Key policy makers, government officials, telecommunication operators, solution providers, and local enterprises gathered at the Manila Marriott Hotel last May 23 and 24 as the Asia Internet of Things (IoT) Business Platform embarked on its seventh year. Through the conference, movers and shakers were able to discuss how the IoT phenomenon can be used to improve business insights and processes in the manufacturing, transport, logistics, city planning, healthcare, banking, and finance industries.
JD Montelibano, the head of business applications from the IT-enabled services group of Globe Telecom, explained, “IoT has huge opportunities and unlimited use case that are relevant to the Philippine market. What solution providers must do is to understand pain points and problems in a local micro level. They also need to have platforms that are inter-operable with other systems to drive seamless integration through readily available APIs.”
“More and more, we’re seeing IoT become part of the fabric of business, helping converge an organization’s assets, data, and processes with people and business systems. Today, this intersection is allowing enterprises to uncover new opportunities, create new business models and transform their operations—to become truly digital businesses,” added Herns Hermida, cloud and enterprise business group lead of Microsoft.
According to Frost and Sullivan, the Philippines spending in IoT is forecasted to grow from USD 55.1 million in 2014 to USD 766.8 million in 2020. To educate end users on IoT adoption, Asia IoT Business Platform brought local and international vertical case studies from the likes of Yokohama City, DHL, Honda Motors, Nestlé, Telenor Connexion, and M-PESA.
Additionally, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and partners from ICTO-DOST, Globe Telecom, Maynilad Water Services, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Microsoft, Smart Communications, Inc., Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Manila Electric Company, Nosairis, Qlue, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, ADLINK, Blue Wireless, Third Pillar, Eastern Telecommunications, Truphone, Stash, U.S. Department of Commerce, InfoComm Technology Association of the Philippines, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Storage Networking Industry Association, American Chamber of Commerce, Open Connectivity Foundation, German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Spanish Chamber of Commerce were also present to explore IoT opportunities and challenges.