Over the years, emerging technologies have fuelled innovation and transformed entire industries.
While there are significant opportunities to be realised by exploiting these technologies to innovate and create new sources of value, this digitalisation has put pressure on companies to reflect on their current strategy and explore new business opportunities systematically and at early stages.
The enabling role of technology was always known, however the COVID-19 pandemic has brought it at the core of our being and functioning. As companies moved to the cloud and remote working became the norm, AI and big data was used by health authorities, apps were designed to support social distancing and public health and technology is being seen as a key pillar of an economic revival strategy. Malta has been investing heavily over the past 25 years and the public sector has played a key role in the creation of a fully-fledged economic sector.
Today, the sector accounts for around nine per cent of GDP and employs over 10,000 people. Not only does it constitute a sector in itself but, more importantly, it is a key enabler for other sectors including professional services, remote gaming and financial services. Going forward, the government needs to ensure that the digital sector does not only remain an enabler but truly becomes a core and central tenant of our society and economy.
Read more: MT: Transitioning into the digital transformation
150 digitization measures will be rolled out in a number of government services
€40 million will be invested into the digitization of government services over the next three years including the gradual introduction of artificial intelligence and blockchain, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Monday.
Read more: MT: Public services to be digitized over the next few years
Malta has over the last years invested heavily in IT and technology
Technology is one of four pillars, the others being transformation, transition and talent, that should serve as the foundation of a renewed and focused vision for Malta’s economy. Going digital is no longer simply part of how an economy functions – it is the economy.
The reality of COVID-19 has brought to the fore our reliance on technology. Remote working is now a reality for many; online education is the norm for students; web-based meetings have replaced the need for commuting and travelling; and webinars have replaced events. Despite all of this, there is still much more that needs to be done as a country to truly become an entrenched digital economy and society.
In 2018, individuals aged between 16 and 74 who regularly made use of the internet reached 306,692 persons, 81.4 per cent of the total population, the NSO said today.
Internet usage by individuals
All of the 16 to 24 age cohort in the population said to have used the internet in 2018, while individuals aged 65 to 74 recorded the lowest internet usage levels at 37.9 per cent. Survey results show that during the year under review, 84.0 per cent of individuals aged between 16 and 74 accessed the internet away from home or work via their mobile phone.
Read more: MT: More than 80% of population use internet regularly – NSO