THE Czech Republic is recognized as one of Europe’s top sites for information and communications technology (ICT/IT) investments, as manifested by the influx of high-value projects from the world’s top companies.
Further, the Central European country also puts a premium on its ICT sector by allocating a significant amount of its gross domestic product to related expenditures.
Currently, the country known as “Czechia” is keen on promoting its technologies to the Philippine market by offering great potential, since it is embarking on beefing up and modernizing its infrastructure.
In a recent group interview with the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the “Czech Connect 2019: Bridging the Czech and Philippine IT sector,” officials from ICT firms, such as Kentico Software, Y Soft Corp., Avast by Kaizen Internetworking, Flowmon Networks and Adastra Business Consulting (Adastra) expressed their optimism that local industries will adopt Czech ICT products and services to improve operations.
ICT: Big business
“FOR us, it is very positive. We came here originally working with [a financial technology (fintech) firm]. Since then, [a major commercial bank] has become a big client for us. We have five engagements with them, and we’re looking substantially for more of that. We hope to close five big targets within this year,” Adastra Director of Business Development Daniel Geller said.
“The great part about digitization and automation is that all financial institutions in the country are accepting them. They know they cannot do things the traditional way. That will lead down to minimization of their operations. You have all these fintechs chewing their way on the edges of the banks, and they know it is a matter of time before it is all gone,” Geller added.
He said the banks will need Adastra’s business solutions to face the challenges of digitization and “avoid extinction.”
For their part, Avast President Mark Campos explained that priority is to convert their free users to premium accounts to grow the business, then venture into corporate accounts. He said Avast is currently working with resellers to win enterprise-type clients.
Y Soft Corp. Managing Director Adam O’Neill pointed out that capitalizing on the demand for network security and government IT infrastructure of the Philippines will be very interesting for his company: “We will be in those areas for the next 12 months.”
Meanwhile, Country Manager Lubos Milan stated that Flowmon is “extremely positive” in the country’s business environment, as partners are ready to pursue projects for the government and the private sector.
“We are currently investing our time educating our current partners and providing them support,” Milan said. He added that, while demand for IT services in the country is huge, Flowmon is capable of delivering to clients.
As Milan furthered, Flowmon is also preparing micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to shift into using the service-provider model designed to give more flexibility and efficiency
With 99.6 percent of registered local businesses belonging to the MSME category, Milan is excited about the prospect of the market’s huge size.
“It is practically an inclusion strategy, and [Flowmon wants] all of them in,” he explained.
The country manager added that organizations could offer managed-provision services, or those that don’t require them to get additional technical people to manage or administer their operations. “To address the overwhelming demand in the Asean region, we made Manila as our regional center,” he pointed out.
Kentico Software Territory Sales Manager Nicholas Tan feels the need to engage clients and build the network in the Philippines to get a bigger share of the market. A partner from a major software company, he revealed, suggested to work closer with local partners to get the feel of the Philippine market.
“Definitely, there’s a lot to be done [in building] the network. We have to do it, because the market is big,” were his thoughts.
New wave of 4IR
THE five companies introduced cutting-edge technologies to the Philippine market and met representatives of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, and from the Philippine IT sector who shared perspectives on the current local IT situation.
The gathering was filled with presentations of companies who discussed the technologies they offer that can aid in better marketing and user engagement, increase smart businesses and employee empowerment through productivity and creativity, general security and network securities, and operative consultancy that assists companies—primarily financial institutions—in their digitization process.
In her remarks to open the event, Ambassador Jana Šedivá noted, “With the combined efforts of the Czech Republic and the Philippines, I believe, together, we can overcome barriers, adapt to the new wave of the Industrial Revolution, and adopt the innovations into further enhancing our businesses and economies.”
Through the conference, the Czech Republic aimed to open the door for better cooperation with the Philippines which also has a booming IT sector, and is expected to exhibit a fast-paced growth and development, as local and foreign investors enhance their businesses to create more technological innovations.