Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1299340
4 NEWS 15.10.2020 ACCORDING to the Boston Consult- ing Group, three main areas have been the focus of technology companies since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A quarter of solutions are around detection and containment; one fifth tackle issues of healthcare provider enablement; and a further 21% grappled with economic resilience. Here in Malta, HandsOn Systems have made the most of this compelling event, which its CEO Geoffrey Farrugia be- lieves is useful in life and in business, to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions both locally and globally in the markets where it is active. In the area of prevention/detection of the virus, Farrugia said HandsOn Sys- tems is now offering fever detection cameras, alongside temperature guns, to help businesses detect people with pos- sible symptoms of the virus. "Even though some people with no fe- ver are still carrying the virus, statistical- ly, 60% will have fever. So, it helps busi- nesses to automate the process and save a lot of money in the process," he said. Another product line is disinfection diffusers and dispensers. ese ma- chines can be left on during the night to automatically diffuse a disinfecting solu- tion across a given area – the bigger the machine, the bigger the area that can be disinfected automatically. HandsOn Systems offers solutions cov- ering 150 sq.m or 50 sq.m or less. "Given that we are in the transport in- dustry, such a machine is also ideal for the disinfection of people-carrying vehi- cles," Farrugia said. A third key area is contact tracing for businesses. "If you have a factory that employs some 400 people, having even one person testing positive can have cat- astrophic results with the entire cohort having to self-isolate, leading to lay-offs or a four-day week," he said. e solution is a wearable using Blue- tooth and ultra-wide band technology – a wrist band incorporating a Bluetooth beacon to not only enable contract trac- ing but also to give the wearer a social distance alert in the form of a beep or a vibration (or both) if that person is too close to someone. "Many technology advancements were spurred in wartime. We are living in a different kind of war. It is an invisible war. So, we are looking internally and saying, 'What can we do to fight back through innovation?' is requires a dif- ferent kind of weapon," Farrugia said. "e kind of weapon that we need is, first and foremost, education. However, technology can play an important part in this and our COVID-Tech line can also contribute." COVID-19 spurs innovation at HandsOn Systems Business planning for uncertain times Paymentworld Europe upgrades core banking system to Oracle BUSINESS planning, EU and oth- er business funds, and ISO quality certification are three topics that will be covered by Dr Edward Fir- man during the next Malta BNI Business Briefing (BBB), entitled Business planning for uncertain times, next Tuesday at 12noon via zoom. Visitors are welcome. Held remotely via zoom, the Malta BNI Business Briefings in- itiative is a series of online meet- ings organised by Malta BNI, a body which forms part of the global Business Networking In- ternational (www.bni.com). e organisation fosters stronger col- laboration between businesses and is creating new commercial opportunities especially in these uncertain times. Tuesday's Business Briefing will be delivered by Edward Fir- man, a business economist and a certified public accountant, who practices as an independ- ent management and financial consultant focusing on business planning, sourcing EU and other business funds, and ISO quality certification. Firman worked for several years with Unilever Ltd in the UK and a major business enterprise in Malta as finance di- rector. In 2003, he set up his own man- agement consultancy firm, Dr Edward Firman & Associates, which has assisted businesses in a variety of sectors including in- surance, tourism, manufacturing, IT, hospitality and legal services to formulate and implement stra- tegic and business plans, obtain funding from the EU and other sources, and become ISO cer- tified. He also lectures on these topics at various academic insti- tutions. In his business briefing pres- entation, Firman will be focus- sing on the best management and financial tools and techniques available to assist business en- terprises to assess their position and identify their path forward in these uncertain times. For more information about this event, which is free of charge, please email Viviana Premazzi at viviana@gmdmalta.com or Da- vid Bullock at david.malta.bni@ gmail.com or Carmel Bonello carmelbonello2020@outlook . com #bnimalta #networking #business #malta LOCAL Fintech company, Paymentworld Europe Ltd, has upgraded the software powering several of its payment services to Oracle Flexcube, a market-leading core banking system used by global banks like Citigroup Inc., HSBC, and Wells Fargo & Company. e new system went live last Monday with the transition going smoothly without any critical defects. e implementation and training process has taken around a year and involved de- commissioning and replacing the compa- ny's previous banking system. Jens Podewski, co-founder and CEO of Paymentworld Europe Ltd., explained that "this development represents a significant investment from the company that will im- prove operational efficiency, reduce time to market for upcoming products, and it also greatly expands our Open Banking capabil- ities. is is a very exciting and important milestone for the company". In conjunction with the implementation of Oracle, the company has rebranded its online payment account service, IBAN4U, with a fresh visual identity and website (www.iban4u.com). IBAN4U, now powered by Oracle Flex- cube, is a business payment account target- ed at foreign companies who want to avoid bureaucratic banks and open an account quickly. Stefan Haenel, co-founder and CFO, said the company was very pleased with how IBAN4U had been received last year by its local and European partners. "Because of its success, we are dou- bling-down on our strategy to push this product in the uropean market," he said. "A proven core system like Oracle and a new, modern brand provide us with a great platform to move forward and expand our business substantially." Malta BNI is focussing on the best management and financial tools and techniques