Impacts of National Information Technology Environments on Business
Analysis - Information Technology Strengths and Weaknesses
Luckily for the Philippines, the country has a large competitive advantage and potential future in Information Technology. Strengths of the Philippine IT industry include:
well-educated, competent, reliable and price-competitive labour
English proficiency within the nation
growing record of successful IT work
fast-growing telecom infrastructure
government interest in the industry
a democratic government system fostering flexibility and creativity
less regulation than some neighbour countries
strong capabilities in dealing with foreign partners
strong entrepreneurship
Large investment interest from the foreign and private sector
creation of a special IT office complex to give the IT industry incentives to grow through tariff-free imports of capital equipment and simplified tax returns
Unfortunately, the Philippines still needs to work on various aspects of its IT industry in order to bring out its strengths. Weaknesses of the country's IT industry include:
lagging behind in basic infrastructure with limited access to networks, need to continue serious upgrading and expansion, with more implementation of fiber-optics backbone providing heftier bandwidth capabilities
a scarcity of middle to high-end IT professionals
insufficient cooperation and miscommunication within the industry and between key players (government and private sectors)
difficulties marketing the nation and the industry globally
capital cost and scarcity of monies available
small-scale nature of entrepreneurship, larger projects need to be established
a small domestic market
insufficient IT education
insufficient institutional cooperation and planning.
competition from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia or India who have both the strong IT labour force along with an infrastructure already established to handle IT demands
cost of telephony and Internet access still very high for domestic market to afford
In spite of these weaknesses, the Philippine IT sector still has much potential to develop. The Philippines economy has remained relatively stable in comparison to its neighbouring Asian countries. The government has recognized the prospects of success within the IT industry and thus, have encouraged and increased IT spending and monies available in order to further help the Philippines establish itself as a viable niche market in Information Technology. The democratic outlook of the government along with continued privatization of key industries is furthering the competition and growth of IT projects within the country thus, increasing the demand and competition among multinational corporations entering or already established in the market.
The nation is not far behind but has much to do to keep itself in the running and to ensure that it doesn't fall behind. The Philippines needs to develop several basic points in the IT sector if it wishes to pass neighbouring competition such as India and attract IT investments in areas such as software development and manufacturing.
Recommendations include:
Increase telephone density and widen coverage nationwide
Continue to expand the telecommunications infrastructure across all urban and rural areas to develop a more efficient and robust network to take advantage of global competition
Encourage IT enrollment early on in the education sector to increase the IT labour force
Increase computer schools, training facilities and computer science and engineering degree programs within Universities
Introduce broad band services to the local market
Implement or increase the use of satellite, fiber optics, wireless, and digital technologies within the network
Accelerate the deregulation of government ownership, provision and direct operation of telecommunications services
Modify the legal framework to permit and promote more electronic-based transactions
Adopt an initiative promoting cost-based pricing
Adapt more open and forgiving policies for both domestic and foreign investment
