IBM: 75Years of Innovation in the Philippines!

IBM Philippines just celebrated their 75th Anniversary in this country. As much as it looks so overwhelmingly stamped its ground in the Philippines, they still probably think its still in its infancy. I was reminded more of what huge contributions they have made in the last few years despite of the hardships they also as a corporation have encountered. They have evolved from being a hardware vendor to a full circle serviced corporation able to integrate processes here and around the globe. They now are one of the stalwarts of off shore operations for IBM and one of the few recognized countries that would be essential for the growth of this multinational corporation. President and Country General Manager Mariels Almeda-Winhoffer said that this has been the challenge for her, she wants IBM Philippines to become ESSENTIAL. That word alone entails a lot of things and responsibilities and a private corporation like IBM Philippines wants to take this challenge. In undertaking this humongous task, I'd gladly laud them for even thinking of it.

IBM Philippines portfolio has grown tremendously. With 50 accounts and more to come in bpo, supply and shared services, it was not surprising seeing their numbers grow. Their goal was to always follow their dreams of building more smarter cities, gain ideal geo expansions, utilize cloud and its convenient advantages, plus utilize analytics to predict/gain reliable data.The first female IBM President and Country General Manager Mariels Almeda-Winhoffer says her arrival to the Philippines made her have a different purpose; to become an essential part of the country/the community/ and their customers. Actually she said the whole business model was made to support this goal. Aside from that, they did not forget their duty to society. Their Kidsmart project alone benefited almost 800,000 kids, institutions, students and professors. They have also put importance in integrated health services in the Philippines as this has also been the center of attention of IBM globally. IBM Philippines is now a proud services and software company that's going to have sustainable growth in the next few years. They will continue providing solutions via integration. That is actually their next step, and they are adding more for their long term goals.

It was a treat visiting them on their turf, let alone on a day where they celebrate their 75th year. They even had a small part of the intros explaining the Filipino work ethics and customs. It was nice to see it in that perspective. I hardly ask questions but while everyone was at the heat of the moment, I remembered the part about IBM and the problems they had with GSIS. I was worried that they painted a pretty picture here but still had that issue with the records of that government agency. As soon as I asked, everyone jumped in and said that it has been resolved. They released a statement here years ago. I was wondering what happened to that because I personally saw my Mom go through hell in GSIS. Saw an article here saying there were settlements being done during the new administration. In any case, they assured me they've got that settled already. Mom should be happy.

Today they've got a few projects with local cities like Davao. Their Public Safety and Security Command Center is being scaled up on a one of a kind initiative to make this one of their Smart Cities. The IBM Intelligent Operations Center solutions will create advanced technological solutions to existing infrastructure to improve the overall city management which will further lower crime rates in Davao. They will also be using analytics on parts of this very promising projects. Pretty soon they'll be using the same technique to other ones but this is a definite first in the world! I'm sure this wouldn't be the last of it!

This has always been IBM Philippines thrust; which is transformation through innovation. They've already made a great head start in more cities in the Philippines; and this will surely be something to be shared to the rest of the world. The Philippines is indeed essential to IBM's growth today and for years to come. Congratulations on continuing to grow together; with the people and communities you've helped along the way. Thank you for being a part of a bigger, better Philippines!