Reinvent.
The Philippine Digital Convention is the most
prestigious digital thought leadership event hosted by PLDT Enterprise.
This year’s PH Digicon featured over 120 industry
leaders and experts, sharing their expertise on topics such as technology
predictions, industry evolution, emerging technologies, among others.
On the first day of the convention, the delegates were
welcomed in an interactive virtual platform where they would discover
groundbreaking opportunities to reach greater heights in their respective
industries during the digital event.
The three-day convention highlighted plenary sessions,
which presented a full roster of prominent and esteemed personalities from
different companies and industries all around the globe.
ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head of PLDT and
Smart Enterprise and International Business Groups Jovy I. Hernandez opened the
plenary session by introducing what revolution means and how it will impact
society moving forward.
“We need to
emerge from this crisis stronger. We cannot just rebuild and recover. We have
to rediscover and redefine ourselves and our businesses. To harness technology
and effectively navigate the new world of business, this revolution is
mandating us not only to refresh our strategies but more importantly to rethink
and rewire our mindsets and attitudes,” Hernandez shared.
Hernandez added that this period would
give birth to more revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence,
genome editing, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, and IoT.
“Now is the time to reimagine the
world of business as we would like it to be. This is not pure imagination. It
is up to all of us to make dreams into reality,” he said.
For the first plenary discussion, the first power panel discussed embracing
revolutionary technology as an imperative for companies to thrive amid the
shifting needs of customers in the post-pandemic era.
The thought leaders who took part in the plenary session
include Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation
(MPIC); John Harrington, Nokia Senior Vice President, Head of Asia-Pacific and
Japan; Nicholas Ma, President of Huawei Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Group;
Yasuo Suzuki, President of NTT Global Data Center, and Dave West, President of
Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan, And Greater China.
They shared valuable insights on how their respective
companies had overcome the challenges of the pandemic and what it means to have
a revolutionary leadership to steer businesses and organizations to success.
“In many ways
we have to adopt the revolutionary aspects of leadership, adopting abrupt
changes in certain areas that are really needed but at the same time
maintaining the values that are important to our company, to PLDT and the
overall First Pacific Group,” he said.
PH Digicon 2021’s celebrity speaker Charlize Theron also
spoke about her experiences in different aspects of life, as an award-winning
Hollywood actress, film and TV producer, entrepreneur, and the UN Messenger of
Peace.
Theron left a piece of encouraging advice to women
leaders since women’s empowerment has been a relevant issue in the business
industry.“Be resilient, find your crew, find your team, find and
surround yourself by people who make you better, who challenge you, who push
you… And I think understanding the value of leadership is not something that
happens in a vacuum; doesn’t happen with one person.”
“It really happens with your village, it happens with
constantly being hungry for that voice out there that might be of different
than yours… Surround yourself with people who are like-minded but also
different people that you can learn from. And never, ever, be too proud to say
that you were wrong,” said Theron.
After the first plenary session, there were also tech
leadership forums where significant perspectives on top technology trends and
advancements in various industries were conferred.
Three of the key themes discussed for the first day of
the PH Digicon 2021 include adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT),
empowering the retail industry through an all-new digital experience, and
enabling the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry through solutions and technologies.
Rediscover.
Meanwhile, the second day was opened by key executives
from the private sector together with the government in an exclusive roundtable
discussion to examine the prospects of priming the Philippines as the next
hyperscaler destination and data center hub in the Asia Pacific.
Present during this portion include Department of Trade
and Industry Sec. Ramon Lopez, Philippine Bureau of Investments Executive
Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dochosa, MPower Senior Vice President and Head
Roberto R. Almazora, Yasuo Suzuki of NTT Data Center, and Structure Research
Head of Research Jabez Tan.
They discussed the measures and technology investments
currently done by both public and private institutions to lay the digital
foundation of the Philippines for its bid to be the next strategic hyperscaler
destination in the region.
The panel stressed that the Philippines has consistently
increased its attractiveness to hyperscalers with critical investments in
submarine cable systems in place, its stable political and business climate,
increasing access to renewable energy, and the availability of a
highly-educated and talented workforce and its high internet and smartphone
penetration.
"The
pandemic has pushed us to maximize the use of digital platforms, which
accelerated the growth of our data center market. Our country's digital
landscape makes it an ideal setting to support the growth of the hyperscalers
as well as data center operations," said Department of Trade and Industry
Secretary Mon Lopez.
PLDT VP and International Facilities Investments
Management Head Gene Sanchez, on the other hand, said that PLDT is looking at
all the building blocks necessary to make the Philippines the favored hub in
Asia.
“The Philippines is already part of the big chain, but
we need to make us more favorable. We have embarked on implementing an
international submarine network—a plan that would support hyperscaler
requirements. That means we will be able to scale up submarine capacity at
will,” Sanchez said.
PLDT’s current
international cable network comprises 15 global subsea cable systems, which
will further be expanded with its investment in additional subsea cables such
as Asia Direct Cable, Jupiter, and Apricot that are expected to be operational
by the end of this year to 2022.
Moreover, PLDT Group also announced
that it is set to build the first hyperscaler data center in the country
designed to serve the hyperscale requirements of global tech giants.
Right after the incisive roundtable
discussion, the delegates were engaged in the second
plenary session where key PLDT executives talked about how industries adapted
to the shift brought by the global health crisis and how they stayed resilient
amid these unique challenges.
PLDT Enterprise FVP and Enterprise Revenue Group Head
Mitch Locsin, PLDT FVP & Enterprise Revenue Group Head Vic Tria, and Vice
President and Enterprise Revenue Group Head for PLDT Enterprise Ding V.
Villarino highlighted the role of innovation in various industries and how it
ultimately advanced the economy forward despite the difficulties that companies
had faced.
Furthermore, the panel discussion featured how
businesses have successfully outmaneuvered the disruption brought by the pandemic
and how they are continuously adapting their business models to facilitate
growth and success in the better normal.
Several prominent Filipino tycoons spoke during the
discussion, including Penshoppe Group Chairman and CEO Bernie Liu, Jollibee
Group Chief Business Officer Joseph Tanbuntiong, JG Summit Holdings Inc.
President and CEO Lance Gokongwei, Century Pacific Food, Inc. Executive
Chairman Chris Po, and Alliance Global Group Inc. CEO Kevin L. Tan.
PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO Al
Panlilio also participated during this session and shared his insights and key
learnings on what makes a revolutionary leader.
“It’s people-first mindset [for] both employee and
customer, making sure they’re healthy, they’re safe, and decisions made around
huge considerations for the people. From a leadership point of view, you have
to be authentic, clear, and transparent to your people.
“In this pandemic, it is about leading bravely. We can
never tell what will happen; thus, we must be more informed and, hopefully, make
the right decisions… We have always pushed for a purpose, and that is to remain
relevant to our customers,” said Panlilio.
In the afternoon, the tech leadership forums zeroed in
on banking and e-commerce and strengthening an organization’s cybersecurity
posture to stay resilient amid risks and attacks. Likewise, key industry leaders also shared how the
education sector has been adapting to these challenging times and what they
could do to improve the delivery of enriched education experience to the
students despite having an all-digital classroom.
Revolutionize.
The third and final day of the convention focused on the
preparations for the next revolution in various industries and several business
technologies that would continue to disrupt different market sectors.
The tech forum sessions focused on nurturing intelligent
cities and what sustainable practices the public and private institutions must
do to successfully transform urban areas into smart cities with ease and
efficiency.
In addition, the convention also shared insights with
regards to improving the delivery of health care services and how technology
can be used to better equip healthcare facilities and healthcare workers to
provide efficient, accessible, and inexpensive health care services to
patients.
The closing plenary session has taught the delegates the
fundamental requirements they should initiate to transform and stay competitive
both locally and abroad.
PLDT Enterprise Core Business Solutions FVP & Head
Jojo Gendrano underscored that to fully embrace digital transformation,
companies need to have a clear and well-communicated strategy to lay the vision
of what their customers want and where they want to take them in the company.
“The next step is structuring a team that is fit to
transform the organization is important with clear lines of ownership and
accountability set. And next is to pick partners that you can trust… On the
side, if you want to be a brand and product leader, investments in resources
like R&D are needed to achieve that differentiation. And lastly, things
will not always go our way and this is where resilience comes in,” Gendrano
noted.
Be the Revolution.
For business owners – whether of small or large
enterprises - looking to be part of the digital revolution, the Philippine
Digital Convention encourages you to step ahead, explore opportunities and
learn how you can transform your organization to be at par with global industry
leaders.
By consistently searching for insights, learnings, and
being willing to embrace digital transformation, you will experience how
industry players are incorporating digitalization into their business
activities and how it propelled their organizations to succeed.
Relive the three-day convention like no other via the PH
Digicon 2021 content on-demand exclusively available at phdigicon2021.com.
For more information, visit pldtenterprise.com.
