Software firm ‘imports’ Filipino consultants
By Lawrence Casiraya
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20090602-208439/...
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:59:00 06/02/2009
Filed Under: Technology (general), Software
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is becoming a rich source of expertise in the highly specialized area of the business intelligence.
Business intelligence, or referred to as BI, refers to software-based solutions that rely on analytics that help companies analyze customer data, for example, and create revenue streams.
North Carolina-based SAS has been an acknowledged pioneer in BI. In the Philippines, SAS has grown its employee base from 20 people in 2003 to more than 140 last year.
Around 100 of its Filipino employees take on the role of BI consultants deployed abroad to work with SAS customers.
Recognizing the rich amount of talent from the Philippines, SAS formed a “Center of Excellence” in the country to train and create a sustainable pool of BI consultants.
“Our consultants mostly support customers in Southeast Asian countries and as far as Pakistan, Australia and Germany,” said SAS Philippines managing director Sonny Halili in an interview with INQUIRER.net.
These consultants normally get deployed to work with companies installing SAS for the first time, an indication of confidence in the skills of Filipino IT professionals.
Last year, SAS Philippines was named the top subsidiary among the company’s local units in Asia Pacific.
It is the fourth time the Philippine subsidiary earned this recognition which, according to Halili himself, is based partly in revenue and ability to retain customers.
Revenue-wise, services play a significant role since those derived from projects abroad go to SAS Philippines.
SAS, meanwhile, is facing tougher competition these days from more mainstream business software vendors like Oracle and SAP that have acquired smaller firms geared towards going into BI.
Halili noted that BI has become a buzzword as companies struggle to create sources of revenue to cope with the current economic downturn.
Banks have been traditionally pioneering users but today BI has been embraced by telecom and manufacturing industries that rely heavily on data.
“All companies, big or small, find themselves in this crisis. Our role as consultants is to help companies look for opportunities by using the right tools,” Halili said.
