BMIT Technologies, a name synonymous with reliable data-driven operations in Malta, has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years. From its origins primarily serving the burgeoning online gaming sector, the company has evolved into a comprehensive provider of hybrid IT, cybersecurity, and managed solutions for a wide array of medium-sized businesses and large corporates.

Christian Sammut, CEO of BMIT Technologies, begins by outlining the foundational shifts that initiated this evolution. “I have been working in some shape and form with BMIT since around 2008 when GO entered into discussions with the then owners,” he recounts. These discussions culminated in GO’s initial acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in 2009, followed by the full acquisition of the balance of shares by 2011.

A pivotal moment arrived with the change in ownership and leadership. “That is when I took over full responsibility for the company as CEO,” Christian states, describing the company’s profile at that time: “it was primarily a colocation data centre operator providing services predominantly to the online gaming industry.”

Yet while the online gaming sector was booming and offered significant business, Christian and his management team recognised the need for strategic diversification. “We embarked on a new strategy,” he explains, “one which was to see BMIT providing a much wider portfolio of products and services, targeting not just the online gaming industry but other businesses on the island too.

This strategic pivot quickly bore fruit. “We launched a cloud platform early in 2012,” Christian highlights. “In fact, we were the first Maltese company to have a locally-based public cloud platform.”

Further enhancing their capabilities, BMIT looked beyond organic growth. “By 2016, it was clear that whilst we had a lot of expertise in the data centre, for us to gain more traction on the island, we had to have a capability to support businesses in their office environment,” Christian notes. This led to the acquisition of local IT systems integrator Kinetics in 2018, which significantly broadened BMIT's service offering.

By that time, the company’s product portfolio had fundamentally changed, transforming from a pure colocation data centre provider into a comprehensive IT provider covering data centre, cloud, and on-prem services. This evolution gave customers “a choice of whatever service they required to help their business”, the CEO says.

BMIT's journey also included a significant step in its corporate structure. “In 2019,” Christian shares, “GO decided to divest 49 per cent of its holding and we launched an IPO on the local stock exchange, which was a great success.” This move saw BMIT become a publicly listed company, with 51 per cent held by GO and the remaining 49 per cent by institutional and public investors. 

Looking at BMIT's current positioning and competitive advantage, Christian affirms, “we focus on quality, value, and on making sure that our customers make the best return on the investments they make in technology.” He believes that this, combined with their extensive experience, particularly gained from the highly demanding online gaming sector, gives the company a unique edge. 

He is clear on BMIT's aspirations moving forward: “we look at BMIT not just as any simple IT service provider but we position ourselves as a strategic partner to our customers,” Christian states. This involves providing enterprise-grade, bespoke solutions, leveraging their significant investment in infrastructure, technology, and people, including being the first Maltese data centre company with ISO 27001 certification and recently achieving SOC 2 attestation.

Discussing their acquisition strategy, Christian explains that it serves a dual purpose. “Our investment strategy focuses on two main things,” he notes. The first is seeking opportunities that allow them to “expand our product portfolio and ensure that our products and services are ready to serve our customer requirements.” The recent investment in 56Bit, meanwhile, exemplifies the second focus: diversifying into new areas, like mobile passive infrastructure, which, while perhaps offering a slightly lower return, provides “a stable return over a long period of time.”

Internally, BMIT has solidified its identity through clearly defined values. Christian outlines four key values: “We are dependable, we are reliable. We're always there for our customers.” This fosters a culture where they are all there for each other. “We support each other and we are all there to support our customers.” The second value is being “driven to grow,” while the third is excellence. “We expect everyone in the company to do the best at what their responsibility is,” he explains, ensuring quality across the board. The final value is a can-do mindset. Christian sums this up by saying, “no problem is impossible to solve.”

Peering into the future, Christian identifies key technological trends that will shape the market. “Everyone talks about AI, data, and technologies and solutions around this particular space,” he notes. Yet while these may already be present, the CEO believes Malta has yet to fully experience their impact across homes and businesses.

The true opportunity, he suggests, lies in the effective utilisation of the vast amounts of data generated by these technologies. “We have yet to see the the data which will result from these, which will be available for companies to understand their own consumers, to understand patterns and to help them deliver better solutions which are more adept to the requirements of their customers,” he explains.

Concluding our conversation, Christian reiterates BMIT's core promise and future role in Malta's digital landscape. “BMIT is Malta's leading IT services provider,” he states confidently. “We are proud of what we have managed to achieve over the years and we believe that we are strategically positioned to help any business on the island adapt to the evolving technologies which are coming on the market.”

Ultimately, BMIT's goal is to empower its customers. “We believe that we can work closely with our customers so that they can then focus on their own business requirements whilst depending on us as a strategic partner,” Christian concludes, highlighting BMIT's commitment to ensuring businesses can effectively leverage technology for success.