By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

YES, this plan has been in the works for the past years, according to its Southeast Asian executives.

Now that Yahoo! has seen the growth in the number of Internet users here, and the potential for business and advertising (they say 85 percent of users here avail of a Yahoo! service), then it’s but logical for them to bet their money on the country.

So while everyone’s — well, almost everyone, including the taxi drivers — attention is focused on the Senate investigation on the controversial national broadband network project, it’s business as usual in the high-tech industry.

According to its executives in Yahoo! Southeast Asia, the Internet giant wants to be the “starting point” for local users. The Internet company is also pushing its “unified advertising” strategy in the Philippines.

So after the bid from Microsoft, Yahoo! has already realized how much it is worth — perhaps more than what the Redmond-based software company has offered so far.

The next step, of course, is to expand in emerging markets like the Philippines.

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

HOPING to decongest Metro Manila and other key cities, the Philippine government is now directing foreign outsourcing investors to the so-called “next-wave cities” in the country, where business process outsourcing firms can locate.

More than 20 cities in the country were identified, with some of them joining as the exhibitors in the e-Services Global Sourcing Convention and Exhibit this year.

Here’s a video I took when I asked Commission on Information and Communications Technology chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III to expound on the government’s plan to develop “next-wave” cities.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

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By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net

ONE of the things that struck me on my way to the e-Services conference is the venue itself. Here’s how the SMX Convention Center looks like from outside. Located beside SM Mall of Asia (the SM Group, by the way, also owns SMX), and therefore, similarly sitting on top of the reclaimed area fronting Manila Bay.

Once inside, the lobby reminded me a lot of Suntec Convention Center in Singapore, especially the escalators on each side that go way up. To say the least, I was pretty impressed with the venue. And if the government and business groups are really all out in promoting the country as a business destination, a venue like this is a big plus and likewise gives a good impression to visiting executives.

Best of all, there is more than enough parking space in front. Something quite lacking in similar venues like the nearby World Trade Center. I just heard SM has grand plans of building a hotel next to it, and then likewise connecting it with SMX and Mall of Asia — a lot like Singapore’s Marina Bay.

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