INFORMATION technology (IT) management consultant Miguel Angel Estevez recently discovered that the Philippine financial sector needs to upgrade its business process and computing infrastructure to become more competitive.

“What I found out is that Philippine banks have a weak infrastructure,” said Estevez of IT consultancy Headstrong. He noted that the sector needs to catch up if it wants to be competitive.

The IT infrastructure of Philippine banks do not reflect sophistication for a lack of investment that area. Enhancing IT infrastructure while beefing up business processing will lift Philippine banks at par with their counterparts in the region, Estevez said.

“Companies in the financial services industry are investing in IT solutions to comply with regulatory requirements, and to ensure cost-efficient operations,” said Estevez.

A 2006 survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 83 percent of the 288 chief executive officers from 58 countries considered IT as a key factor in boosting revenue in the next three years.

Estevez said giving importance to IT governance in corporations is necessary. He stressed that the chief information officer (CIO) must be given more power in the company by including him or her in the strategic planning aspect rather than just doing support level tasks.

“My impression is that CIOs in the Philippines are more focused on support rather than the strategic participation. That has to be changed if banks want to be more competitive,” Estevez said.

Headstrong’s operations in the Philippines continue to grow on the heels of business consulting requirements from North America and Japan. Estevez said the company’s expertise in capital markets, strategy alignment and IT enterprise enabled them to serve eight of the top ten investment banks in the world, delivering solutions in wealth and asset management, prime brokerage and securities financing.

Raymond Lacdao, Headstrong management consultant, said the Philippine operations will double the number of software consultants from 500 to 1,000 this year to meet the growing requirements from North America, Japan, Europe and the Philippines. At present, 60 percent of Headstrong’s consulting business is focused on foreign markets and 40 percent is in the Philippines.

He said Headstrong plans to make it 50-50. “We are going full-scale in serving the highly specialized and evolving needs of the local market. By harnessing our global resources, market knowledge and delivery capabilities, local firms
can minimize costs and risks associated with acquiring and leveraging in-tegrated business and technology solutions,” he said.

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