Globe rolls out cloud-based apps marketplace for SMBs

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom has unveiled an e-commerce platform in the Philippines that will enable enterprises and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to access cloud-based applications.

Launched in partnership with global cloud service marketplace and management platform provider AppDirect, the new Globe AppMarket portal (appmarket.globe.com.ph) offers a collection of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications such as CRM, marketing, e-marketing, human resources management, security and productivity. 

“Cloud has changed the way businesses around the world distribute and use software. Partnering with AppDirect’s enterprise-grade platform will securely handle every aspect of cloud services monetization and management for Globe, including provisioning, billing, product integration, identity and access, and application management,” said Mike Frausing, Globe Telecom’s senior advisor for enterprise and IT-enabled services.

Essentially, companies can buy and manage essential business solutions in one place with one bill and one login at the Globe AppMarket.

Frausing noted that given the huge financial and operational benefits of cloud-based business applications, not only does it cater to all existing SMB and enterprise markets, it also enables start-ups and new micro-businesses to operate quickly and scale rapidly. 

“Awareness of the benefits of the cloud is becoming more mature. What SMBs and enterprises need is one place where they can easily discover, try, and buy business apps for their specific needs. They will be able to do this through the Globe AppMarket,” he added.

The AppDirect cloud service commerce platform unites providers, developers and consumers of cloud services into a single ecosystem. This makes it easy for businesses to find, buy, manage and monitor cloud services from a central location and delivers new opportunities to distribute, sell, and market cloud services.

Lincoln Jack Lincoln, AppDirect’s Asia regional director, said across Asia-Pacific, the company is seeing the growth of cloud-based business applications across all segments, particularly in the mid-market. Aside from Globe, the company has partnered with other Asian telcos, including Telstra and Spark New Zealand, and it is hopeful it would be able to announce new partnerships soon, particularly in Southeast Asia and Japan.

“Local and trusted service providers in the region such as Globe Telecom will play a key role in helping Philippine businesses gain access to the software they need, and will lead the way in powering the cloud economy in the region and globally,” he said.

Among the featured apps in the portal is DigitalSafe, a mobile cloud-based app from Switzerland that can store, secure, save and protect confidential information and sensitive data such as PIN numbers, passwords, e-tickets, plans, formulas or medical documents, in a virtual vault in a Swiss data center. For a minimal fee of P425 per month for startups or P1,175 per month small teams and P4,465 for SMBs, users of the SaaS service can gain access to complete security when exchanging data.

Another app for grabs is AnyMeeting, an all-in-one conferencing tool designed and priced for small businesses. For a minimal fee that starts at P845 a month, it offers various solutions for a small company’s conferencing needs – from phone, video and web conferencing to 200-person webinars – in one, easy-to-use tool. There are many other equally useful enterprise tools in the portal.

“AppDirect’s vision is to make it easy for users to find, buy, and manage cloud services anywhere in the world, and we see great adoption across Asia for a number of reasons,” Lincoln said. “The SMB sector is vast and businesses are looking for trusted cloud solutions providers. Not only that but many in the region prefer op-ex expenditures over cap-ex and are striving for lower investments in legacy hardware and software.”

According to Lincoln, research firm IDC is projecting the SaaS market across Asia-Pacific excluding to Japan (APeJ) to reach $6 billion by 2019. “This doubling of the market since 2015 echoes the growth the company is seeing through the AppDirect platform across the region,” he said.

Gartner also released its own forecast in August that worldwide spending on enterprise application software will grow 7.5 percent to reach $149.9 billion in 2015, increasing to more than $201 billion in 2019. It said long-term growth in spending is seen to be most likely driven primarily by modernization, functional expansion and digital transformation projects.

Globe noted that the growth potential in the region for SaaS is complemented by demographics - a lower median age, a culture that drives toward bottom-up technology adoption and a market eager for freemium trials.

“So with the Philippine market primed for cloud service adoption, Globe’s reach, vision and ability to execute, along with AppDirect’s platform strength and ISV partner ecosystem, we expect a very successful partnership,” Frausing concluded.