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Success
Stories
By Michael Alan Hamlin
February 10, 2003
Have you ever wondered why most
magazines have people on the cover? It's because when people are
on the cover, more magazines get sold at newsstands and supermarket
checkout lines. The reason more magazines get sold is that readers
love success stories, especially success stories they can relate
to - and aspire to emulate. The same thing can be said of conferences
and exhibits. The more successful speakers and resource people present,
the more likely substantial numbers of event participants will sign
up.
Which is why the e-Services Philippines
exhibit this week will be a virtual - and crowded - love fest. It's
brimming with success stories - and even spans Valentines! e-Services
Philippines is an annual exhibit organized by the Center for International
Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the promotional arm of the
Department of Trade & Industry. This is the third time it's
being conducted, and its 122 exhibitors are expected to be visited
by around 10,000 trade visitors from February 13-15.
Consider a couple of the companies
you can see there. Jupiter Systems was founded in 1985 by two IT
consultants, and since then the company has transitioned from a
developer of DOS-based single user business applications to builder
of bona fide business solutions. Jupiter founders Nelson Ng and
Joseph Uy, Jr. saw opportunity in first developing affordable business
applications and later efficiency and productivity boosting business
solutions for the SME sector.
Seventeen years later, Jupiter dominates
the Philippine market for homegrown business solutions, but that's
not enough for current president and industry veteran Fermin Taruc
and his marketing manager, Renmin Villanueva. "Today our priority
targets are Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand - and
the U.S.," Taruc and Villanueva told me recently. In fact,
the first China "prototypes" of its applications are already
being tested.
But Jupiter is no novice when it
comes to international business. "Most of our large export
accounts are in Indonesia, including PT Avon and PT Daria Varia,"
Villanueva told me. In Hong Kong, we have airport services at Chep
Lak Kok, the Sino group, and a host of other companies - roughly
about 25 installations not counting Sino subsidiaries."
One of Jupiter's strengths, in my
view, was a decision made by the founders to do two important things.
First, they brought in professional management to lead the firm
strategically. Ng still plays an integral role in the firm as its
chief technology officer, overseeing and participating in product
R&D. Uy is chairman, but devotes the bulk of his time to other
business ventures.
Second, the company has brought in
new shareholders, providing capital for R&D and market development.
"Jupiter is 40 percent owned by iVantage, a publicly listed
venture capital firm," Villanueva explained to me. The rest
of the company is owned by employees, key officers, and the founders.
Overseas ventures involve partnerships that bring relevant expertise
as well as operating capital to these subsidiaries.
Like a lot of Philippine firms that hover below the horizon, Jupiter
has been world-class in at least three ways. First, it's developed
a highly sophisticated, successful business solution. Second, it
has leveraged customer relationships and market knowledge to dominate
its niche. Third, it's launched its flagship product regionally
in key markets with considerable success.
Another exhibitor, Zzubo Systems,
is a Cebu start-up that is also already doing business internationally.
Although only in its second year, Zzubo has expanded its business
to the US and Hong Kong, offering e-commerce Internet applications
and medical transcription and technology support services, according
to Zzubo chief technology officer Joel Martinez. At present, the
company employs over 200 IT professionals and has completed projects
for such global corporations such as VineLand Online, IBM South
America, Motorola, Dupont Specialty Chemicals, and SCD Hong Kong.
In fact, internationally outsourced
projects comprise 60% of the company's revenues, according to Martinez.
The company also develops in-house IT applications and delivers
custom-designed services to both local SMEs and large, multinational
corporations with operations in the Philippines. Its clients include
major players in Cebu's shipping, trading, commercial, and export
industries. Over 20 companies are currently running its IT solutions.
"A key success factor is to
collaborate and partner with foreign companies by investing in a
local presence in overseas markets," said Martinez. He explained
that while it is true that prospective clients seek offshore IT
vendors that offer cost-effective, quality services, they prefer
providers who have partners abroad that they can rely on and do
business with. "By forging international alliances and establishing
on-site offices, companies can build trust with existing and prospective
customers much faster."
But he said CITEM's annual e-Services
exhibit also serves as an important venue for IT vendors eager to
develop strategic partnerships with other service providers, meet
new prospects, and develop new business relationships. "This
is a great opportunity for companies like us to generate awareness
of our services and expertise among a very large group of key local
and international players." He said the event also helps establish
the Philippines as a premier IT offshore outsourcing destination.
Aside from Zzubo, five other Cebu-based
IT companies and five Davao-based companies are among the 122 exhibitors.
Early registrations have been received from visitors from the USA,
France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, India, and Japan. So if you
need a good dose of success - and who doesn't - get it this week
at e-Services Philippines.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing
director of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on
Asian economies and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian
Places, of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently
at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian Professionals
into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2003 Michael Alan
Hamlin. All Rights Reserved.
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