PH FIRMS’ DEMAND FOR CLOUD SERVICES ON THE RISE

A California-based technology company is looking to provide cloud services to more Philippine companies coming from different industries amid the increasing demand for online data storage.

Dean Vaughan, Azul vice president for Asia-Pacific, told reporters in Pasay on Tuesday that most of their clients in the country were from the financial services sector, which has been promoting further use of digital platforms following the imposition of mobility restrictions due to the pandemic.

But Azul was eyeing to potentially serve other industries as well moving forward.

“Philippines has very solid IT (information technology) and startup [industries]. We definitely see that as being a major growth area for us,” he said.

In addition, Vaughan said that they were seeing demand for cloud services for telecommunication service providers and large conglomerates, which hold interests in various sectors.

“Philippines was one of the top countries in my mind. You are a very cloud-first country compared to other countries in Southeast Asia,” he said.

Vaughan noted that the Philippines has a very accommodative policy when it comes to cloud investments and adoption.

The demand for the Philippine market is currently being served by Azul’s operations in Singapore. Vaughan said they were open to having a local office in the country but it needs further study first.

Azul chief revenue officer Ian Whiting, in a statement, added that the “Asia-Pacific presents a significant growth opportunity for [the company], and we are investing in our people, the channel and new product development to drive customer value.”