As a firm, we have consistently upheld a strong belief in and actively promoted the adoption of digital strategies with our clients. The past year, however, has been a defining moment for our firm where we took our ambitions to new heights with the formal set-up of PwC Digital Services Malta Limited.
PwC Digital Services is at the forefront of the latest technological innovations and our mission is to assist our clients in achieving sustained business outcomes by delivering comprehensive expertise and serving as their partner throughout their entire digital journey.
We take pride in the fact that, at the time of preparing this report, PwC Digital Services is already comprised of over 65 dedicated technology resources with a plan to expand even further. Besides embarking on a strong organic growth drive within the strategic consulting, cyber security, data analytics, Salesforce and Microsoft business solutions, there was also the acquisition of Megabyte Limited which has complemented our team with their in-house skills in bespoke software development, Oracle technologies as well as HPE network infrastructure and engineering managed services. Over the recent months following the acquisition, our primary emphasis has been on attaining and upholding an optimal balance between maintaining uninterrupted business operations and seamlessly integrating the various lines of business from Megabyte into the broader framework of PwC Digital Services.
Undoubtedly a key highlight of the past year was our week-long PwC Tech Week. Held in May, the event centred around the theme of advancing toward a human-led and tech-powered future. The main event of the week was the two-day Intelligent Digital conference, held at the Xara Lodge in Rabat on 16 and 17 May. The speakers and panellist line-up for these two days was extensive, comprising local C-suite business leaders, technology alliance partners from Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce and HPE, as well as key local and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) network PwC subject matter experts. The week also comprised a whole-day event, Digital in Action, at PwC's The Hub in Qormi. The agenda included eleven thematic sessions that provided business and technology leaders with the opportunity to see technology in action and gain insight into how certain digital areas and emerging technologies are crucial to driving their business agendas for the years to come.
Digital Strategy and Transformation
Organisations have strongly continued their endeavours to digitally transform themselves post-pandemic to become more resilient and flexible to the continuously changing environment in which we live. Throughout the year, we have supported our clients to transform their operating models into more digital-by-default ones to achieve their strategy, growth, value objectives and, ultimately, deliver sustained outcomes. This kind of digital-led transformation remains paramount when facing inflation, economic and geo-political uncertainties with many companies transforming the way they operate to focus on building differentiating capabilities such as customer experience ones that fuel growth while also optimising cost and spending.
As we look forward to the next year, we are already witnessing many local organisations persevere in their efforts to transform themselves into leaner digital enterprises. In addition, it is clear that there will be a lot of focus over the coming year on sustainability and ESG-driven transformation where technology will also play a key part in assisting companies with their disclosures. In this respect, we are continuously investing in our people to upskill them in these areas.
Microsoft Solutions
The past year was marked by ongoing growth for the Microsoft Business Solutions team. The firm continued to strengthen the team’s capabilities by recruiting experts covering a vast range of Microsoft Business Applications technologies, including D365 Finance and Operations, D365 Business Central, Microsoft Power Platform and Integration services.
We continue to progress strongly with the implementation of the Microsoft D365 Finance and Operations Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and PowerBI Data Warehouse solution that is currently being implemented at the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA). Over the last year, we also successfully engaged in international projects, assisting and providing Microsoft expertise and solutions to other PwC offices in the network.
As we continue to make headway with the MITA ERP project, we have also successfully deployed an ICT Budgeting application, using Microsoft PowerApps technology. This application provides an all-in-one solution for MITA and Governmental Ministries to engage cooperatively in their submission of the required ICT budgets. The application enables the relevant responsible people to oversee each step of the ICT budgeting request process, and easily review, provide feedback and approve submissions. Such submissions are also analysed and reported on, using PowerBI.
As we head into the next year, we are seeking to engage with various local and foreign clients and PwC firms to roll out Microsoft solutions in the F&O, BC, CRM and BI areas. As a result, we are constantly looking for great talent to grow our Microsoft team.
Bespoke Software & Oracle Solutions
As a business changes, whether by design or due to circumstances, its processes naturally evolve. Consequently, it becomes imperative to make adjustments to the software solutions that support the various aspects of the business. This ensures that the software remains relevant and efficient, enabling the organisation to optimise its operational effectiveness.
Through Megabyte’s commitment to customer centricity and the unfaltering quality of the bespoke software offering, they have nurtured extremely strong relationships with their customers, some spanning well over 20 years. The team of in-house software developers continues to maintain and innovate several highly specialised tailored software solutions that have withstood the test of time for decades, to the extent that they had to be subjected to multiple iterations of technology refreshes and re-platforming over the years to keep them relevant and running on the leading and latest technologies. Their experience in the field of bespoke development shall allow us to capitalise on existing client opportunities as their business grows and their requirements change, and also to utilise this level of expertise to be able to proffer our services in this area for any upcoming opportunities.
As has been Megabyte’s strategy over the past years concerning Oracle Business Applications, the focus has been and shall remain on driving the Oracle Fusion Cloud Suite. With the focus being primarily on the ERP product, we are concentrating our efforts on targeting the public sector, where we have worked on closing existing leads and opening up new opportunities.
Oracle’s Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is also on an unprecedented global growth path within the hyperscalers market as the first and sole Gen 2 Cloud provider within the top segment of the market. Their impressively vast and robust portfolio paired with the competitive pricing is enticing many organisations to migrate their cloud workloads from competing hyper scalers and are also quickly becoming the go-to supplier for start-ups due to their extensive free entry-tier offerings.
Data Analytics & Emerging Technology
The past year continued to be a growth year for the Data Analytics and Emerging Technologies team. We continue to progress strongly with the implementation of various analytical solutions at our clients which range from data warehousing and business intelligence to more bespoke analytical applications. One of the largest projects the team is currently working on is the implementation of the Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence solution as part of the wider Microsoft D365 Finance and Operations ERP that is being implemented at MITA.
On the Emerging Technology side, the team has been busy working on several innovative solutions. The team has implemented several Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions for our clients to automate and streamline several processes. Such RPA solutions have resulted in both process efficiencies due to the reduction of human error and cost savings due to the significantly reduced time it takes to carry out a process. As Artificial Intelligence has once again been cast into the spotlight through Generative AI (GenAI) innovations such as ChatGPT, our team is continuously exploring how GenAI will require business leaders to fundamentally question how their business is run and how people work.
Cyber Security & Privacy
The past year has been a continuation of opportunities and challenges from recent years, with newly introduced regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the Network and Information Security 2 (NIS2) still taking the spotlight. While organisations were required to start mobilising their resources to ensure regulatory compliance, the threats of ransomware, wiperware, and APT groups did not show any signs of slowing down. Consequently, private and public entities have had no choice but to keep their guards up and make well-informed risk-based decisions for investing their IT and cyber security budgets.
Throughout the year, our local Cyber Security & Privacy practice has been cooperating closely with the EMEA team to be at the forefront of assisting local organisations in their cyber security compliance journey. We have also invested significantly in bringing our global Cyber Threat Intelligence offering to the local market, such that our clients can stay ahead of the ever-changing cyber threat landscape. On a local level, our team has been actively supporting the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCC-MT) with the establishment and fostering of a national cyber security community, among other initiatives.
While cyber governance, strategy, and risk-related activities have seen steady growth, mainly due to the local and European regulatory driving forces, throughout the year we have seen a considerable increase in our clients undergoing technical security assessments. In this respect, the significant investment in our people to upskill in advanced security testing and red teaming has proved to be a sound strategic decision, ensuring that our local team is well-equipped to assist the current and future needs of the public and private sectors. Looking ahead, we believe that cyber security needs across all types of sectors and the different facets of technology will increase exponentially over the next couple of years. As a firm, we are truly committed to investing in this field and being a significant contributor to a secure digital society.
IT Managed Services / Cloud & Infrastructure
Within the IT-managed services and cloud and infrastructure arena, the past few months have also been dedicated to merging the PwC and Megabyte teams to establish a robust internal framework, equipped with the essential knowledge to support the existing client base and manage upcoming projects in the pipeline. Simultaneously, we are actively pursuing new collaborations to diversify our array of services, adapting to the continually expanding IT environment. Notably, we have recently formalised a partnership with Acronis, a Swiss global technology company offering data protection solutions.
In light of OCI making significant strides in the cloud computing market, positioning itself as a strong contender among hyperscale cloud providers, there has never been a better time to venture into the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure managed services space. In line with this, we have been upskilling our people in these technologies to position ourselves as the leading service provider in the local market.
In response to the persistent challenges in the resource market which are affecting businesses in diverse sectors, our primary objective over the past months has been to fortify our Managed Services portfolio. This effort is geared towards providing top-notch end-to-end management and support for the IT infrastructure of companies, whether it resides on-premise or in the cloud. As recognised Hewlett Packard Enterprise Platinum partners, we are well-equipped to furnish our clients with cutting-edge technology and innovation, particularly in response to ESG demands.
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PwC Malta Annual Review 2023
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