In-demand skills for world-class software developers

THE country’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, with the market size valued at $19.42 billion in 2022, is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 11.63 percent, reaching $33.65 billion by 2027.

With a growing number of IT graduates each year and a high rate of English proficiency, the country is uniquely positioned to attract international firms seeking to pool tech talent for global projects. However, the country’s software developers must be trained with the latest skills.

Jay Pegarido, country manager at Sansan Global Development Center Inc., has announced that Sansan is hiring 100 software developers and quality assurance engineers at its Cebu tech hub. In conversation with The Manila Times, Mr. Pegarido expounded on the proficiency and expertise Sansan is looking for in world-class Filipino software developers. The Manila Times (TMT): Please introduce yourself. What do you do in Sansan Global?

Jay Pegarido (Pegarido): I am the director and country manager at Sansan Global Development Center Inc. in Cebu, Philippines. I graduated from the University of San Carlos with a BS in Computer Engineering.

I began my career in 2000 at Yamato System Development Co. in Tokyo, where I developed my skills in web development and later assumed leadership roles in various IT companies, including founding and managing operations in Singapore and Canada, and assisting Japanese companies in opening branches in the Philippines.

My years in Japan built my technical skills, but even more, they helped me be a better bridge between cultures. My focus at Sansan is on leveraging local tech talent to enhance our product development for global markets.

TMT: Please provide a profile of the company. Who are its clients? What are its activities about “ensuring the country’s tech and knowledge economy is regionally and globally competitive”?

Pegarido: Sansan Inc. is a Japanese company that specializes in cloud-based contact management solutions aimed at enhancing digital transformation and efficiency for businesses. Since its founding in 2007, it has built highly accurate and flexible digitization technology for turning analog information into actionable data.

Our flagship and namesake product, Sansan, is a B2B digital transformation solution for digitizing all contacts within a company, starting with business cards. Using Sansan, companies create a comprehensive in-house, shareable database, enriched by onboard corporate data, to uncover sales opportunities and increase internal collaboration.

Sansan actively markets its main solution from its Singapore branch. At the Global Development Center, we are focused on the Bill One cloud-based invoice receiving and management solution.

In terms of ensuring the country’s tech and knowledge economy is regionally and globally competitive, Sansan is actively involved in developing its product functions through its Global Development Center in Cebu. This initiative not only taps into the local ICT sector’s growth but also aligns with the broader goal of enhancing regional tech capabilities. Our investment in the Philippines is part of its strategy to leverage the strong growth trajectory of the ICT sector in the country.

TMT: What is the current state of the skill sets of fresh Filipino IT graduates or software developers in general? What do they lack to be able to tap the projected growth trajectory of the country’s ICT sector?

Pegarido: The current skill sets of fresh Filipino IT graduates and software developers are largely competitive, especially with a strong educational background in IT-related courses from numerous universities and colleges throughout the Philippines.

However, despite these strong foundational skills, there is a need for deeper expertise in cutting-edge technologies, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

These areas are increasingly important as companies transition to more advanced digital operations, and such skills are crucial for integration into globally distributed teams and for handling complex project requirements. While knowledge tailored to specific industries such as fintech, health tech, or e-commerce can be limited, specialized knowledge is often crucial for companies operating within these sectors.

The technology sector evolves rapidly, and there is a need for continuous learning to keep up with new programming languages, tools and methodologies. A proactive approach to self-education and professional development is sometimes not sufficiently emphasized during formal education.

TMT: How does Sansan propose to fill in the gap? What are your basic qualifications for the 100 software talents your company intends to hire?

Pegarido: Sansan is actively working to fill the skill gap in the Philippine ICT sector by leveraging its Global Development Center in Cebu to enhance local capabilities and provide meaningful employment opportunities to the tech community.

For the 100 software talents Sansan intends to hire, the company is looking for a range of qualifications that include proficiency in popular programming languages such as Java, PHP, .NET for backend development, and familiarity with frontend technologies like HTML, CSS, TypeScript, and ReactJS.

Full-stack capabilities are also highly valued. While a degree in computer engineering, information technology, or a related field is typically expected, Sansan values practical experience and demonstrable skills.

Sansan’s recruitment strategy includes tailored training programs and integration into a supportive work environment that encourages innovation and professional growth.

This comprehensive approach aligns with Sansan’s mission to transform encounters into innovation, thereby ensuring that the workforce is well-equipped to handle the demands and opportunities of the ICT sector.

TMT: How do these new skills impact such current challenges as cybersecurity threats, data breaches, etc.?

Pegarido: The adoption of modern programming languages like Kotlin and frameworks like Ktor can significantly impact cybersecurity and the management of data breaches in several ways.

Kotlin, for example, is designed with safety features that reduce common programming mistakes that can lead to security vulnerabilities — its null safety reduces the chances of null pointer exceptions, a common source of crashes in Java applications.

By minimizing these issues, applications become more stable and secure while also encouraging the use of immutable objects, such that once an object is created, its state cannot be modified.

This practice can prevent security issues related to mutable objects, which can be altered and exploited by malicious actors. Ktor uses Kotlin’s coroutines for handling asynchronous programming tasks, which can improve the efficiency of handling I/O operations such as database communications and network calls.

By adopting these modern technologies, companies like Sansan can build applications that are not only efficient and scalable but also more resistant to the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats and data breaches.