Monthly Archives: June 2010

Philippine antipiracy drive focuses on enterprises

MANILA–A coalition of law enforcement agencies has uncorked an intensified nationwide campaign against software piracy, focusing primarily on the country’s business districts.

Members of the Philippine Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT) said in a press briefing Thursday that the crackdown would soon commence in Makati City, the country’s main financial hub, where businesses have been given until Mar. 26 to "legalize their software or face the risk of a raid or routine inspection".

After Makati City, the PAPT is set to swoop down on the Ortigas business complex in Pasig City as well as the Alabang area in Muntinlupa City. The southern city of Cebu has also been included in the lineup.

As in the case of Makati, the PAPT will announce a date in which companies will be given 15 days to get rid of bootlegged software and comply with copyright regulations. Law enforcement activities will then start after the grace period ends.

Established in 2005, the PAPT is composed of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Optical Media Board (OMB) and Philippine National Police (PNP). The group’s main backer, however, is the local representative office of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an industry association that represents the interest of global software vendors, with members that include Microsoft, IBM and SAP.

Officials from the PAPT member-agencies, including NBI’s director Nestor Mantaring, new OMB Chair Ronnie Ricketts, and PNP’s director of criminal investigation and detection group Francisco Don Montenegro, said in their speeches that they will not relent in pursuing local firms that use illegal software.

According to BSA’s consultant Bien Marquez, the PAPT has seized a total of 404 million pesos (US$8.8 million) worth of pirated software since the group was established five years ago. Of this figure, 95 million pesos (US$2.1 million) worth of illegal software were confiscated last year, he said.

Since 2005, the NBI, OMB and PNP have conducted a total of 139 raids on business establishments and Internet cafes, Marquez revealed. Based on 2005 data, the top five most pirated software products are Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Autodesk Autocad, Adobe Photoshop, and Norton Anti-Virus.

Marquez, who is a lawyer, said the PAPT, along with the BSA, is awaiting approval for a set of "special rules on intellectual property (IP)" that it submitted to the Supreme Court. One of the provisions contained in the proposal is the setting up of special IP courts dedicated to handle both civil and criminal cases, he explained. Currently, IP-related criminal suits are managed by the regular trial courts, while civil cases are lodged with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO).

Marquez said the antipiracy efforts are being directed at the business sector to encourage enterprises to treat software as assets that will give them "competitive edge", and not as a liability that can cause legal troubles.

According to an IDC study, commissioned by the BSA, the piracy rate in the Philippines stood at 69 percent in 2008, similar to the year before. However, revenue losses rose to US$202 million in 2008 compared to US$147 million in 2007.

Melvin G. Calimag is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/philippine-antipiracy-drive-focuses-on-enterprises-62061980.htm

 

Philippine ICT trudges on despite uncertainties

By Melvin G. Calimag , ZDNet Asia on April 16, 2010
 

MANILA–The local ICT industry is working to ensure it is business as usual amid the uncertainties brought about by the upcoming national elections, where existing policies risk being abandoned when a new administration takes over.

Last week, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the country’s main IT-BPO (business process outsourcing) industry body, held an event to highlight the results of its 2010 roadmap that expired this year. It hosted another event on Thursday, in collaboration with the Commission on Information on Communications Technology (CICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to announce an updated list of the Next Wave Cities, a program aimed at increasing the ICT competitiveness of cities in the countryside.

Despite these activities, however, the local ICT industry is working to keep business running as usual amid the uncertainties brought about by next month’s national elections. In the Philippines, an incoming president typically discards policies established by the previous administration.

But BPAP, which represents different IT-BPO groups in the country, stressed that the fate of the local outsourcing industry cannot be left dangling in uncertain times.

The organization’s chief executive Oscar Sanez, said in a presentation that the Philippines could have plunged into recession if not for the 450,000-strong IT-BPO industry.

"It was instrumental in [helping] the Philippine economy avoid a negative growth in 2009 by contributing US$7.2 billion in total revenue," Sanez said.

Referring to its 2010 roadmap, BPAP said all indications point to the industry’s realization of its goals across the major economic domains–GDP (Gross Domestic Product) contribution, export revenues, employment creation–over a five-year period.

Research firm XMG Global said it "acknowledges the triumphs of BPAP" in meeting objectives outlined in its 2010 roadmap but warned about growing concerns over the quality and quantity of talent supply.

Its senior analyst Vincent Altez said the BPAP’s 2010 estimates of total workforce and industry revenue resembled XMG’s own estimates. The research firm has predicted the BPO workforce will reach 561,267 and the market will generate revenues of US$9.4 billion by year-end, growing 29 percent over a four-year period.

"Moving forward beyond 2010, the Philippines should respond appropriately to geophysical and geopolitical risks to protect its rank as a legitimate offshoring destination," Altez said.

"Being a disaster-prone country, regular maintenance of transportation and building infrastructure as well as the assessment of Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) would be among the best actions," he said. "Initiatives toward conflict management programs in the countryside would likewise mitigate violence and security problems preventing ideal locations for BPO expansion."

But even as the industry reveled on meeting its BPO objectives outlined between 2005 and 2010, the next chapter of the roadmap still loomed far in the horizon.

BPAP’s director Gillian Joyce Virata said drafting an ICT plan requires a lot of resources although the government, through the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), has already allotted initial funding for the study.

For the 2010 roadmap, BPAP enlisted McKinsey Consulting for inputs, Virata said. "We’re looking at a new roadmap that will cover 2010 until 2016, which will coincide with the term of the newly elected president. We”’ probably commence with the study in August and release it in October," she said.

Sanez said the Next Wave Cities initiative was a crucial element that helped drive the 2010 roadmap. "This project does not merely rate their facilities of the cities. It’s about building the capabilities in grassroots and engaging the local government units," he said.

He added that the BPO workforce in the areas included in the program grew by 48 percent in the last two years. In terms of revenue, cities in the list are expected to generate US$1.2 billion this year.

In fact, one area that was part of the Next Wave Cities last year–Metro Clark in Pampanga–has graduated from the list and now joins Metro Manila and Metro Cebu as established centers of excellence for outsourcing.

This year, Davao City in southern Philippines was adjudged as the best outsourcing location, followed by Sta. Rosa in Laguna and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental. In 4th to 10th positions were: Iloilo City, Metro Cavite, Lipa City, Cagayan de Oro City, Malolos City, Baguio City and Dumaguete City.

Davao City ranked the highest for availability of graduates and workers out of over 30 locations assessed, where the talent criterion carried the largest weight of 40 percent in the overall ranking.

In addition to talent, other factors affecting city ranking were infrastructure, cost and business environment. Cities were scored for the quality of their roads, access to international and domestic flights, presence of providers of fiber optic networks, reliability of power supply, availability of property sites, cost of labor and office space, vulnerability to natural disturbances, peace and order situation, the presence of ecozone sites and ICT councils, among other factors.

David Leechiu, managing partner for real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu (JLLL), also said during the press briefing that it is essential for the communities to "accumulate and document the scale their labor pool" in order to make it easier for BPO locators to decide whether to invest.

"It also a must that access, in the form of airports and seaports, be improved and that travel time by land or air from Metro Manila be limited to two hours," Leechiu said. "Lastly, the cities should ride with the tourism wave to build more accommodation and infrastructure."

Melvin G. Calimag is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/philippine-ict-trudges-on-despite-uncertainties-62062685.htm

 

Pirated software rampant among Philippine govt

By Joel D. Pinaroc, ZDNet Asia on June 29, 2010

The Philippine Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) has warned about the rising use of pirated software among government bodies, and reiterated its call for "open source" to be deployed as an alternative.

The CICT disclosed in a media forum last week that several government agencies have resorted to using illegal copies of software tools instead of spending millions of dollars for licensed software.

The country’s policy-making body, which is tasked to promote technology use in government, did not name the government agencies, noting only that the Philippine government should seriously look into open source as a cheaper alternative.

According to the CICT, illegal copies of the most popular operating systems are often used in the public sector because these applications are easily available.

CICT Commissioner Antonette Torres told local media: "[Open source software] could drastically bring down the cost of computerization of public schools and government offices in the country."

The CICT previously revealed that it was "working on" several Linux-based applications in preparation for government deployment, and is also urging the use of a Linux-based OS "Edubuntu" or Ubuntu Education Edition.

Software piracy continues to plague the Philippines with the piracy rate unchanged at 69 percent, according to a Business Software Alliance report in May.

In March, a coalition of local law enforcement agencies launched a nationwide campaign against software piracy, focusing primarily on business districts in the Philippines.

Joel D. Pinaroc is a Filipino freelance IT writer currently based in Saudi Arabia.

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/pirated-software-rampant-among-philippine-govt-62201058.htm 

Philippine open source developers thriving

By Melvin G. Calimag , ZDNet Asia on April 22, 2010

MANILA–Growing acceptance of open source software (OSS) is ushering in new interest from small and large developers in the Philippines, according to industry voices.

Although some early players have fallen by the wayside, there appears to be a steady upsurge of new companies capitalizing on the increasing OSS opportunity in the country and a boom in demand from foreign players.

Calen Martin D. Legaspi, co-founder and CEO of applications developer Orange & Bronze, said: "[OSS has become] so ubiquitous now that companies of all industries and sizes have some OSS running".

Legaspi disputes the argument that OSS has not achieved the level of awareness that proprietary software has reached. "As far as services on OSS are concerned, there’re just so many companies small and large doing that–from support of specific software to software development," he said.

Nathaniel Jayme, a systems developer at open source company AfterFive Technologies, said this tech segment has already proven lucrative for OSS developers.

Jayme said consultants, systems integrators, and freelancers–some still in school–are already making money from providing OSS work. "[Openness] encourages specialization. We are [seeing] software for schools, agriculture, engineering, disaster preparedness, hospital, merchandising, and so on."

However, he noted that for mission-critical systems, most companies would still purchase support from systems integrators for their OSS projects, rather than manage the development inhouse.

Filipino open source entrepreneur, Winston Damarillo, said the local IT ecosystem has benefited greatly from OSS adoption.

The market has been receptive to the OSS model "from open source VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone systems, such as Asterisk, to free middleware MySQL and Ruby-on-Rails and applications such as SugarCRM", Damarillo said.

And small developers are able to adapt to meet urgent project requests because they are more flexible compared to larger companies, as well as those relying on proprietary tools, say proponents.

Legaspi said: "One advantage these shops have is that they can lower their overall pricing for their projects, since they don’t need to include license costs. Also, many development tools for these platforms are open source as well."

But Linux enthusiast and writer, Danny Escasa, said one thing smaller developers lack is the rigid methodologies that the larger companies employ.

Nonetheless, ISVs (independent software vendors) and services providers using OSS as a business model have a solid leg to stand on, its supporters insist.

Alvin Marcelo, a physician who heads the National Telehealth Center at the University of the Philippines (UP), and a major backer of the open source movement in the country, said OSS developers will prosper because they can quickly master a particular software and offer that expertise to the local market.

Damarillo, added that OSS has proven itself a viable business platform. He said his own startups, Gluecode, Logicblaze, and Webtide, began on OSS.

Most industry players ZDNet Asia spoke with agree local open source companies can be financially viable, though, they face the same issues that other software developers have to deal with.

Holden Hao, a developer connected with the Davao City-based open source organization DabaweGNU, said the Philippine market can keep ISVs afloat, but noted that "turning them into profitable businesses would be a challenge".

AfterFive’s Jayme said the business opportunities confronting OSS are no different from the overall software market. "OSS does not guarantee the survival of an ISV business, but neither can a proprietary solution. But OSS [can provide] the core basic infrastructure for an ISV to survive," he said.

Damarillo added: "OSS is a great equalizer against the larger vendors and certainly makes IT solutions more affordable in the Philippines."

But he called for the government to step up to support the OSS industry.

"The public sector need to continue to do more. It needs to improve its ability to deal with OSS projects in collaboration with the Philippine IT industry," he said.

Marcelo said the government has played a small part in driving up OSS adoption. Instead, it is the crop of small and competent developers that have embraced OSS that is demonstrating the strength of open source, he said.

Melvin G. Calimag is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/philippine-open-source-developers-thriving-62062805.htm 

PCPS benefits 426 public schools

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte (PNA) – A total of 426 schools in Mindanao will benefit from the Personal Computers for Public Schools (PCPS) Project-Phase 4 this year.

The PCPS Project, which started in 2001, has completed three batches of computerization programs benefiting about 4,000 public high schools nationwide.

It is the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) response to the growing challenges by the fast-emerging knowledge economy.

The project is funded by the Non-Project Grant Aid-Counter Value Fund of the Japanese Government.

The PCPS 4 is special since only the public schools in Mindanao (from Regions 9 to 13 and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) have been identified as the recipients.

In the Davao Region, there are 51 recipient-schools.

These are 10 for Compostela Valley (ComVal) Province; 11 for Davao del Norte; 10 for Davao Oriental; four for Davao del Sur, and 16 for Davao City.

Each recipient school will receive computer packages consisting of 11 units of desktop computers, 11 units of uninterruptible power supply (UPS), one printer, and one router.

During the recent PCPS 4 launching at the F. Bangoy National High School in Sasa, Trade and Industry Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said the fourth phase of PCPS is another significant step toward arming the Filipino youth for the challenges of the knowledge economy.

“Our youth are facing more challenges than ever before. Information and knowledge are replacing capital and energy as the primary wealth-creating assets, just as capital and energy replaced land and labor two centuries ago. Technology and knowledge are now the key factors of production. We are now an information society in a knowledge economy where knowledge management is a necessity,” he said.

Lapus cited the Philippines’ competitive advantage in the information technology (IT) services sector.

He said the country is the second largest producer of computer services in Asia, coming close at the heels of India.

The country also ranked fourth worldwide in the category “Knowledge Jobs” in the 2002 Global New Economy Index by the United States-based Meta Group Research.

“The PCPS project was designed to maintain this competitive advantage. It incorporates IT in the basic levels of education by providing computers to public high schools,” he said.

Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura said Japan has been funding the PCPS because of its strong stance to help the Philippines’ realize and maximize its IT potentials.

Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/264481/pcps-benefits-426-public-schools 

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