Investing in digital solutions may seem like a daunting step due to the perceived complexity and steep costs of integrating it into business operations. However, Globe Business, in partnership with the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), assures micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that there are affordable solutions that can boost and protect their business especially during challenging times.
Along with other expert panelists from the ICT industry, Globe Business participated at the recently held PSIA Fireside Chat on “Digital Transformation for SMEs” to provide an in-depth look at how digital solutions play a role in addressing operational, marketing, and security challenges brought about by the pandemic and in creating business growth and efficient systems for MSMEs in the Philippines.
“We are committed to help MSMEs realize the value of investing in new technology or digital tools: how it allows them to reach new customers, increase engagement with existing clients, and facilitate collaboration among their staff and employees while streamlining operations, leading to overall business growth and optimistic performance,” said Anne David, Marketing Acquisition Head, Globe Business MSME Group.
During the virtual learning session, the different ICT experts identified some of the key challenges MSMEs face today such as declining customer engagement, limited financial service accessibility, outdated operational processes, and cybersecurity threats, to name a few—which continue to hamper their growth and success. However, they were quick to point out that these issues can now easily be addressed with the rise of digital technology shaping the world today.
According to Jowie Alcala, Business Development Manager for Rhipe PH, one of the leading cloud solutions distributors locally, “digital automation is imperative for businesses to grow because this allows us to allocate the time that was used for answering customer inquiries to strategizing and developing plans for the business.”
Caloy Ang from Suds Premier Franchising Corp. echoed, “businesses that survived [the pandemic] were the ones who were able to provide excellent customer experiences through digital channels. It is important that we are able to quickly respond to customers’ inquiries especially when they need us most.”
Globe Business, through its affiliate Globe Labs, offers various API solutions to facilitate faster communication and increase engagement between businesses and customers. Some of the solutions include the SMS API, Voice API, and Sponsored Access API.
MSMEs were faced with the challenge of working around social distancing measures enacted by the government. To cope with the ever-changing mandates, businesses turned to online digital payment to sustain operational efficiency.
Through GCash’s Powerpay Plus Platform, companies can transition from tedious manual payroll systems to enjoying a fast, secure, and easily accessible digital payroll solution for salaries, allowances, incentives, and more. On top of that, customers can also conveniently transact with MSMEs through GCash.
In fact, one of the panelists pointed out that their most utilized mode of payment is GCash because of its convenience. Their customers pay them through the app and they transfer the money into their bank account, giving them the flexibility to access their money anytime and anywhere.
As remote work continues to be the norm, it is imperative for organizations to foster an environment where employees can continue to collaborate and see-through projects together even while apart. This is made easier and more efficient with Globe Cloud Solutions, allowing enterprises to quickly adapt to shifting workflows because processes remain the same, files and services continue to be accessible, and resources are intact despite weather or mechanical interruptions.
MSMEs can also utilize cloud-based productivity solutions, some of which you may check out here. These applications store information and run servers on the cloud so users can access them anytime without installing them in their machines
Now that everything’s becoming more digital, it is more important now than ever for companies to stay vigilant and proactively protect their business and customer data from any vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks can easily be triggered these days by innocently clicking on spam emails from unsecure or public networks, compromising confidential data and important company information in a snap.
Partnered with the best global cybersecurity providers, Globe Business offers a holistic suite of cybersecurity solutions and services that help enterprises identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover from cyber threats to avoid severe damages to the income and reputation of the business.
“Technology should be an organization’s best friend especially during this point in time. By investing in digital solutions, businesses can reach more customers while saving on cost and keep the operations running regardless of what will happen,” said David.
To learn more about the exciting products and services Globe Business offers, sign up at https://go.mybusinessacademy.ph/ICTMonthOffers-PSIAArticle.
Today’s evolving business environment challenges companies to adapt and pivot on a dime, using technology. Any company that wants to thrive needs the agility and speed to do so, as well as the powerful connectivity and digital tools to enable the shift.
Recently, Globe myBusiness collaborated with the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), a longtime partner and local technology industry driver, to share with the organization’s membership a broader understanding of the role technology plays in business success.
At the PSIA’s 4th Town Hall Meeting themed “Food, Clothing, Shelter, Connectivity: The New Basic Needs,” Globe myBusiness led discussions on the importance of connectivity that would help MSMEs transform their operations into functioning digital businesses, an especially crucial transition now that COVID-19 lockdowns have shuttered some companies and severely hampered others’ ability to still operate.
“The ability to respond to change is key to success these days, and that success is made possible thru digital transformation. Now is the time to understand how technology keeps your business agile and ready for anything,” said Marvin Montes, Director-Sales Head of Globe myBusiness, in his keynote message.
During the onset of the pandemic, a majority of SMEs were forced to navigate “unfamiliar territory” as businesses shifted online. Businesses had to pivot from traditional ways of doing things, as accelerated digitalization and an increased consumer demand for online services forced them to accelerate their own digital transformation efforts.
The increased demand from businesses for internet services and digital tools has made it abundantly clear that connectivity plays an essential role in ensuring continuous operations for almost any business today.
At the event, Montes explained that aside from having good connectivity, organizations must also leverage digital tools in order to create a robust business continuity plan (BCP). A BCP will allow the business to respond to incidents immediately and mitigate any further disruptions to operations. Having a BCP also allows businesses to minimize financial loss; and to maintain critical functions and services at an acceptable level for customers and stakeholders.
“Digital tools are a powerful means to ensure the continuity of business operations. From various communication channels such as e-mail and messaging apps, video conferencing, and cloud solutions—these tools are driving more seamless collaboration between business owners, partners, and employees despite today’s current limitations,” added Montes.
Leveraging digital technology helps businesses plan for and mitigate crises and, when they do occur, help streamline operations and improve crisis response.
With its expansive ICT portfolio, Globe myBusiness has been a steady partner of IT businesses and MSMEs in their journey to digital transformation, helping them put up solid IT infrastructure that enables seamless operations and enriches customer service.
“As a leading telco in the Philippines, Globe is actively driving digital transformation in the country, and so Globe myBusiness is the perfect partner to help MSMEs learn how to use technology to thrive in our new business environment.” confirms Jonathan De Luzuriaga, PSIA President.
Businesses looking to jumpstart their recovery can tap Globe myBusiness to help address their pain points and select the connectivity and business continuity solutions appropriate for them. To know more about the internet and data solutions offered by Globe myBusiness, visit https://go.mybusinessacademy.ph/ICTMonthOffers-PSIAArticle.
To become a member of PSIA and get access to various industry initiatives, visit https://www.psia.org.ph/ https://www.facebook.com/PSIAorg. #
During the Philippine Software Industry Association’s (PSIA) 34th Enablement Seminar, which primarily focused on cyber security, various experts shared their knowledge and insights to chief technology officers, information security officers, and IT professionals.
In line with the theme of “Managing and Integrating Secure Software Development Practices,” the talks ranged from simple introductions about the importance of cyber security to complex discussions about the best software development practices and security applications for small businesses.
For entrepreneurs, especially those in the BPO and ICT industries, the most relevant takeaway from the seminar was the importance of safeguarding their digital assets by improving the security of their programs and applications. SMEs were also urged to invest in security programs for small businesses to protect their assets.
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The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, is a “simplified” way to understand how telecommunications work and what are within it. The model has seven layers:
What’s important to note is that the first and last layers — physical and application — are the layers most people know and see. The Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, and Presentation layers work behind the scenes.
The application layer and your applications are closely tied together.
For example, HTTP is in the application layer and Google Chrome is an application. Google Chrome uses HTTP to access websites. HTTPS and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are also in the application layer, and Google Chrome can use those two to access data from the Internet or the local intranet.
The biggest reason the application layer is vulnerable to attacks is that it is the most exposed out of the seven layers. According to Anton Orpilla, IT Architect of IBM Philippines, 32% of system compromises occur in the application layer.
Say that you have a webserver containing all the data you have for your company. That same webserver can be accessed through an Internet browser, such as Google Chrome, by your employees to do their work.
There are three common scenarios that can happen in this setup:
The chances of getting attacked grows as the number of people who can access the webserver multiplies and the number of faults that unknowingly — or knowingly — exists in the application.
As Pointwest’s Security Analyst Christine Balanaa simply puts it, “Don’t forget the evil users.”
There are two types of cyber attackers: insiders and outsiders. Insiders can be in the form of trusted, careless, disgruntled, or malicious employees. Outsiders can be in the form of amateur, professional, or organized hackers.
Cyber attackers can attack you because of multiple reasons. It is usually for financial gain and espionage, but it can be also for intellectual, social, and political reasons.
Your company or servers become a prime target if you have the following:
Those three reasons actually make banks the most targeted businesses online. There is good reason that foreign banks such as Chase spend around $600 million per year in cyber security and Paolo Falcone, Configuration Manager and SRE at Etrading Software Ltd., continuously updates his knowledge and service to banks.
He points out, “Banks are heavily regulated to protect customers, reduce risks of major failures, prevent misuse, (and) preserve bank-client confidentiality.”
As long as applications are core to services or operations, businesses should make sure that they can’t be accessed and manipulated by unauthorized or malicious individuals or organizations. Company software security breaches are costly.
Imagine how many work hours are wasted if a contact center’s IP telephony/UC software goes down for an hour just because a malicious individual found a method to take it down remotely. That can translate to almost a hundred work hours.
That contact center still needs to pay those idle hours. It may even need to pay some fines dictated in its contract with the client because of the sudden down time. If that company had some cyber security awareness and invested in cyber security programs and applications, they could have avoided the damages.
That’s why businesses, especially banks, BPOs, and ICTs, require the highest level of defense against online attacks. A vulnerability in their cyber security infrastructure can lead to millions of pesos in damage and loss of their clients’ trust. Cyber security programs, on the other hand, would cost only one to five percent of those millions of pesos.
It is essential for businesses, regardless of size and scope, to install cyber security applications and train their IT departments to learn DevSecOps, continuous security-oriented SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), and the best development practices that come with them.
Find out how to boost your business’ cyber security and sign up to Globe myBusiness Academy.
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