We’re very proud to announce that BMIT, Malta’s leading data centre, cloud and managed services provider has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Data centre of the year’ at the eGR B2B Awards for the second year running.
The event brings together the best service providers and B2B operators in the online gaming industry to celebrate their achievements in all the major egaming areas.
The eGR B2B Awards reward and celebrate the best service providers and B2B operators in the online gaming industry by recognising their achievements over the last 12 months in a number of categories. The award shortlist includes operators in all the major egaming disciplines including betting and gaming software, networks, mobile, payments, recruitment, IT & infrastructure.
Over 500 major egaming service providers and B2B operators are expected to attend the fifth edition of this event, which this year will be held on Tuesday 17 June, at The Pavilion at the Tower of London.
We are glad to announce that BMIT is once again sponsoring local triathlete Michelle Vella Wood.
Michelle ended 2013 on a high note, having packed the previous year with numerous achievements including becoming:
Malta National Triathlon Chamption
Malta National Duathlon Champion
Open Water Sea Swimming Champion
Improved on her own best time at the Malta Ironman
Improved on her own best time at the Middle-Distance triathlon
Michelle targets for 2014 include:
An attempt at being selected for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow July
Taking part in her fourth Swedish Ironman challenge to try to break her own national record by completing the event in under 10 hours
Retain her various national championships
Improve further her national records
BMIT Sponsorship renewal presentation - Michelle Vella Wood with Jack Mizzi from BMIT
BMIT Ltd, Malta’s largest data centre services provider has just made a direct investment of €1,000,000 in additional state of the art data centre capacity, to provide new co-location and hosting facilities as well as to re-inforce its position as the leading provider of data centre and cloud services. The data centre was inaugurated by Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth, in the presence of Joseph Cuschieri, Executive Chairman of the LGA. The data centre will provide the essential infrastructure to local and international companies, which are increasingly finding BMIT as a reliable and secure provider of data centre, cloud and managed services.
Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth Edward Zammit Lewis welcomed such investment and stated that this is in line with the Government's vision and its digital agenda. “Companies like BMIT are the sort of investment that Government is attracting. BMIT’s investment came during a period when another three gaming companies invested in Malta and during the time when the government is updating the gaming regulations,” said Honourable Edward Zammit Lewis. In the coming days the nation will also experience the revised Malta’s digital strategy. This is the kind of commitment the Government is aiming for this industry in order that it continues creating economic growth and sustainability for this county,” Dr Edward Zammit Lewis concluded.
“This investment is part of our growth strategy to maintain the position as the leading, innovative and largest data centre and cloud services provider on the island,” said Christian Sammut, Chief Executive Officer at BMIT Ltd. “With this expansion, which is part of a multi-million investment programme over 3 years, we are investing to meet the demand and requirements of an increasing number of new and existing customers in a wide range of industries. Our set-up is already impressive as is. No other facility on the island has a similar size and scale. This latest investment will further strengthen our leading position as the largest and most trusted data centre in Malta.”
BMIT has, over these last years, established itself as one of the leading providers of co-location, hosting and managed services to companies in Europe. BMIT was also a finalista for coveted EGR Datacentre of the Year award for 2013. It offers services to a wide range of customers, including those in the online gaming, financial services, legal and other professional services, ICT providers and retail businesses among others. The company operates from 2 data centre sites in Malta, with full power and multiple communications redundancy, complemented by the highest standard of operation, management and security, befitting a data centre set-up which provides services to a wide range of companies, including many with multi-million turnovers, all dependent on the services which BMIT provides them.
BMIT’s data centre facilities offer clients complete peace of mind with regards to their IT requirements, including access to a range of industry-leading hosting, co-location and cloud services. The suite of flexible data centre services can be tailored around the needs and budget of the client, giving them more time and energy to focus on their core business. Added value is provided through BMIT’s expert team who will make sure that requirements are addressed and managed to satisfaction.
2013 has been an exceptional year for BMIT sponsored triathlete Michelle Vella Wood. She won 7 out of the 8 triathlon and duathlon races organised in Malta, in doing so taking the National Duathlon championship, the Middle Distance triathlon (breaking her own course record - 4hr58min), the Birkirkara Sprint Distance triathlon series (again setting a course record of 1:04:50) and last but definitely not least winning the National Triathlon championships on the 6th of October. This last event is particular special since it was the first time in 8 years that she had managed to win this, which she did in style, smashing the old course record by over 3minutes to win in a time of 2hr11min44seconds in pouring rain!
On an international level, Michelle participated in Ironman Austria, coming 34th overall and 7th in her age-group, again breaking her own national record for a new time of 10hr 29min33sec, and also took part in the London International Triathlon Union world championships, where she was 44th in her age-group out of 100+ triathletes in pretty cold temperatures. Both event participations were sponsored by BMIT.
MiGs has established itself a must-attend among the international gaming community. The 2013 edition will be held on 12-13 November 2013, during which the lawww challenges and issues facing the online gaming industry will be discussed.
BMIT is a founding member of MiGS, and will be actively participating at the event. If you plan to attend, we would like to meet you. Please contact us to set a mutually convenient time to meet.
The initial reports regarding the National Security Agency's Internet data-collection program entitled PRISM stated that the government was "tapping directly into the central servers[1]" of Google, Facebook, and other massive Internet companies to gather information and spy on users. This claim turned out to be false and the companies involved immediately issued carefully worded denials as well as insight into how the data was shared with the government, which mostly involved FTP or good old printed data sent over to Government offices in boxes.
Of course, this still does not mean that it is inconceivable that the US government, or for that matter, any other government, has illegally hacked into these companies’ systems and is stealing user data.
With these revelations in mind, what kind of risk does usage of products aimed at companies, products such as Google Apps or Office 365, constitute to companies who have adopted these products?
Provided that Microsoft is a U.S. corporation, it should be of no surprise that their operations – even if conducted in places that are far afield – fall under the aegis and jurisdiction of U.S. law, including the Patriot Act. Soon after the launch of Office 365 in June 2011, the Managing Director of Microsoft in the U.K. confirmed that data stored in Office 365 could be made available to U.S. authorities[2]. Only time will tell whether said access has continued on even today.
Microsoft has claimed that Outlook.com messages sit in an unencrypted state on its servers, making said emails and SkyDrive files as vulnerable to government intrusion as Google’s Drive offering is.
General Counsel for Microsoft Brad Smith published a statement[3] on July 16 in which he describes how Microsoft interacts with the U.S. government to respond to their requests for information and which included the following quote - “Microsoft is obligated to comply with the applicable laws that governments around the world – not just the United States – pass, and this includes responding to legal demands for customer data.”
Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, Google is still attempting to shed some light on its role in the PRISM program and has asked of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to grant permission for Google to describe the information it is compelled to provide to the U.S. government. Such permission was denied. However, Google’s own bi-annual Transparency Report stated that, “In the first half of 2012, there were 20,938 inquiries from government entities around the world. Those requests were for information about 34,614 accounts.”
On the European continent, interesting developments come in the form of a division of the Swedish government division which has prohibited government offices from using Google Apps[4], a decision which is binding to all municipal bodies and federal agencies.
There already was a protracted movement against reliance on shared infrastructure provided by a number of US companies, a movement with a number of sound arguments. The revelations of PRISM have only served to fan the flames further and any more news of this regard arguably continues to contributes to the sentiment.
In truth, concerns over privacy issues may very well prompt a backlash against global operators in favour of a new generation of regional players.
The current situation has brought about a very interesting opportunity for local hosting providers outside the U.S. Local hosting providers of good repute can provide an assurance that their customers’ data will remain in-country and will thus not come under the purview and jurisdiction of the U.S. Patriot Act. Additionally, a well equipped, highly reputed local hosting company will most likely provide better and more personal support than is available in Office 365 today.
European law has already mandated that companies ought not store their citizens' data outside the EU if they cannot guarantee the security of this data. How this law in tandem with increased customer sensitivity to privacy will play out is anyone’s guess. Ray Valdes, an analyst at Gartner, said, "For users, it is a case of pick your poison. It is deal with the devil you know or deal with the devil you sort of know."
Realistically, however, there is only one way to know where your data is, and that is to host it in house or at least in tandem with your trusted, local hosting provider, and to have a solid corporate IT policy backed by firewalls with a data loss prevention mechanism. At BMIT we can offer you all this, together with personalised attention to your specific requirements. Talk to us, for a flexible and highly competitive price offering.
It’s that hot time of year, summer, when many of us take leave from work and find some time to relax in the sun while eating watermelon and ice cream. We want you to enjoy your time as much as possible, so here are four summer IT tips for you.
If traveling with your laptop, stop and think. Do you really need your tax forms and confidential, sensitive data on your hard drive? Move personal information from the hard drive to an external storage set-up, or at least a hard drive and backup your portable computer before leaving.
Don’t publicly broadcast your vacation plans on social networking sites. If you’re leaving your house unoccupied and at risk for potential burglary, take a few minutes to adjust settings for sharing your location on your social networking site and any apps on your smart phone.
IT people, take advantage of the empty offices and blow the dust out off the PC and laptop cases. When people return the added ventilation will make your job easier as less machines will overheat.
You’re on holiday, so set an auto-responder and leave your work phone at home! You’re not a machine; you need time off to work to the best of your abilities!
The Ironman Austria with its beautiful setting and perfect triathlon landscape attracts over 2000 athletes out of 50 nations every year. The Wörthersee with its crystal clear water offers optimal swimming conditions, the biking leads through the heart of Carinthia. The run course is totally flat. The 2013 edition saw the participation of the BMIT-sponsored triathlon athlete Michelle Vella Wood.
Competing in the Klagenfurt Ironman, her third Ironman event and one which involves a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a 42.2km run, BMIT sponsored athlete Michelle Vella Wood did us very proud indeed. Speaking to us after the 30th June event, an exhausted but elated Michelle said that she placed 34th out of 317 women, 7th in her age-group and managed to shave 24 minutes off her previous Maltese record time.
Only two weeks later, the Metamaterials PhD candidate Michelle was in top notch form once again, claiming a win in the B'Kara St. Joseph Sprint Series, completing the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run in a record time of 1hr 4min 50sec, a full 1 minute 28 seconds less than the previous course record. Heartfelt congratulations Michelle!
Malta leading IT Solutions Provider, Crimsonwing, together with BMIT Ltd, Malta’s leading Cloud Services Provider, today announced a joint partnership to offer an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution on the Cloud. This solution will help minimize costs in a fully managed private cloud computing environment based on Microsoft’s ERP solution Dynamics NAV. This system is scalable and flexible to support an organisation’s growing business needs for as little as €99 per user per month.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Cloud is now being offered on a monthly subscription basis with no upfront software capital costs, and no expensive hardware to buy and maintain. This Cloud offering has been designed for companies of all sizes and industries. Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers companies extended functionality for all business areas, including Finance Management, Inventory Management, Customer Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, and a host of other areas.
One of the great advantages of using a Cloud-based ERP Solution is to have all the functionalities of a robust tried-and-wwwed system available in-house and on the go, at a substantially lower cost. This means that companies can now access the NAV Cloud, from anywhere, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without investing in any hardware, or employing extra personnel to maintain it.
Stephen Abela, Head of Dynamics at Crimsonwing Malta commented, “With Microsoft Dynamics Cloud, businesses in Malta now have access to the very lawww technology, in an immediate and cost-effective way. The quick return on investment that companies can reap from Cloud Computing can put such companies on the leading edge and give them a competitive advantage.”
Another major benefit of migrating to Cloud Computing is that companies can use the most reliable computer applications suited to their needs, and pay only for what is used - that is a monthly fee attached to the number of users of the system. Crimsonwing and BMIT are now offering this ground-breaking solution for as little as 99€ per user per month for the first six months. Companies will be able to define which areas of their business would most benefit from Microsoft Dynamics NAV Cloud as well as the number of users that will access the software.
Crimsonwing‘s team of highly-skilled consultants can help users customize Dynamics NAV to the needs of their individual businesses, provide integration to current source data, whilst offering support throughout the migration to the new system.
“BMIT’s Cloud infrastructure allows small and large companies alike to have access to flexible and scalable IT and server resources on demand, and on a pay-per-use model. Our collaboration with Crimsonwing will enable the possibility for businesses to access powerful ERP solutions without incurring the high infrastructure investment costs which an ERP solution usually requires,” added NickTonna, Chief Commercial Officer at BMIT said.
For the second year running, BMIT is supporting the 12-Hour Tennis Marathon in aid of Puttinu Cares Children's Cancer Support Group, being held at the Marsa Sports Club as from tomorrow evening (28-29 June 2013). We are very proud to support this worthy cause, and be part of an event which will see a great number of adults and kids playing all evening and night to raise funds.
The Marathon consists of doubles teams playing against each other for 90 minute sessions. Play is spread over 6 flood-lit courts, starting at 18.00hrs this Friday, with the final match starting at 04:30hrs on Saturday. The event, together with a pre-event party and a post-event presentation dinner, is organised on a voluntary basis, with all proceeds going to the Puttinu Cares Foundation.
