The necessary but painful quarantine restrictions put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 have accelerated the pace of digital transformation of Filipino companies of all sizes, from microentrepreneurs to the large conglomerates.
Entrepreneurs and corporate executives know only full well that if they do not embrace the digitalization trend, they run the risk of being rendered obsolete.
Fortunately for those who have committed to embark on their digital transformation, there are tools and services available to enable them to navigate the new business environment and come out ahead when some normality comes back with the containment of the pandemic.
Among the most sought after are those made available to the market by PLDT, the country’s largest integrated telecommunications company, its wireless arm Smart and financial technology unit PayMaya.
The PLDT Group is guided by the belief that fast and reliable connectivity has become the backbone of the economy amid the still-raging pandemic, and this applies not just to the big companies but especially the MSMEs, the self-employed and those who have had to put up their own enterprises after losing their jobs.
Job losses
”In the face of massive job losses in lower-income sectors due to the shutdown of retail services and establishments, e-commerce platforms serve as a lifeline for minimum wage earners and small business owners. More than the bigger establishments’ digital adoption, our network services and solutions allow small players to go into online retailing and thrive in the ‘new normal,’” said PLDT chief revenue officer Alfredo Panlilio.
Panlilio cited IBM research showing that in just a year, the pandemic has brought forward the transition from physical shopping to e-commerce by an estimated five years. Banking has also gone digital. Financial transactions can be done with just a few clicks.
At the same time, workplaces have transformed with analysts saying that even next year, some 30 percent of the country’s workforce will continue to work from home several days in a week.
These changes drove PLDT and Smart to commit even more to their mission to provide Filipinos with the tools and products to survive and thrive in the new normal.
To address growing data needs, for example, PLDT and Smart are continuously investing in their integrated fixed and wireless networks.
“Transitioning to the new digital reality requires internet speeds to increase, coverage to expand and reliability to improve,”
Panlilio stressed, adding that the companies continue to invest in their network infrastructure, particularly in their 5G networks, subsea cables and towers, in order to secure the future of our country in this increasingly digital world.
Rollout
Currently, PLDT and Smart are ramping up the rollout of Smart’s 5G network nationwide, which now has over 2,600 sites—the most extensive 5G network in the Philippines.
Underpinning these services is PLDT’s fiber network infrastructure, now over 429,000 kilometers, the country’s most extensive. This fiber also supports Smart’s mobile network, which covers 96 percent of the population from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi.
These initiatives form a large part of PLDT’s capital expenditures, which totaled P460.7 billion in the last 10 years.
As for services enabled by this impressive connectivity backbone, among the latest is the all-new Home Biz Fibr Asenso Plans with faster speeds and better e-commerce solutions especially designed for home-based entrepreneurs to better help them in mastering their businesses at home.
The new Home Biz Asenso Fibr plans enable these home-based entrepreneurs to do more with their businesses with faster internet speeds, free digital solutions from e-commerce partners, seamless unlimited calls to any PLDT landline and to any Smart, Sun or TNT mobile number, and a free CAT 6 Prepaid Home Wi-Fi as a mobile backup internet so that their business always stays connected.
“We have upgraded our PLDT Home Biz Asenso Plans to fully equip our entrepreneurs in making that digital transformation—all within the safety of their own homes. Aside from providing them with faster and seamless connectivity, we are enabling them with digital tools such as a website builder, and payment and delivery solutions,” said Patrick Tang, vice president and head of PLDT Home Biz.
Beyond connectivity, PLDT Home Biz also powers home-based entrepreneurs with a robust e-commerce ecosystem—from online store building to payment and delivery platforms.
PLDT Home Biz has teamed up with the country’s top digital solution providers for end-to-end business solutions, such as secure and hassle-free online payments by PayMaya.
Winning combination
PLDT Enterprise also promises to go Beyond Fiber and deliver a winning combination of enterprise-grade internet connectivity and curated digital solutions that empower businesses of all sizes and enable the work-from-home requirements of various industries and sectors. For those who want to keep information technology (IT) and networking simple and quick, PLDT Enterprise also offers Branch in a Box, which empowers businesses with a straightforward “Lean IT” solution. PLDT Branch in a Box simplifies the delivery of critical IT infrastructure through ready solutions that already stack essential IT, security and networking capabilities, allowing businesses to quickly digitalize their operations.
“We recognize the evolving needs of our customers in the changing digital landscape and how our wide array of fiber-powered solutions can assure them of uninterrupted, highly reliable and secure connectivity. We’re confident that these solutions will enable entrepreneurs and businesses to face the toughest of challenges and emerge stronger than ever before—making them truly resilient,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT president and CEO, and SVP and head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.
Likewise providing vital services amid the pandemic is PayMaya, which runs a mobile app e-wallet service for consumers, a payment processing service for enterprises, and domestic remittance network Smart Padala. On the enterprise side, PayMaya has leveled the playing field between MSMEs and big merchants. Its complete enterprise solutions have enabled the biggest businesses and small merchants in the retail, quick-service restaurant, transportation, logistics and online commerce industries to accept a wide variety of digital payments, including cards, mobile wallets and QR—for both online and face-to-face transactions.
Upward trendFor MSMEs, PayMaya has already seen an upward trend in digital payments adoption. In the Philippine Daily Inquirer Project Rebound webinar series, PayMaya’s director and head of enterprise growth Raymund Villanueva shared that the number of MSMEs empowered by PayMaya with its cashless solutions grew by more than 3,000 percent in March 2021 compared to the same period last year.
PayMaya is the only financial technology company in the country that offers end-to-end digital payment platforms for both consumers and enterprises, which is good news indeed for small entrepreneurs such as Googly Gooeys’ Tippy Go, who credits PayMaya for helping her thrive online.
Solutions
Go uses the fintech’s enterprise solutions to enable her to accept not just payments from PayMaya users but also from credit, debit and prepaid cardholders at her website. She also uses the PayMaya e-wallet to pay others.
“A good chunk of our customers are also fellow business owners and so they when they run out of supplies, they want to be able to order on demand for pickup within the day or the next day. This is where PayMaya’s digital payment solutions help us. With PayMaya, there is no need for our customers to send their proof of payment as it is already integrated on our website’s system,” she said.
“Conversely, we are also able to pay our suppliers through PayMaya and some are even able to send PayMaya digital invoices through chat, which we can pay in a click. This definitely helps in making transactions seamless.”
Go is just one of the thousands of resilient Filipino entrepreneurs who have been able to cope with the pandemic with the help of PLDT Group. And even more are expected to be added to the list as PLDT unveils even more services to help the country rebound from the economic devastation caused by COVID-19.
