ltd has been key to a number of critical application related projects designed to support and facilitate the new economic and political circumstances. Notable ones are the Structural Funds Database, for the Office of the Prime Minister the Agricultural and Fisheries Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) and the Paying Agency Management System (PAMS) both for the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment. Nearly all these projects presented common characteristics: tight deadlines, and business requirements that had to be researched and painstakingly defined together with the client due to the totally new scenario represented by European membership. In all cases, partnering with the client has featured very prominently, so the competence and proficiency boost acquired during the project life cycle is effectively a result of a perfect symbiosis between MITTS Ltd and its client base.

Below is the full list of business solutions which MITTS Ltd has, in partnership with the relevant Ministries and Departments, launched throughout 2004: •

• • • • • • • • •

E-Procurement System for Office Automation Hardware and Software in the Central Information Management Unit within the Office of the Prime Minister Paying Agency Management System (PAMS) Agricultural and Fisheries Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) Structural Funds Database Export Refund System Major extensions to functionality to the Lands Registry and Certification System INTRASAT Web Front End Ministry of Finance Portal Major extensions to functionality to the Accounts Receivable System Major extensions to functionality to the Tax Compliance Unit Data Warehousing

• • • • • • •

VAT Information Exchange System E-Government VAT Returns and Declaration Forms VAT on e-Services Development and implementation of the System for the Exchange of Excise Data (SEED) Extension of European Council Networks Connection of Maltese embassies and missions to the Malta Government Network using VOIP technologies Implementation of the new design fully-redundant Document Registry hosting platform

MITTS Ltd also continued to partner with the Ministry for Investments, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT) and its appointed subcontractors from the private enterprise for the quality assurance, deployment and hosting of the following e-services on its state-of-the-art e-Government hosting platform: • • • •

Phase 1 of the e-ID (Authentication and Registration) Employment and Training Corporation portal National Statistics Office portal MIIIT website

Improving Quality of Service through e-Procurement, MITTS Ltd developed the first e-Procurement application launched by Government to support the decentralisation of the procurement of standard office automation hardware and software for the Public Service. The system provides suppliers with the up-to-date information required to deliver quality software and hardware supplies according to the standards formulated by the Central Information Management Unit. It also serves to authorise public officers to purchase IT equipment with far greater flexibility.

It is pertinent to underline that the involvement of MITTS Ltd in the e-Procurement framework was the result of the strategic decision to withdraw from non-core business activity.

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The Government of Malta was to be integrated with this system of networks and security protocols by the date of entry into the EU. To enable this, the Cabinet Office, through the Central Information Management Unit, appointed MITTS Ltd to provide expert technical advice to the project team that was set up in January 2003

Procurement of desktops, managed by MITTS Ltd through the enabling Tender for PC Procurement, was one such activity. By building on the latest technologies and working with the Central Information Management Unit, MITTS Ltd was in May 2004 able to withdraw from this function whilst at the same ensuring that the handed-over business function would be more transparent to purchasers as well as to suppliers.

EU Structural Funds Database The EU Structural Funds Database (SFD) is a business solution for the management and allocation of Structural and Cohesion funds for which Malta has become eligible since it became a member of the European Union in May 2004. Besides maintaining details about the various projects, the system allows the Planning and Priorities Co-ordination Division of the Office of the Prime Minister to monitor and control project progress and status, as well as relevant budgets and financials. Among the primary features of the solution is the simplification of the financing plan, which is the means by which funds are allocated in order of national priority, and its flexible multi-user functionality.

Authorised users in different Government or public entities can update the central data repository in real time on the various aspects concerning their project selected for EU funding.

Josef Vella, the project manager of the SFD, had this to say: “When starting any IS project, one of the first things you look at is the existing business process or any legacy system which may be in place. In this case there was none of this, because the business requirements literally had to be researched together with the client, since this was a totally new scenario. Understanding and learning the various EU regulations and guidelines was key, and this had to be done within very short timescales. Success of the project depended on a close synergy between MITTS Ltd, client and experts

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from the European Commission Twinning Programme. In the end, considering the initial drawbacks and tight schedule, I believe that the key ingredients for success were the flexibility of our approach, our sound technical knowledge — since we knew what we were doing all along — perseverance, and above all an excellent relationship based on trust which we had built with our client”.

Integrated Administration and Control System The importance of agriculture to the EU is axiomatic. It was therefore natural for Government to seek to leverage ICTs in support of all activities related to the registration and control of land parcels, crops and livestock for the efficient management of applications for aid, inspections and a spate of other activities.

The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) is a state-of-the-art GIS-based system that uses the latest mapping technologies to store, manage and manipulate data about all agricultural land parcels and related physical attributes. Complying with stringent EU technical specifications on image pixel size precision and tolerances, the system has the flexibility to dynamically associate aerial photographs and the geometrical properties of the land parcels to the various data attributes such as farmer and irrigation details, the characteristics of field topsoil, crops grown and so forth. This data is then used for the management of farmers’ applications for aid under various EU schemes, their investigation and verification by Government officials, and calculation of each farmer’s aid entitlement.

Requirements for the IACS project evolved in tight liaison with officials from the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment and the collaboration of Italian experts. “No doubt”, says project manager Richard Schembri, “the key to success to a project with such tight deadlines have been

our strong rapport with the client and our technical skills — particularly business analysis which proved very demanding and problematic to resolve from the very outset.”

Paying Agency Management System The designation of paying agencies by member states is one of the many commitments that are tied to accession to the EU. The Paying Agency Management System is a solution for the management of Guarantee expenditure under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).

The Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment first commissioned MITTS Ltd to carry out a thorough scoping and analysis of the business requirements in November 2002. The biggest challenge was to develop a multi-user system that would not prove too high on maintenance due to the frequent changes in regulations decreed by the European Commission. For this purpose a system of xtables was developed which meant that changes to budget lines could be updated dynamically and in a totally parametrised fashion. Standard interfaces also had to be developed to allow the uploading and downloading of the required data from other systems such as the IACS. “In spite of the stringent timescales and the very steep learning curve”, argued project manager, Josef Vella, “we delivered because we possessed the flexibility, competence and perseverance that was required for a project of this nature.

Throughout the project we also developed a strong synergy with the client and with the German experts from the twinning project that enabled us to adopt a fast track approach by taking a ‘lessons-learnt’ approach from other similar systems reviewed in Luxembourg and Germany.”

Extending the European Council Networks to Malta European Union membership mandates that all member states participate in fora and working groups for the ongoing

communication and dissemination of policies, directives, regulations and various other publications. Classified documentation produced — or EU classified information (EUCI) — must be handled in accordance with the Security Regulations of the Council of the European Union (2001/264/EC) and exchanged via a number of established European Council Networks.

The Government of Malta was to be integrated with this system of networks and security protocols by the date of entry into the EU. To enable this, the Cabinet Office, through the Central Information Management Unit, appointed MITTS Ltd to provide expert technical advice to the project team that was set up in January 2003. The team included executives from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces of Malta, the Management Efficiency Unit and the Central Information Management Unit.

Our responsibility included carrying out an overall Information Security Risk Assessment and assisting the various players to identify the appropriate security measures to adopt. This involved site visits, defining requirements, site planning, product evaluation and document and process reviews.

Eventually in April 2004, following a series of rigorous audits, the EU gave its stamp of approval to a system of security networks, registries and procedures that were a first of its kind in Malta.

Mario Spiteri, Head of our Information Security and Risk Management Department, was elated when the visiting EU delegation praised the team for its competence and collaboration shown to bring such a project to successful conclusion. “No similar project had been undertaken in

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Malta before. We were faced with new technologies and hitherto unknown regulations which we had to acquire and understand in a very short time. And with such tight deadlines the pressures were indeed high! Though the Security Regulations themselves gave the necessary direction on the measures to be taken, we had to think clearly and plan ahead to take into account the particular needs of the area being targeted. The circumstances no doubt tested the team’s flexibility and in the end took its technical capabilities to new horizons.”

The Embassies Connectivity Project “The embassies connectivity project stands out as a model project in many respects”, says the man behind the original idea, Robert Galea. “It is a testimony of how MITTS Ltd has creatively combined experience and know-how to produce a tangible business solution that has reaped a total return on investment within months of inception!”

The initial phase project, which began in May 2003, was completed in March 2004 when ten Maltese embassies were successfully and securely connected to the Malta Government Network (MAGNET). The solution allowed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to drastically reduce its costs by dispensing with the various local email servers, the old connectivity technology — 64kbps Frame Relay — and especially the exorbitant international service provision costs. The new set-up allows embassy staff to benefit from email, internet and application services obtained from servers residing in Malta in a completely secure fashion and using a bandwidth many times the previous one.

Furthermore, the infrastructure deployed is also designed to support VoIP transmission. Each embassy has, in fact, been equipped with one or more IP phones that enable (international) calls to be made between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the respective Embassy at no cost, thus leading to further savings. It is planned that after the upgrade of the current MAGNET to the new enhanced

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MAGNET II, (which is VoIP-ready), and the VoIP initiative within Government, all Ministries and Departments will eventually also be able to call the Embassies at no cost.

Besides recovering the capital outlay of the project within less than a year, yearly recurrent costs have been reduced by approximately 70%.

The increased bandwidth has also made it possible to extend the Enterprise Management Architecture (EMA) project to the Permanent Representation in Brussels and the New York Embassy. Others will follow. EMA at the Embassies gives the added logistical advantage of providing services such as remote desktop trouble-shooting, patch management, centralised or automated software distribution, and software and hardware configuration inventorisation. In the process, the need to fly out to an embassy or engage costly local support services has been drastically diminished.

Information systems that can now be accessed in a secure fashion include the Common Database (CdB), the Social Security System (SABS) and shortly the VISA System. This facility was previously not available when the old set-up was in place.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs have considered this project so successful that MITTS Ltd has been commissioned to extend this service to include all the Maltese embassies and missions abroad, beginning with Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, China and Russia. Embassies and missions in Canberra, Geneva and Vienna have also been recently connected.

We believe that we must promote continuous self-improvement and cultivate innovation and creativity. As a Company we will encourage life long learning and on going development and aim to develop and harness the potential of our people.

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MITTS Ltd believes that it can be a positive asset to the private sector by placing at their disposal a number of its assets and its wealth of experience in the implementation of large IS projects

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MITTS Ltd: Focusing on Core Business

The National ICT Strategy 2004-2006 sets three important strategic thrusts aimed to provide an enabling environment for the local ICT industry that can contribute to the growth of the national economy and the well-being of its citizens: • • •

The enabling and empowerment of local businesses to gain access to the larger global market The strengthening of the local ICT private sector and support of ICT entrepreneurship The internationalisation of the Maltese ICT industry to compete in the global environment

Throughout 2004 MITTS Ltd has continued to participate actively in the National Information Society Council. With these three strategic thrusts in mind, and conscious of the realities of the local ICT industry, the company promoted the concept of MITTS Ltd as a National ICT Asset.

In line with Government’s political thrust to involve the private sector in all areas of its operations, the company has over the past three years sought partnerships with the private sector by utilising outsourcing or sub-contracting frameworks. In tandem with this process it has discontinued certain service lines which were deemed non-core, and which through such discontinuation, the private sector would flourish and provide a value-for-money product. In 2004, the company also embarked on a road show process with the private ICT sector in order to forge better relationships and collaborations.

As a continued manifestation of this commitment MITTS Ltd has in 2004 ceased the business of procuring and reselling of desktop computers and Office Automation software to the Public Service. These products are now procured directly from the market, through the eProcurement system which MITTS Ltd itself developed for the Public Service. Already two years earlier the company had begun to move out of the business of small application

and website development, focusing more on applications of a strategic nature. Since May 2001 Requests for Proposals for website development have been issued directly by its clients to the open market. The outsourcing of desktop support continued to be extended further to reach well over 3,000 PCs. MITTS Ltd has also shifted its focus away from undertaking full scale network infrastructure projects by limiting itself to only carrying out compliance testing and commissioning of Local Area Networks implemented by private contractors.

Part of the ripple effect of these decisions has been a faster market growth in the private sector, and an increased convergence of local ICT businesses to international industry standards of service delivery and skill.

Partnering with the Private Enterprise MITTS Ltd believes that it can be a positive asset to the private sector by placing at their disposal a number of its assets and its wealth of experience in the implementation of large IS projects in the private sector’s endeavour to win overseas ICT opportunities now made available to Malta as a full member of the EU. The company in fact enjoys an excellent track record in the deployment of large projects in sensitive business areas such as taxation, social security, health and many others. Much knowledge and expertise has also been gained in the research and design of, for example, the e-Government hosting platform and the mobile government gateway for which it has gained so much praise internationally. In June MITTS Ltd was honoured with the selection of its mobile government gateway as a best practice model at the prestigious eGovernment Conference held in Dublin in 2004.

In addition to possessing specialised skills and cutting-edge architectures such as a fully fledged testing environment, the company also vaunts a number of international accreditations such as PRINCE2 1 and ITIL 2 - respectively

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In partnering with MITTS Ltd, private sector companies bidding for overseas tenders would be able to enhance their capacities and capabilities by leveraging the specialised skills, experience and economies of scale

in project management and IT service management ISO9001:2000 certification, the Practitioners’ Certification in Software Testing and registration of its CSIRT 3, as well as its Investors in People marquee.

In partnering with MITTS Ltd, private sector companies bidding for overseas tenders would be able to enhance their capacities and capabilities by leveraging the specialised skills, experience and economies of scale which we would only be too pleased to make available for the purpose.

The Value of Public Debate and Information Sharing MITTS Ltd continued to advocate its belief on the value of information sharing and constructive public debate through the ICT Public Fora hosted at the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise. The themes discussed during 2004 were: •

• • •

The Flight of the Bumble Bee: A Scenario without a Malta CERT Forum (the need of a co-ordinated response to security breaches and related vulnerabilities) A Riotous Assembly: Spam, Spam, Spam and perhaps Mail (the phenomenon of spam mail) The Big ‘e’: Sci-Fi or Reality? (leveraging e-commerce) Euro Compliance: Another Blot on the ICT Landscape? (euro compliance in Malta)

All the fora organised proved to be a success. The high turnout in at least three of these events indicated the appetite of local institutions, industries, ICT firms, banks and other organisations, as well as practioners and students of ICT,

for discussing ICT thematics and issues affecting their business.

Internationalising our Experiences Our ongoing partnership with the Commonwealth Network for IT (COMNET-IT) has seen MITTS Ltd taking its experience and know-know to some very unusual but remarkable destinations. Two of these involved our participation in workshops about e-Government, an area where we are particularly strong, and where we are able to give a very valid and relevant input to growing economies.

In addition to discussing the general state of readiness of the geo-political regions involved, the workshops provided an opportunity for participating Caribbean and southern African countries to benchmark, cross-fertilise and synergise ideas for the development of co-ordinated ICT-enabled growth strategies.

The events in which MITTS Ltd participated were: The Commonwealth Regional Workshop on “e-Government and Sectoral Development”, St Lucia, February 2004 The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Consultation on National e-Government Readiness, Botswana, April 2004 After bidding for an international Request for Proposals by the Government of Bermuda, MITTS Ltd was adjudicated to conduct a Training Workshop on IT and Business Planning in a Public Sector environment addressed to top Government officers in Bermuda in July 2004.

1

Project Management in a Controlled Environment IT Infrastrucure Library 3 Computer Security Incident Reponse Team 2

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All Set for the Future

A Commitment to Continuous Improvement In 2005 MITTS Ltd will continue to keep faith with its commitment to continuous improvement in a number of internal initiatives such as the development of competency models for better planning of training, a greater emphasis on customer care, the development and prototyping of a number of collaborative services and an improvement of its infrastructural base and operating tools.

The company will continue supporting Government’s strategic programme, and under the leadership of the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology, will continue assisting and partnering with the private enterprise in the implementation of the ICT vision and strategy of establishing Malta as a regional centre of excellence.

Consolidating for a Better Future Looking back, 2004 has been a year where much effort and investment were spent in consolidating work and activities that MITTS Ltd had planned for and begun in 2002. Much of this was targeted towards grooming the professionalism of its employees, cultivating an ethos built on the five company Values, improving the quality and level of skill in our delivery of service to our clients, and streamlining operations with an eye for transferring cost savings to our clients. This can be evidenced in the quantity and quality of training delivered to employees, the tangible benefits achieved with the Service Management and Network Management Programmes, the launch of e-MITTS, eProcurement, a fully functional Cost Management Accounting Framework and the new Government Enterprise Management Architecture gradually but steadily beginning to take shape.

Included in its exciting programme of works are a major focus on consolidating into one Core Services Model a number of service elements which are considered core to the operation of Government. These include wide area network connectivity, e-Government Core Services such as the Electronic Payment Gateway, the e-ID and the mobile government gateway, 24x7 Operations, Network Management, Incident and Problem Management, Testing Services, Application Hosting, Information Security and Risk Management and others.

Back-room activities in 2004 that will translate into major concrete accomplishments in 2005, have been the intensive dimensioning, planning, research, prototyping, testing and negotiating activities that took place in connection with the eventual replacement of the Electronic Government Mail (EGM) with a totally new set-up, the launching of the new revamped state-of-the-art wide area network, MAGNET II, and the procurement of the SAN/NAS storage architecture so essential for the optimisation of economies of scale.

MITTS Ltd will also be extending the remit of some core services, as well as project management expertise and consultancy services, to a number of Public Entities, where these are deemed to be of relevance to Government for the attainment of national efficiency-gains or economies of scale.

While all this was taking place in the background, MITTS Ltd continued unperturbed with its delivery of ICT projects in a year that has been characterised by a very hectic pace in view of the many national commitments associated with EU membership — a testimony to our renewed vigour and self-assurance, we take pride in claiming.

Other strategic projects in the pipeline are e-ID Phase 2, further extensions to the e-Government hosting platform, the articulation of a strategy for implementation of VoIP in the Public Service and planning and preparations for compliance of Government systems to the Euro.

What is certain is that the future will reserve new experiences and challenges that will continue putting to the test the lessons learnt in the past, and in the process continue to equip the company with the wherewithal to re-invent and innovate itself.

In its core business areas, MITTS Ltd expects to continue delivering on a large number of projects still in its portfolio from the previous year.

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Further information about MITTS Ltd can be found on the company website at 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 Ltd Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda, HMR02 Malta Tel: +356 2123 4710 Fax: +356 2123 4701 Email: mitts@gov.mt Web: www.mitts.gov.mt

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