track days - PLDT ALPHA

VOLUME
19
J U LY
2014
A RETROSPECTIVE:
4TRACK DAYS
SPECTACULAR
A FORWARD VIEW ON
IT WITH RCBC
UNLOCKING
HOW THE
PLDT AND ORACLE
PARTNERSHIP CHANGES
THE CLOUD GAME
PALAWAN'S POTENTIALS
We will rock. We may roll.
But we will remain unbroken.
Can a business really grow stronger and safer on the
trust.
Philippine business survivability rides on the spine of the
of the world’s active volcanoes, and generates 90% of the
world’s earthquakes. In response, VITRO facilities are battletested and hardened against the worst disasters, including
earthquakes. The VITRO Data Center is structurally reinforced
provided are for VITRO Data Center Pasig). Its racks feature
1
2
3
The Philippines (April 2013 - April 2014)
In the past year, the country has
experienced 191 earthquakes of 1.5
magnitude or higher – the greatest being
the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck
Cebu and Bohol.
Bohol (October 2013)
The damage caused by the earthquake in
Bohol has been estimated at PHP 2.5 billion.
Japan (March 2011)
The Japanese government has estimated
damage from the Tohoku earthquake
and the accompanying tsunami at ¥ 25
trillion ($ 309 billion) – the most expensive
natural disaster in recent history.
In addition, independent 24/7 power supplies onsite assure
you with round the clock business continuity. These, and
more, exemplify the high-quality standards in place at each
and every VITRO Data Center: Pasig, Cebu, Subic – the
ideal network of data centers in the Philippines for absolute
business continuity.
Proven by experience, not promises.
VITRO Data Center: Enabling a Business Certain Philippines.
Leading the Alliance of Trust
www.pldtalpha.com | info@pldtalpha.com | 88-ALPHA
ASC Ref. Code: P016P050614P
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/japan-sees-quake-damage-bill-of-up-to-309-billion-almost-four-katrinas.html |
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/511637/earthquake-damage-in-bohol-placed-at-p2-5b | http://www.usgs.gov/
The VITRO Data Center is purpose-built for critical business
continuity, and there are several compelling reasons why you
will need our robust infrastructure.
Jovy Hernandez
Editor
Nico Alcoseba
Mikey Smyth
Managing Editors
Gerrard Fabie
Editorial Adviser
Markus Jentes
Creative Director
Andrew Batiduan
Art Director
Rissa Golloso
Rose Abes
Ram Anciro
Irene Dungo
Erika Legaspi
Jason Mejia
Emily Reyes
Check Trayfalgar
Cheska Villanueva
Editorial Coordinators
Michal Perez de Tagle
Enrique Estagle
Kaye Pineda
Mac Lubaczewski
Paula Venturina
Krystel Santos
Daniella Marfori
Patricia Mariano
Editorial Contributors
Vickie Perez de Tagle
Executive Producer
In this issue we look at four
years of successful ALPHA Track
Days and the achievements in
cementing relationships with our
success-driven partners in the
industry.
You may be already familiar
with our original Track Day values
of Speed, Accuracy, and Teamwork
– the common values we need
in business as well as in thrilling
motorsports. This retrospective
serves as our Main Window on
page 10.
Our Partner Peek on page 28
features our new collaboration
with cloud services Oracle as well
as highlighting the importance of
taking the “long view” on enterprise
cloud migration. We are building new
linkages as well to every remaining
frontier of the country, particularly
in Palawan as we unveil the latest
DFON expansion there.
A fresh Hot Joe section
dedicated to SMART Enterprise
wireless solutions, MoBiz on
page 58, takes a look at SMART
Infinity Enterprise offerings
for discerning high performing
managers.
Perhaps among all its values, it
is teamwork that is demonstrated
most at every ALPHA Track
Day. Together we’ve learned the
importance of communicating our
goals and tactics clearly, and working
out executions flawlessly and to
successful effect. May this synergy
we have happily nurtured between
us live beyond the track and into the
blistering new pace of business that
awaits us all.
Jovy hernandez
Editor
10
24
05
08
10
18
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
A letter from Jovy Hernandez
about the teamwork-centered past
and future of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise.
CLIENT CALLS
Letters from actual PLDT clients,
written to share their own unique
experiences with PLDT.
MAIN WINDOW
A look at Track Days of the
past and present, and how they
exemplify the fast-paced, accurate
collaboration of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise.
LIVE WIRE
RCBC on the importance of its
relationship with PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise and SMART Enterprise
in order to deliver high-class
banking services.
24
PLDT INSIDER
28
PARTNER PEEK
32
WERE YOU THERE
40
SOLVED
Chief Technology Officer
of PLDT/SMART/SUN
Olan Peña on building
a dominant network, and
where to go from there.
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and
Oracle work together for better
enterprise cloud deployments.
A more extreme look at the cloud
with Oracle, fun and games at the
Manila Game Show, weathering
the next big one in VITRO Cebu
and Subic, and a more businesscertain, voice-enabled Cebu.
The Philippine frontier
experiences a boost in their
economic options with PLDT’s
Palawan DFON expansion.
18
28
44
CAUGHT ON PAGE
50
COMING GOING
58
MOBIZ
60
THE ALPHA BITS
62
THE LAST SAY
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise transforming business
through stronger relationships with CCAC, EastWest
Bank, Conexus, and more.
What’s rising, what’s dying, and what’s
dead among the technologies of today.
A high-level executive needs a high-level mobile plan.
That’s why we have SMART Infinity Enterprise.
Bits of knowledge any ALPHA should know.
Eric R. Alberto on the paramount importance of
teamwork, accuracy and speed in both high-speed
racing and enterprise ICT.
Calls
CLIENT
Dear PLDT management team,
You made this happen.
Our move to a new and bigger
warehouse in Taguig last May 2014 came
one year earlier than scheduled. A data
connection is one of the critical factors for
the transition. And with such a short notice
to PLDT team, Cielle sensed the urgency
of the requirement to put up the IPVPN,
wireless lines, ecofax, etc., and has taken the
initiative to discuss internally to meet the
timeline. This warehouse is equipped with
the latest technology including a sub-zero
chiller chamber.
The inauguration yesterday was
attended by our GETZ GROUP president
Ray Simkins. GETZ GROUP has 10,000+
employees worldwide with diversified
businesses in 25 countries headquartered in
Chicago, Illinois, USA.
As we continue to grow and achieve
this important milestone, we are fortunate
to partner with the best service provider
in town. Again from the rest of the GBPI
Mancom team, we thank you PLDT team
for another unwavering support.
Melanie Licup
IT Director
Getz Brothers Philippines, Inc.
Dear Ma’am Abigail,
I would like to thank you and your
team for your prompt action regarding our
Internet installation at the KAJIMA-SPWS
Project in Hermosa Bataan.
Ms. Yen and I went to the project
site and tested the newly installed internet
connection. The circuit is now up and
running.
Please accept our sincere thanks as a
token of appreciation for a job well done.
Keep it up team!
Kind regards,
Arthur Diaz
Kajima Philippines Inc.
JULY 2014
Dear John,
Anton,
This is to formalize my compliment to
Ace Evangelista who is constantly providing
us excellent customer service. I am very
much impressed with the way he provided
us with different solutions that fit our
requirements.
He proactively gives us updates on the
latest offerings and almost all of the products
available under PLDT.
He extended his time just to ensure that
committed timelines are met, or most of the
time, completed even earlier.
One example is the network connection
transfer to a newly located Clark Office.
Despite the very short notice, Ace was able
to provide the service needed on time with
the support from the technical team.
Because of this timely transfer, the
business units were able to provide quality
service to our end customers, and we were
able to provide business as usual without any
downtime and impact.
I look forward to continuous excellent
account management with Ace. I know that
he works round the clock just to provide
answers to all my questions, even those
beyond his control.
Again thank you for this excellent
performance and we hope to see
improvements in the technical support so
that Ace would be able to provide better
solution for our requirements.
There’s more business to explore and I
need a partner that I can always trust.
As the Sr. IT Manager for the U.S.
Embassy and behalf of my team, I
sincerely appreciate the effort, focus,
and cooperation of the PLDT team.
Our demands were many but your team
was clearly up to the task. I just left the
White House Communications team
and they were thoroughly impressed and
had nothing but praise for everyone's
professionalism, expertise, and cool
demeanor in making this a very successful
visit.
I am very happy to know that PLDT
is reliable and proven, and that I can call
upon in the future. Please pass my, and
those of the U.S. Embassy, sincere thanks
to your team.
Sincerely,
Judith S. Antaran
Country Director
Information Technology
DHL Global Forwarding (Phils.), Inc.
Hi Ken,
We thank you for the speedy and
efficient handling of the defective module
incident. It underscores the importance of
having a relationship manager you can
count on.
Please extend our thanks and
congratulate everyone involved in the
resolution of this incident, especially those
who are not covered by this email loop.
Best regards.
Mayi Valdes
Director of Operations
ENCASH
Sincerely,
Mr. Meredith "Tiny" Donaway
Information Management Officer
Embassy of the United States of America
Anton,
I echo Tiny's words of praise. As a
Presidential Communications Officer, I
travel the US and the world constantly. I
can say, with no hesitation, that the speed,
skill, and effort your team executed on
the Bonifacio gym installation is second
to none, amazing! Our requirements and
demands are massive and you met them all
in good fashion. Please pass my sincerest
thanks and gratitude to the entire PLDT/
SMART team. I look forward to working
with your team in the future.
Very Respectfully,
Jason Sabol
Presidential Communication Officer
White House Communications Agency
Another knock-out day with PLDT ALPHA!
Well planned and thoughtfully executed.
Can’t wait to see what they dream up next!!!
The karting was a total rush. It was great fun
and it allowed us to “compete” with each
other in real-time. Will definitely do it again!!!
Track Day 2014 was awesome! Adrenaline
filled. ALPHA all the way. Track Day is, by
far, the best client appreciation event by far,
and the only one I look forward to. This
year was professionally put together and the
positive attitudes of the organizers, the ladies,
and the instructors helped make it superb.
There were several events that I liked. The
go-karts I think brought the right amount
of energy and adrenaline into the event, like
last year’s driving experience. I can only look
forward to next year!
Paul Birdseye
VXI
It was fun and a good venue for networking
with the colleagues in the industry
Target shooting was my favorite activity.
Very exciting, was able to practice my
shooting skills.
Track Day 2014 was excellent. I loved
most of the events, and I loved the
overall hospitality.
My favorite activity was the Go-Kart race.
Abheihek Ancend
IBM
One word – excellent!
My favorite activities: drive by shooting,
NASCAR, go-karting.
Matthew Squires
International SOS
Engr. Junne Narito
Pascual Laboratories Inc.
Mark Galutera
DSM Manila – White&Case
It was the Godzilla event of the year.
Everything was well planned and executed.
The organizers, spending quality time with
Jojo Jimenez and the Ramirez brothers and
the beautiful models unlimited!
My favorite activity was the NASCAR. It’s
a once in a lifetime event and part of my
bucket list. I enjoyed driving in the same
car as Jojo Jimenez.
Raymund Austria
Aegis
Frankly, you guys beat your records every
year. We really appreciate all your efforts.
You rock!
My favorite activities are Karting, NASCAR
Subramaniam Kuthalingam
Intelenet
It was great! (as expected) Since the last one,
I have looked forward to this and I wasn’t
disappointed. It was so good that even if you
repeat the events, we won’t mind. Maybe the
good idea for next track day would be the
best of the 4 previous ones!
The NASCAR / Slalom / Gymkhana /
Shooting were my favorite events because
it’s a good change of activity for me from
regular business/office activities.
Cris Dy
IDESS Maritime
It was fantastic! Great mix of
activities for everyone to get involved.
The NASCAR event, for me, was the
most exciting.
Tim Macnamara
Enghouse Interactive
It was lots of fun, and I met some great
business contacts.
The best event is the NASCAR driving
because I can drive fast.
Rick Olson
Pacific Payments Corporation
I liked that the event was absolutely well
organized. And the staff that were helping
during the event made you feel special.
A big well done!
My favorite activities were: Go-Karts
and Gymkhana.
Marcus Mckenzie
Goodyear Business Services
I felt that the event was well prepared.
We truly felt pampered.
My favorite activities were the Go-Kart
(for the competition) and the Car Trials
(for allowing me to try out new cars).
Donavan Yu
Journey Tech
WE WANT TO
HEAR FROM
YOU!
SEND YOUR
THOUGHTS,
COMMENTS,
OR FEEDBACKS
AND RECEIVE
PREMIUM
ALPHA ITEMS!
Email: info@pldtalpha.com
Call: 88-ALPHA
(88-25742)
or visit
www.pldtalpha.com
Subscribe to our
e-newsletter, ALPHA Mail,
and keep up-to-date
with our latest news
and offers.
THIS IS THE SPEED OF
EXCELLENCE,
THE TRIUMPH OF
COLLABORATION
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Track Day Sets
the Pace for B2B Collaboration and Success
Among the remarkable key traits of the business-tobusiness (B2B) market is its collaborative nature. Because
of the scale of transactions and investments involved,
customer input in successful product development and
the processes involved in resolving issues is not only nice
to have, it’s absolutely essential. And this is especially true
in the Enterprise ICT space, wherein PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise had first cultured a priority on well-maintained
relationships to smoothen this timeless collaboration with
enterprise customers. This would be the first step towards
assuming a new integral role as a trusted business partner
to companies.
And so it’s easy to see how the
first ALPHA Track Day was the
opportune time to launch the PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise brand. At center
stage was an automotive racing
extravaganza with its clear metaphors
to the equally precise demands
in business. In both the margins
between success and failure can be
razor thin, measured in milliseconds
or less.
From the very beginning it was
clear that nothing less than excellence
was required throughout every step
of fulfilling the enterprise customer
experience. From projection and
diagnosis, to provisioning and followups, everything had to be absolutely
spot-on. By “feeling the customer’s
pain” and in accurately predicting his
or her future business requirements
or operating environment, PLDT
ALPHA’s transformation from mere
vendor or provider and into a fullyfledged business partner would be
complete.
Four ALPHA Track Days
later, and the commitment remains
steadfast, evolving in parallel with
the identity and mission of PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise itself. Today,
PLDT ALPHA has earned its stripes
as a trusted expert end-to-end ICT
partner for business, with the need
for tight seamless coordination as
profound and critical as ever on the
track as in the business arena.
1
2
3
5
Danny Piano, Cesar Enriquez, SBMA
Chairman Bobby Garcia, Eric Alberto,
Jovy Hernandez, and Subic International
Airport Manager Zharex Santos
2.
The Green Team smiles for the camera,
ready to take on the day’s activities.
3.
The Yellow Team poses for a group photo,
showing team spirit.
4.
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise and ALPHA Track Day 2014
go-kart champion Jovy Hernandez grasps
the checkered flag in victory.
5.
The Orange Team flashes the ALPHA
sign for the camera.
6.
Go-kart racers, led by #70
Jovy Hernandez, line up at
their starting positions.
7.
The instructor briefs race participants
to ensure track safety.
8.
Anticipation and adrenaline build up as
race participants await the green flag.
9.
A racer is ready to go as he gives us a
“thumbs up” prior to the green flag.
7
10. Go-karters flash the ALPHA
sign before the race.
11. Diana Tibbs awaits
her next racing activity.
8
12. The Pink Team takes
a break from the highspeed activities for
this photo op.
13. Kent de la Calzada,
John Gonzales, Tony
Gamboa, Mark Parco,
Jun Zulueta, Francis
Cuenca, Joms Adajar,
Raymund Austria,
and Vic Tria
10
6
4
1.
11 12
9
Today the Philippine business
landscape is waking up to a highly
globalized reality, with best world
practices and standards holding sway.
We are moving away from a cloistered
acceptance of mediocrity in some
instances and into a more widespread
professionalism.
In particular industries like
business process outsourcing,
finance, and manufacturing, Filipino
management and workforces have
had to uncover true world-class
mettle. The unfolding of this story,
one of Filipino business emergence
should be interesting to witness as
ASEAN moves out of traditionally
protected markets and inevitably
integrates into a single sphere of
shared opportunities and challenges.
So far it seems that all along,
Philippine enterprise organizations
had the ALPHA Track Day
prerequisites in finishing first: speed,
accuracy, and teamwork. And yet it’s
never really over, is it? The race goes
on— faster and more furious, urgent
and more real. See you all at the next
starting line. Here. We. Go.
13
14
14. The Blue Team flashes the ALPHA sign
in true, cool fashion.
15. ePLDT President and CEO and PLDT
EVP and Head of Enterprise, International,
and Carrier Business Eric Alberto delivers
the ALPHA Track Day 2014 welcoming
remarks.
16. Rick Olson readies himself before
jumping into one of the cars for the
NASCAR driving experience.
17. Go-kart racers are all smiles after their
turn on the track.
18. Guests enjoy an exclusive sneak peek at
the latest Maserati cars in the market.
19. A go-kart driver strikes a pose
for the camera before the race.
20. Boy Castañeda, Eric Alberto,
Buddy Madrigal, Michael Aquino,
and Sensen Bernardo
20
21. V8 muscle cars rev up their engines
on the tarmac.
22. Elaine Kunkle takes aim during the
mounted target shooting activity.
23. A driver confidently fires up his engine.
24. An instructor assists a participant on
the Segway’s driving characteristics.
25. David Caldwell, Lawrence Cu,
and Subramaniam Kuthalingam
26. Marcus McKenzie displays unflappable
cool in the face of the day’s heat.
21
22
23
25 26
15 16
17
18 19
24
27
32
33
27. The Red Team is clearly pumped
up and ready to go.
28. ALPHA Track Day 2014 host James
Deakin and “Master-chef of racing”
George Ramirez pump up the crowd
during the morning briefing.
29. Britannia rules a patch of the
Philippine asphalt with this
Union Jacked Mini Cooper.
34
30. A victorious pose is struck by a
go-kart racer.
31. A black Peugeot prepares to
maneuver around the slalom course.
28
36
32. Alan Chng, Cesar Enriquez,
Buddy Madrigal, and Michael Aquino
33. Race winners Norman Carcellar, Cris Dy,
and Jovy Hernandez receive their awards
during the evening’s festivities.
35
34. David Porter stalks his target, ready to fire.
ALPHA TRACK DAY 2014 | May 9, 2014 | Subic Bay International Airport
Partners: PLDT, SMART, ePLDT, C! Magazine, Peugeot, Mini Cooper, Jaguar,
Maserati, Shell, Segway, City Kart, and Asian Formula Autosport Foundation
29
35. Rob Tanyag confidently fires his paintball
gun aboard a speeding vehicle.
36. A V8 Mustang burns rubber
on the racetrack.
37. Jon Cervantes and Jovy Hernandez
38. Gabriel Pardo and Andrew Gascoigne
39. A Mini Cooper zooms across
the Subic International Airport.
Photo credit: Lester Anthony Shih
37
IN MEMORIAM
FERDINAND “ENZO” PASTOR
30
31
38
39
(1982 – 2014)
A TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANTAGE IN
BANKING
RCBC leverages their expert partnership with
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and SMART Enterprise
to provide a better banking experience
hen the Rizal Commercial Banking
Corporation (RCBC) started in
the 1960s, they were a simple,
single-branch development bank
in Binondo. It was difficult for
anyone to predict how banking
would change half a century later.
And what a staggering change it
would be.
Today banking serves a 24/7,
globalizing marketplace with multiple
currencies in play, vast transactions
occurring in the blink of an eye,
and increasing demands for digital
banking services. This is how RCBC’s
commitment to innovation and their
strong investments in information
technology have kept them at the
forefront of modern banking trends,
rising from that single branch to one of
the country’s five largest banks by assets,
opening 15 new business centers and
extension offices and deploying 140 new
ATMs in 2013.
for those same qualities in our partners.
In terms of reach or connectivity,
SMART and PLDT’s networks give
you the most comprehensive coverage
nationwide. In terms of range and
flexibility, we’ve enjoyed a wealth of
options. For example, we started with
simple mobile phones – now we have
iPads and Netcast and BlackBerries, and
SMART still supports everything from
feature phones to the latest smartphones
and tablets.”
When asked about RCBC’s
relationship with the people behind
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and SMART
ourselves focusing on that. That's the
challenge of any CIO in banking: how
can you balance your dependence on
technology with the fact that a bank's
resources are better spent on our core
competencies? For me, the best way
to handle this is to leave your IT to
experts, leaving you free to focus on
your business. If you can find an expert
partner, then so much better."
In this regard, Mr. Bancod is looking
closely at the evolving state of cloud
technology, which allows enterprises to
use virtual infrastructure and remote
access to manage and meet their ICT
As far as I can remember,
PLDT and SMART have been
our first choice partnership.
The Three “R”s
This dedication to keeping up with
technological advances requires an expert
ICT partner, which RCBC has found in
the PLDT Group.
According to Dennis C. Bancod,
RCBC Senior Executive Vice President,
RCBC’s high-level requirements for ICT
have always been ably met by the PLDT
Group. “As far as I can remember, PLDT
and SMART have been our first choice
partnership. We always go to them for our
networking needs and IT requirements.
It’s a good partnership and we have been
very happy with it.”
He attributed the smooth working
relationship to a fundamental synergy
between the two companies in terms of
service priorities. “I have always looked at
our ability to go for reach and range when
it comes to serving our clients, and I look
Enterprise, Mr. Bancod answered: “I’ve
talked about reach and range. Well, we
want our clients to feel we are responsive
to their needs, and we look for that in
our partners too. That’s the third ‘r’ –
responsiveness. That’s something we’ve
found in SMART and PLDT. They have
the ability to anticipate our requirements
before we tell them; maybe it’s because we
have been partners for a long time.”
Finding an Expert Partner
Mr. Bancod acknowledges the role of
technology in driving banking innovation,
but warns against focusing too many
resources on IT.
"IT in banking is evolving, but
we have to recognize it is not our core
business," he explains. "However, banking
is very dependent on technology. My
vision is to use technology, but not spend
requirements, and makes it easier to
offload the burden of maintenance,
troubleshooting, and set-up to experts in
the area.
He pointed out that while banking
regulations restrict the extent banks
can make use of the cloud, the savings
and efficiencies they can realize are still
quite substantial. “For example, bank
secrecy laws disallow us from outsourcing
customer information. But we can do
selective outsourcing. Of course, this is
easier said than done, especially here in
the Philippines where our ICT is still in its
infancy. In Singapore, the US, and Europe
the technology is more mature; here we
still struggle with the skill set necessary to
coordinate our ICT with other companies.
However, I see more people doing just
that in about five years’ time, especially
with the cloud.”
Analytics
Traditionally, analytics was
once limited to simple customer
demographics. But today with the
rise of M2M technology and greater
connectivity, analytics has exploded into
much more sophisticated uses for data.
RCBC relies on SMART Enterprise’s
mobile networks to process their deep
analytics data.
Nowadays, RCBC can analyze
customer demographics, as well as
nuances of customer behavior and
overall lifestyle, in order to deliver a
better service experience. “Banks are
transitioning into analyzing customer
behavior fully, including the types of
interactions they have and the frequency,”
explained Mr. Bancod.
Mr. Bancod gave the example of a
customer who pays his bill to Meralco
every fifth day of the month. Knowing
this, RCBC can set alerts reminding
the customer to pay their bills, or even
perform the payments for them. The
overall strategy is to use the analytics
data to yield targetted services and
solutions to customers swiftly. All this
translates into greater opportunities for
cross selling - a strategy true not only
for RCBC but for the entire Yuchengco
Group. This strategy Mr. Bancod says,
generates a high rate of investments,
with up-selling and cross-selling rates
supported by their analytics.
Mobility and MDM
The mobility of RCBC’s workforce
has been crucial in their continuing
mission to deliver a high level of
client service. In 2010, they launched
a landmark program to equip their
employees with tablets - based on
both the iOS and Android platforms
- outfitted with special banking
applications with all the capabilities of
office-bound systems.
“Customers like our mobility,”
explained Mr. Bancod. “Their
expectations have changed, and we
at RCBC have adapted to their rising
standards. Clients want greater control
over their personal accounts; they like
having the bank come to them rather
than them having to go to the bank. They
like being able to conduct transactions
right where they are. And with our new
mobile capabilities, which have been
designed for both internal and external
usage, we can give them exactly that.”
While proud of the enhanced
capabilities of RCBC’s mobile platforms,
Mr. Bancod acknowledges that an
uncontrolled mobile platform comes
with risks. “The Philippines has some
very stringent bank secrecy laws,” he
pointed out. He explained that, for
compliance, banks used to keep their
networks closed for security reasons;
however, mobile applications and
mobile access requires access to open
networks. RCBC has dealt with this issue
by implementing thorough and careful
mobile device management (MDM)
protocols throughout their company.
Above photo: RCBC’s Cecille Maravilla,
RCBC Chief Technology Officer and
concurrent Shared Technology Services
Head Jennie Lansang, RCBC Senior
Executive Vice President and Chief
Information Offiicer Dennis Bancod,
PLDT VP and Corporate Relationship
Management Head Jojo Gendrano,
SMART Enterprise Marketing Head
Chet Alviz, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
Relationship Manager Bel Aragon,
and SMART Senior Segment Marketing
Specialist Leslie Samonte
“MDM allows us to offer high-level
service without compromising our high
level of security,” said Mr. Bancod. “This
isn’t just securing apps or the data on
our phones: it’s a holistic security policy
that looks at every element involved.
We depend heavily on SMART to
help us with this, through their MDM
solution with MobileIron. We already
have implemented that solution within
our organization, but currently we are
studying the possibility of upgrading
what we already have.”
Mobile banking
In the Philippines, the majority of
Filipinos are “unbanked” - without access
to banking services. Out of a hundred
million Filipinos, over 80 million are
unbanked - particularly rural Filipinos.
RCBC has made it a goal to reach out
to them with the financial services
they need.
“RCBC is one of the first major
banks to go into microfinance, through
our Rizal microbanking subsidiary,” says
Mr. Bancod. “We launched in Davao
with small loans to SMEs, loans as low
as 10,000 - 20,000 PHP. We further
expanded to other areas in Mindanao.
JULY 2014
We’ve started launching mobile banking
offices (MBOs)--banking on wheels
- we use a mobile container van as an
extension office, providing a faster
alternative to traditional offices.”
Many experts agree that
microfinance, as an encouragement to
micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs, is one of
the most potent ways to alleviate poverty
and help develop local economies. That’s
why PLDT ALPHA Enterprise has codesigned ICT solutions specifically for
microfinance operations, such as PaaSdeveloped apps meant to help coordinate
loan approvals, or SMART M2M
solutions for helping credit investigators
- ICT solutions perfect for microbanking
pioneers like RCBC.
The ASEAN Future
Mr. Bancod sees a bright future
in store for RCBC, as its partnership
with SMART and PLDT continues in
the coming years. "The Bank counts
on its existing partnership with PLDT
and SMART, as it leverages heavily on
its strong technology infrastructure,
in preparing for the Asean Economic
Integration in the next five years.”
In this, as in so much else in the
exclusive partnership between PLDT/
SMART and all members of the
Yuchengco Group of Companies, it can
be confidently predicted that the close
alliance will yield substantial benefits for
everyone involved. This will be especially
true as banking continues to change ever
so dramatically.
Mr. Bancod proudly shows RCBC’s
in-house IT infrastructure, which is ably
supported by SMART Enterprise.
It’s a good partnership and
we have been very happy
with it.
THE DOMINANT
NETWORK OF
SPEED AND
ACCURACY
More than half a decade on the PLDT network journey
continues with a keen focus on customers first
The last time HOT JOE interviewed
Olan Peña, currently the Chief
Technology Officer (CTO) of PLDT/
SMART/SUN, was in November of
2007. Seven years seems to have just
breezed by for the dedicated engineer
who is now at the center of an
ever-morphing PLDT Network.
“I was a young man back then,” he looks
at his picture amongst the somewhat thicker
paper of our earlier issues. In reality, we
were all younger back then, enamored with
the promises of interconnectivity and the
still-fresh double adjective description of an
emerging work standard: the ability to work
anytime, anywhere.
It is an ability we pretty much take for
granted now, one chiefly enabled by the
tireless efforts of Mr. Peña and his team
behind the PLDT Network which now spans
the functions for PLDT, SMART, and SUN.
Insider
PLDT
Mr. Peña’s career is a long and
storied one, starting 32 years ago in
1982, a time when, he says “there was no
widespread use of cellular phones, and
basic connection speeds were barely above
50bps.” Yes you read that right. Fifty bits
per second -- bps sans k or m.
As the Chief Technology Officer
for PLDT, SMART, and SUN, Mr. Peña
and his team are focused on the planning,
building and operating of all network
infrastructure including the core network
of transport, and access networks for
customer connections to each other as
well as business connections to the cloud.
Even More Vast and Capable
“Back in 2007, our major assignment
and directive was to consolidate the
mobile network to serve our customers. A
by-product of this strategy was providing
better wireless technology to the home,”
he says. According to Mr. Peña, 2007 was
really the “Organizing Phase”.
Today however, everything is in full
swing. “We are now in the execution
stage,” he points to the fact that the PLDT
network’s coverage is even more vast and
capable in delivering more services to
customers.
“We can now accommodate the bigger
bandwidth needs of our customers with
VDSL not just providing 2mbps but in
fact 20mbps, and we have launched diverse
products ranging from postpaid and
prepaid variants, and even a combination
of the two.”
He also describes the
“consumerization of fiber” in the home
as a direct offshoot of PLDT’s early
pioneering efforts in using fiber optics to
connect corporate systems to the telco
infrastructure. PLDT fiber now passes
2 million homes for enviable Internet
speed and service: it is relatively “easy” to
fiber-connect a building, taking less than
two days.
As always, the customer drives
everything at PLDT, and burgeoning
mobile interconnectivity demands are one
of its best examples. “Today PLDT 3G
covers 70% of the country; by the end of
the year that will increase to 100%,” he
says.
He describes the swift customer
evolution from voice to data as something
akin to a giant ravenous appetite. Today
customers are decidedly more mobile,
devouring multimedia content such as
HD video, games, streaming music and
radio. And they have less and less patience
waiting for all that to load.
This is why PLDT is concentrating
on the next chapters of the customer
journey: 4G and LTE. “As a matter of fact
you could say that PLDT ‘leapfrogged’
into LTE,” says Mr. Peña who explains
that PLDT 4G and LTE is aimed at
25% coverage for the “top cities and
municipalities” of the country.
The Network of Speed and Accuracy
It is exactly this determined focus on
the customer that has redefined the present
image of the PLDT network as one of
speed and accuracy. “We don’t just build
technologies for the sake of it. The reason
why we have all these solutions is so we
can cater to different types of customers,”
Mr. Peña adds that the Philippine situation,
with its smaller middle and upper classes,
is far removed from that of Singapore,
Malaysia, or Hong Kong with more
substantial upper market tiers.
Middle and top markets are very
similar in product and performance
demands and so the providers in those
The reason
why we have
all these
solutions is so
we can cater
to different
types of
customers.
countries concentrate on premium
offerings. “We have to serve a wider swath
of customer segments in the Philippines,”
Mr. Peña describes the PLDT focus to find
the best solution for a more diverse range
of customer in both retail and corporate
realms.
And perhaps this is the secret why
so many of the leading technology and
business organizations wish to partner up
from the Philippines. It’s because they have
so much to learn from serving an emerging
and dynamic market, and these lessons
can be readily profitably applied to other
similar environments.
Doing it Together
Alliances have become such a renewed
priority, especially in the M2M (Machine
to Machine) sphere. For Mr. Peña, it is
essential to delivering excellent customer
experiences that are centered on quality
and consistency.
“An ‘intelligent’ vending machine
which say, ‘senses’ your softdrink
preferences can serve you better,” he says.
“And you can expect that better, more
consistent service anywhere you may be in
the ASEAN region.” A consistently good
customer experience acquires even more
significance up the value chain and into
industrial applications. “The recent PLDT
and Oracle cloud partnership delivers
established branding (Oracle) and quality
of hardware, as well as the reach and
reliability of a leading network (PLDT),”
he says.
The Oracle user interface and
experience is already a well-established
one among most of the top PLDT
enterprise customers, and a single point
of contact also adds points to ease of
use and consistent quality assurances. “As
we partner with companies like Oracle
and bundle their services with ours,
customers won’t need to talk to separate
people or companies and at the same time
we can have a bigger and longer lasting
relationship with our customers.”
Tomorrow: The Network of Dominance
Mr. Peña reveals that one of the
main reasons BPOs prefer to locate in
the country is the proven resiliency of the
PLDT network. And that should extend
to more industries as PLDT continues
on in building a network centered on
“dominance”.
“When we talk about dominance, we
talk about the reach of our services, the
quality of delivery, and the integrity of
the infrastructure we build,” and for him,
PLDT network dominance will be just as
important to individual users, SMEs, and
major enterprises alike.
As a last word, he enjoins the entire
PLDT, SMART, and SUN divisions
together with key partners and allies
towards maximizing potentials to reach
this network dominance. “We must create
the ultimate delivery infrastructure that
provides consistently good customer
services that are centered on absolute
reliability and better pricing.” Because,
he adds, that’s what customers are always
clamouring for and as we’ve seen, the
customer is always first at PLDT.
THE ORACLE
SPEAKS
How the partnership between PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
and Oracle redefine enterprise cloud deployments
In the dizzying and (some would say) relatively confusing
swirl of cloud adoption, enterprise organizations are
looking for the best-integrated systems, and tools with an
eagerness to avoid complexities and operational logjams.
If one may apply the term to cloud computing, the new
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and Oracle collaboration
comes closest to delivering a “holistic” cloud strategy
for businesses.
T
he Director of Strategic
Initiatives for Oracle ASEAN,
Joaquin (Jack) Arambulo,
cites the considerable US $ 50
billion Oracle has invested in
acquiring more than 90 companies in the
last five years. This aggressive acquisition
strategy complements Oracle’s US $ 24
billion investment towards Research and
Development (R&D) since 2004. “If we
don’t own it, but it makes sense to have it,
we’ll buy it,” he says with quiet confidence.
This game plan has given Oracle a unique
and complete “stack” (with layers from
bottom to top) of storage, servers, virtual
machines, operating systems, databases,
middleware, and enterprise applications.
Among its latest and most notable
acquisitions is Sun Microsystems, which
now bolsters the foundation layers of the
stack. These layers form the upper limit
of the cloud migration plan for most
Philippine enterprise organizations,
defining their effective cloud horizon.
Taking the Longer View on the Cloud
Inevitably, as they reach the
point of database integration and the
higher complexities of middleware
and applications management, some
organizations realize that a “longer
view” of cloud adoption is absolutely
necessary. A top-down rather than a
bottom-up approach really makes more
sense. For Oracle, cloud adoption must
be approached an Applications-driven
approach.
According to Mr. Arambulo, the
whole point of Oracle’s push for cloud
integration is to give customers more
deployment options. With consolidation
and virtualization emerging as
alternatives to traditional on-premise and
server-based data centers, customers are
now faced with a sense of complexity
from multiple-vendor point solutions.
Oracle’s aim is to make everything easier
for enterprise customers at every step of
cloud adoption, working towards a lower
total cost of ownership (TCO). “From
storage to applications, we’ve been
buying hardware and software across
all layers of the system stack. We’ve
evaluated and integrated each value
proposition, ultimately making it simpler
for enterprise customers to use.”
Oracle not only offers perhaps the
largest suite of hardware and software
applications, it also has industry-specific
applications that serve six (6) key vertical
industries: communications, financial
services, health sciences, insurance,
retail, and utilities. For each, as with its
packaged applications, Oracle’s solutions
aim not just to provide traditional
back-end operational support but also
to likewise lay the foundation for a more
transformative, integrated, and intelligent
business systems. According to him,
Oracle is all about “Simplifying IT.”
The first phase of its complete
road map seems easy enough, since it
involves winning over adherents to a
no-nonsense proposition: simplify IT
and decrease operating costs. The key to
that will be helping corporations move
to the virtual hybrid clouds that have the
highest forecasted rate of adoption by
the year 2015, or about 29% of enterprise
organizations. Private clouds will still
follow close behind at 27%; the public
cloud will be at just 7%. Private clouds
enjoy the distinct advantage of extending
security and control out into a larger
environment that now includes the cloud
service provider as well, namely PLDT.
In effect, as Oracle simplifies
IT for companies, it will also reduce
the complexity of integrating various
solutions and platforms– helping
companies achieve faster time to market
and lower cost of operations. In addition,
it will also extract maximum value and
performance with existing software.
Beyond the Horizon
While others may offer different
layers of the stack, nobody really brings it
under one roof. “Rather than enterprise
customers buying piecemeal solutions and
then assembling and somehow getting it
all to work together themselves, we can
do it all for them,” Mr. Arambulo says.
“By doing the hardware and software
integration work ourselves, in the factory,
we are able to achieve our common
objective-- to lower installation and
configuration costs, and reduce ongoing
maintenance complexity and costs. Think
of this as a car. Would you assemble one
yourself, or would you buy one ready to
PLDT is the natural
fit as Oracle’s cloud
partner in the
Philippines.
be driven out of the showroom?”
It all seems to dovetail nicely with
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s natural
position as the trusted expert end-to-end
ICT partner for enterprise at every
stage of growth and for every facet
of operations. The faster worldwide
adoption of the hybrid cloud will be a
trend that will no doubt find its fair share
of adherents here.
For its part, Oracle had to search
for the most worthy telco providers in
each country of the ASEAN region,
identifying those telcos with the same
core values– around delighting the
customers and offering the best solutions
and services possible. The telco providers’
existing network infrastructure, such as
virtual private networks or VPNs, is a
complementary offering, for sure, and
is an added bonus that is an absolute
leverage.
A “Natural Fit”
“PLDT is the natural fit as Oracle’s
cloud partner in the Philippines,” Mr.
Arambulo explains, “because of it’s
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise organization,
its continuing focus on being a ‘Trusted
Adviser’, as well as its largest real network
backbone in the country.” For Oracle,
PLDT was more than an obvious choice.
He added that PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise and Oracle share a
considerably large customer base. In fact
they’re nearly identical, with 48 out of 50
large organizations using both PLDT and
Oracle solutions.
For these remarkable synergies,
Oracle arrived at certain unprecedented
arrangements with PLDT becoming
a Gold Oracle Partner Network
(OPN) partner. “We call it ‘business
unusual’ simply because this is one of
the rarest time an Oracle team sells
with an organization and not just to
an organization,” Mr. Arambulo says.
“Ultimately its about getting the best
Oracle has to offer, hosted on the PLDT
Cloud.” One of the key benefits of this
collaboration is that Oracle’s cloud-based
solutions offered by PLDT now yield
corporate customers with specific service
level agreements (SLAs).
Reflecting further on the PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise-Oracle collaboration,
Mr. Arambulo appreciates PLDT’s
expertise and dedication to serve
customers better. “They are very
smart, hungry for new products and
services while being acutely aware of
what customers want. I see PLDT’s
commitment to add value and become a
‘Trusted Adviser’, as key driving virtues.”
“For our part we bring them a whole
bunch of customer-tried-and-tested
products that will work best in different
deployment environments,” he concludes.
In the end, Oracle’s range, and depth
of offerings will be definitive trumps
for both PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and
PLDT Cloud customers everywhere.
(above) Joaquin "Jack" Arambulo
smiles as he explains Oracle’s longsighted view on cloud deployments.
Y
WERE YOU THERE
WERE YOU THERE
Were OU
There
2
1
READY FOR THE EXTREME CLOUD
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE, ePLDT,
AND ORACLE OFFER THE FIRST
TOTAL INTEGRATED CLOUD
SOLUTION FOR PHILIPPINE
BUSINESSES
The country’s top business leaders
convened at the prestigious Tower Club
in Makati to witness the fruition of the
unprecedented alliance between PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise, ePLDT, and Oracle.
This was in the form of the new Oracle
cloud-based solutions, hosted and offered
via the PLDT Cloud.
Titled “A New Cloud is Forming”,
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, ePLDT,
and Oracle unveiled a peerless array of
PLDT Cloud services running on an
Oracle-engineered, high-performance
cloud infrastructure: Database as a
Service (DBaaS), Middleware as a Service
(MWaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS). This will be the first time, in fact,
that the Oracle cloud will be locally hosted.
These solutions as well as Oracle’s and
PLDT’s partnership framework were
explained through key presentations by
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, ePLDT
and Oracle.
To further illustrate the nature of
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s and Oracle’s
alliance, PLDT EVP and Head of
Enterprise, International, and Carrier
Business and ePLDT President and CEO
Eric Alberto recalled Oracle President
Mark Hurd’s simple but wholly accurate
analogy to buying a car. “As said by Mr.
Hurd: when we go to a car dealer and
make our purchase”, he said, “we do
not buy in bits—the 1,001 pieces that
make up the vehicle. A car or any other
expertly built product is an assemblage
of components and--most importantly—
expertise and support that make up its
entirety. The credible proposition for the
cloud therefore is putting together 1001
IT elements. PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
and Oracle in unison can confidently
deliver you that package, especially when
we expect it to become bigger or more
complex in the near term.”
In his presentation, Oracle’s Senior
Director, Strategic Initiatives, Asia Pacific
William Lee said that the PLDT and
Oracle “Extreme Performance Cloud”
is set to realize “much more value in the
Philippines” for enterprise organizations.
“Everything we offer today is bootable
and set up, ready and running in just a
matter of minutes”, he said. “Everything
just works. The software is already prebuilt and pre-configured. This means you
eliminate all the risk.”
Aside from the educational
presentations, attendees were treated to a
delectable lunch while they networked with
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, ePLDT, and
Oracle representatives. A lucky few were
even treated to raffle prizes in the form of
Jeepney Café gift certificates and iPad
Mini units.
This event symbolizes the beginning
of a revolution for local enterprises: where
organizations can finally consider cloud
computing as a viable and long-term part
of their overall IT strategy. Be sure to
expect much more in the near future from
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, ePLDT,
and Oracle.
3
1.
From L-R: Oracle Director, Strategic Initiatives, ASEAN Jack
Arambulo, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise IP & Data Center Category
Head Gary Ignacio, Oracle VP/Head, Systems Channels,
Asia Pacific Edwin Yeo, Oracle Director, Key Accounts
Program Director, ASEAN Gerry Lim, Oracle Philippines
Managing Director Mina Lim, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Product
Manager Francis Arjonillo, PLDT EVP and Head of Enterprise,
International and Carrier Business Eric Alberto, and Oracle
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, Asia Pacific William Lee
2.
William Lee has the attendee's full attention
as he talks about Oracle’s cloud strategy.
3.
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
Jovy Hernandez speaks about how Oracle perfectly
complements PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s vision of
becoming the trusted end-to-end ICT partner of
Philippine enterprise.
4.
Representatives from PLDT and Oracle smile for
the camera prior to the contract signing ceremony.
5.
PLDT and ePLDT Executives mingles with guests
before the start of the event.
6.
PLDT AVP and Head of Corporate Business Solutions
Nico Alcoseba presents to the audience the PLDT Cloud
portfolio, with the addition of the Oracle-based solutions.
7.
Oracle Senior Director William Lee talks about Oracle’s
Strategy with its Stack and Engineered Systems.
8.
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Product Manager for PLDT Cloud
Francis Arjonillo reveals PLDT’s membership in Oracle’s
Asia Pacific “Carrier Grade” Cloud Alliance.
4
5
7
6
8
WERE YOU THERE
WERE YOU THERE
2
3
4
5
6
1
7
PLDT AT THE MANILA GAME SHOW – BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR BETTER GAMES
PLDT Head of Corporate Relationship Business Kent de la Calzada was
among the industry experts invited to
speak in the panel forum ‘The Philippines
Game and Creative Content’, part of the
Game and Creative Contents Networking Philippines 2014 event held at the
Peninsula Hotel Manila. The panel featured
discussions on the future of the Philippine game and creative content industry,
focusing on its growth and possible market
expansion. Japanese game developers and
publishers were invited to attend in order
to assess the Philippines’ position as a
promising market for their games.
During his talk, De la Calzada noted
how the large gaming population in the
country can be better served by industry
players. The youth make up over 40% of
the Philippine’s 100 million-strong population; however only a few are actively playing online games. De la Calzada advised
the game publishers: “You have the game
and there is a huge, untapped market -- the
critical link to complete the formula is the
internet.”
PLDT has made great strides in terms
of enhancing internet access. Apart from
the expansion of its broadband access
networks on both wired and wireless
platforms, PLDT has been intensifying
DSL capacity in its landline network by
maximizing existing technologies and
introducing next generation facilities.
The expansion of SMART Communications has also led to even wider wireless
broadband coverage nationwide. These
are further supplemented by infrastructure
enhancements such as the continued
expansion of PLDT’s domestic fiber optic
network, and investments in cable landing
stations and international cable systems,
as well as the VITRO network of data
centers.
PLDT’s strategic partnership with
Japan’s NTT Communications and NTT
Docomo also plays an important role in
further strengthening PLDT’s capabilities
to serve the gaming industry, with NTT’s
global network of data centers providing
connection resiliency and data protection –
enhancements perfect for creating a great
gaming experience.
3.
PLDT Representatives meet with Board
of Investments Governor Undersecretary
Ponciano C. Manalo Jr.
4.
Kent de la Calzada, Board of Investments
Governor Undersecretary Ponciano C.
Manalo Jr., and NTT Executive Advisor
Masahiko Tsuchiya
5.
Kent de la Calzada and Jomari Mercado
6.
Many of the delegates took the opportunity
to network and meet the representatives of
PLDT and NTT during the event
8
1.
2.
The engrossed guests of the Game and
Creative Contents Networking Philippines
2014 listen to one of the event’s riveting
presentations.
PLDT Corporate Relationship Business
Head Kent de la Calzada (3rd from left) with
(from L-R) NTT Senior Advisor Nobuyuki Fujii,
PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager MG
Librojo, ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE Secretary
General Yoshikuni Ohnishi, NTT Executive
Advisor Masahiko Tsuchiya, PLDT Corporate
Relationship Business Head Ben Melasa,
PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager Jun
Tacneng, PLDT Corporate Relationship
Manager Rolly Animo, and PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise Product Manager for VITRO
Data Center Miguel Gonzalez
7-8. Kent de la Calzada talks about PLDT
extensive capabilities that can support
the expansion and growth of the
gaming industry.
WERE YOU THERE
WERE YOU THERE
2
3
4
5
1.
The speakers lead a panel discussion on the
importance of business continuity planning
at the Cebu leg.
2.
Event attendees pay close attention to the
informative presentation on the state of Philippine
disaster preparedness.
3.
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Product Manager for
VITRO Data Center Miguel Gonzalez talks about
how enterprises can integrate VITRO Data Center
as part of their business continuity strategy.
4.
NgKhai Development Corporation President and
Owner Wilson Ng delivers the keynote speech for
the Cebu leg.
5.
PLDT IP and Data Center Product Management
Category Head Gary Ignacio gives attendees an
overview of VITRO Data Center’s various features.
6.
Philippine Red Cross Governor Atty. Adolfo Reyes
delivers the keynote speech for the Subic leg.
7.
Gary Ignacio, seated with his fellow panelists,
addresses a question from the audience in the
Subic leg.
8.
Gary Ignacio (1st from left), PLDT Corporate
Relationship Business Head for North Luzon
Onald David (2nd from left), and PLDT Corporate
Relationship Management Head Boy Castañeda
(1st from right) stand with one of the day’s lucky
raffle prize winners.
1
10
BUILDING A “BUSINESS CERTAIN PHILIPPINES”
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE’S
“WEATHERING THE NEXT BIG ONE”
EVENTS GAVE CEBU AND SUBIC
BASED COMPANIES A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEED
FOR BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS
As the Philippines braces for more
extreme weather and possible disasters,
businesses around the country are seriously
reconsidering Business Continuity Plans
(BCP). To educate large businesses outside
the Metro on disaster preparedness and
business continuity, PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise hosted a series of events
entitled “Weathering the Next Big One:
Business Continuity and Why it Matters”.
The event had two legs, both of
which were held at venues near a VITRO
Data Center site. Each leg’s keynote
speaker gave insightful talks on disaster
preparedness and provided eye-opening
statistics. The Cebu segment had NgKhai
Development Corporation’s Wilson Ng as
its keynote speaker. For the Subic segment,
Atty. Rodolfo Reyes of the Philippine Red
Cross served as that day’s keynote speaker.
Through talks and in-depth panel
discussions, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s
IP and Data Center team illustrated the
benefits of incorporating the VITRO Data
Center as part of an organization’s BCP.
Attendees were also given an exclusive
guided tour of the VITRO Data Centers in
Cebu and Subic to further understand how
VITRO becomes an integral part of their
business operations.
“One key factor in measuring the
success of a business organization is
how resilient they are against disasters,”
says PLDT Head of IP and Data Center
Product Management Gary Ignacio. “With
these informative events held in Cebu and
Subic, we encourage every business in the
country to prepare for the inevitable by
employing the power of the VITRO
Data Center.”
What were once rare occurrences
have become inevitable events. With
the help of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s
Data Center and ICT solutions portfolio,
Cebu and Subic-based companies are now
empowered to keep their business up
and running by ensuring that their data is
kept safe and ready with unprecedented
business continuity. Now, they are ready to
better face disasters and other disruptive
threats more than ever.
7
8
9
11
12
9-12. Audience members actively engage our experts
on-stage in the question and answer portion of
the event.
13.
13
The Corporate Relationship Management
team of Cebu together with the IP and
Data Center Management team flash the
ALPHA sign at the conclusion of the highly
successful event.
6
WERE YOU THERE
WERE YOU THERE
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
10
11
THE STRONGER VOICE OF ENTERPRISE
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE
DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF
WORLD-CLASS ENTERPRISE VOICE
SOLUTIONS, AND HOW THEY SPELL
THE DIFFERENCE FOR FUTURE
BUSINESS TO A RECEPTIVE
CEBU AUDIENCE
Recently, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
hosted Cebu-based enterprise organizations
at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu City as part
of the “Enterprise Voice of the Future”
roadshow. Attendees got an exclusive
glimpse into enhanced business operations
made possible through the strengthened
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise voice solutions
portfolio. It was clearly an eye-opener for
Cebu’s forward-thinking business leaders.
Voice solutions, some of them now based in
the cloud, were set to transform enterprise
operations anew.
The event began with opening remarks
by PLDT AVP - Business Head for
Corporate Relationship Business - VisMin
Mr. Jimmy Chua. This was then followed
by an overview presentation by PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise Head of Enterprise
Voice Category Ms. Fay Ocampo. From
there on, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Product
Managers gave in-depth presentations on
numerous PLDT ALPHA Enterprise voice
solutions. Ms. Michelle Sy kicked things off
with her presentation of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise’s SIP Trunks solution, which
deployed through multiple sites across the
country enables easier communications at
significantly lower costs. She was followed
by Mr. Carlos Octavio, who revealed
new benefits to businesses arising from
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Domestic and
International Toll Free solution, what he
calls the perfect platform for better customer
service.
Taking the voice-driven business
conversation further, Ms. Lara Tubino
spoke about how companies can easily and
seamlessly communicate using voice, video,
and data via PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s
Managed Unified Communications (UC)
solution. This was followed by Mr. Angelo
Sison’s demonstration of the PLDT Cloud
Unified Communications as a Service
(UCaaS), a cloud-based and flexible UC
solution that optimizes the Bring-YourOwn-Device (BYOD) trend.
Relating the discussion to outsourcing
for the benefit of the numerous attendees
representing Cebu’s contact centers, Mr.
Ferdinand Magpayo showed how they can
easily scale operations up and down, based
on fluctuating seasonal needs, on an easier
pay-per-minute-per-application pricing
basis, via the PLDT Cloud Contact Center
as a Service (CCaaS). He was followed by
Mr. Joey Torregoza, who demonstrated the
flexibility that Cosmocom’s contact center
solutions could bring to BPO operations.
Mr. John Lao capped things off by
showcasing the various applications of
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Conferencing
Suite solution, which allows individuals
and organizations from multiple locations
around the world to effectively collaborate
and communicate seamlessly.
Later that evening everybody got an
even better opportunity to learn more
about these solutions. They tested the
different solutions through live product
demonstrations from the venue’s numerous
booths amidst musical entertainment and a
scrumptious dinner spread. During the raffle
draw, some attendees were lucky enough to
win TW Steel watches, Pocket WiFi units,
and other items.
“We are glad to have this opportunity
to exchange ideas with our Cebu-based
enterprise customers. Mainly these ideas
relate to how we can further elevate their
business collaboration, customer relations
management, and other vital functions
through our portfolio,” says Ms. Ocampo.
“Strengthening their communications
capabilities always ensures better customer
service as well as higher competitiveness in
the regional and global business arenas.”
“Cebu is just the beginning,” adds Ms.
Ocampo. “We’re taking the roadshow to
Davao in the near future. Hopefully, we’ll
be able to reach out to other parts of the
country as well.”
With a better understanding of PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise’s voice solutions,
enterprise organizations in Cebu (and soon
in other parts of the Philippines) are now
well-equipped and better-informed to face a
business future powered by PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise’s various voice solutions.
6
9
12
13
1.
The M Lhuillier MIS team listens to
a presentation at one of the many
product demonstration booths.
8.
PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager
Tayen Canoy and Cherry Allego of
Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.
2.
PLDT AVP and Business Head for
Corporate Relationship Business VisMin Mr. Jimmy Chua kicked things
off, delivering the event’s opening
remarks.
9.
Attendees tried out the IP phones
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise provides for
their Managed UC and PLDT Cloud
UCaaS offerings.
3.
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Voice
Category Head Ms. Fay Ocampo
gave attendees an extensive overview
of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s voice
solutions portfolio.
4.
PLDT Corporate Relationship
Manager Michael Eparwa with
Hani Araj of Medcor.
5.
iComm International representatives
check out the PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
conferencing suite booth.
6.
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Mikee Sy
(1st from left) and Caloy Octavio (1st
from right) show attendees PLDT’s IP
Phones in action.
7.
PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager
Dallie Dela Pena (3rd from left) with
guests from Talleo.
10. Charnel Catipay and Ron Anthony
Castillo of RMG Management with
PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager
Oamar Tabiliran.
11. PLDT Corporate Relationship Manager
Beth Villaflor (center) with John
Flores and Riann Banez of Icomm
International.
12. PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Angelo
Sison shows interested attendees
the mobility capabilities of
PLDT Cloud UCaaS.
13. PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s Corporate
Relationship Management and
Enterprise Voice Management teams
smile for the camera at the conclusion
conclusion of the Cebu leg of the
Enterprise Voice Roadshow.
DFON
MAKES
THE DIFFERENCE
PLDT’s DFON expansion in Palawan translates to real tangible
benefits to a diversifying and evolving local economy
W
ell known for its scenic aquamarine coastline and premium resorts, the
province of Palawan on the westernmost Philippine frontier is also
looking at building a more diversified modern economy. That future
economy has to be one based on modern services and businesses,
and it can’t do that on the old relatively antiquated Microwave Radio
system it has used for the past few decades.
Absolutely essential in building a
forward-looking economy, Palawan’s
modern connections will have to be
absolutely reliable, easier to maintain, and
able to operate in an all-weather capacity. It
must also be flexible and scalable enough to
accommodate inevitable growth.
This is why PLDT’s Domestic Fiber
Optic Network (DFON), already the
country’s largest and most robust fiber
backbone has expanded to Palawan,
effectively providing an additional island
capacity of 40G bandwidth that is easily
expandable to 100G. It is now the primary
telecommunications infrastructure of
Palawan, with the old microwave radio
relegated to a more appropriate role as a
backup system.
The history of PLDT’s unmatched
investments in hardware, solutions, and
people is already well known as a catalyst
for national economic development and
transformation. PLDT DFON plays a key
role as the consolidated transport backbone
of the PLDT Group, delivering globalclass connectivity solutions such as Carrier
Ethernet Services, IP VPN, Premium
Internet, and Long Term Evolution (LTE)
services.
Since DFON’s inception, enterprise
customers have enjoyed access to highquality voice, data, and multimedia
services through its seven major loops and
four subtending loops with default ring
configurations that provide route protection
in case of any breaks within the loops. This
yields an unprecedented operating capacity
of 4.78 tbps and 78,000 kilometers of
submarine and in-land fiber optic cable.
The increased speed and accuracy of the
data network has significant implications
for the economy and living standards of the
residents of Palawan.
In addition to this, PLDT’s three
international cable-landing stations - namely
the Asia Pacific Cable Network 2 (APCN2)
and the Southeast Asia-Middle East-West
Europe 3 (SMW3) at Nasugbu, Batangas;
the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) at
Bauang, La Union; and the Asia Submarinecable Express (ASE) at Daet in Camarines
Norte - get their international backhaul
connectivity from DFON. It’s all part of
assuring PLDT clients with stable, reliable
connections to overseas locations.
Palawan to the World
Photo Across:
PLDT VP and Head of Corporate
Relationship Management
Boy Castañeda, P
uerto Princesa City
Mayor Cecil Bayron, and PLDT SME
Nation Head for Luzon SME Sales
Anthony Fernandez officially complete
the Palawan link to PLDT’s Domestic
Fiber Optic Network (DFON).
The newest addition to PLDT’s
DFON, Palawan’s network, consists
of 620 kilometers of state-of-the-art
inland fiber optic and submarine cables,
the result of a total investment of PHP
1B. In real terms, the 40G bandwidth
expansion enables approximately 160,000
contact center seats, or 41 million
POS transactions, or 5.1 million ATM
transactions—this certainly goes a long
way in diversifying and transforming the
Palawan economy.
Because of this, the ICT tools
businesses use to leverage new trends like
cloud services, data center virtualization,
video and collaboration are now available
to Palawan’s enterprise sector. This gives
them a much-needed edge in a more
globalized and therefore competitive
business arena, an especially significant
consideration given impending ASEAN
economic integration targeted for 2015.
DFON enables them with flexible,
secured, scalable services with guaranteed
uptime. PLDT’s intentionally futureproofed platform, with its potential to
expand to 100G capacity, is absolutely
vital for the future of Palawan.
As PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise Jovy Hernandez
noted, “It is these benefits of speed,
accuracy, flexibility, and expandability
that spells the significant difference of
PLDT’s considerable ICT infrastructure
commitment to Palawan. We live in
a truly globalized business and social
community that spans the world,
requiring consistently higher quality
experiences at every stage of transaction
and interaction. This DFON Palawan
initiative delivers on that set of global
standards and more, and it certainly
won’t be the last.”
Page
Caught on
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE AND
CCAC SIGN ICT PARTNERSHIP
The Concepcion-Carrier Air
Conditioning Company (CCAC), the
leading air-conditioning and refrigeration
solutions supplier in the Philippines,
has reaffirmed its partnership with
PLDT’s corporate arm, PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise, in a recent contract signing
ceremony.
PLDT’s long-standing working
relationship with Concepcion Industrial
Corporation, CCAC’s parent company,
centers on providing mission-critical
ICT solutions. CCAC became the first
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise client to sign
up for Microsoft Office 365 Softwareas-a-Service (SaaS), a new offering in
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s portfolio
of cloud services which was introduced
last February 2014. PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise’s subsidiary ePLDT is an
accredited Microsoft Managed Reseller.
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise and SMART
Enterprise Sales and Marketing Jovy
Hernandez reiterated the value of this
historic relationship in his opening
remarks: “We’ve been partners for a long
time, and we are particularly pleased
about today, as we embark on a deeper
collaboration in the SaaS (Software as
a Service) side of our business. This is
in line with our objective of not only
serving our customers with our legacy
voice and bandwidth services, but truly
becoming the trusted end-to-end expert
ICT partner of the enterprise market."
In its bid to stay competitive and
maintain its status as a market leader,
CCAC has recognized the need to
further optimize its systems through ICT,
tapping PLDT ALPHA Enterprise as its
key ICT partner.
Under the latest agreement, PLDT
will deploy the cloud-based Microsoft
Office 365 throughout CCAC’s
operations. Its scalability, mobility, and
cost control aspects are major reasons for
its appeal, according to CCAC Director
Sean Byrne. “Setting up our cloud-based
Microsoft Office 365 suite is miles ahead
of rolling out a similar desktop solution
on our own. We can be up and running
within 7 days, and remain always on the
leading edge with SaaS,” he commented.
CCAC CFO Victoria Betita said,
“We chose PLDT for the stability of
their organization. Not many businesses
have been around for such a long time,
as Concepcion has. PLDT is very solid
and stable; they’ve long been a market
leader in cloud technology and all other
services. And their skill and expertise are
clear to see, as well as their support for
us. It’s clearly a win-win situation.”
(From L-R) PLDT VP and Head of Corporate
Relationship Management Precy Katigbak,
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
and SMART Enterprise Sales and Marketing
Jovy Hernandez, CCAC Director Sean Byrne,
and CCAC CFO Victoria Betita
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE,
EASTWEST BANK PARTNER TO
TRANSFORM BANKING VISION
INTO ICT REALITY
EastWest Bank, a major player in
the Philippine banking industry, has
chosen PLDT ALPHA Enterprise as
its partner in revolutionizing its ICT
systems given the latter’s expertise and
proven track record in supplying end-toend ICT solutions. As the fifth largest
credit card issuer and the sixth largest
auto-financing provider in the country,
EastWest Bank recognizes the need for
advanced technology to spur its growth
even further.
With this partnership, PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise, together with
sister company SMART Enterprise, has
deployed a formidable array of solutions
in EastWest Bank. These include direct
lines, direct inward dialing/direct
outward dialing (DID/DOD), domestic
and international toll-free, private leased
circuits, PLDT Shops.Work Unplugged
(SWUP), IP VPN, and SMART
Enterprise Wireless Broadband.
Currently, EastWest Bank is
considering disaster recovery and mass
text message broadcast solutions (also
known as Netcast) to add to its roster
of ICT solutions provided by PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise.
“We are satisfied with PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise’s solutions because
they are especially flexible and scalable,
designed for EastWest Bank’s rapid
expansion goals. These solutions help us
maintain the good relationships we have
with our clients. With more dependable
communication lines, our customers can
always count on EastWest Bank to help
them with their different needs,” said
EastWest President and CEO Antonio C.
Moncupa, Jr.
“The peace of mind provided by
a reliable ICT network is invaluable to
us. Banks heavily rely on the customer’s
trust. When they encounter no difficulty
in contacting our customer service
hotline, it gives the impression that their
needs are prioritized and easily addressed.
If customers feel that their concerns are
given priority, then their confidence in
EastWest Bank strengthens. We thank
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise for helping us
make that possible,” said FVP and Head
of EastWest Information Technology
Group Randy A. Evangelista.
“We are proud to partner with
EastWest Bank – they have been very
aggressive and innovative in the banking
industry in recent years, especially with
their branches expansion and thrust
in electronic banking. We anticipate
significant and mutually beneficial
outcomes from this growing partnership,
and PLDT is gratified to have been
entrusted to serve the overall ICT
needs of EastWest Bank, and enable
this remarkable institution's efforts to
compete and lead in the top sphere,” said
PLDT EVP and Head of Enterprise,
International and Carrier Business
Eric R. Alberto.
“We are grateful to EastWest Bank
for choosing us as their trusted endto-end expert ICT partner. We are
truly astonished by the organization’s
remarkable growth throughout the years.
We share their vision of success both in
the local and regional arenas. With that,
we are excited to collaborate with them,
and create the future unmatched ICT
solutions that will transform their vision
into reality,” said PLDT FVP and
Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
Jovy Hernandez.
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
Jovy Hernandez, PLDT EVP and Head of
Enterprise, International and Carrier Business
Eric R. Alberto, EastWest Bank President and
CEO Tony Moncupa, and EastWest Bank FVP
and Head of EastWest Information Technology
Group Randy Evangelista
JULY 2014
PLDT ALPHA ENTERPRISE
BOLSTERS SUPPORT FOR
ASIA CEO AWARDS 2014
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, the leading
telecoms service provider’s corporate business
group, is increasing its support of the highly
prestigious Asia CEO Awards as it becomes
the title sponsor for this year’s event, which
features the theme ‘Emerging Asia’.
The announcement was made during
the official media launch of Asia CEO
Awards 2014 held at the Raffles and
Fairmont Hotel in Makati. Attended by top
executives from PLDT as well as from other
sponsors including SPi Global, SMART
Communications, SHORE Solutions, Oracle,
NEC, Meralco, KPMG, King's School
Manila, Jones Lang LaSalle, and FirstCarbon
Solutions, the launch signaled the opening of
the nomination period for the much-coveted
accolades.
While PLDT ALPHA Enterprise has
been an ardent supporter of the Asia CEO
Awards in the past years, PLDT FVP and
Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and
SMART Enterprise Sales and Marketing
Jovy Hernandez shared that this is the perfect
moment to further bolster its support of the
event. “We believe that 2014 is the year that
the country becomes a major player in the
global marketplace, and as the leader of our
industry, we are honored to take the lead in
celebrating the best business minds,” said
Hernandez. “Of course, we will continue to
support all initiatives to place the Philippines
in the center of the world stage to display the
Filipino’s boundless talents.”
The Asia CEO Awards gives recognition
to the most extraordinary leaders who have
made exemplary contributions to their
organizations and the Philippine business
community, and further elevated the country’s
position as a premier business destination.
One of the biggest and most anticipated
events of its kind in the Asia Pacific region,
the Awards is an offshoot of the Asia CEO
Forum -- the largest regular networking event
for the business community in Philippines.
The Asia CEO Awards has 10 categories
celebrating outstanding achievements by
top business leaders: Oracle Technology
Company of the Year; CSR Company of
the Year; SPi Global Young Leader of the
Year; SHORE Solutions Most Innovative
Company; NEC Quality Company; Jones
Lang LaSalle Expatriate Executive of the
Year; SMART Communications Global
Filipino Executive; Meralco Top Employer
Organization; KPMG Executive Leadership
Team; and the PLDT ALPHA Enterprise
Lifetime Contributor Award. This year, the
awards also feature two new categories: the
Hospitality Award and First Carbon Solutions
Green Company of the Year.
The winners of the Awards will be
selected by the Board of Judges led by its
chairman Richard Mills. The judging panel is
comprised of the leading names in business
and academe including renowned economist
Dr. Bernie Villegas; Don Felbaum, former
president of the American Chamber of
Commerce of the Philippines; Edward
Chang, president of the Korean Chamber
of Commerce Philippines; Oscar Sanez,
San Miguel Vice President for International;
Architect Jun Palafox, former president
of the Management Association of the
Philippines; and Nobuo Fujii, Vice President
of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of the Philippines.
The winners of the Asia CEO Awards
will be announced during the gala dinner on
November 12, 2014 at the grand ballroom of
Solaire Resort and Casino. Interested parties
may visit the Asia CEO Forum website at
http://asia-ceo.org for more details.
Celebrating business excellence: Asia CEO
Forum’s Richard Mills (leftmost) and PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise’s Jovy Hernandez (8th from
left) lead a toast during the launch of the 2014
Asia CEO Awards.
CONEXUS TO MAKE
COORDINATED M2M PUSH
CONEXUS, the pioneering mobile
provider alliance for the Southeast Asian
region, has outlined a comprehensive action
plan for enterprise Machine-to-Machine
applications during its 1st Conexus M2M
Summit held last May 29, 2014 at the Dusit
Hotel of Makati City, Philippines.
The adoption of M2M solutions for
enterprise has been gathering noticeable
momentum as better device integration and
overall improved connectivity, among other
favorable factors, have already earned its share
of adherents within the business community.
Quickly emerging are more applications
targeting specific industry verticals.
In response, SMART Enterprise hosted
the 1st CONEXUS M2M Summit with
certain objectives in mind. These were
primarily focused on the sharing of best
practices; to learn and absorb these lessons;
define region-specific needs on IoE (Internet
of Everything); discover new evolution
paths for M2M; promote M2M synergy
across CONEXUS members; and monitor
upcoming M2M and IoE trends.
IoE is seen as the ultimate direction that
the M2M movement is heading towards, as
the former represents an ideal integration
of connected sensors, devices and assets
that already fulfill existing M2M enterprise
values of automation, reliability, and real-time
monitoring.
“Imagine utility companies that can ‘heal’
their systems automatically through sensors
and machines, or think of customer issues
responded to accurately and instantly—
customer SLAs will vastly improve,” said
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise and SMART Enterprise Sales
and Marketing Jovy Hernandez. “These are
just some of the dramatic shifts in service
standards and performance M2M and IoE
promise. And together with our valued
partners at CONEXUS, SMART Enterprise
will make it a top priority for the benefit of
Philippine and regional businesses.”
SMART Enterprise Marketing Head
Chet Alviz explained how SMART Enterprise
M2M has already made the “vertical leap
across various industries”, specifically
Government, Banking and Finance, Utilities,
Media, Retail, Health and Pharma, as well as
Consumer Goods. “Whether it be for real
time inventory management, tighter sales
information coordination, or workforce
management and others, SMART M2M
solutions will redraw the map of business
efficiency and the standards of quality endcustomer experiences.”
(From L-R) SMART Enterprise Product Development
Head Pearl Santos; NTT Docomo NTT-International
and Business Center Senior Business Development
Advisor Toshiaki Osugi; NTT Docomo Assistant
Manager Global Business Division Kenichi
Takabayashi; SMART Enterprise Head of Wireless
Marketing Chet Alviz; PLDT FVP and Head of
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise and SMART Enterprise
Sales and Marketing Jovy Hernandez; SMART
Communications FVP for Innovation and Product
Development Melissa Limcaoco; FarEasTone Cloud
and Business Alliance Enterprise Business Unit
Director Jeff Chen; Starhub Product Manager for
M2M Daniel Wee Shan Ting; Indosat Division Head
for M2M Hendra Sumiarsa; SMART Communications
VP for Innovation and Product Development Jane
Quiambao; and SMART Enterprise Product Manager
for M2M and Enterprise Mobility Gio Abaquin
JULY 2014
PLDT SOLIDIFIES CLOUD
LEADERSHIP WITH ORACLE
INFRASTRUCTURE, DATABASE
AND MIDDLEWARE HOSTED
IN PLDT CLOUD
PLDT, a leading telecommunications
service provider in the Philippines,
today announced that they would be
offering Database as a Service (DBaaS),
Middleware as a Service (MWaaS),
and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
services in the country. The services
will be hosted on Oracle’s Engineered
Systems to provide high performance
computing to enterprise and government
customers. Companies can pay a monthly
subscription for the services through
PLDT’s corporate business group,
PLDT ALPHA Enterprise.
The PLDT Group is one of
the largest users of Oracle Database
and Oracle Engineered Systems in
the Philippines. “PLDT has a long
standing association with Oracle and
we use them to power our business. It
is certainly fitting to offer products to
our customers that we ourselves use,
because of their proven reliability and
performance. The new services at PLDT
Cloud are the result of a close working
relationship with Oracle and we aim to
leverage our expertise with Oracle to
help local companies transform into
world class enterprises. Cloud computing
has certainly made modernization
of business much more simple and
affordable,” said Eric Alberto, Group
President and CEO of ePLDT and
Executive Vice-President of PLDT.
“At PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, we
are always listening to our customers and
challenging ourselves to innovate and
meet those needs. Providing the world’s
premiere Database and Middleware with
flexible Cloud deployment models in
PLDT Data Centers or in ‘On-Premises’
facilities, is certainly a game changer in
the Philippines,” said Jovy Hernandez,
PLDT FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise and SMART Enterprise Sales
and Marketing.
“Oracle offers the most
comprehensive portfolio of cloud
solutions to its customers. PLDT
is a leading Cloud Service Provider
in the Philippines, providing high
speed networks and the security of
infrastructure through VITRO Data
Centers. Oracle is delighted to work
with PLDT in the Philippines and
extending the Cloud value proposition
to our customers,” said Sujith Abraham,
Group Vice President, Strategy and Sales
Development, Oracle Asia Pacific.
The PLDT Cloud operates a fast and
secure infrastructure for Government
and Enterprise services across the
Philippines leveraging the PLDT Group’s
high-bandwidth telecommunications
network and VITRO Data Center, the
country’s first purpose-built industrial
grade facility and 2013 Frost & Sullivan
Awardee for Data Center Provider
of the Year. PLDT’s Vitro Data
Centers received the country’s first
ISO 22301:2012 Business Continuity
Management System certification from
Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS),
ensuring customers experience worldclass business continuity.
PLDT is a Gold level member of
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN).
VITRO NETWORK OF DATA
CENTERS, AT PAR WITH WORLD’S
BEST, RECEIVES NEW ISO
CERTIFICATION FOR IT SERVICE
MANAGEMENT
Ensuring that its VITRO network of
data centers continues to be at par with the
world’s best, ePLDT has successfully achieved
VITRO’s first certification for the ISO
20000-1:2011 IT Service Management System
standard. The certification was recently
awarded by AJA Registrars, a renowned
certification body accredited by the United
Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS).
ISO 20000-1:2011 is the international
standard for IT Service Management
System, providing service providers with the
framework for planning, implementing, and
monitoring its service delivery. Through this
certification, organizations ensure that they
apply best practices in design and delivery to
meet service requirements and provide value
for their customers.
“As an industry leader, it is important
for us to not only offer and utilize cuttingedge technology, but also have resilient
infrastructures that conform to global
standards,” said Eric R. Alberto, ePLDT
President and Chief Executive Officer. “With
this certification, we are able to demonstrate
that VITRO is truly a world-class data center
network.”
Aside from receiving its first ISO
20000-1:2011, VITRO has also received
re-certifications for ISO 14001:2004
Environmental Management System (EMS),
ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System
(QMS), and ISO 27001:2005 Information
Security Management System (ISMS)
standards – all of which are applied to
VITRO’s Pasig, Subic, and Cebu locations.
VITRO is the first data center in the country
to be certified for EMS; its Pasig data center
is also the first to be certified for ISO
22301:2012 Business Continuity Management
System (BCMS).
“Resiliency and reliability are highly
integral to our operations,” shared Nerissa
S. Ramos, ePLDT Chief Operating Officer.
“These certifications are thus testaments
to our management and key personnel’s
unceasing dedication to ensure that we have
these key elements to provide true security
for the mission-critical data housed within our
data center.”
ePLDT Chief Technology Officer Dave
Simon echoed this sentiment, noting the
VITRO team’s commitment throughout
the long certification process. “The team
came together to evaluate current service
management practices, and create a strategic
service management delivery plan that
provides the best value for our customers,”
stressed Simon.
“ISO certifications are a means for
organizations to ensure its customers
that it employs only the highest standards
in its operations,” said Paul Bagatsing,
Vice President and General Manager at
AJA Registrars, Inc. “Having successfully
achieved recertification for Environmental
Management, Quality Management, and
Information Security Management, as well
as receiving its first IT Service Management
System standard certification, VITRO has
definitely made its mark as a first-rate data
center network.”
“The Enterprise Business is more and
more becoming a BUSINESS OF TRUST.”
stressed Jovy Hernandez, PLDT FVP
and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise.
“Attaining these ISO certifications reflects our
commitment to deliver the highest level of
service so that our customers in turn will have
confidence in entrusting to us their business.”
VITRO Data Centers are located in key
areas across the country and has almost 2,000
total capacity. VITRO provides a range of
ICT services and solutions, from colocation
and hosting to cloud-based data and
information management.
Receiving VITRO’s new ISO certifications from
AJA Registrars, Inc. Vice President and General
Manager Paul Bagatsing (center) are (L-R) PLDT
FVP and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise Jovy
Hernandez, ePLDT Chief Technology Officer
Dave Simon, PLDT EVP and Head of Enterprise,
International and Carrier Business and ePLDT
President and CEO Eric Alberto, and ePLDT
Group COO Nerisse Ramos.
JULY 2014
oming
C
&
GOING
WINDSHIELD SOUND-BASED
CLEANING SYSTEM
McLaren believes that, for their
high-performance supercars at least,
windshield wipers are regrettably oldfashioned. To spice up the mundane
old blades, the British automobile
manufacturer is looking to adapt an
electronic system used by fighter jets.
According to McLaren, the system
involves high-frequency sound waves that
COMING
In this section, HOT JOE puts on its Tech
Forecaster hat and takes a look at the future
are constantly active. Windshields would,
theoretically, be continually clear and
vision would never be obstructed by rain
or the hypnotizing swish-swish-swish.
Paul Wilcox, professor of
ultrasonics at Bristol University's
faculty of engineering, theorized: 'The
obvious way of doing it is to have an
ultrasonic transducer in the corner of
the windscreen that would excite waves
at around 30kHz to bounce across the
windscreen.'
Initially, you’ll need to shell out
between 13,000,000 PHP to 69,000,000
PHP to get a McLaren sportscar with the
bladeless windshield system, but once
perfected it’s hoped that the system could
be produced for the mass market for as
little as 800 PHP. Sounds great to us.
CROWD-FUNDING
The chancy economy has made
investors more risk-averse, resulting in
little to no capital for less mainstream,
less established entrepreneurs. On the
other hand, startups are increasingly
turning to crowd-funding instead of
more traditional investment channels.
Crowd-funding can get a project
or venture swiftly off the ground
by raising and pooling small sums
from a large number of people,
typically via the Internet on numerous
crowd-funding platforms such as
Kickstarter, Indiegogo, RocketHub,
and RockThePost. The same general
concept applies for any crowd-funding
venture: project creators create a
‘pitch’, typically containing a short
video, an introduction to their project,
and visualizations of their concept.
They invite viewers to invest – or
donate – to their project, in return for
rewards that are proportionate to their
contributions. These can range from a
commemorative bookmark, to special
editions of the product in question,
to special trips and meetings with the
project creators.
Of all the crowd-funding
platforms, the most famous and
successful is Kickstarter, which started
as a site for quirky DIY/tinkerer
projects. As of this writing, there
have been $1,144,866,121 pledged to
Kickstarter projects (yes, that’s more
than a billion dollars); 149, 212 projects
have been launched; and over six
million backers have used the site to
support their chosen projects.
require the ability to communicate
quickly and easily with pre-determined
numbers. OwnFones don’t even have
a screen or a number pad, much less a
camera or 3G connectivity. Customers
order the OwnFones with preset
numbers of their choice assigned to
the buttons on the OwnFone, and
the braille-based OwnFones can only
support two to four buttons. Because
of its rare simplicity, the OwnFone
can stay powered for a full year before
needing a recharge.
The game “Star Citizen” has, to date,
raised over 46 million USD in crowdfunding, making it the highest-raising
crowd-funded project ever.
Image Source:
http://starcitizen.wikia.com
Similar soundwave-based
applications are also used
by dentists to remove plaque
from teeth.
BRAILLE PHONES
UK company OwnFone has
launched the world’s first braille phone.
OwnFone’s Tom Sunderland claims
that although there have been concept
braille phones in the past, this is the
first to actually go on sale. The phone
is produced through 3D printing,
and costs around $100. OwnFone,
featured in a previous issue of HOT
JOE, focuses on ease of use rather
than features; it is aimed at users like
small children and senior citizens,
who may not be able to navigate more
sophisticated phones, but who only
COMING
COMING
WEARABLE TECH
One of the most important trends
in today’s tech industry is the rise of
“wearable technology”. It’s been a staple
of science fiction for years, with a realworld history stretching back to the 1960s
and 1970s, when inventive gamblers built
some of the first wearable computers to
improve their odds at the casino. But until
recently real-world technology had not
advanced to practical use for mainstream
consumers. (Aside from the explosion of
calculator watches in the 1980s).
But today, various technological
advances, like improved batteries,
displays, and connectivity, have made
science-fiction dreams like Dick Tracy’s
radio-watch a possibility for the average
user. Major companies like Google, Nike,
and Samsung (and, although they are
keeping very close-mouthed about it,
Apple) are investing heavily in wearable
technology. Devices like Google’s headmounted Google Glass, Nike’s fitnessmeasuring FuelBand, and Samsung’s
smartphone-enabled Galaxy Gear are
becoming increasingly common sights.
And new players like Jawbone, Fitbit, and
Pebble are also rising to challenge the big
dogs with their own innovative takes on
wearables.
"Many experts say the rise of
embedded and wearable computing
will bring the next revolution in digital
technology," said Janna Anderson,
director of Elon Univeristy's
Imagining the Internet Center. "They
say the upsides are enhanced health,
convenience, productivity, safety, and
vastly more useful information for people
and organizations. The downsides:
challenges to personal privacy, over-hyped
expectations, and tech complexity that
boggles us."
Wearable technology is also
called wearable devices, tech
togs, or fashion electronics.
Google Glass
SELF-DRIVING CARS
Nike
FuelBand
Jawbone Up
Pebble
smartwatch
Fitbit Flex
Samsung
Galaxy
Gear
Some people think that autonomous
or self-driving cars have the potential to
completely revolutionize transport, by
making roads safer, eliminating crashes,
and decreasing congestion and pollution.
Ron Medford, former deputy director
of the US National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and now the
safety director for the self-driving car
team at Google, believes the technology
could have substantial positive impacts
on the entire transport paradigm by
eliminating driver error. "I think it has
the potential to be the most important
safety technology that the auto industry
has ever seen," he said.
Auto-manufacturers like Mercedes
Benz, Audi, and Ford have been
developing self-driving technology for
years, producing applications like assisted
parallel parking and proximity alarms.
Recently, Google also made a big impact
in the self-driving tech scene by unveiling
their prototype self-driving cars.
"We're really excited about this
vehicle - it's something that will allow
us to push the capabilities of self
driving technology, and understand
the limitations," said Chris Urmson,
director of the company's self-driving
project. The first prototype cars are
equipped with powerful laser and radar
sensors, augmented with camera data
and Google’s map data, and a control
interface centered on a single large
stop/go button – no steering wheels,
controls, or pedals included. (For early
testing, extra controls will be fitted so
one of Google's test drivers can take
over if there is a problem.) The cars are
designed to seat two people, with electric
propulsion limited to 25 mph for safety
reasons. The front end of the vehicle
is designed to be safer for pedestrians,
with a soft foam-like bumper and a more
flexible windscreen, which may help
reduce injuries.
Google says it expects its selfdrive cars to be on the road “within a
year,” and that their cars had already
covered 700,000 miles of public roads in
autonomous mode. The company plans
to build a fleet of around 200 of the cars
in Detroit, with the hope of using them
as an autonomous technology test bed.
However, skeptics warn that
driverless cars may still require human
input in extreme circumstances and that
people may forget how to operate their
vehicles if they do not do it regularly, or
that traffic and congestion may in fact be
worsened if more people take longer or
more car-trips since there would be less
effort involved.
In May 2014, California's
Department of Motor Vehicles
unveiled its first set of rules for
self-driving vehicles.
What things are
on the way out
GOING
GOING
CLASSIFIED
ADVERTISEMENTS IN PRINT
With the rise of digital alternatives
like Craigslist and Ayosdito.ph, classified
print ads have seen a steady decline.
A joint study by Robert Seamans of
New York University's Stern School of
Business and Feng Zhu of the Harvard
Business School reveals that, from
2000-2007 in the United States, buyers
saved 5 billion USD by posting free
listings on Craigslist instead of buying
ads in newspapers. The classified ads
business — one of newspaper’s three
longstanding revenue pillars, along with
circulation revenue and more traditional
CASH
The rise of alternative payments
through debit cards, credit cards,
contactless payment cards, and the rise
of digital banking services are driving
down the use of cash.
The latest Aite Group report on
the subject predicts that cash use, which
has been declining in U.S. payments
transactions, will continue to do so
through 2015. Consumers' use of cash
will decline by a total of 17%, or 4% per
year, between 2010 and 2015, dropping
to slightly more than $1 trillion.
A corresponding UK study showed
that UK Shoppers spent 10 percent less
with cash in 2012 than in the previous
year. Cash is still a powerful presence
and unlikely to disappear entirely any
time soon, but shoppers are increasingly
opting for other payment methods, such
ads — was practically decimated.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom,
research from media investment
management firm GroupM has shown
that revenue from classified ads has
dipped from nearly 2 billion GBP in 2006
to 436 million GBP in 2014. “Our study
demonstrates how media companies
respond to shocks from technologically
disruptive entrants in different industries
as debit cards and PayPal, according to
the British Retail Consortium.
Helen Dickinson, director general
of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“Cash is still the most popular way to
pay, but our survey shows how rapidly
alternative and emerging methods are
gaining ground, with growth more than
doubling on the previous year. New
ways to pay and new ways to shop are
shaping the retail landscape like never
before. Changing customer preferences
are driving the increase in debit card
use – they’re helping people to manage
their money better and are a natural fit
for online shopping and self-service
checkouts.”
The report also said that 40
percent of UK cash registers are now
able to accept 'tap and go' contactless
card payments, an investment made
by retailers looking to streamline their
customers’ payments.
– an important issue as the boundaries
between media industries are blurred
and advertisers are able to reach
relevant consumers through a variety of
platforms such as TV, the Internet, and
mobile devices,” explained Professor
Seamans. “This study provides some
insights to media moguls who will face
future industry shocks and are pushed to
re-evaluate their business models.”
THINNER FRENCH
TRAIN PLATFORMS
French state-controlled railway
operator SNCF will just have to shrink
their train stations after it was revealed
that their new trains – all 1,860 of
them, ordered at a cost of €15 billion
($20.5 billion) - are trop grand for
thousands of the country's platforms.
The modifications will reportedly cost a
further €50 million.
The new regional express trains, due
to go into service in 2016, were ordered
after SNCF consulted with French rail
network operator RFF. Responding to
SNCF's request for platform dimensions,
RFF sent over measurements — but
only for stations built in the last 30 years.
Many of France's rural stations were
built more than half a century ago on
narrower lines.
Frédéric Cuvillier, the French
transport secretary, called the mistake
a "comic drama", blaming it on the
previous French government's decision
to split the SNCF and the RFF into two
separate state-run entities. A c’est la vie!
Sleeper HIT
H
alf a decade into the era of wider enterprise cloud
migration, companies are still rationalizing proper
methodologies, and looking for integrated solutions.
The special collaboration and team-up between Oracle
and PLDT ALPHA Enterprise may finally bring them
the answers they seek through their latest combined cloud
offerings. For Oracle, the cloud-enabled future for business
is centered on a compelling argument: it still makes sense to think
long-term, beginning “with the end in mind”.
The Foundation:
Oracle’s Engineered Systems
TAKING THE LONG
VIEW ON THE
CLOUD
A peek into PLDT ALPHA Enterprise’s
Oracle-based long-term cloud solutions
At the core of the Oracle-powered
PLDT Cloud solutions are Oracle’s Engineered
Systems-- hardware and software that are
engineered to work seamlessly together. They
are purpose-built in the factory for rapid
deployment of both infrastructure hardware
and application software. PLDT ALPHA
Enterprise’s choice Engineered System is
specifically designed to host and deploy a
broad spectrum of both server and cloudbased solutions. Furthermore, since Oracle
enterprise applications are already pre-installed
and pre-configured in virtualized images-- a very
innovative approach to deploying software-installation and maintenance complexities are
reduced from weeks down to mere days. With
that, customers have more time to focus on their
core business while achieving a faster time to
market and lower cost of operations.
The Best of Oracle, Now on the Cloud
With Oracle’s Engineered Systems as the
springboard, enterprises experience an entire
enhanced PLDT suite of cloud-based solutions,
each ready to address business verticals and
needs.
Leading the way is Oracle's Database Cloud
Service, which allows enterprises to access the
robustness and power of the world’s leading
database effortlessly on the cloud. Users
can store and manage any data in the Oracle
Database Cloud Service and manage it via SQL,
PL/SQL, or any SQL-based application or
software. This service can work in concert with
PLDT’s other Oracle on the Cloud solutions,
one of which is the Oracle Developer on the
Cloud Service (or Weblogic Server as a Service
offering).This solution is a Platform as a Service
(PaaS)-type solution that enables enterprise
developers with the ability to collaborate, create,
and deploy applications in faster, simpler ways.
A Bountiful, Cloud-Enabled Future
These solutions are just the tip of
the proverbial iceberg. Oracle and PLDT
ALPHA Enterprise share a mutual vision of
an unequaled and seamless smorgasbord of
cloud-based solutions: Business Continuity and
Disaster Recovery Service, Cloud Analytics
and Business Intelligence, Industry / Business
“In a Box”, Billing as a Service, Finance as
a Service, Marketing as a Service, and so
much more. The primary foundation of this
unprecedented partnership of course is PLDT’s
undisputable leading position in the Philippines
with the largest Philippine landline, broadband,
and fiber optic network. With this peerless
backing, corporate customers can experience
the best Oracle has to offer in a cloud-based
environment, as well as set and agree on specific
service level agreements (SLAs) that guarantee
solution performance and integrity.
INFINITE
HIGH PERFORMANCE
SMART Infinity brings the ALPHA
experience to C-level executives
AT
a certain level of
responsibility,
managers and
directors must
learn the art of
delegation, freeing their focus for highlevel decision-making. On this stratum,
their decisions easily affect hundreds
or thousands of people. Is a company
better off if their CTO is busy shopping
for WiFi enabled copiers rather than
reviewing the company’s IT policies? It’s
worthwhile for a company to remove
some of the everyday stresses and clutter
from their CFO’s life-- doing so frees
him up to work at bigger decisions,
ultimately optimizing their finances.
Think of it this way: your CEO
has only so much mental ‘fuel’ to burn.
He can’t waste it on details like getting
a present for an acquaintance or other
trivialities. He should dedicate his all
to keeping the company running and
profitable.
Worry-Free Communications
That’s why SMART Enterprise
launched the SMART Infinity Enterprise
Plans - designed specifically for the
uniquely demanding situations of C-level
executives. They need the highest level
of communications technology and
connectivity available because their
contacts are located all over the globe
and in every time zone. They need to be
available to all these scattered contacts;
a dropped call or a missed email could
be simply catastrophic-- millions of
pesos and the future of entire product
lines could be riding on the line. When
conversations are this high-level, you
don’t want to be worrying about whether
this overseas call drives you over your
limit, or if you should have taken this call
on another line to lessen your charges,
or if downloading this email attachment
eats up all your data.
That’s what SMART Infinity
Enterprise is designed to remove – all
the petty worrying. True to its name,
SMART Infinity Enterprise promises
infinite data, infinite calls, and infinite
SMS -in short, infinite communications.
There are no limitations - no network
boundaries, no devices not covered. All
SMART Infinity Enterprise subscribers
enjoy VIP Network status, meaning their
calls and texts are always first priority on
SMART’s nationwide mobile network.
This is a plan sans the usual limitations
against an easy, worry-free, premium
communications experience for the
C-level executive.
The Infinity Treatment
This is hardly the entirety of what
SMART Infinity Enterprise offers. They
go above and beyond their exceptional
network offerings to provide a level
of expert, attentive service unmatched
in the country. The Infinity Treatment
starts with your own personal Infinity
Management Office (IMO).
IMOs are assigned to clients on a
1:1 basis, and are reachable via a single
tap on your SMART Infinity app. They
function as a personal secretary dedicated
solely to your phone-related needs. This
covers not only your personal plan and
credit limits, but also issues such as
transferring your contacts and photos
from one phone to another, arranging
text broadcasts when needed, and more.
Complementing this is the SMART
Infinity concierge service. A 24/7,
international, always-ready concierge
service exclusively for SMART Infinity
subscribers, the concierge service is
always reachable whether via a dedicated
hotline or the SMART Infinity Lifestyle
app. They are ready to ease the way
for high-level clients in whatever way
possible: assisting them in flight and
hotel bookings for that well-deserved
vacation, or providing information on
the latest shows, concerts or movie
showings.
One SMART Infinity subscriber who
was a huge fan of a certain book series
asked their help in obtaining a signed
copy of his favorite book; SMART
Infinity was able to fulfill his request.
That’s the kind of service, above and
beyond the call of duty, which SMART
Infinity prides itself on.
Other perks like a personalized
vanity number, an always-ready back-up
SIM Card, and exclusive access to special
events and treatment at certain locations
and stores all contribute to the complete
SMART Infinity Enterprise experience.
In short, SMART Infinity Enterprise is
designed to remove worries and obstacles
in your life, leaving a C-level executive
free to focus on the things that matter.
It’s not any one single factor, but the
holistic, privileged experience all this
represents, that make SMART Infinity
the perfect choice for the unbothered,
uncluttered C-level executive.
WHEELS
Facilitates a car’s motion by reducing
friction through rolling. The earliest wheels
were made of wood, and first started
appearing in Mesopotamia in 4000 BC.
ENGINE
THE
ANATOMY
Converts the chemical energy in your fuel
into motion, which drives your car. The
term “engine” used to refer to any type of
machine, as in a “siege engine”. In 1958,
Ford conceptualized a car whose engine
would be a nuclear reactor!
OF A CAR
CARS AND CLOUDS
They both have thousands of
moving parts. Put together correctly,
you can go far. Put together
incorrectly, everything falls apart.
The average car has 30,000 parts.
Here are just a few of the more important ones:
HOW IS BUYING
A CAR LIKE
GETTING YOUR
CLOUD-BASED
SOLUTION?
BRAKES
System used to stop the
car’s motion, inhibiting
it through leverage and
hydraulics. Disc Brake Pads
for a Formula 1 car cost
$250 apiece, and during
the course of racing and
testing, a team will use
around 1000 of them each
season. That makes for an
annual bill of $250,000
for brake pads alone.
FLAMETHROWER
CHASSIS
FENDER
The first ever Cadillac,
made in 1902, had fenders
made out of patent leather.
The base framework of the
car, on which the body is
built. In the early days of
automobile manufacturing,
buyers had to choose a
chassis and a body separately,
then pay to have them
mounted together.
In South Africa, cars can be
equipped with flamethrowers
to prevent car-jackings. They
would be mounted under the
car doors.
1.
2.
3.
4.
You tell the experts what
you want and what you need.
They customize your car/
solution accordingly.
You don’t put it together
yourself; instead, experts put
the thousands of components
together for you.
Now you can simply
jump in and drive off.
You have a team of ICT
experts/mechanics ready to
address any future concerns,
so you don’t have to.
Say
Last
THE RACE AHEAD, AND
ike any self-confessed racing and automotive sports
enthusiast, for me there’s nothing quite like the siren
call of a wide-open road: miles of perfectly rolled
asphalt waiting to be eaten up by a machine of my
choice. Whether on two wheels or four, there’s a
certain primal satisfaction one derives from that momentary
communion of man and machine, the magical interlock
between brainpower and horsepower conquering each bend,
chicane, or twistie.
When everything clicks in harmony, working together
seamlessly and perfectly, the miles literally fly by. Inevitably,
you arrive at your destination with a quiet triumph as you
appreciate a sight at land’s end – a previously unknown
breakwater, a hidden hilltop vista – that only a privileged
and skilled few share.
But here’s the thing. Everything has to work seamlessly
and perfectly, all the time. Otherwise the results can be
catastrophic. An ill-maintained engine can blow up on you,
leaving you stranded and desperate on a remote – perhaps
even dangerous – locale. An amateur mistake in judgment
at the worst possible time can cause you to careen fatally
off course.
This is perhaps why I feel that our ALPHA Track Days
have always framed the perfect allegory to the businesses we
manage and lead. Success can be won or lost in mere inches
or moments; precious decision times have been whittled
to razor thin. In this age of increasing globalization and
competition, both the track and the boardroom have become
unforgiving arenas for zero-sum games.
The PLDT ALPHA Track Day attributes –
TEAMWORK, ACCURACY, and SPEED – are therefore
as paramount as ever. We have to prepare our enterprise
resources as we do our most reliable machines, and never
forgetting the most crucial of resources: the human
component of discernment, vision and decision-making. Both
man and machine must work in excellent unison, always – but
ultimately, man must always be master of the machine.
This after all, is the race that never really ends. So, ladies
and gentlemen, start your engines anew. I’ll happily see you
on every new road that opens up before us.
Eric r. Alberto
EVP and Head of Enterprise,
International & Carrier Business
PLDT / SMART
Calling Circle: Unlimited calls for SMART Enterprise Plans within the same company.
ASC Ref. Code: S054P051314S