CUTTING EDGE CONNECTIVITY MAKING IT A SMALL WORLD
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and its subsidiaries add quality, value and capacity to global communications
The Filipino capacity for innovation is easy to see at the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), and its wholly owned subsidiaries, ePLDT and ePLDT Ventus. Indeed, PLDT has come a long way since it’s founding as a fixed-line company in 1928. Today, PLDT is the Philippines' largest corporation, publicly traded both locally (PSE: TEL) and in the United States (NYSE: PHI). In 2006, the company's market capitalization topped $9 billion and with new developments, especially in its business process outsourcing (BPO) business at ePLDT Ventus, the outlook for 2007 and 2008 looks positive.
Ernesto R. Alberto, PLDT’s Corporate Business Group Senior Vice President points out one of his company's key success strategies, saying: "PLDT has veered away from a mere access business model, where we just provide connectivity to customers. Today, we provide more value added content overlay to traditional access for both corporate and consumer markets."
Indeed, PLDT is taking advantage of its fixed-line infrastructure to tap the growing demand shift to broadband. At the end of 2006, PLDT's DSL capacity was estimated at more than 300,000 lines. Moreover, PLDT is allocating over $1 billion through 2009 to upgrade its network, including 3G coverage. New network developments should more than prepare PLDT for the ongoing convergence of voice, video and data communications.
Meanwhile, ePLDT is expanding its array of ICT infrastructure in order to support new forms of multimedia and communications delivery. Ray C. Espinosa, President and CEO of ePLDT, has highlighted some of the emerging markets that his company is entering, including internet cafes, WiFi and WiMAX technology, and data centers, such as ePLDT's VITRO center. ePLDT has inked partnerships with dozens of renowned foreign firms, including Microsoft, HP Compaq, and Cisco Systems.
Meanwhile, ePLDT Ventus, PLDTs BPO focused subsidiary, is making considerable headway in the thriving market for call centers and other back-office support, like data centers and medical transcription. Rosalie R. Montenegro, President of ePLDT Ventus, has confirmed what other executives widely cite as the greatest strength of the Philippines' BPO sector: the high level of education, unaccented English, and strong knowledge of U.S. culture common among Filipino citizens. Of course, for ePLDT Ventus, now one of the world's largest BPO companies, success comes from much more than its base of educated, English-speaking workers.
ePLDT Ventus has over 11,000 employees and about 8,300 seats in its BPO/call center business. ePLDT Ventus places a premium on employee retention by taking special care of its workers. Ms. Montenegro comments, "How we care for employees is probably our biggest selling point." This good care, importantly, comes at a cost far below that found in the U.S.
In terms of infrastructure, the company is also at an advantage. As part of the PLDT group, ePLDT Ventus has greater access to high-tech buildings and other facilities. Moreover, manager quality is serious business for ePLDT Ventus, with some managers spending extensive periods in the U.S. learning what the company's American clients want from their Philippines-based customer service representatives. As it enters 2007, ePLDT Ventus has quickly defined itself as the premier outsourcing firm for numerous Fortune 500 companies, especially from the U.S.
The company's wide range of services, including customer support, technical support, sales, email support and website maintenance, have become key drawing points for corporations keen on cutting costs without sacrificing quality. The ongoing expansion of ePLDT Ventus abroad and its alliances with foreign BPO companies, like India's Infosys BPO, should further increase the company's attractiveness in the global outsourcing market that shows few signs of slowing.