A meeting was held at GRTU office between Microsoft officials Jacqueline Harvey (Microsoft OEM Manager) and Wayne Hewitt (Systec Business Development Manager) and GRTU representatives and Council Members Marcel Mizzi and Patrick Cutajar. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss possible cooperation between the two organisations.
The company is currently embarking on a campaign to reduce illegal software piracy in the small business sector. Microsoft stated that piracy in the small business sector was still rampant in Malta and that the company was loosing considerable revenue due to this. Possible incentives were discussed with the aim of encouraging small businesses to regularise their position. Mr. Mizzi suggested that incentives should typically include a one time reduction in prices as well as a soft loan system possibly using the Micro Invest Scheme that the Government is set to launch shortly.
It was also agreed that a conference or meeting would be organised before the summer. The conference would be aimed at presenting these incentives, explaining the legal responsibilities and liabilities to the members and would also discuss other important issues such as systems security. The Microsoft representatives stated that they would have to enquire with their management as to whether these incentives were feasible. Another meeting is to be organised once this information is available.
Marcel Mizzi / Patrick Cutajar (Council Members and IT Representatives)-