Under the agreement, both companies will market each other’s core competencies to their respective customers who would need hosting and bandwidth services as well as applications development, according to Titos Castro, general manager of Impact Networks.
"In this day and age, a company cannot be just one thing; clients demand more from providers. Now they don’t ask you for just software development services, they ask you if you can provide them bandwidth, server space and all those intangibles," said Castro. "So this is why we’ve entered into a business partnership with AyalaPort to respond to that kind of market demand."
Impact Networks will bundle AyalaPort’s data center and managed services with its own applications development services to better cater to the needs of its clients, mostly based outside of the country.
AyalaPort’s services include partial or full outsourcing, co-location, connectivity, hosting, business continuity, server management, security and professional services.
For its part, AyalaPort will push Impact Networks’ applications and e-business solutions to customers that will require such services. Impact Networks provides key expertise in IP-based infrastructure, Web applications, online solutions and support services.
Castro is confident that the partnership will add more value to both companies’ offerings. "The strength of AyalaPort is its service and infrastructure, which are the core functionalities of a data center. But most projects not only require that, some need Web-based applications or middleware that could integrate into back-end systems, and this is something we can provide. So we feel that we add value to what AyalaPort is offering on the table and vice versa.
The actual going to market, however, would depend on every situation, Castro pointed out. "If, for instance, AyalaPort is the one dealing with a client that needs application services, we take the backseat and let them handle it. If Impact Networks has a customer that needs the expertise of AyalaPort, we take the front seat. For a major project, we go together," he said.
He said Impact Networks and AyalaPort would outline a revenue-sharing scheme for this kind of business partnership but they could also be creative in the sense that Impact Networks is also a client of AyalaPort.
Impact Networks is currently outsourcing its Internet infrastructure to AyalaPort to concentrate on its core competencies and, at the same time, to save on cost.
"We’ve decided to consolidate and outsource our connectivity services into one company for cost reasons and ease of administration. And we found that AyalaPort is reliable, capable as well as price-competitive for our needs," Castro said.
Under the partnership, he said both companies would give each other preferential treatments, meaning they would recommend to clients each other’s core services.
"But at the end of the day, it is still the client’s call. We will work on whatever they want but we will suggest to them the most reliable and cost-effective choice," he added.
AyalaPort Makati Inc. is a joint venture of the Ayala Group and Internet Initiative Japan, a publicly listed Internet service provider and network operator of data centers in Japan.
It is owned by iAyala, Ayala Corp.’s IT company; ALINET.com, the technology company of Ayala Land Inc.; IIJ Crosswave Communications, an IIJ affiliate; and IIJ Technology, an IIJ subsidiary.
Impact Networks is a Web-services’ "one-stop shop" that envisions itself as the country’s first applications infrastructure provider that will enable local markets for global e-business by integrating infrastructure, applications, access and information into its network.