Amidst political scandals and the growing disillusionment over the present administration, it is a welcome development to see your government at work. One shining example is the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), in particular that of Region 11. Another public institution that could give this government some much-needed accolades is the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM — officially registered as Trade & Investment Development Corporation of the Philippines).

Recently, PhilEXIM executives held an orientation seminar in Davao City for the benefit of SMEs, particularly small- and medium-sized I.T. enterprises (SMITEs). As does the DTI, PhilEXIM now has a mandate to focus on the development of the country’s I.T. industry. Before anything else, let me just say that the seminar was more than mere talk. The PhilEXIM executives, led by none other than one of the vice-presidents, were all set to start working with Davao companies. •••Read on»

In a previous post, I talked about the entry and acceptance of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems among Davao companies. This is a boon to the city’s industries and the local economy, because it is one sure sign of our local companies’ coming of age.

However, is this a threat to local software developers? Yes and no.

For one, there are still many companies who won’t shell out the P1.5 million cash price on an entry-level ERP system. So these companies remain the bread and butter of local I.T. companies. •••Read on»

Have you ever felt that you lacked complete control of your company’s Web site? Conversely, have you ever thought that your webmaster had too much control over it? There are so many factors involved in having a Web site developed that most companies just leave everything to the so-called experts. In the Information Age, this situation could pose a real security threat to your company.

Basically, there are three considerations when having a Web site developed: the domain name; design and programming; and, the hosting service. Domain names are fairly straightforward — just make sure that you or your company is the declared owner! As for design and programming, that’s very subjective, and not what I’d like to talk about today. •••Read on»

In the last few years, industry watchers have seen the increased adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems — especially from SAP, Oracle and Microsoft — by Davao-based companies. And I’m not referring to multinational companies, but to homegrown, medium-sized corporations that software providers call their “mid-market”.

In the past, Davao companies relied on either internally-developed systems (making use of off-the-shelf software products), or systems created by third-party providers in the city. Smaller operations entrusted their internal data processing requirements to freelance programmers — even today.

But with the increasing trend of globalization, and the shrinking of the international marketplace, Filipinos have begun to realize the need for more robust and sophisticated software systems. Such systems would have to address management’s demand for up-to-the-minute information, which the latter needs for making informed decisions. •••Read on»

I must admit, when I first heard of the National Broadband Network (NBN), as planned by the national government, I thought of it as a progressive move by this administration. The formulation of this plan, which at first was a seemingly harmless infrastructure project, came in the heels of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s SONA last year. In her speech, the President attempted to impress the I.T. industry with the declaration of her “Philippine Cyber-Corridor” concept. Recognizing I.T. and I.T.-enabled services as the next sunrise industries, the Philippine Cyber-Corridor is envisioned to lead the country’s development efforts.

But, in light of a position paper published recently by two U.P. School of Economics (UPSE) professors, I believe we must step back and seriously consider whether or not there is a real need for this multimillion-dollar undertaking that proposes to establish a third telecommunications backbone. Professors Raul V. Fabella, UPSE dean, and Emmanuel S. de Dios are of the educated opinion that there is no real need for the NBN, much less a fourth backbone. The NBN comes side-by-side with the Cyber-Education Project (CEP), which, if implemented, will be another telecommunications grid. In a nutshell, the NBN is supposed to interconnect government agencies (from national down to barangay level) via the Internet. The CEP, on the other hand, is meant for connecting public schools across the country. •••Read on»

OK, so now I know what that huge rambutan-filled speech bubble in SM City was! It looked a lot like the symbol for blogging (and I wasn’t very far off the mark). Apparently, many such mysterious “crop circles” have appeared all over the country, from Baguio to Davao: shapes of TVs, envelopes, magnifying glasses, musical notes…. Well, it was all the promotional gimmick of Globe.

Today, telephony and data companies Globe Telecom and Innove have merged into one Globe team. A source tells me that this major move is aimed at synergizing the strengths of these two telecommunications giants. •••Read on»

Recently I was told that a company I’d written about, Damosa Land (Davao’s first IT park developer), had my blog post in question printed out and disseminated among their staff. I’m not sure if it was as a matter of a directive by management or just the initiative of some employees, but the fact remains that I’d made an impression.

This is exactly the kind of result that I was batting for when I took up blogging. While I had similar feedback when I had just my “offline” column at Sun•Star Davao, this was more immediate. And it wasn’t just my post that mattered, but the attendant comments as well seem to have lent validity to my words. Or at least more weight in the eyes of Damosa Land.

I intend to continue advocating positive change in the IT industry, and I have WordPress to thank for this new-found voice!