Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/195525
44 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2013 BOV shortlisted for five Financial Innovation Awards Bank of Valletta has once again made it to the finals of the prestigious Financial Innovation Awards. First up is the BOV Employee Engagement project which sees a total rethink of the Bank's employee engagement platform aimed at intensifying the involvement of the BOV people at all levels whilst harnessing their creative ideas in various sectors. By empowering its people to be more innovative, the Bank's stakeholders, primarily customers and shareholders get added value. The second project aims at widening accessibility to financial services by putting the Bank's everincreasing fleet of Advanced Deposit ATMs and the BOV Internet Banking within the reach of the visually impaired and the illiterate. This project enhances customer experience across the board, and is in line with the Bank's commitment to make its services more accessible to all customers, irrespective of whether that segment is mainstream or peripheral. The Bank's intensive restructuing programme in its Investment Advi- sory service structure also made it to the final shortlist. The programme included the categorisation of all inhouse and third party investment in terms of risk and complexity and the setting up of six Investment Centres that bridges the investment service offered from the retail network and Wealth Management. Assisting SMEs by really being their financial partner of choice is the thrust behind the next project which sees Bank of Valletta working hard to build a holistic yet flexible solution to assist this segment throughout their lifecycle. This focus runs also in the fifth shortlisted project which is aimed at putting 'customer focus' at the heart of the organisation's decision-making processes and policies. The Financial Innovation Annual Award is one of the most well-established in the financial services industry. Entries are received from worldwide organisations and finalists are chosen following a rigorous selection process. The few that make it to the finals are recognised among the best within the industry. Vodafone introduces Vodafone yu: new student plans Commencing university is fun thanks to Vodafone's new student plan, Vodafone yu: University and Junior College students have the opportunity to keep in touch with their loved ones at a minimal monthly rate and can now benefit from exclusive discounts on all phones from Vodafone and discounts through VoucherCloud with the Vodafone yu: card. "We believe that students are at the forefront of technological developments in the mobile industry and we want to make sure that the latest technology and plans are available to them at an affordable €110,000 NAXXAR • Modern 1-bedroom townhouse • Palazzo Parisio area Set over 3 floors • kitchen, living-room, bedroom & glassenclosed ensuite • pantry, spare toilet, washroom • Mdina views • ample parking • perfect letting investment CONTACT OWNER 99880310 MORE PHOTOS http://naxxarhouse.tumblr.com/ price," said Matthew Zammit, Marketing Executive at Vodafone Malta. "Today's students want to have all the latest information at their fingertips. Cool and funky new plans are now at a price that students can afford." The new Vodafone yu: consists of two plans; the Play Monthly Mini for €8 per month, which includes 500MB of data, free SMS and calls to all Vodafone numbers and the Play Monthly for €12 a month which includes 2GB of data and free SMS and calls to all Vodafone numbers. To apply students have to send an SMS to 5091 5751 with their smart card number. Once you apply call 16245 and follow the instructions. In addition, the Vodafone yu: card gives students exclusive phone offers. Signing up is simple, log onto yu.vodafone.com.mt and you will receive the Vodafone yu: card directly at your home. Alternatively students can visit one of Vodafone's retail stores and apply there. More information on the Vodafone yu: is available on yu.vodafone.com. mt or by calling 247 for free from a Vodafone line or 9999 9247 from any other network or by visiting Vodafone Malta's Facebook page. "These awards recognise true innovation in the face of the constant challenges and changing demands in the financial services industry. It is particularly encouraging for us to see a number of our main programmes featuring amongst the finalists in their respective categories. This achievement proves that Bank of Valletta truly is a driving force of the Maltese economy. Following BOV Mobile's success in winning the category of 'Innovation in customer propositions and product design, we are thrilled that our efforts are once again being recognised in this international forum," commented Kenneth Micallef, Head CEO's Office at Bank of Valletta. Temporary closure of access to Central Bank Annexe from Valletta Bus Terminus The Central Bank of Malta would like to inform the general public that access from the Valletta Bus Terminus to the Bank's Annexe at St James's Counterguard will be closed from Monday, 21 October until further notice due to restoration works on the bastion walls. The Bank's Annexe at St James's Counterguard can still be accessed by the public from Girolamo Cassar Street (road leading to Castille Square). Any inconvenience is regretted. Melita inaugurates a new data co-location centre 50% of available data storage space already committed Melita has welcomed its first clients in its new state-of-the-art data co-location centre housed in the company's technical control centre in Madliena. The new data centre is part of a multimillion-euro investment that the company is rolling out over a five-year period, amounting to a total of €60 million. Melita's data centre was inaugurated by Chris Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business who praised the company for its commitment towards strengthening the country's telecommunications infrastructure. He added that Melita is creating optimum conditions for more foreign companies to relocate their operations in Malta through investments in its network infrastructure. "Cutting edge data facilities, as these developed by Melita, are particularly attractive for financial services and online gaming operators, who are increasingly finding Malta as a reliable and secure location from where to conduct their business" Minister Cardona said. Melita Group Chief Executive Officer Andrei Torriani said that this latest investment in a new data centre adds another important link to the chain of telecom infrastructure investments that the company has already completed, including a submarine fibre cable to mainland Europe, broadband speeds of 100 Megabits nationwide, and 250 Megabits in select areas and a new international data link to one of the world's best internet providers directly in Milan. Torriani announced that more than 50% of available data storage space in the new facility is already committed and that there is par- Minister Chris Cardona is shown around Melita's new stateof-the-art data co-location centre in Madliena by Group Chairman Joseph A. Gasan, CEO Andrei Torriani and CTO Simon Montanaro ticularly strong interest from the financial and online gaming communities. Melita is also in the early planning stages of extending its data centre to accommodate more clients, thus supporting the country's economic growth. "Our investments are enabling customers, global businesses and the Maltese economy at large, to prosper and do more in Malta. Over the years Melita has evolved into a highly advanced, converged telecoms company providing a wide portfolio of products and services for consumers and businesses," Torriani explained. He thanked Melita's international shareholders, the technical experts brought in from the US and Europe and Melita's own clients who contributed their global commercial knowledge, technical expertise and feedback respectively, towards building Malta's first state-of-theart data centre. Torriani identified five key pillars that make Melita's data centre stand out from the rest available in Malta: 1. Location: High ground, perimeter-fenced, distant from major traffic areas 2. Security: Multi-stage access controls, CCTV, 24/7 security 3. Reliability: Power redundancy, temperature control, fire suppression 4. Connectivity: Carrier Neutral, Tier 1 to Level 3 5. Support: Dedicated 24/7 technical support team Group Chairman, Mr Joseph A. Gasan said that Melita's new data centre is specifically designed to fulfil customer demands for more security, peace of mind and higher quality of service. "Knowledge-based companies in Malta, both local and foreign, are on the increase, and so is their demand for high quality data services" said Mr Gasan, adding that the commitment of Melita's international shareholders to Melita and to Malta has been expressed time and time again through their investments and the wealth of international expertise that they bring to the company.