‘No one can remain competitive in the technology sector without constantly renewing themselves’

Harvest Technology was set up with the aim of connecting the respective initiatives being undertaken by three tech-driven leading companies, to pave the way for increased sharing of expertise and solutions, and in so doing, enabling a better scaling up of operations.

With business requirements calling for solutions that are easily accessible to clients but which need to be powered by complex back-end operations to get the desired results, the importance of combined efforts is evident.

Harvest Technology plc is an investment company within the Hili Ventures Group, with the latter operating in 11 countries, engaging 11,000 employees and counting, and involved in sectors covering logistics, retail and property. The Group traces its history back to 1923, and this year celebrates its centenary.

The three main operational holdings of Harvest Technology cover a wide range of sectors. Apcopay is an all-in-one payments gateway offering solutions to clients with demanding, complex operations such as airlines and gaming companies. Many end-users will have engaged with Apcopay solutions when booking flight tickets, for example. Today, it continues to invest heavily in upgrading the Payments Gateway to a cloud architecture and one can only expect more new features to continue being enabled in this regard.

PTL, meanwhile, provides IT solutions consultancy and systems integration, bringing with it the partnerships that it has long established with global names such as IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, NCR and others. PTL is a renowned name on the local market, having already been in operation for many decades before being acquired by Hili Ventures some 20 years ago.

Harvest Technology supports its subsidiaries in several areas including marketing, human resources, finance, and legal matters, providing for more efficiency in these core activities. It also has a cross-group business development function that includes the Hili Ventures Group, allowing for support across the whole spectrum of this large group of companies and which underpins several operations.

Ensuring that all the moving parts work in symphony is Harvest Technology’s hallmark. An example of this is a soon-to-be launched project involving an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

Providing services in both hardware and software, Apco Ltd has been recently tasked with providing a UAV to be utilised in both public and private economic sectors. Meanwhile, another holding, PTL, offers several IT solutions related to border security. These two companies, in synergy, can offer significant value to the client, ensuring that the hardware provided is supplemented with good software services and support in such a critical role. This same level of service and commercial synergy can be replicated in other scenarios and to other clients.

The emphasis is very much on supporting the companies’ clients. The Group, in fact, has established long-term relationships. And while the company is constantly evolving and looking out for new technologies, it never loses focus on the core basics. These core values, along with an emphasis on support, lead many customers to maintain the working relationship with Harvest Technologies, continuing to seek the Group for solutions.

A further advantage of forming part of a much larger group is the extent of diversity in people, experience and expertise that can be brought to any project. And to remain competitive, the company is cognisant of the fact that no one can operate and remain competitive in the technology sector without constantly renewing themselves.

With this Group, internationalisation is a given. Harvest Technology is constantly looking for opportunities beyond Malta’s shores to offer its expertise in payments, health, security and banking across the globe, particularly in countries across the continents of Africa, Latin America and Europe – with the latter including the United Kingdom. Harvest is also continuously assessing and exploring new strategic acquisitions to support their holdings. All while ensuring that quality in the delivery remains throughout, both locally and internationally, and maintaining loyalty to clients. And as businesses everywhere seek to become ever more efficient, the company contends that the use of technology as a facilitator in this regard is expected to continue increasing. Harvest Technology, through its subsidiaries, is well-positioned to offer its expert services, leading to a significant contribution to its clients’ success. With the Group’s appetite for opportunities, one can be assured of being in the right company.

This interview was first carried in the 2023 edition of Business Now Magazine, the sister brand to BusinessNow.mt and produced by Content House Group