Optimizing TechnologyFor a Globally Competitive IT-BPM Sector

Optimizing Technology

02 Featured Companies

03 What We Can Learn From These Companies?

04 What Technology is Available?

05 How Can You Speed Up The Digital Adoption of Your Company?

Challenges of The Sector

Share Treats

Go Motion

How Has the Industry Grown?

GameOps Inc.

GoodWork.ph

Giftaway

For a Globally Competitive IT-BPM Sector

1.1

2.1

2.3

1.2

2.2

2.4

2.5

01 A Better Understanding of The IT-BPM Industry

A2

B2

Back-Office Outsourcing

Front-Office Outsourcing

• Knowledge Process Outsourcing

• Data Entry Outsourcing

• Legal Process Outsourcing

• Financial Services Outsourcing

• IT Services Outsourcing

• Engineering Services Outsourcing

• Tech Support Services

• Telemarketing Services

• Customer Care Services

A1.

B1.

C1

Hardware-Based

Service-Based

Captive/ Global In-House Centers

• Communications Equipment

• Electronic Equipment,

Instruments, & Components

• Semiconductors &

Semiconductor Equipment

• Technology Hardware, Storage

& Periipherals

• IT Technical Support

ACTIVITIES IN THE INDUSTRY

01 A Better Understanding of The IT-BPM Industry

0Sipin et al., n.d.1 Digneo, n.d.

Meanwhile, outsourcing becomes a more common

practice among companies of different industries

and sizes, as BPO companies provide high quality

services at costs lower than those spent hiring

in-house employees.

Aside from cost efficiency, the other advantages of

relying on BPOs are improved flexibility,

performance and diversity. 1

1

Information and Communications Technology is

an extension of the information and technology

(IT) industry that puts emphasis on unified

communications and the integration of

telecommunications and computers.

Businesses that fall under ICT include software

and application developers, research firms,

hardware developers, audiovisual creators,

and technology-based startups.0

2

Since the IT-BPM industry uses technology as their foundation to perform the activities outsourced to them, it stands as a top driver of the

Philippine economy.

According to the IT-Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the country’s IT-BPM sector is poised to employ 7.6 million Filipinos and

generate $40 billion in revenues by 2022.2

However, with the quick turnover of trends, and with the onset of COVID-19, industry players must ask themselves: how can they remain globally

competitive? How can they be of better service to their clients? How can they help in the digital transformation of businesses and be more pandemic

resilient? What technology can be maximized?

The Backbone of the Economy

2Accelerate PH: Future-Ready Executive Summary, n.d.

There are challenges experienced before COVID-19 that have been worsened by the pandemic. Being the

top country performers in the global IT-BPM industry, India and the Philippines are heavily affected.3

The scarcity of skilled IT workers, risk of

data breaches, and other cybersecurity

threats have increased their level of

challenge with COVID-19’s onset.

As more companies will be open to

outsourcing in the coming months for

cost efficiency, the pressure for looking

for skilled IT workers is higher.

The pandemic is seen to implement

automation faster than expected to

complement the limitations of human

capability. Hence, IT-BPM companies are

pressured to speed up the training of the

current workforce to elevate their IT skills,

and let robots help in the entry level skills.

With the mandatory Enhanced

Community Quarantine national protocol,

the industry has to operate their

telecommuting policies for a longer

duration than what the usual Business

Continuity Plans address. The office used

to be the center of information, now work-

from-home may have to be

considered part of the new normal.

Because of this, businesses are requested

to give consent for BPO employees to

access their data even from their own

home-offices, which they are

understandably hesitant about, given the

higher possibility of data breaches.

1.1 Challenges of The Sector

33Venzon, 2020

The IT-BPM industry, despite its lowered

productivity, has shown resilience, and is still on a

look out for more solutions and ways to enhance

their policies.

Being the backbone of many industries, they are

affected by the performance of their preferred

specialties. Jonathan de Luzuriaga, CEO of the

largest technology network in the Philippines,

Spring Valley Tech, details the affected versus

advantaged industries, as seen in the upper graphic

(left). He says, “It is time to evaluate what

industries to focus on, and how the evolution will

be. There will be a heavy shift from offline

to online, and the Philippine IT-BPM industry

will help shape the way.”

The industry shows us that the only way to survive

is to evolve--may it be in shifting the focus of the

served industries, or enhancing technologies, or in

in managing manpower. The lower graphic (left)

shows how various traditional industries will be

made to evolve, post-COVID19.

44Spring Valley Tech, 2020

59Business World, May 201810IBPAP, 2020

5Digital in Southeast Asia, January 20186We are Social, 20207International Trade Administration, n.d.8Eniego, November 2016

How Has The Industry Grown?1.2

The Philippine IT-BPM sector had an estimated

US$1.9 billion in hardware sales last 2019, with

an annual growth rate of 5.8%. This growth rate

is lower than originally expected because the

Philippine consumer is more inclined to invest on

a smartphone than a PC.

There are more mobile subscriptions in the

Philippines than the Filipino population, with

129M mobile subscribers versus the 105M

headcount.5 Filipinos spend five hours and eleven

minutes daily on mobile, and the Philippines is the

highest in terms of the number of hours spent on

the Internet via mobile. The total time spent by

Filipinos on the Internet is nine hours and forty

five minutes daily.6

Demand for other hardware such as printers and

copiers are on a downward trend, but a more

positive trend is expected for servers and storage.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are

projected to automate, and larger companies

are also expected to modernize their systems to

expand their computing capacity.7 The growing

middle class and youth are important market

drivers of IT because of their increasing spending

levels on technology products.

Additionally, infrastructure investments in the

country are expected to drive more demand for IT

hardware, software and services. Alongside IT’s

growth, the local BPO sector is considered a ma-

jor player in the global industry. The country was

first hailed as the world’s “BPO capital” in 20108

and has remained on top of the pedestal to this

day. Referred to as an “economic pillar,” the sector

has employed 1.3M Filipinos, generated $23

billion in revenues, and contributed 10% to the

country’s gross domestic product (GDP).9 In fact,

the Philippines contributes a 13% share to the

outsourcing industry worldwide.10

This growth, however, has been affected by

COVID-19 since its outbreak in February 2020.

Even if this industry experiences continuous

demand for its services compared to other

industries, it remains challenged with limited

operations due to the community

quarantine protocols.

Company Overview

An O2O Commerce company under the ICT

branch of the industry, Share Treats began in

2017 with the idea of providing customers with a

better way to send treats via payment options like

cellphone load, GCash, and local wallets.

Working with brands from various industries,

they make quality “treats” easily available

between businesses and customers who have

trouble reaching unbanked markets, or have low

or no online presence.

Upon selecting a “treat” and identifying the

mobile number of the recipient, consumers can

pay via alternative payment methods including

prepaid load or postpaid bill through the Globe

Labs Charging API solution. Globe Labs SMS API

also makes the transaction safer. Through this

API, each transaction is verified through a

One-Time Password (OTP) sent via SMS to the

payee, as an added precaution and

safety measure.

Featured Companies2.1

6

Alternative Payment Methods Pandemic Response

The first in the country to introduce Gifticon,

Share Treats envisions a cultural shift where

customer engagement is made easier through

casual gifts. However, this shift has been stunted

by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Share Treats’ team could not report to the office and

had to work from home. Customers were unable to

dine in or visit merchant stores, and some

merchants were completely unable to

serve customers.

Thanks to technology, however, Share Treats

minimized the challenges. Their team

communicated through video calls and used the

platform to give incentives to employees.

They enhanced Share Treats’ platform features

and worked closely with their merchants to serve

customers who purchase online, and are working to-

gether with the Globe myBusiness to convert offline

merchants to online.

Finally, while B2C usage faced a decline, B2B usage

increased since merchants use Share Treats’

platform to give donations to frontliners nationwide

and provide support to their employees in the form

of supermarket, pharmacy/drugstore, or

fast food vouchers.

Company Overview

Need For High-Speed Connectivity Pandemic Response

GameOps is a BPO company and a leading

solutions provider for the Philippines’ thriving

video game industry. Established in 2010, they

positioned themselves as the leader in their field

by specializing in live operations and customer

support and being “always on and online.”

With the help of high speed connectivity care of

Globe Telecom’s Direct Internet, they are able to

focus on their top priority, their clients.

As home entertainment has been on a rise during

the quarantine, so has the demand for online

game usage. Recruitment and training of new

employees is a good challenge, as it is the first

time that they are doing virtual classes.

They are not yet able to aggressively promote

their services because of the pandemic. Hence,

Owner/CEO Andro Baluyut emphasizes the

importance of good servicing. The clients

themselves are the ones referring new clients and

projects to their company. Always a step ahead,

they are looking for new markets to serve in

addition to US, Europe, and South Korea.

Despite being at lower than the usual 100%

operational level, GameOps was able to thrive

during the COVID-19 crisis by giving its

employees Globe myBusiness Prepaid Internet

Kit. Specifics of their work-from-home scenario

had been planned since late January 2020, and

since then, they practiced proper hygiene and

sanitation in the office to protect their employees.

Featured Companies2.2

7

They are continuously planning on how to send

their employees back to the office in batches

without compromising their health. The

management team is constantly on performance.

Company Overview

High-Speed Connectivity Pandemic Response

Featured Companies2.3

8

Go Motion has been specializing in video

creation and production since 2012. They are

among the many ICT startups leveraging the use

of technology as their main business. Driven by

out-of-the-box storytelling techniques, they work

with multinational brands and advertising

agencies to high-quality and story driven video

content that people love.

Like most tech-driven companies, Go Motion re-

quires reliable, high-speed connection to operate

effectively. Additionally, creatives and staff need

to be productive during work-from-home by

utilizing remote collaboration, from viewing what

the camera sees in a set to be transmitted miles

away to their clients and colleagues to screen

sharing while finalizing an edit.

Globe myBusiness has been a key partner in

helping augment their daily operations. Its

stable Internet options provide assurance that

the team can easily upload, download, and

distribute large files across their office and to

and from clients. Because of this, they have been

accomplishing non face-to-face ways of working

for faster approval of revisions. Additionally, Globe

myBusiness’ mobile plans fit employees’ needs

corresponding to their designation, letting them

collaborate within the team and reach clients

without worrying about interrupted accessibility.

Advertising has been on a plateau due to

worldwide shift in consumer behavior. In addition

to that, social distancing has prohibited the

traditional shoot sets which was normally full

of people. On a positive note, they have taken

a more proactive look at this by revisiting their

roadmap to identify the type of storytelling that

brings joy to people’s lives and homes. Remote

collaboration will be key as productions will need

to be lean and efficient. Technology

and the internet will be at the forefront.

Currently, the production team continues to work

on projects and is maintaining their virutal office

via G Suite, Basecamp, Google Hangouts/ Zoom,

Razer Hardware via Twitch, QTake/ Blackmagic

Design, and Miro.

Company Overview

SMS Solutions

Pandemic Response

A pioneer in the e-commerce industry,

GoodWork provides efficient and high quality

services at competitive prices via a platform that

conveniently connects customers and service

providers. Founded in October 2018, the

company was built by CEO Andrew Koger and his

team, who handpicked hundreds of talented

service providers and built their brand and

customer base from scratch.

GoodWork.ph connects customers to trusted

home service providers who take care of

cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, pest control, nail

care, massage and aircon services, among many

others. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

and resulting community quarantine, however,

many of these services were put on hold.

Seeing the reinforced need for professional

medical services, they included telehealth and

medical services within their lineup, and with the

easing of community quarantine in various areas,

they are now able to restart services such as

laundry in metropolitan cities.

Featured Companies2.4

9

From past to present, Globe enables their

business with the Globe Labs SMS API, which

sends SMS notifications to platform users for

every update on the platform, such as available

jobs for service providers or job confirmations

for customers.

Company Overview

SMS Solutions Pandemic Response

CEO and founder Alvin Tan’s dream of sending

gifts in the form of a surprise text message has

grown into what is now a software company

called Giftaway providing end-to-end online gift

giving. Today, their system includes management

tools for HR/procurement/marketing teams, eGift

generation and delivery, settlement with various

merchants including restaurants,

retailers and digital services. They allow their

clients to launch tailor-fit programs and create

unique incentive systems and benefits programs,

something they alone currently offer.

At its onset, one of Giftaway’s biggest costs was

for SMS, a challenge which was solved by Globe

Telecom. By providing Giftaway with SMS

solutions, Globe eliminated the concern and got

their costs down. As a bonus, by telling their cus-

tomers that they work directly with Globe,

Giftaway gains more reliability.

When the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting

community quarantine struck the Philippines,

Giftaway was greatly affected since most of its

eGift merchants were inside local malls. On the

positive side, however, it gave them the

opportunity to showcase the convenience of their

process to first time users, who used their service

to send relief through eGift cards.

Currently, they are preparing marketing

campaigns for the usage of eGifts.

Their merchants will be offering discounted eGifts

to encourage customers to buy in advance, and

Giftaway itself will also be using some of the

proceeds to donate meals to those in need.

Featured Companies2.5

10

01

02

03

04

03 Breaking Through The TraditionalWhat Can We Learn From These Companies?

They faced the challenge of breaking

through traditional methods, but

they started or grew their businesses

by digital techniques.

There were challenges breaking through traditional methods—from physical gifts to e-gifts;

conventional storytelling to out-of-the-box techniques; and linear customer support to dynamic and

adaptive customer care—but with innovative technology and Globe’s solutions, the aforementioned

businesses were able to grow their operations. When disaster struck in the form of COVID-19,

technology further helped these businesses adapt and evolve to fit emerging market needs.

As an SME forerunner, you can make as much of a difference in your company. With the right

technology, which is made available and curated for your business needs by Globe, you can be well

on your way to having the same success.

Technology helped them respond

to challenges, including the effects

of the COVID-19 epidemic to their

clients and company.

Globe Telecom has been helping

spearhead their growth through

digital solutions.

Customer satisfaction is the name of

the game for them, and will remain

to be a constant priority.

11

WorkforceEngagement

BusinessContinuity

Real-time collaborationEasier data sharingCollaborative cultureG Suite adoptation

Increased ProductivityData securityOnline communication

Employee empowermentBetter customer experience

Quality work

12

Keeping systems up and running

Reducing unncessary costs

13

As proven by the aforementioned companies,

emerging strong in the industry is not easy, but it

is possible through the tripartite help of people,

continuously refined policies, and technologies.

There is a lot of technology available to SMEs to

help in their respective digital transformation. Not

only does Globe myBusiness offer a wide range of

tech solutions, it also serves as a working model

of tech tool adoption done right.

01 02Connectivity and Communications.

Secure, Easier Sharing and Real-time Collaboration

Having quick and reliable Internet Connection is

now an indispensable prerequisite to other kinds

of digital technology. It creates better avenues for

communication.

Direct Internet is highly needed for connectivity

requiring high speed and less interruption to fuel

running platforms or software and cloud usage.

You can also opt to look into tools such as

Managed IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange)

and Managed Wifi.

Various Mobile Plans are available depending on

the employees’ designation and their forecasted

usage, or appropriate device.

G Suite has been proven to help foster

collaborative cultures. For instance, in Globe

Telecom, with the help of the G Suite Memo App,

the average approval duration has been

shortened from 1 month to 1 week, and has

helped the institution be 80% paperless. With the

help of Hangouts Meet, hundreds of employees

from different locations are able to congregate

for virtual town halls. Lastly, G Suite has helped

secure company data. Because everything is

saved in the cloud, there is no need for saving

data on physical devices using

hard drive and USBs.

What Technology is Available?04

14

03 04Business Continuity. Workforce Engagement.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the

greater importance of restoring businesses as fast

as we can, especially in this industry since IT-BPMs

take on outsourced tasks. In addition to the

previously discussed Office Collaboration tools,

we have Cloud as a tool for business continuity,

which streamlines all business applications and

allows faster restoration.

Cloud technology allows for better business

continuity. The Globe Cloud journey with

Amazon, for example, has led to reduced

spending from Php 7 million to Php400,000

yearly. Shifting to the cloud has enabled Globe

to drastically change how it does business. This

is a far cry from when Globe used to back up 26

The proper tools and technology can empower

employees to become more productive. For

example, Globe has been utilizing Globe Labs

IVES, a voice platform with multichannel

capabilities. This immensely improved the

operations and enabled billing collections to be

more efficient. Since then, they are able to contact

millions of its customers with the determined

frequency. This resulted in a 40% improvement in

delinquent payments. 12

terabytes of data across 16 servers, which are just

small subsets of their entire systems when more

than Php26 million was spent annually. 11

Through the implementation of cloud

technologies, companies will be able to reduce

unnecessary costs from infrastructure

investments. Because of efficient means of data

collection, scaling up the amount of capacity

needed can be done at any given time. This way,

more customers may be served as businesses

decide to expand to new markets.

11 Globe, 201812 sGlobe, 2018

01 02

As for you, here’s what you can do to properly and seamlessly integrate digital technology into your existing setup:

Assess Your Company’s Work Culture.

Consult Industry Experts.

First recognize how technology

and people operate side by side. Human

resource and technology must operate in

tandem as opposed to independently of one

another. It should be people first, before

technology. Therefore, any new methods should

be chosen based on how wellv they can be

adopted into the company’s existing workplace

culture. Treat this pandemic as an opportunity to

implement digital transformation, as the need for

change is clearer for all stakeholders.

Tap into the expertise within your

company or seek it from industry experts, such as

Globe Telecom and its partners:

How Can You Speed Up The Digital Adoption of Your Company?05

You can only be successful if you are able to draw

linkages across the industry, and work

hand-in-hand with various sectors.

15

03 Consider The Stage of Your Business Cycle.

Now is the best time to

reassess where you are heading because the crisis

is forcing us to adapt changes to the business,

making it resilient—similar to the aforementioned

companies, who are constantly evaluating their

new policies on work from home. Lasting changes

rarely occur overnight, so they must go through

a well-thought-out process.

04 06

05 07

Study The Implications. Remote Office.

Find A Trusted IT Partner. Automated Office.

Are the tech tools being eyed appropriate for the current

state of your company? It would be helpful to identify which parts of the

current process might be subjected to challenges during the transition.

Use tech-driven means of collaboration to fast-track

processes and create efficient workplace communication via tools such

as Zoom and Hangouts Meet.

If the shift requires purchasing new hardware and equipment,

it is crucial to lay solid groundwork with a trusted IT partner that will offer the

chosen solution at a fair, reasonable price. They must also value a long-term

relationship where they will assist your company well after the groundwork

has been set up.

Empower employees to build service interfaces that create

better customer experiences, faster results, and efficient operations via

tools such as Globe Labs APIs and Platforms.

16

Digital transformation used to be an ambition. Today, the

post-covid landscape planning calls for its immediate consideration

to survive.

Cloud is used to reduce costs and remove infrastructure

investment needs. With this, enterprises can scale up or down their

capacity demands within minutes. This allows them to reach more

customers. Adopting cloud-based policies in the digital era empowers

companies to scale up easily.

Social distancing has brought upon the need for

non-face-to-face communication and working through technology rather

than manual means. In many cases, working from home has become the

norm for employees. In cases like this, tools like the Globe myBusiness

Prepaid Internet Kit and Load Up (a platform for employers to distribute

prepaid load) become much-needed digital solutions.

17

08 10

09

Get Everyone on The Same Page.

Remote DataStorage.

Remote OfficeTransformation.

Once the team has adapted to the new systems that are put in place, it

would be helpful to align the company’s key performance indicators. See

which of the new technological enhancements positively contribute to the

company’s growth and overall workplace culture.

For this, feedback from personnel should also be taken and valued, so

empower your staff by letting them know their inputs are welcome.

Need A Partner For Digital Transformation?

Contact Us:

Partner With Us:

https://www.globe.com.ph/business/sme.html

https://www.globe.com.ph/business/sme/globe-partner-network.htmlglobepartnernetwork@globe.com.ph

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