Web Trends in the Philippines

[webpinoys]

I'm curious to know how the Internet and Web industry in the Philippines is doing? What seems to be the trends in the Philippines? What opportunities are there in webdesign and webhosting? Anything at all would be appreciated.

[nix]

I don't exactly work for the any IT company, but I do have some friends who dabble in those fields, so I'll just try to share to you the buzz that I hear around.

Right now, the Philippines isn't ready for an internet explosion, similar to what we are now seeing in the US. It will take a while before we see a host of IPOs coming about, making quick millionares out of a lot of people.

The problem with web development here is that we lack the infrustructure to achieve that critical mass that will take us to what I would like to dub as, hypergrowth. We lack the phone lines, enough buying power for enough people to have their own PCs, the ability to convince people to buy over the web, and the logistics to deliver the goods that are brokered over the personal computer. The bottom line is, we are a poor country that has always lagged behind the other world powers, and the IT field is not a different story.

But I do have some friends who comment that E-Commerce will explode next year, or that most companies which are not web present yet, are trying to find their own niches to fill. I'm not too sure how big an explosion e-commerce will have. They have to figure out first how to charge people for what they buy, and how to convince people to charge anyway. But it is true that most companies are doing their best to get on the Net. Now that's good news for Web Designers and Web Hosters.

[webpinoys]

Ok. But what about the ability of Philippine companies who are already online to compete with other companies globally? Talent wise I think Filipinos have the edge. The marketing edge has got to be on the other side (whoever they may be). So can pinoy companies online compete and how?

[nix]

Talent wise, there is no doubt in my mind that Filipinos can compete with international competition. But talent is different from training, knowledge, and exposure.

I don't think that anyone will contest that the IT industry here is a mere pup when compared to its American and other foreign counterparts. The Westerners innovate, we immitate. We take what they create and try to make the most of it. They, on the other hand, constantly pour in large amounts of money in building up their knowledge resources.

But before I digress, I would like to drive my point home. There are many factors which prevent us from competing with our foreign counterparts on an equal footing, and the largest reason being the lack of funds to build on our web base. When Web companies IPO in the US, they literally raise hundreds of millions of dollars from all the money that pours in. Venture Capitalists there can't seem to have enough of all these web start-ups. How can we compete with all that money coupled with their IT training?

Finally, before you can conquer outside markets, you must first make sure that your home base is secure. I've never heard of a company that made it big globally first before making its mark in its own shores.

[Mikoid]

I work as a professional web developer and I have to say that the reason some foreign companies are competitive is that they outsource their work here.

Nix says that the Philippines lacks the necessary infrastructure to shift the economy into a networked mode as it already has in the US. While this is true, our ThirdWorld situation offers excellent margins for people who profit from the margin between high costs elsewhere and low costs here.

For web development, exploiting this difference is our competitive advantage. That's also why I'm excited about a globalized economy.

Another thing I've observed is that while local sites are great in design, there aren't a lot which offer exceptional content. There's more to web design than pretty pictures -- it also requires knowledge of user interface as well as old-fashioned editorial excellence.

Of course, most of these sites are managed by small groups, or are even individual operations, so they have their limits.

Finally, the last issue which comes to mind is that a lot of companies have NO idea what e-commerce and the Internet are all about. No one seems to understand what an amazing equalizing influence this can be for Philippine firms, particularly those looking to create a global presence. Instead, they've got their minds so rutted in the local market and so it's not surprising that they dismiss the Internet.

Well, it's the end of the day and I'm not thinking clearly, so bear with me. I'm as excited as anyone about this new-fangled Third Wave, but I'd be more relieved to see the Philippines get past the Industrial Revolution first.

- Mikoid

PS -- Nix, I do not DABBLE. I am buried neck deep in this %$#@%

[nix]

You don't sound too happy about it. <; :)>;

[webpinoys]

mikoid, thanks for the great input. you're not tired. you can still go for about 4 hours of debate ;)

just to add on some of your points:
1) though the West (US) have a huge capital resource, the East (Pinas for e.g.) have an envied labor resource (because it's cheap and there's great talent). and a lot of times the capital looks for the labor. and that's a great advantage for philippine companies. there's this "story" that the
conception of MS Access (a database program) has it's origin from a program developed by a software company in the Philippines (of course it trickled down from company to company until it reached Microsoft who bought access i think). Don't know if it's a myth or not.

2) Another thing that's helping in the economies around the world today is the distribution of information (thanks to the Internet). This is a great equalizing force. From this, two things: (a) There's not enough "education" in the Philippines about the Internet. So a lot of companies are missing out in getting the "information" important or beneficial to them. (b) And even if they have the "information" (whatever it may be), they don't know what to do with it (the application side). Which probably contributes to the "trend" of Filipinos copying instead of innovating.

3) i got more but i need to get offline ... will continue this later ...

[zimdude]

This is a good discussion... relates to the US$ and New Economy threads... new insights Mikoid and Nix?

[nix]

Wow, I remember this thread very well. It has been a long while since I have seen it though.

I have to do something now though, but I will definitely place new input here. Yes, it has been a year, and my perspective hasn't changed much. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.