A majority (85%) of Philippine businesses expect to fully migrate and use cloud computing in as short as two years, a commissioned survey from cloud computing giant Alibaba Cloud revealed.
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, also said nine in ten (91%) of these businesses will increase their investment in the cloud in 2023.
Alibaba’s “The Next-Generation Cloud Strategy in Asia” survey also found that the surge of interest among local businesses is driven mainly by the rapid growth of the local data center market (78%) and the government’s steadfast plan for digitalization (79%).
The survey further said when it comes to selecting cloud vendors, security (85%), availability (74%) and expertise (62%) are the key factors considered by Philippine businesses, the survey shows.
Businesses in the Philippines lead the pack on prioritizing security among its Asian counterparts followed by Indonesia (82%) and Thailand (78%).
Speaking at a roundtable event revealing the key findings of the survey, Allen Guo, country manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said: “Alibaba Cloud has prioritized providing highly scalable, robust, and secure infrastructure to Philippine businesses. As we anticipate a rise in cloud adoption, Alibaba Cloud is committed to offering innovative and proven cloud solutions and services to Philippine businesses.”
The executive said the survey generated responses from 1,000 organizations in various industries including financial services, IT, manufacturing, media and telecommunications, and retail across eight Asian markets including the Philippines that are currently using cloud services.
Alibaba Cloud commissioned global market research firm NielsenIQ to conduct the survey, intending to better understand the state of adoption of the prevailing cloud strategies across Asia.
Guo further said as businesses embrace cloud technology, reducing their impact on the environment is also becoming a priority and in the Philippines, almost all (98%) of businesses favor cloud vendors focused on sustainability.
Commenting on the skills needed for cloud migration, Guo said the company has partnered with local IT-focused educational institutions — such as Asia Pacific College — to train and strengthen the cloud computing competencies of teachers and students.
Rhea-Luz Valbuena, executive director of the School of Computing and Information Technologies at Asia Pacific College, said: “The future landscape of cloud computing lies in the hands of the next generation, and as educators, it is our duty to foster and nurture their digital talents. Our recent collaboration with Alibaba Cloud has been instrumental in accelerating our mission to equip students with the essential tools to thrive in the current scenario, especially with the rising demand for cloud computing in local businesses.”
