Leading telecoms and digital services provider PLDT aims to make 2017 the best year yet for its Enterprise Business unit as it continues to post double-digit growth rates on the back of the growing appetite of Philippines business and government for data and digital services.
In the first half of 2017, PLDT’s Enterprise revenues grew year on year by 11% to P16.8 billion, powered largely by data and ICT revenues which increased by 18% to P10.9 billion. As a result, the share of data and ICT revenues improved to 65% of the total from 61% a year ago.
The Enterprise group has organized itself according to industry verticals, ensuring relevant and tailored services to meet the needs of the businesses of each customer. The key verticals that provided the most robust growth in the first half were the banking and financial services, the outsourcing industry, the IT and gaming sector, the public sector, and regional businesses and SMEs.
“We are growing at a rapid pace and in the right places. First, we are growing at rates much faster than competition, and at higher levels vis-a-vis the key industries we are serving. This means we are increasing our overall market share. Second, our largest areas of growth are in data and ICT services, which are truly business enabling, and favor us with stronger and stickier engagements across all our corporate segments, whether large enterprise or SMEs,” said Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT EVP and Chief Revenue Officer.
The Enterprise Group’s solid lead in the space is attributable to undertaking its digital pivot early on when it started to offer digital and mobile solutions bundled with robust data connectivity services. It has strengthened that effort by building the country’s most extensive and largest-capacity data center network through its subsidiary, ePLDT.
This has enabled PLDT to become the partner of choice of global providers to deliver cloud solutions that companies are increasingly relying upon. For example, in the first half of 2017, PLDT partnered with global IT leader Cisco to offer next-generation business solutions, starting with intelligent WiFi connectivity for enterprises.
To further solidify its leadership, PLDT’s Enterprise business unit is taking the next step forward in its digital transformation.
“This transformation is focused not only on technology. More importantly, we continue to upskill our people in order to build expertise and establish world class ICT practices. This enables us to fulfill our role of being the enabler and trusted partner of our customers,” said Juan Victor Hernandez, Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise.
“Our people work hard to understand the businesses of our clients, and, thus develop and offer the most relevant solutions that will help them achieve their business objectives. As a result, we continue to win the confidence of both large and small companies, who have entrusted to us their critical operations and made us integral partners in the execution of their digital strategies,” Hernandez added.
Moreover, PLDT Enterprise is also working more closely with PLDT innovations subsidiary Voyager Innovations, to introduce innovative financial technology services to enterprises and local governments.
Cities such as Muntinlupa, Balanga, Malolos, Catbalogan and Tacloban, for example, are now using PayMaya cards to disburse financial grants to their residents and to accept payments for various LGU services.
“By enabling enterprises and government to adopt innovative digital solutions, we are helping private industry and the public sector to execute their own digital pivots and thus raise the efficiency and competitiveness of our economy,” Alberto said.
