ICON investing in innovation, R&D and human resources

ICON, a leading web solutions provider in Malta, is furthering its investment in product and technical innovation, research and development and additional human resources to assist the Company in expanding further both locally and overseas.

To mark its 10^th anniversary celebrations and the company’s commitment to innovation, ICON has launched a new application ICON.travel^TM, which provides companies operating in the travel industry with an integrated web product that streamlines operations and allows services to be offered online.

During a visit by Prime Minister Dr. Lawrence Gonzi at ICON’s offices in San Gwann, Directors Dr. Gege Gatt and Mr. Ian Castillo emphasised that ICON’s success story demonstrates how home-grown local talent can flourish into a successful enterprise.

“The continuation of this success is of key importance for our company, our employees and for the local economy in general. R&D, product innovation and human resource capital are the three focal areas of our investment plan to ensure that this home-grown success continues and very soon, starts a life of its own beyond Maltese shores” said Dr. Gege Gatt.

With an employee headcount of 25, the company continued to grow steadily throughout the financial crisis, maintaining and even increasing staff levels, opening a satellite office in Milan whilst keeping other costs to a bare minimum with the aim of strengthening the company’s offering when business took an upturn.

“We have been able to outperform our competitors in this industry due to our ability to adapt ourselves in this ever changing environment whilst constantly re-positioning for future growth. The recent efforts in Milan marked the start of our efforts to increase our international presence and business. Within the next the next 18-24 months we expect to see a greater return from our overseas operations than the local operation,” added Dr. Gatt.

The web development, business development and the core projects teams have also been expanded to enable the company to achieve its main commercial objective of deploying 2 to 3 new and innovative products per year thus allowing the company to diversify into different fields.

While being shown around the offices and meeting employees, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stressed Malta’s potential in enhancing its position as a regional ICT centre of international repute.

ICON was also one of the first companies in Malta to understand the importance of web marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as a way of providing customers with true return on their investment. ICON has since invested heavily in training for all staff members whilst offering consultancy sessions to their customers and ensuring that each website that the company develops has a strong SEO focus.

“The vastness of the internet offers an opportunity to be able to grow internationally as well as locally. The Internet knows no boundaries which makes the supplier’s location almost irrelevant. Innovation, excellence and quality of services are three factors which clients are looking for when it comes to web solutions. These factors are deeply embedded in our core values,” said ICON Director for Technical InnovationMr. Ian Castillo.