The country’s top information technology (IT) agents came together during the CIO Summit 2016to vouch for digital transformation in business.
Executive Networks Media and IDC Philippines, together with lead partner,Eastern Communications,organized the whole-day affair for chief information officers (CIOs) and senior IT officials from all over Asia.
The team opened the floor for discussion on the importance of investing in technology and hosted the exchanges on groundbreaking topicssuch as cloud computing, cybersecurity, business optimization, and other technological disruptions unfolding in the Philippines.
SudevBangah,IDC country manager for Indonesia and Philippines, opened the summit by presenting the foremost challenge for the country’s digitalization today: the top-level struggle between CIOs and chief executive officers (CEOs), and reconciling their visions for technology and business.
“Digitalization means creating new business models, opening new opportunities, and generating ROIs never had before.While most of the CIOs in this country are extremely talented, having that understanding of business is key to realizing these advantages,” Bangah said.
“PhilippineCEOs are aggressive, 60% of them want to help you and get involved in the digital transformation,” Bangah added as he invited his audience of CIOs to lead the transformation of business.
Mike Soriano, Eastern Communications product management and development head,echoed this challenge in his talk on connectivity and digital transformation, asking his audience to “begin with the end in mind”, citing author Steven Covey. He said it is through this clear objective that they can identify the opportunities taking form in the country today.
Reaching the cloud for business
The CIO attendees weighed on the feasibility and challenges of digitally-transformed business during the breakout discussions. Panelist-experts from IT companies and service providers offered solutions to the top executives, sharing technology hindrances and opportunities.
LBC Inc. senior vice president and head of IT Alfie Deato and Eastern Communications marketing head Alfredo Solis also talked about cloud computing as they engaged the daring proposition and addressed the infrastructure gap noted by the table of IT executives from the academia, industry, and government sectors.
Deato shared LBC’s business model of nationwide delivery systems, while Solis explained the technologies out in the market. The survey on cloud computing highlighted the crucial role of developing reliable, customized internet connections in delivering outcomes for growth, as the roundtable audience shared the intent to move further into the digital world.
IDC Philippines operations head Jubert Alberto affirms this trend as he noted that, even with some CEOs still keeping to their established methods of success and having reservations on investing heavily in technology, more are recognizing its inevitability.
Alberto explained that there is a general consensus on the cost of lagging behind innovations, “The CEOs have to imagine themselves as their customers. If they don’t ride technology’s wave of change, then they lose so much of the market and, of course, the business.”
Building on the summit’s insights on leadership by innovation, integration, and incorporation, Alberto provided an image of digital transformation as it affects the companies. “It is putting your customer’s needs at the forefront. It is about getting information from your customer-partners and using it to develop business advantages. Digital transformation is making sure that your workforce is evolving and your partnerships as well.”
