Enterprises need to strategically reposition themselves in the current digital economy, says Gianfranco Capozzi.

We are witnessing a new era of digital transformation and the ongoing pandemic has accelerated the rise of the digital and online industry that began only a couple of decades before.

Back then we were only beginning to see the growth of social media platforms, e-commerce, and online services. Now, the current trends would be almost unrecognisable to us back then. We have blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, the growth of big data, rapidly improving artificial intelligence and – of course – the Internet of Things. 

Now, more than ever, we need green technologies and sustainable businesses. These innovations should be of the highest importance. Especially for the younger generations, it is now a fundamental prerogative to work on sustainability and doing what’s the best for the planet, starting on our own doorstep, right from Malta.

Malta may be limited in natural resources or industrial capacity, but it has a lot to offer. We are a strategic hub in Europe, highly diversified, with unique facets that place us ahead of the pack. We need to incentivise these elements. What might have worked 10 or 20 years ago to attract foreign businesses and investors, may no longer be valid today. Time changes everything, especially in this rapidly evolving world. 

Traditionally, governments and authorities have butted heads with companies and investors. However, they both have an important role to play in our growth. Governments have the crucial responsibility to facilitate start-ups and entrepreneurships. They need to lead the way with new regulations, bureaucracy, and taxation. Ultimately, they should support organisations which are working towards upgrading local infrastructures. If they do their job right and work with the business community, they could facilitate the establishment of many new businesses.

In the past we were always told to “Think globally, act locally” – now that the internet has made the whole world local, we can now change the paradigm and start acting globally by starting locally. Anyone with enough know-how and expertise could build a simple app, website, or piece of software from scratch in Malta, with the aim of solving a worldwide problem for everyone. With a push of a button, we could start helping people from Tokyo to San Francisco.

We need to change our preconceptions on how to start up new businesses. We need to focus on strategies that cater to our ever-evolving world, already made of smartphones, wearable tech, streamers, cloud computing and online services of all sorts, where everyone and everything is always connected.

A good dose of disruption is needed. Creative thinking and disruptive ideas are now a necessity for every organization that wants to remain competitive. Businesses live and die on their ability to change with the market. Every couple of years businesses seize on a new innovation, expand to their limits and then refuse to change. Unsurprisingly, these businesses often disappear. We are in a crucial phase where we must either adapt or perish. 

To stay competitive, companies and entrepreneurs need to adopt new business models which may include incubator segments, dynamic/diversified teams and exponential growth departments. If we keep on using the same measurements, same policies and processes, hiring people with a background or experience similar to our own, how can we then see different results? 

Enterprises need to strategically reposition themselves in the current digital economy. They have to try and predict an almost unpredictable future. To do this, they need to innovate.

We still need to attract talent. What good is a business if they can’t keep up with the rest of the industry? This too needs to change with the times. Do we need that star-performer AI-developer to be relocated and based in Malta to build up what we want? I would say no, not if they don’t want to.

Working remotely is no longer a benefit or an ‘extra’. The opportunities provided by these unusual circumstances, showed many companies how both employees and managers can still get things done, or even achieve greater results, by removing the obligation to be in the office.

If you feel the need to monitor your employees, to make sure they’re working, to make sure they are physically at the office, you probably have some more critical problems. Before you invest in monitoring software, deep cleaning of physical offices, or security cameras, you need to invest in your basic structure and remove that lack of trust or lack of commitment. 

Of course, Malta will benefit from having high-profile individuals based locally, rather than overseas – but the task of making the island attractive can’t just be a burden for companies and their HR managers; it has to be a community’s goal and the public administration has to be the first driving force behind it.

Gianfranco Capozzi is head of Esports at Catena Media. He is an Esports and crypto enthusiast specializing in growth hacking and digital marketing.