Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/378361
10 Business Today maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2014 MCA eBusiness Awards 2013 Hard work, self-confidence and fo- cus are important factors in the suc- cessful launch of an online product, as demonstrated by the winner of the Best eCommerce Site (B2C) category of the eBusiness Awards organised by the Malta Communications Authority in 2013. The aims of the Awards are to encourage new ideas and best practice in the field of eBusiness, one of the pillars of the Maltese digital economy. Dealtoday.com.mt won the Best eCommerce Site category in the last edition of the Awards. It is an eCommerce platform that connects merchants to consumers by offering discounted products and services to the Maltese market. The site consists of offers such as discounts at restaurants, massages, spas, hotels, training courses, and events. The website e-mails a list of daily deals to its subscribers and enables its users to access the deals both through the website and mobile applications. Michael Steen Pedersen, director at Good Morning Malta Ltd, the operators of the website, wasn't surprised at all when he heard the name of his website mentioned at the Awards ceremony as winner of the category: "I expected us to win! I personally think we had the best eCommerce website and still have in Malta. I think we won because our concept was new and the fact that we have a complete platform with a fresh looking front end and a competent back end." What makes dealtoday.com.mt the "best" eCommerce website? According to the owners, the solution is innovative in the sense that it's the most transparent and easiest way for an end user to get large discounts on different sought-after experiences such as dining, hotels, travels, and wellness. Every day the website features a new deal in the top of the landing page. Underneath the user finds all active deals and can also choose deals by category. The objective is basically to expose as many offers to as many people as possible. The most valued component is the subscribers who receive a newsletter outlining these offers on a daily basis. The website also has several partnerships with local media and exploits Facebook to maintain existing customers and reach new ones. The website uses secure features such as HTTPS to ensure a safe connection between its servers and end users. Furthermore the website doesn't store the end user's credit card information. There is also an SPS (security payment scheme) protocol that makes it possible for the merchant to check voucher validity. This SPS protocol detects and disables any fraud from incoming vouchers. The merchant can even scan vouchers or virtual vouchers that customers display directly from their smart phone. Mr Pedersen has the following advice to whoever is interested in launching a successful online product or service and maybe submit to the MCA eBusiness Awards: "You need to have a focused concept that's easy to understand for the end user. This has to be followed-up by fully tested user- friendly software. Hard work always helps as well." The Best eCommerce Site (B2C) is one of the categories in this year's MCA eBusiness Awards which have just been announced. More details at: www.mca.org.mt/ebiz-awards Best eGovernment Initiative - MCAST-Seasus Innovation, innovation, innovation. It seems that being a winner at the eBusi- ness Awards organised by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) all boils down to this factor. At least, this is what a three-time winner of the Awards has to say. "We were privileged to have winning projects in the last three editions of the MCA eBusiness Awards. As a common factor, the winning projects had a strong element of innovation, particularly in the use of web technologies in inventive ways to reach users. We believe that our innovative spirit in the field is what gave us the edge," reveals Kenneth Bone, managing director at Mosta- based web development solutions company Seasus. In the very first edition of the MCA's awards in 2011, Seasus was recognised for its Property Book app for Facebook. In the same ceremony they were presented with the Best Indigenous Enterprise of the Year Award and the eBusiness Excellence Award. This record of three Awards to the same entity in one night is still unbeaten. The following year Seasus won the Best Use of Social Media category with the L-Istrina App on Facebook, which makes it easy to donate to charity. The latest accolade came in 2013 when Seasus won the Best Government Initiative category with an online applications platform for part-time courses developed for the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). "We are passionate about what we do and it transpires in our projects. I think that dedication and enthusiasm about a project is what makes it a winner, not just at awards but also commercially," reiterates Mr Bone. Established in 2001, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) is the country's leading vocational education and training institution. It offers 170 full- time and over 300 part-time vocational courses ranging from certificates to degrees. Students are prepared for careers in different sectors of the economy or for higher education. The need to successfully administer 300 part-time courses meant that a solid online application solution was needed to make it as simple and straight-forward as possible for potential candidates to apply. On flipside, the administration of these courses was also kept in mind as online applications potentially involve less administrative and clerical work than receiving applications in person. With this in mind, MCAST contracted Seasus to come up with a simple but effective solution. The online platform makes it possible for MCAST to give prospective students full details of each of the 300 courses on offer in a convenient, environment-friendly medium – including all this information in a printed prospectus would involve many more resources. Once the users decide to enrol, the submission of the application and the online payment are easy to sort out and this also assists MCAST in streamlining back- end processes and reduce manual intervention. This online registration platform makes MCAST one of the first educational institutions in Malta to offer such a service. While Seasus continues to work on new ideas, it relishes the opportunity given by the MCA eBusiness Awards to the hard-working local industry. "We are very appreciative of the efforts that the MCA puts into these awards every year. They are an excellent showcase for the local industry and ultimately the projects themselves," concludes Mr Bone. The 2014 edition of the MCA eBusiness Awards has been announced. Companies and entities which believe they have a good project to showcase are encouraged to come forward. More details at: www.mca.org.mt/ebiz-awards Best eCommerce Site (B2C) - dealtoday.com.mt The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) eBusiness Awards are held annually to spur innovative initiatives in the domain of eBusiness and spread awareness about the potential of emerging technologies to drive economic growth and social development. "We were privileged to have winning projects in the last three editions of the MCA eBusiness Awards.