IN propagating the use of social media, mobility, analytics and cloud (Smac) among local small- and medium enterprises (SMEs), IP Converge Data Services Inc. (IPC) wants inclusion of security.
“As far as ‘Smac’ is concerned, IPC’s play is primarily in the cloud and security space,” Niño Valmonte, IPC director for product management and marketing, said. “Notwithstanding, as a cloud infrastructure service provider, IPC is able to support mobility and analytics initiatives by providing on-demand compute resources necessary to instantly scale up and down while ensuring the availability and resiliency of these systems by virtue of our cloud infra being hosted in our own data-center facilities.”
Smac is being touted by listed telecommunications company Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) as a game-changer combination for SMEs. “We are evangelizing the use of SMAC [by] SMEs because this [combo would] enable them to be more competitive,” Francis Oliver, head of the community partnerships of PLDT-Smart Communications Inc., said in an interview at the sidelines of a business conference in Makati City.
Oliver said the two firms decided to combine their resources for the SME market to “provide more comprehensive business solutions” to SMEs. With PLDT and Smart converging, Oliver said SMEs will now have the opportunity to have access to cover both wireless and fixed solutions.
“With mobility, analytics and the cloud, we can give them equal opportunity to build their capability,” Oliver said. According to Valmonte, social media is already integral in IPC’s digital marketing operations. “We are very active in promoting this as a means to reach out to various markets,” Valmonte said in an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror. He said IPC sees Smac as gaining popularity in the local market.
Valmonte said the company believes adoption among enterprises is “still relatively low compared to western markets and mature Asian countries.” Nevertheless, Valmonte added that there is a big opportunity for companies, like IPC and PLDT, to educate and promote Smac among SMEs.