A Springboard To Services

I was last in Manila a couple of years ago, I was surrounded at the hotel lobby by about 30 police/army with M16's and the largest Alsatian dogs I have ever seen. It added some pressure to a presentation I was giving in terms of global delivery locations. It was difficult to consider Manila in that environment, especially when I looked at my spouse test (would an executive from the US in particular like to relocate with family in that environment, most unlikely).
Now there is still security about, and the odd disturbance, but it appears that the economy is rolling ahead, the political environment is relatively stable and people look happy (even by the high standards of the Philippines).
The local newspaper is full of ads for roles at HP, Accenture, Convergys, Teletech and the like, it seems that the market is accelerating greatly. I actually think that in general terms (ie not North Asia), the Philippines is the second best global delivery market in Asia. This is also highlighted in very high real estate occupancy levels. Lets hope it continues.

Currently I am in Manila being hosted by HP at their global delivery center here. This was fast tracked following up from the Proctor and Gamble account. In a piece of brilliant timing, following up from a discussion on Disaster Recovery, HP arranged a minor earthquake for us. Sitting on the 34th floor of a Makati skyscraper with a slightly surprised look on our faces, the contrast with the locals could not have been more stark. We quickly realised that it was a regular event.

The other regular event is that HP have yet another unrealised capability in global delivery, it does global delivery better than it gives itself credit for.

HP is very process centric, it clearly shows at global delivery centers, Christchurch, Manila, India or any location. Additionally the strength at HP in terms of client satisfaction shows through. For one reason or another HP still struggles to make enough noise about the capabilities and to use them as a strong tool with clients. Whilst differentiation (especially for SAP delivery) is very difficult to say the least, there is a need for it. HP have some potential differentiation capabilities, but for one reason (perhaps confidence and self belief in serviices) or another they are unable to communicate them as much as they should. Perhaps this is a role for their new marketing head, to transfer the strength in product marketing to services.