With the fastest-growing Internet market in the world and a projected $1 trillion boost to its regional GDP in the next decade, the ASEAN is poised to embrace a profound digital transformation.
However, amidst promising projections, the region must still overcome challenges to digitalization such as skills shortage for a more digital-savvy workforce, cyber threats outpacing cybersecurity measures, and the lagging support for innovation and entrepreneurship, among many other challenges.
Demonstrating its commitment to helping accelerate ASEAN’s tech journey, the Singapore-based Spark (formerly CIO Academy Asia), and Digital Pilipinas have recently forged a partnership aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of organizations in the region.
Photo shows (from top left ): Hyperscal CEO Eugene Yeo (SourcedGroup in Asia); Olivier Van Grembergen, Vice President of Amdocs Cloud; Clarence Bondoc, Sales Director of Additiv Philippines; Abhijit Dasgupta, Head for Technology Risk, Control, and Governance of ManpowerGroup; Angel Redoble, First Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc.; David Chin, the CEO of Spark; and Kersten Calimag, Digital Pilipinas Program Manager. The coming together of esteemed business and technology leaders at the ‘LeaderShift’ webinar signifies a promising partnership between Spark and Digital Pilipinas, which is also dedicated to propelling regional digital transformation forward.
Creating an innovation and technology ecosystem in PH
Digital Pilipinas is the largest private-sector-led movement for creating an innovation and technology ecosystem in the country that is actively engaged in a global digital economy through its domestic and international trajectories.
Similarly, Spark continues to bring together a community of technology and business leaders from across Asia through thought leadership programs and initiatives to create mindshare, to share global best practices and lessons learned while highlighting use cases that will enable better outcomes for digital transformation among organizations from different industries.
Both Spark and Digital Pilipinas have since established a reputation for championing digitalization across industries and sectors. The two tech communities coming together presents greater opportunities for technology leaders and professionals to connect, share knowledge, and bring opportunities and ideas to one another.
“Through our partnership with Digital Pilipinas, we hope that we can create meaningful thought leadership programs to help organizations not only in the Philippines but across Southeast Asia, North Asia, and India to enhance and improve their digital quotient and their digital skill sets through peer sharing of knowledge,” said David Chin, the CEO of Spark, as he describes the value that he sees in this partnership.
Spark and Digital Pilipinas are now on the move towards more collaborative efforts that are aimed to help drive their digital transformation agenda. With shared goals and an even stronger network of tech visionaries working together, this new promising partnership in ASEAN shall take strides in empowering organizations and industries to thrive in the ever-changing tech landscape.
This year, Spark and Digital Pilipinas are also set to unveil more plans for advancing digital transformation together while recognizing outstanding leaders in business and technology at the upcoming Asia Digital Leader Awards happening at the Digital Pilipinas x Festival of Festivals on November 20 to 24 at the SMX Aura, Taguig. To register, please visit https://digitalpilipinas.ph.
Panel discussion on emerging technologies and opportunities for cooperation
To signify the beginning of their purpose-led partnership, Spark and Digital Pilipinas gathered esteemed tech and business leaders for a panel discussion on emerging technologies at the “LeaderShift: How Tech Leaders Continue to Navigate the Ever-Changing Global Digital Landscape” webinar.
The webinar agenda centered on areas of digital transformation that organizations must embrace as well as opportunities for cooperation between countries, sectors, and industries.
During the same webinar, Abhijit Dasgupta, Global Head of Technology Risk, Control, and Governance at ManpowerGroup noted that the digital transformation now happening in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore and the Philippines, can offer a vast opportunity for upskilling tech professionals. He likewise emphasized the need for workforce readiness, saying, “The job descriptions that we currently have in the industry are fast changing and the companies have to adapt.”
While sharing Dasgupta’s sentiments on the importance of manpower training, Amdocs Vice President Olivier Van Grembergen also emphasized the importance of integrating technical competencies into career paths. “Linking training to career aspirations and career paths incentivizes individuals to focus on continuous learning. It also helps with attracting and retaining technical talent,” Van Grembergen said.
For Angel Redoble, First Vice President and Group CISO of PLDT Philippines, digital readiness also requires collaborations anchored on cybersecurity. “It is crucial for all levels of an organization, from the board to the lowest-ranking personnel, to prioritize cybersecurity and integrate it into their daily routines While cybersecurity is a never-ending job, proactive measures such as security by design and anticipating compromises help mitigate the impact of cyber-attacks and uphold the continuity of services,” he said.
More than organizational readiness, Hyperscal CEO Eugene Yeo believes that government collaboration plays a crucial role in the success of digital transformation. He cited his experience with Hyperscal saying, “For a startup like mine, for us to get a foot into the game, governments must also be open to having certain services or certain offerings, having a certain sandbox environment where they can actually view what these startups can provide and perhaps even embrace within the government itself.”
Additiv’s Philippines Sales Director Clarence Bondoc aptly highlighted that digital transformation is not a quick sprint but rather a marathon that extends across various industries. This perspective underscores the long-term commitment required to navigate the complexities of digitalization successfully.