IBM to relaunch, augment global delivery center in RP

IBM’s global delivery center (GDC) in the Philippines is getting an upgrade and will be relaunched soon after performing well and rising to become the company’s fourth highest-earning site globally since being unveiled in October 2005.

This was announced by Richard Patterson, who recently visited the country as part of his functions as vice president for global delivery at IBM global business services.

The global delivery organization, which provides HR services such as consulting and IT application management, is one of the two divisions of IBM’s outsourcing business. The other component, called the global technology services, is comprised mainly of call center services.

The GDC in the Philippines, based in Eastwood City in Quezon City, is one of the eight centers around the world. Other sites are located in Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Romania, and Vietnam.

Patterson said the GDC plays a major role in IBM’s globally integrated enterprise (GIE) business model. This model, he said, employs a “follow the sun” approach in which services are continuously delivered in several parts of the globe.

The Manila center, which was inaugurated in 2005 by President Gloria Arroyo, provides in eleven languages to more than 178,000 employees of Procter & Gamble and IBM located in 65 countries.

According to Patterson, the global financial services did not dampen the growth of the Philippine GDC. “There was no slowdown of the backlog of the work we’ve been doing,” he said.

As the fourth highest-performing site among the IBM’s global GDC network, Patterson said the Manila center would be augmented with additional personnel. At the time of its launch, the facility housed some 370 employees.

“We continue to see a demand for services from our center here in the Philippines,” the executive said, adding that the local population has the right skills set to perform the services required of them.

IBM has also revealed that it will open in the fourth quarter its first Innovation Center in the country at the UP-Ayala Techno Park in Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City.

The Innovation Center will be IBM’s second facility in Southeast Asia after Malaysia. The laboratory will focus on developing open-source and Web 2.0 solutions geared towards helping the Philippines move up the BPO chain.

Big Blue to expand RP services hub

With several hundred employees – many with business management skills -- at its disposal, the Philippine office of technology firm IBM is being positioned to become a global hub for experienced services providers.

IBM Philippines recently started re-expanding their local Global Business Services (GBS) to complete a network of multisite solutions offices that can offer 24x7 assistance to global clients.

The Philippines would be one of the eight such GBS locations worldwide. The others are Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Romania and Vietnam.

During a visit to the Philippines, IBM GBS Vice President for Global Delivery Richard Patterson said they are hiring skilled workers to serve as the local pool that can be tapped for specific projects in offshore locations.

Patterson said adeptness to English is one of the key factors why the Philippines was again chosen to become part of the GBS, aside from its geographical proximity to other countries where IBM has a presence.

He noted GBS offers its services to a variety of industries such as telecommunications, travel, industrial manufacturing, financial and retail.

After the economic downturn, Patterson sees a return to "normalcy" in global industries, particularly those with multiple locations that need to ensure full operational capabilities.

“They would need to have the right people working with them to optimize their business and build relationships,” Patterson said, adding that the improved global business climate would fuel IBM’s offshore services business.

IBM to get workers for ‘delivery center’

TECHNOLOGY GIANT IBM Corp. yesterday re-launched a "delivery center" in a bid to bring more job opportunities to local talents.

Richard A. Patterson, vice-president for global delivery at IBM Global Business Services, said the Philippine strategic center aims to provide more information technology careers in the country as the company brings its clients near their target markets.

The Manila delivery center, which was established in 2003, is the fourth fastest growing center in eight strategic hubs globally, he said in a press conference.

Mr. Patterson said the Philippines was chosen as a location for the delivery center because of the stability of the peso and the "high level of support" from the government.

Moreover, "good quality" education, language proficiency, and the technical capacities of local talents make the Philippines an ideal place for a global delivery center, he added.

The Manila delivery center is part of IBM’s "globally integrated enterprise approach," adopted by the technology giant to give corporate clients an option to provide services close to their target markets.

Mr. Patterson explained that global delivery centers cater to both large companies and small and medium enterprises by providing consulting and applications services.

IBM’s delivery centers worldwide are focused toward the transportation, banking, telecommunication and industrial sectors, Mr. Patterson said.