Pink took over BMIT’s cyan today as our staff organized a Pink Day at Work in order to raise awareness and funds in aid of Pink October Malta.
Apart from a myriad of pink-themed food and beverages, the Pink Day at Work also included an educational session on identifying the symptoms of breast cancer, a disease which affects over 300 women in Malta every year.
We at BMIT are proud to have played a part in shining a spotlight and raising awareness on the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Take a look at some of the events being organized in the coming days to help support this initiative.
Proceeds from the event to go to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust
Love swimming, challenging yourself and donating to charity? If you’ve answered yes to all three of the questions, then make sure to sign up for the 2KM Winter Series Open Sea Swim competition, a 3-race swimming competition whose first race is set to start on the 19th of November, 2016.
Bernard Farrugia, Race Director
We met up with Bernard Farrugia, the Race Director, to better understand what drove him to launch this charity event: “Earlier this year, I received a call from my cousin telling me that she was offering me an extra ticket she had for a spot at the Virgin London Marathon 2017 on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust”.
In order to participate in the London Marathon, one can qualify to enter by either beating set times, being drawn via the public ballot entry system, or else by participating in aid of a charity and raising funds through a fundraiser.
Bernard got the opportunity to participate through the latter option. “Being an athlete myself, the choice of event was immediately that of organising a private sports event. After discussing a myriad of ideas with a friend of mine and many other people coming from various sporting backgrounds, through many formal and informal meetings, I decided to organise a 2KM Winter Series Open Sea Swim, with funds collected being donated to a Cystic Fibrosis Trust.”
All swimmers will be presented with a medal for participation after the last race. A €30 donation allows swimmers to participate in 3 races, or else one can choose to participate in individual races for a €12 donation per race. Interested swimmers can register through the website www.maltaopenseaswim.com. All donations can be done through Pay Pal.
We at BMIT are one of the main sponsors for the event.
Data is the blood and breath of online gaming – but the sector constantly faces new challenges. INTERGAMINGi spoke to Jack Mizzi, BMIT's Chief Marketing & BD Officer, to find out more.
In today’s interconnected world, IT outages are a killer. A sudden interruption of your digital services can shock you back into an unpleasant reality.
In this day and age, any form of downtime is bound be disruptive to both customers and businesses, leading to severe annoyance in the former and an even more severe risk of crippling financial losses in the latter.
While the risk of being left unplugged remains a basic, looming danger, the matter bubbled back into the global IT conversation last month, after Delta Airlines – the American provider with an all but sterling reputation for quality and efficiency – suffered an outage in its IT systems that led to the cancellation of 530 flights and over one thousand delays.
Between ruined holidays and a disgruntled clutch of customers, Delta was left far worse for wear, not least because it even caught the attention of America’s political class, as two senators jumped into the fray to tell Delta to get their act together.
Outages are no laughing matter. Even more worrying, they don’t appear all that rare – Delta was just unlucky enough to be too huge for people to ignore. Whether they come about as a result of force majeure – such as meteorological mishaps messing with your hardware – or a complex internal systems tripping over each other – Delta’s own misadventure, initially believed to be down to basic power failure, was ultimately attributed to a domino effect of in-house failures – not even the most high-powered companies and institutions are immune to the possibility of blinking out of the digital grid.
In fact, Southwest Airlines suffered its own outage just a month shy of Delta’s episode. Even fellow corporate giants like Amazon have felt its sting – having most recently been dealt quite a blow in 2015 which affected a number of important affiliated sites including Netflix, Pinterest and IMDB. What’s important to remember is that outages can hit businesses on two fronts: the financial fallout of downtime and the risk of losing valuable data.
Can these outages be prevented? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that system redundancy is the key to keeping yourself as safe as possible. Partnering, or tapping into the resources of a specialised IT provider, is possibly the most effective way to achieve this, assuming that the chosen provider can satisfy some critical requirements.
For example, the ideal provider should never have its own systems in one location, instead spreading out its infrastructure geographically while also protecting the backup hardware with additional infrastructure. Also, the backup generator can fail, and that’s why sufficiently-prepared expert providers will have a backup generator ready to kick in for the failed one.
BMIT, Malta’s largest multi-site data centre, has taken serious steps to implementing such a set-up within its structure. Its recently established presence in Milan and Frankfurt allows customers to diversify where their data’s location, therefore improving redundancy. BMIT’s systems within each of its locations are prepared for almost any eventuality.
BMIT operates on an N+2 and in some cases 2N redundancy mode, meaning that the supporting systems and infrastructure have an additional level of redundancy built in them. If you’re not familiar with all the jargon, picture this metaphor: you’re inviting five of your friends over for dinner, and have made food portions to match. But just in case two of them drop their plates for some reason, you prepare an extra two portions, or eight in total. That would cover the N+2 part; in the case of 2N, it means you multiply the whole thing by two – or 10 plates in all, in this example.
BMIT’s sound infrastructure is further helped along by its 40Gbps private network, which links up the BMIT data centers in Malta, Germany and Italy through different routes and employing various carriers and service providers, thus eliminating single points of failure throughout. It also protects its customers from web attacks, through its multi-tiered distributed denial of service protection and mitigation set-up.
When going offline is not an option, it pays to partner with a provider dedicated to keeping their systems up and running no matter what they are faced with.
This article was featured on the Times of Malta here
Yesterday (8th August 2016), thousands of passengers found themselves stranded all over the world as a power outage caused US airline giant Delta’s IT systems to crash. At this day and age, and for a company such as Delta, it is almost incomprehensible that they had such a problem as a result of having all IT systems concentrated in one city (in this case Atlanta), and a fault in switchgear creating such a domino effect. According to the Wall Street Journal, “the technical problems likely will cost Delta millions of dollars in lost revenue and damage its hard-won reputation as the most reliable of the major U.S.-based international carriers, having canceled just a handful of flights in the most recent quarter.”
Delta are not the first, as another US airline, Southwest Airlines were forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights last month, after an outage prevented travelers from checking in.
These system failures showcase the importance of hosting your data in a redundant environment across multiple geographical locations, with multiple and redundant power systems as well as regular and continuous testing of the effectiveness of the backup systems.
As Malta largest multi-site data centre, and with presence in Milan and Frankfurt, BMIT has been deploying solutions across distinct locations for customers of all sizes, but all with a common requirement to be online, all the time. Such set-ups vary in their nature, ranging from live and backup infrastructures deployed in different BMIT data centres, to more complex multi-site IT infrastructures handling massive volumes of traffic.
Systems redundancy is a critical element of BMIT’s infrastructure. All data centre infrastructure, operates on an N+2 and in some cases 2N redundancy mode, meaning that any system failure is catered for inherently in set-up. Moreover, our 40Gbps network, links the BMIT data centers in Malta, Germany and Italy via multiple routes, using different carriers and service providers, therefore eliminating single points of failure throughout.
Although BMIT undertakes regular tests on its infrastructure, our data centres had a real-life test almost exactly two years ago, as they remained up and running despite a total blackout, which left all of Malta without power for up to 12 hours on 12th of August, 2014.
We do not only protect our customers from physical risks, but also virtual attacks. Depending on the nature of your enterprise, we understand that ‘down time’ is literally not an option. However, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) could wipe out or limit access to your site and servers for hours, days or even weeks. At BMIT, we operate a multi-tiered DDOS protection and mitigation set-up, built on years of experience in handling such threats. Our DDOS solution forms an integral part of our network, therefore ensuring that both network and customers are protected.
As of this week, BMIT Limited has reached another important milestone in its long-standing relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), having added yet another Gold accreditation to its list.
BMIT is now a certified Gold Services Specialist, complementing its other two Gold certifications, namely Gold Server Specialist and Gold Service Provider Specialist. In addition to these Gold statuses, BMIT is also certified as Silver Storage Specialist, bringing the total number of certifications with HPE to four.
This new certification further extends BMIT’s expertise in HPE-related services and technologies, and strengthens the company’s continued ability to offer personalised and customised services as part of its data centre, cloud and managed IT services portfolio.
The internet of things, known as IoT for short, might not presently be a household term. Yet, despite how initially confusing the term might be, IoT is one of the hotwww technological topics at present, and is sure to characterise the development of the technological field for decades to come.
Simply put, IoT refers to the gathering of data in terms of machine-to-machine communication devices. Thanks to machine sensors and cloud computing technology, it has become possible to create networks of gathered and leveraged data from the real-time analysis of such devices. Indeed, IoT cannot operate without cloud-based applications, which are vital in giving a practical function to the leveraged data created in such networks.
The possibilities that come with IoT are truly endless. You may, understandably, be thinking of the benefits such networks may have in terms of the technological devices that are most overtly close to you: smartphones, PCs, and so on. However, the list of ‘things’ that can form part of these networks of transmitted data is vaster than one may initially imagine, including kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures and air conditioning units. Such is the case that Gartner Inc. estimates that IoT will be comprised of around nearly 20.8 billion devices by 2020.
IoT is very much a system of sorts that can increase personal convenience during your daily routine, and yet it is simultaneously so much more than that. Its real worth lies in its potential to influence and improve whole infrastructures. This kind of network has made the concept of the ‘intelligent city’ realisable.
How intelligent can a city be? Consider the following scenarios: concrete that can pick up on cracks and fissures to alert the appropriate authorities that amendments are needed; streetlights that automatically dim according to the brightness of the sky outside; connected traffic signal monitoring devices; and so on.
In other words, IoT is set to change our lives in every way, and in every imaginable industry, from manufacturing to health. The world has already adopted smart pills and monitoring bands that will assess patients with ailments such as heart complications, Parkinson’s disease, as well as monitor senior citizens in general, to name a few of such innovations.
However, you do not need to turn to such grandiose and large-scale technology to see how IoT might affect your daily life. Indeed, countless benefits are available even at a simple, domestic level. Consider, for example, a basic appliance in every home and office environment – air conditioning devices.
The peak of the summer heat is with us, and most people are looking for solutions for more efficient and more effective air conditioning units. Luckily, IoT has paved the way for these technological solutions, thanks to smart air conditioning units that allow for intelligent control of air flow.
One way in which these air conditioning units work is that owners may be able to connect the unit to a corresponding mobile app that picks up on a multitude of factors that influence the temperature of air conditioning that takes place, such as weather forecasts and analysis of individual building characteristics.
Thanks to smart energy technology, air conditioning units give users immense flexibility. For example, by noting that the smartphone has left the location of the unit, or simply through motion-sensing cameras, the air conditioner can be set to switch off automatically.
For many, the added daily convenience may not be enough to make these devices worth looking into, which is fair enough. However, it has been found that appliances that fall under the IoT category are significantly more environmentally-friendly, which is excellent news for you in terms of reducing your energy costs. Such devices alone, it has been found, can cut energy bills by over 25 per cent.
The good news is that IoT-based devices and the benefits that come with them are available in Malta. While the island may not be home to fully-fledged intelligent cities as of yet, purchasing domestic appliances that operate under this network-based technology is entirely possible.
BMIT, the leading data services provision company in Malta, is fully equipped to offer cloud-based solutions to allow manufacturers to transform their appliances into intelligent IoT devices with ease. As a provider of cloud-based services, BMIT can handle the servers required to store, manage, and transmit data leveraged through IoT networks.
This article was featured on the Times of Malta here
BMIT – Malta’s largest data centre services provider – organised a half-day event last Wednesday, for IT professionals titled IT-as-a-Service: From the Desktop, to the Data Centre, to the Cloud. The event outlined how IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS) is increasingly becoming a must within the IT industry, and how companies such as BMIT can help businesses with its adoption.
The event showcased a variety of real-world cases that illustrated the increasing prevalence of ITaaS in today’s technology industry, as well as how businesses could stand to benefit from it. Speakers from HP Enterprise and Kinetix IT Solutions joined BMIT’s speakers to discuss their views on the industry in present times.
BMIT CMO & BD Officer Jack Mizzi opened the event with a brief introduction, which was followed by a presentation explaining the concept of ITaaS. The role of BMIT as a trusted IT service provider was elaborated in detail by Rutvik Deepak, Business Development Manager, and Curt Gauci, Managing Director at Kinetix, who focused on the services and solutions offered.
After a short coffee break, Denis Stanarevic from HPE talked about how organisations can transform their IT for business success. Finally, Nick Tonna and James Spiteri, CCO and Senior Solutions Architect respectively, showcased various informative implementations of BMIT’s products using real world customer scenarios. The event was capped with a brief Q&A session, where the participants could ask the speakers questions regarding the day’s presentations.
BMIT operates from two data centre sites in Malta, with points of presence in Milan and Frankfurt. Its data centre facilities are complemented by the highest standard of operation, management and security. The suite of industry-leading hosting, colocation and cloud services can be tailored around the particular needs and budget of clients, giving them more time and energy to focus on their core business.
Cloud-based office applications are quickly becoming one of the most widely-adopted solutions for data storage, as well as hosting IT services. Unsurprisingly, businesses around the world are discovering that introducing such apps leads to an increase in work productivity and overall revenue, amongst other benefits. Despite this, many professionals are still unaware how such apps can maximise their business output.
Indeed, nowadays it is entirely plausible for a business to consider replacing desktop software with cloud-based productivity apps altogether – or, at the very least, using them in conjunction with each other. According to statistics compiled by Freeform Dynamics, most professionals do in fact view web-based office solutions as being complementary to more conventional desktop programs.
Such is the case that only 6% of respondents to the above-mentioned research were ready to undertake a complete migration to web-based apps. However, 57% of respondents recognised that while current desktop solutions are effective, more business potential could be realised by taking on new solutions.
If cloud-based office apps work wonders, why are some business owners so sceptical? It really comes down to misconceptions, and not fully understanding the convenience of such apps. Many wrongly believe that web-based tools can only be accessed and used in-browser, whereas this is not the case. For example, businesses can ensure that hosted email services could be accessed through a local email client.
Many misunderstandings result from a fear that transitioning to cloud-based apps will be a hard process that may temporarily hinder productivity. Furthermore, such people may feel that after the effort of transitioning and learning how to use web-based office apps, the benefits will be exactly the same or negligible. In other words, they worry that such apps bring nothing new to the table. However, evidence shows that such worries can be put to rest – the benefits of cloud-based office apps are substantial.
One of the most noticeable benefits is heightened communication and team collaboration capabilities. Whether amongst colleagues or business partners, apps such as Skype for Business have made physical boundaries a thing of the past. All business proposals and collaborations can be conducted online with ease – the interface is sleek, the features are user-friendly, and as a result real-time communication is not a compromise in any way.
With the luxury of conducting every form of interaction, from business calls to entire conferences, maintaining collaboration at all levels is now more agile and cost-effective than ever.
Contrary to what some may think, data security is as top a priority as it is in desktop software equivalents. The most reputable cloud-based apps utilise the lawww security practises, to ensure your data cannot be lost in storage or in transit and to safeguard against it falling into the wrong hands. Furthermore, users retain all the same rights over their data.
It’s not just a case of your data being secure, though – analysing and monitoring that data is entirely convenient when using cloud-based office apps. The accompanying data analysis tools conduct thorough insights regarding how your business strategies are faring, and provide top quality reports that are rich in detail, all the while being completely comprehensive and packed with visuals that are easy to follow.
This ease of use makes it much more manageable for businesses to utilise data analysis as a means of improving their operation. By identifying their strongest and most problematic areas, companies can reorganise their strategies accordingly.
For tactful companies, making use of cloud-based office apps should, of course, translate into a significant increase in business productivity, regardless of the product or service offered. After all, these are tools designed to help you communicate, strategise, and sell. That means that these apps will help you increase the efficiency of your sales team, expand your target market, maximise the performance of business collaborations, and even help you foresee and latch onto the biggest upcoming market trends.
Should your enterprise adopt cloud-based office apps? With the promise of seamless communication opportunities and heightened potential for maximising your business output, looking into the idea is at least worthy of your consideration. Always keep in mind that if you’re uncomfortable with making a total transition, you could simply use cloud-based apps in conjunction with your current software.
BMIT, Malta’s largest business data services provider, has a number of products to accommodate all businesses and budgets. These solutions take the form of both Malta-based and international-based solutions including BMIT’s own Exchange Mail service, cloud backup services and Microsoft Office 365 packages, with the solutions being available through BMIT’s online store. By visiting BMIT’s website or by contacting the company directly, you can easily discover which solution would suit your needs best.
For an even closer look into how your business can benefit from adopting cloud-based apps, register to attend BMIT’s upcoming event on the 6th of July at the Hilton Malta, where various speakers will discuss the benefits of adopting IT-as-a-Service within your organisation, from the desktop, to the cloud, and to data centers.
This article was featured on the Times of Malta here
Have you ever been bored at home and decided to open up your browser for some online shopping to pass the time, most probably ending up buying something you don’t really need? I know I have. Online shopping seems to cater to the impulse buyer in all of us, and the Maltese seem to be particularly keen on it. Indeed, more than €70 million are currently being spent every year by Maltese consumers through PayPal alone and 39% of the total spent by Maltese consumers are cross-border transactions, more than double the EU average.
Online shopping’s rising popularity stems from the fact that it’s not only quick, allowing for spur-of-the-moment purchase decisions whilst in your pyjamas, but also convenient, as you get everything delivered right to your door.
However, even though Maltese consumers seem to be clamouring for more online shopping websites to spend their hard-earned money on, the majority of Maltese enterprises are still sceptical. In fact, the number of companies selling online decreased by 1.4% in 2015 when compared to the previous year.
The benefits of offering online shopping to consumers are numerous, but what incentives are there for businesses to start selling their goods on the internet while operating in Malta? The island has a clear roadmap, The Digital Malta – National Digital Strategy 2014 – 2020, which seeks to provide a strategy for Malta to become a digitally-enabled nation, with some of the goals being aimed specifically at improving e-commerce adoption among local businesses.
As the ICT industry continues to grow, technology companies have started to offer e-commerce implementations, taking the headache out of setting up your online store. Of course, alternatives such as WordPress plugins or e-Commerce websites such as Etsy, eBay or Amazon allow businesses to set up shop online with little effort.
Needless to say, a website requires infrastructure for hosting that is up 24/7, and that’s where BMIT come in. Apart from offering web hosting plans with a Site Builder and a free Exchange mailbox included, BMIT also offer Cloud Servers, a pay-as-you-go service with pricing varying according to configuration, so you don’t pay for what you don’t use.
Most importantly, the Cloud Servers are instantly scalable, which means you can add or remove resources whenever you want. Let’s say you’re a clothes retailer operating online and are anticipating a heavy increase in traffic throughout the January sales. Having the website hosted on your own local server would mean that you’d have to upgrade it permanently – an overkill if you only experience heavy traffic during sales. With a server on the cloud, you can upgrade the resources just in time for sales, and then downscale right after, not to mention the fact that you wouldn’t have to worry about power cuts affecting your server, as BMIT’s infrastructure is backed up by redundant generators capable of withstanding complete blackouts for days.
So if you’re looking to expand your business, both locally as well as overseas, online shopping is the answer. With a great website and a reliable back-end to support it, online shopping will not only help your business reach a wider audience but also provide added value to the consumer in terms of convenience.
This article was featured in Money Magazine's lawww issue "New Beginnings"
s of this week, BMIT Limited has reached another important milestone in its long-standing relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), having added yet another Gold accreditation to its list.