Multi-cloud, application-focused managed cloud services leader Cloud4C recently hosted an exclusive roundtable for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) across several industries in the Philippines to discuss what areas they should focus their efforts on in aligning their organization’s IT with its business goals.
“The CIO Agenda for the Next 12 Months: Six Make or Break Priorities” was presented by Cloud4C President and Chief Revenue Officer Debdeep Sengupta, alongside Cloud4C Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Edler Panlilio, and Ayala Land CIO Annie Alipao.
Cloud4C, founded in 2014 after its founder saw the increasing need for cloud services with the dramatic rise of data, is currently present in 26 countries worldwide with its global headquarters in Singapore.
Based on the recently published Country Commercial Guide for the Philippines by the International Trade Administration (ITA), the country’s software and software service sales are projected to reach US$95M by 2025, with business process outsourcing (BPO), education, finance, health, and telecommunications identified as the key vertical markets for IT spending.
“I think what has happened in the last two years has possibly accelerated and made us realize that we can live in this hybrid world – or what I call the two-speed world of the physical and the digital, and someday in the future for every organization and every individual, paths will merge,” according to Sengupta.
Know Your Customers, Employees as Well as Your Technology
Prior to his official appointment as President and CEO of Cloud4C in the Philippines last June, Edler Panlilio served as the Managing Director of SAP Philippines, where he was in charge of business growth and operations. Having joined Cloud4C, he said that the company’s proposition would be enticing to PH-based clients.
“The speed at which transformation is taking place, especially since the pandemic, cloud has become the hottest space for any tech talent to build value and for that to happen, you need a nimble, agile, innovative and forward-thinking organization. I am delighted to join Cloud4C, an emerging world leader in cloud-managed services and one of the fastest growing technology companies,” said Panlilio.
In the Philippines, Cloud4C cites Manila Water, one of the country’s major providers of water treatment, water distribution, sewerage, and sanitation services as an example of the country’s important digital transformation pioneers. The cloud services company has helped Manila Water protect itself against potential outages and performance lags from an expected rise in incoming traffic. Cloud4C proposed the assessment of the water concessionaire’s current IT infrastructure and IT security, before deploying a Geographical Disaster Recovery on Microsoft Azure (Singapore) for business-critical applications and data. This approach created a Cloud Disaster Recovery strategy for Manila Water with higher business resilience and a lower risk of data loss. This also paved a way for further and future digitalization of Manila Water’s entire IT infrastructure.
“Being a public utility, it is paramount to our business and operations that our applications and data are always available. Cloud4C helped our IT infrastructure to become more resilient and secure. This gave us peace of mind as we embark on a digitalization journey,” said Liway T. Sevalla, Chief Information Officer, Data Protection Officer and Group Director for Corporate Information Technology of Manila Water.
Aside from this, Cloud4C offers a wide range of solutions and services for enterprises, regardless of size, who are undertaking modernization and digital transformation initiatives. What started as a community cloud for disaster recovery for ultra-large enterprises is now serving 4000 clients globally, 60 of which are from the Fortune 500.
Beyond community cloud, Cloud4C offers private and hybrid cloud services, cloud consulting, migration and modernization, digital workplaces, managed enterprise solutions, automation, disaster recovery, enterprise backup, cloud banking, and data analytics and AI.
Put the Cloud at the Center of Your Tech Strategy
As an end-to-end partner for enterprises seeking maximum cloud value, Cloud4C removes the hassle of migrating to and managing the cloud ecosystem of its clientele, whichever cloud they decide to move their workloads to.
This is made possible by Cloud4C’s standardized, fully automated Cloud Migration Factory Approach that ensures quick turnaround time when addressing application, infra, platforms, and database migration needs. Before the actual migration, Cloud4C ensures that the activities are aligned with its Well-Architected Reviews and Cloud Adoption Frameworks.
Winning the Tech Talent Warfare
In his presentation, Sengupta recalled a quote from Allianz Direct CEO Bart Schlatmann where a successful technology implementation depends on the combination of clear business requirements on one side, and very good developers on the other — with nothing in between.
Mckinsey’s Organizational Health Index (OHI) research shows that lack of clarity in direction setting and effective leadership by CIOs is a significant barrier that negatively impacts the attraction and retention of top talent in the tech industry.
“That’s where the struggle is now. We are losing talent and we don’t know where we’re going. With so much remote work available, they’re jumping it or they’re migrating,” Alipao said.
Become the Fastest Learner; Develop a Growth Mindset
The rapidly changing landscape in the tech industry has changed how CIOs perceive learning beyond training and certifications to reskilling programs that adapt to the emerging demands of the market.
Cloud4C believes in creating an engaging and hyper-performance culture by nurturing its workforce through advanced upskilling opportunities and supportive mentorship. With a system where employees are clear on the goals and have ready access to training resources and in-depth mentorship, Cloud4C can create an environment of mutual growth and advanced outcomes.
Cybersecurity – Integral Part of GRC
Cloud4C also acknowledges the importance of cybersecurity technology in a company’s Governance, Risk and Compliance. Although most enterprises see security and compliance as a tedious process that slows down innovations and transformations, the expanding attack surface and the growing cybercrime economy represent the dangers of skipping steps.
While the first stage for CIOs is ensuring security and compliance are baked into their organization’s processes, they will be required to take this further via prevention and resilience.
Cloud4C helps enterprises future-proof their business so they don’t have to, backed by end-to-end managed cybersecurity services like its advanced Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution and Security Operations Center (SOC) Managed Services.
Focus on Data-driven Business Insights
Cloud4C has identified five conditions to observe when enterprises plan to build their data analytics and AI infrastructure: making sure data storage capacity is sufficient, automating wherever possible, securing capable compute resources, putting up data quality safeguards, and properly addressing data access management.
From assessing the data maturity of an enterprise to integrating deep analytics across multiple business processes, Cloud4C enables customers to navigate the journey to implementing Enterprise AI without undergoing the time-consuming steps.