Gov’t spending on infra, education spurs IT growth

GARCIA

The government’s increased spending on infrastructure and the current implementation of the K to 12 program are seen to help make the information technology (IT) industry in the Philippines grow.

Carren Garcia, commercial channel sales manager of Acer Philippines, said that their company’s growth this year was driven by “very good” spending by companies and government offices.

“The government has been active in spending this year, in infrastructure and in IT. When you spend, you do projects. With that, the IT industry benefits from sales of equipment and tools,” she said in an interview at the sidelines of a gathering of partners under the Acer Academy program at Quest Hotel in Cebu City on Monday.

Garcia recognized the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte not to waste a single centavo from public coffers, adding that underspending is also a form of underperforming.

Duterte and his economic team earlier announced that the government had allocated P8.2 trillion to fuel the “golden age of infrastructure” in the next six years.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, the government increased its spending this year on infrastructure by 44.2 percent to P390.8 billion as of end of October from P270.9 billion over the same period last year.

The President also vowed to protect the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country, considered to be a top economic driver and is largely dependent on IT processes.

Citing the International Data Corporation (IDC), Garcia said Acer Philippines’ market share in 2015 was 25 percent across multiple product lines.

She estimated that this was going to grow by 5 percent in 2016, driven by an increase in sales this year.

Schools top market

Garcia also said that as more schools embrace technology as a learning tool under the revised educational system, the education segment has become among the company’s top corporate markets next to government and telecommunications companies.

The Acer Academy Program now has 97 member schools all over the country, 20 of which are in Cebu, from only six when it started in 2012.

As members, they are entitled to several benefits such as sponsorships, training of school faculty and IT personnel, free computer laboratory dress up, and a campus kiosk equipped with an Acer All-in-One.

Among the member schools in Cebu are the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus, Cebu Technological University, University of San Jose-Recoletos, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, University of San Carlos-South Campus, and University of the Visayas.

Garcia said that the company remains committed to serving the education segment, as they believe it is best to teach children to use technology as a learning tool while still young.

“The youth is the hope of the motherland. Educate them while they’re young and immerse them in technology. That is where we come in,” he said.

She said they target to launch an education summit by the second quarter of 2017 to discuss the importance of technology in learning, among others.

They will also visit more provinces where the Acer Academy program is present, unlike before when they just invited member schools to come to Manila.

By 2017, she said they aim to have 150 member schools all over the country.

Established in 1976, Acer’s product offerings include PCs, displays, projectors, servers, tablets, smartphones, and wearables.