Global information technology report 2013

The Philippine National Competitiveness Council (NCC) should be congratulated for the overall improved ranking in the World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report. The same organization also provided the Global IT Report for 2013 which should be reviewed more closely by the NCC to insure further improvement in 2014.

“The Networked Readiness Index (NRI), calculated by the World Economic Forum, and INSEAD, ranks 144 economies based on their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital age. The NRI seeks to better comprehend the impact of ICT on the competitiveness of nations. The NRI is a composite of three components: the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community (market, political and regulatory, infrastructure environment), the readiness of the community’s key stakeholders (individuals, businesses, and governments) to use ICT, and finally the usage of ICT amongst these stakeholders. For example, the Nordic countries and the so-called Asian Tigers – Singapore, Taiwan (China), South Korea, and Hong Kong SAR – dominate this year’s index thanks to their business-friendly approach, highly skilled populations and investments in infrastructure, among other strengths.

The NRI ranking of the ASEAN countries are as follows: Singapore #2, Malaysia #30, Brunei #57, Thailand #74, Indonesia #76, Vietnam #84, Philippines #86 and Cambodia #106. “ASEAN is categorized as fairly dynamic. Led by Singapore, all eight ASEAN members covered by the NRI improve their overall score and a majority progress in their rankings, albeit in some cases, such as Cambodia and the Philippines -from a low base......Second to last within ASEAN, the Philippines remains in 86th position despite a significant improvement in its overall score.”

I was recently informed by the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) that the ICT Office of the Department of Science and Technology has been cooperating with them in the following areas:

1. Research: The ICT Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), together with IBPAP and TeamAsia, developed the 2012-2016 Philippine Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Road Map, which aimed to provide an updated and more detailed version of the original IT-BPO Road Map 2011-2016 anchored on current and emerging trends in the global IT-BPM market, as well as the opportunities for said industry to move up the value chain and achieve the projected growth of employment and revenues by 2016. The updated road map is also envisioned to embody the goals and objectives of the national government’s Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 which recognizes the IT-BPM industry as a driving force for economic growth and employment in the country.

The ICT Office, together with IBPAP, also developed the preliminary study on the corporate services segments of the IT-BPM Industry. These segments include: finance and accounting and insurance outsourcing and human resources outsourcing. The Project aims to identify the underpinning issues and challenges relative to these sectors as well as develop initial recommendations that would lay the groundwork in improving and increasing the country’s ability to capture a larger share of these segments in the global IT-BPM market.

Another ongoing research project is the Talent Deep Dive Project, which IBPAP and the ICT Office are jointly undertaking. This project aims to help identify sizes of talent pool of potential IT-BPM employees by skills and location.

2. Marketing: The industry, through IBPAP, and government, through ICT Office, had participated in international trade missions. For this year, two events have been participated as follows: Cebit Australia held in Sydney, Australia on 28-30 May 2013 and CommunicAsia held in Singapore on 18-21 June 2013. An investor primer was also developed jointly the by IBPAP and ICT Office to provide information on investing in the Philippines, particularly in setting up IT-BPM operations.

3. Promotion of a sustainable ICT industry ecosystem: The Next Wave Cities(tm) Program is a public-private partnership that provides a framework that enables the growth and development of the IT-BPM industry in identified cities and provinces around the country. Cities are assessed using the industry scorecard, across the areas of talent, cost, infrastructure, and business environment and risk management.

4. Talent Development: The ICT Office is working with IBPAP in the pilot roll-out of the ICT Scholarship and Training Program – Lean Six Sigma for Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Course. The ICT Scholarship and Training Program aims to provide deserving Filipinos the opportunities to upgrade their skills in the fastest growing, higher value ICT segments, including that of the IT-BPM industry.

Clearly, the ICT Office should be commended in working and supporting the private sector initiative of IBPAP which has significantly enhanced employment and our economy. I am certain IBPAP will continue to prosper on their own even without government support. However, I hasten to point out the comment of the IT Global Report which stated: “NRI reveals that in the case of Asia’s best performing economies, the governments typically lead the digital effort.” BPO is just one aspect of the digital challenge. I would suggest that the ICT Office has given undue focus on BPO. To improve our NRI rating, it is imperative to utilize a holistic approach (as defined in the second paragraph above) to maximize the opportunities offered by the digital age which will be more beneficial to the nation and its people.

Dr. Alberto ‘Quasi’ Romualdez

His many friends and admirers deeply regret the loss of a dedicated doctor committed to enhancing public health. His former American associate Dr. John Peabody, president of Qure Healthcare said: “We will all miss Quasi, indeed. He was a good friend and an unwavering champion of the poor and sick.” I first met Quasi in the late ‘60s when I was with IBM. He was one of the first to appreciate the value of information technology in medicine. We will miss his sage advice and participation on the board of the Zuellig Family Foundation. Our deepest sympathy and condolences to his wife Felicidad and family. Requiescat in Pace.