|
e-Services
Philippines 2004
By Michael Alan Hamlin
December 23, 2003
As I wrote in this space last February,
every year the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions
(CITEM) conducts an international exposition and conference intended
to showcase Philippine and multinational e-Services organizations
doing business in the Philippines. CITEM is now preparing for the
2004 show, titled e-Services Philippines 2004. It will take place
February 12 and 13.
The e-Services exhibition annually draws thousands of visitors -
around 15,000 last year - and highlights the country's five fast-growing
IT and IT-enabled services sectors: software development, business
process outsourcing, contact centers, animation, and medical transcription.
According to CITEM e-Services director Josephine Briones-Gonzales,
the exposition, "showcases the country's value offerings, chiefly
its world-class, business-grade infrastructure and wide pool of
highly skilled, English-proficient manpower."
Ouillow Enterprise Developers Company is a good example of what
can occur as a result of participating in the show. The company's
founders told me last week that they experienced a substantial boost
in revenues following participation in the e-Services Philippines
2003, as well as other opportunities. The small software start-up
was established in 2001 by two women IT programmers. In the last
year it has expanded its network of business contacts from 500 to
4,000, identified and forged alliances with two complementary service
providers, and taken on new local and foreign clients, according
to Lilibeth Espinelli, Ouillow's president and founder.
e-Services Philippines exhibition is generally considered to be
the country's largest IT outsourcing show. Ms. Briones-Gonzales
said that exhibitors have consistently reported increased business
as a result of new contacts and international exposure gained through
the exhibit, which probably accounts for the steady increase in
exhibitors over the first three shows.
The exhibit is especially beneficial for smaller, new players like
Ouillow, according to Ms. Espinelli. "e-Services is the perfect
venue for companies who want to make their services more visible
and accessible to target customers, partners, and important government
and business personalities and groups. We are thankful to have participated
in this event because it allowed us to increase our customer base,
collaborate and learn from other service providers, and showcase
our services to targeted local and foreign customers."
The bump in business apparently isn't just temporary. Ms. Espinelli
said she is also negotiating deals with five new prospects that
contacted the company as a result of its participation in the exhibit.
"Valuable partnerships were also established with fellow exhibitors
such as mobile applications developer GiveMe Unlimited, Internet
service company Online Interactive Communications Corporation, and
consultancy firm Madecor. These partnerships have helped us improve
and expand our product and services offerings and capabilities,
and widen our market reach."
Ouillow develops accounting software and application development
services specifically for small- and medium-size companies. At present,
the company is expanding its reach in the European market by putting
up a satellite office in Zeist, Netherlands. The expansion came
after Ouillow received an international award from Business Initiatives
Directions (BID), a global assessment firm based in Madrid, Spain,
according to Ms. Espinelli.
Ouillow's co-founder and chief operations officer Rowena Sumalbag,
flew to Geneva, Switzerland to receive the International Star Award
for Quality in the Gold Category for product and business excellence
in the IT category. "We naturally are proud to be ranked among
the world's most outstanding companies, organizations, and businesspeople
in the IT industry. This is something that will drive us to further
improve our products and expand our operations," Ms. Sumalbag
told me.
Ms. Briones-Gonzales explained to me that visitors to e-Services
Philippines 2004 can look forward to product and services displays
by over 300 exhibitors, as well as special conference sessions on
the current state of each sector, emerging trends, and forecasts.
e-Services will also feature awards for best exhibitors and products
and a short animated film competition for students and amateur animators.
"Participating in e-Services Philippines opens up tremendous
business opportunities for IT service providers. That's because
e-Services is the premier hub for local and global IT companies
to meet thousands of prospective customers and partners, the media
and general public, and key government and business personalities,"
she said. So if you're planning a trip home around the New Year,
mid-February would be a good time, if you are involved - or would
like to be - in e-Services and outsourcing.
Despite the politics, the bad news, and the bellyaching in general,
these sectors are proving to be resilient engines of growth, providing
significant levels of direct and indirect job generation. If fact,
the local IT equipment and solution sectors owe their recent resurgence
in significant part to rapid growth in the e-Services sectors, according
to industry sources.
While some may be inclined to view e-Services as a temporary hot
button, analysts consistently predict continued rapid expansion
over the mid-term. Don't be left out.
(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.
|
