Maltese government aligns cross-agency work, connecting more than 23,000 public service employees with Microsoft 365

Building business resilience

“Previously, due to security concerns, people could only access data and documents in-office,” explains Ivan Alessandro, CFO at MITA. “Thanks to the built-in security components of Microsoft 365, we can now ensure the same level of access in- and out-of-office while being fully aligned with the strict requirements from the government. This proved instrumental during the COVID-19 lockdown for our teams to suddenly shift to remote work without jeopardizing business continuity.”

Positioned to empower the entire public services body to adapt to challenges more quickly and efficiently, MITA also supported the government when doctors faced difficulties meeting patients face to face. “Using Microsoft Teams, doctors can connect with patients and conduct remote health checks,” explains Jonathan Cassar, CTO at MITA. “This has helped prevent congestion in health clinics, ensuring our citizens' safety and health.”

Lifting internal barriers to enhance collaboration across ministries

More than 23,000 users across all ministries are now connected on a single digital platform. “The single collaboration hub simplifies work and makes communication a lot quicker,” says Cassar. “For example, we sometimes had to spend half the day travelling to attend one meeting with our ministry colleagues on the Island of Gozo. These meetings can now be held remotely.”

The entire procurement process has also been streamlined. “We now start by creating a Microsoft Teams site with the respective entity, so all conversations and files are accessible to the team members in one place,” adds Cassar. Co-authoring files hosted on SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business avoids having to access and rework older versions shared through email, and mitigates potential information gaps. “On average, our people save up to 30 minutes per day, allowing them to focus on added-value work that directly impacts the lives of citizens,” he says.

MITA is now examining potential extensions like Microsoft Power Apps and bots, while also looking into enabling Maltese court agencies to hold virtual hearings in Teams. “Microsoft 365 helps us elevate public service administration to the next level of excellence. It gives us this flexibility to instill a culture of continuous change and innovative implementations,” concludes Debono.