Internet Savvy Customers Drive SMEs’ to Embrace Technology

In today’s technology-driven business landscape, having the digital edge can propel small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to success.

This is mainly because a vast portion of the country’s population – 44.2 million out of the country’s total population of about a hundred million – are active Internet users who transact online and mine its unlimited multi-media content.

This trend is partly enabled by the explosion of mobile devices –laptops, tablets, smartphones and even wearable gadgets like watches – that can easily connect to the Internet. Mobile connection penetration rate in the country is at 114 percent and there are 32 million active mobile social media accounts.

"The marketplace of the future is online," FVP and Head of PLDT Smart SME Nation Kat Luna-Abelarde said. "In fact, setting up a digital shop first before transitioning into a brick-and-mortar business seems to be the trend among the new generation of entrepreneurs. By harnessing technological innovations, SMEs can do and achieve more, and better connect with a new breed of customers."

According to Abelarde, equipping today’s SMEs with digital capabilities has been the mission of PLDT Smart SME Nation, the country’s leading telecommunication and multimedia company’s enterprise arm, since it came into being.

To empower and recognize start-ups and digital small business pioneers, the group unveiled the first ever The Bozz awards which seeks to recognize a new generation of digital movers and shakers. This is the first social media crowd sourced search for the next generation of leaders in digital innovation and entrepreneurship. The awards night, which will showcase winners from various categories including e-commerce, social media, customer service, mobility and social responsibility, will be held on October 28.

"As an enterprise technology services provider, our role is to provide today's businesses with digital tools and solutions necessary to thrive online and reach out to markets they wouldn't otherwise be able to reach offline," Abelarde added. "Technology can help level the playing field for entrepreneurs and we want to empower them to embrace it as part of their long-term strategy for sustainable success."