At just 37 years of age, Intercomp Chief Commercial Officer Paul Mercieca has quite the impressive career under his belt. With 20 years of technical experience in the IT world, he has worked both in the public and the private sector.

Leading the charge on the commercial front at Intercomp – one of Malta’s best recognised and trusted IT supplier brands, Mr Mercieca leads both the sales as well as the engineering teams.

“As a result of our success on the retail side, few people realise that 60 per cent of Intercomp’s activity is in fact centred around an intensive B2B effort,” Mr Mercieca explains.

“We help companies set up from the very basic needs, such as laptops and other related hardware, to the more bespoke solutions, such as IT disaster recovery plans. Throughout the process, in my role as Chief Commercial Officer, I am responsible to make sure that the engineering team responsible for the implementation of the plan, reflects and satisfies the commitments made during the sales cycle.”

Building on its vast experience, now, Intercomp is increasingly seeking to position itself to be more of a solutions providing partner rather than merely the obvious choice for product retail.

“We find that more and more businesses are choosing to seek professional assistance when it comes to the day-to-day management of their IT resources. For example, through ‘managed services’, which can be provided for any set-up, which do not necessarily need to be purchased from Intercomp, we help companies stay on top of the everyday management of their tech. That means that we would monitor their computers to ensure they are updated and running the latest and most efficient software. We basically step in to take over a laborious yet important process which would otherwise use up precious resources for a company, that could be employed more productively elsewhere,” Mr Mercieca expounded.

Intercomp have developed the service after noticing a void in the market, whereby more and more companies were struggling to find suitable staff to manage their IT set-ups.

“We stepped in to provide solutions which in the long run will be way more cost effective for the client, while bringing with us a superior quality service with wide ranging expertise, which companies would struggle to match through internal resources.”

Reflecting on the current market situation, Mr Mercieca notes how companies have changed the way they look at IT matters especially when it comes to security matters.

“Companies are growing more mature, as they understand the importance of prevention when it comes to security measures. They are more receptive to ideas of disaster recovery solutions and the importance of employee awareness, which can save the company a great deal of recovery work which could be extremely costly in the long-run.”

Mr Mercieca notes how important it is for businesses to make the necessary budgeting arrangements well ahead of time, in order to be prepared for expenses related to IT security.

“IT security and prevention ought to be a pre-planned expense, which is envisaged and catered for, as part of the organisation’s yearly financial strategy. It is when companies do not plan for such expenses that they are taken by surprise, and this is something that needs to be avoided at all times.”

The opposite option can have some disastrous results, Mr Mercieca warns as he recalls of a company who was the victim of a malicious phishing episode, which cost the company some €200,000. “When seen within the appropriate context, IT security becomes an extremely cost-effective solution, which would save the company untold trouble,” he notes.

Additionally, Intercomp also provides the same level of dedication in supporting the wellbeing of a company’s desktop apparatus, firewalls and back-up solutions.

Intercomp’s wide range of services and vast client base allows it to constantly be on the front-foot about any and all threats that might be in circulation – much faster than any inhouse IT department can ever be.

“Through our team of engineers who undergo constant training, and the experience we garner from the hundreds of companies we service, we make it our job to monitor and alert of any possible threats that might be on the horizon, putting the appropriate protocols in place to prevent trouble from beforehand,” Mr Mercieca concludes.