Two ministries have seemingly joined forces over the past weeks to push for a greater and better use of technology.

The Industry, IT and Investments Ministry and the Competitiveness and Communications Ministry, a few days ago, held a joint press conference to launch a National Broadband Strategy.

It was said that broadband subscription has increased by 2,000 in the past two months.

A target had been set for broadband connections in households to increase from 17 per cent to 60 per cent. Broadband internet connections are faster than the traditional dial-up system.

But the two ministries are doing more than that to promote technology. In articles he has written for this newspaper, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea has dwelt at length on the important role that technology plays in making the country more competitive in today’s world. For his part, IT Minister Austin Gatt continues to insist that in a technological world where what is created today is already “old” technology next week, we need to continue regularly upgrading our systems to keep up with the times.

Malta has made great strides forward over the past 15 years or so.

Gone are the days when computers were thought to be detrimental to employment and one must say that although we did start later than others, Malta caught up fast and today we are in a much better position than we were some years ago.

What is also important to point out is that, when it comes to technology, Malta did not just make a step and stop there. There are many other sectors where something is done and then, it takes years to review the situation and more years to come up with the plans and implement the changes.

With regard to technology, this was not the case. This is largely because the government has pushed itself into using technology to improve its services, make them more efficient and, at the same time, pushed the private sector into investing more. Needless to say, the private sector, which in many cases had pre-empted the government on the subject, took the cue to further invest to upgrade its technology.

Having said this, there is still a lot more to do and, to put it bluntly, we will never be there because there will always be something new in a fast-developing sector. Yet, every effort must be made to keep in touch with the progress which is made in technology, practically a daily occurrence.

One matter that emerged from a recent speech delivered by Dr Gatt is the fact that only one in three Maltese businesses offer online support to its customer base or uses the internet for after sales services or training of staff. Two thirds of Maltese businessmen prefer to conduct their affairs with their banks face to face rather than on online.

This goes to prove that although advances have been made, we are still rather conservative, not to say distrustful, of the use of technology. Many still want that handshake and a load of papers to take back to the office rather than doing a transaction or deal via a computer which, on the whole, would take less time and trouble.

It is good that the government leads the way on this issue and continues to press for greater awareness and, why not, greater trust in what technology has to offer.

Dr Gatt has said that over the next few years there will be a focus on this matter because “if businesses are comfortable to buy online but unsure of selling online, the problem cannot be attributed to skills or knowledge but to culture and confidence”.