The Gokongwei Group partnered with ePLDT, the pioneer & premier data center service provider in the country, for colocation services to support the group’s business continuity and critical infrastructure needs through its VITRO Data Center.
Gokongwei group is one of the largest and most diversified Filipino conglomerates composed of businesses spanning different industries, including food and beverages, aviation, financial services, petrochemicals, and property, among others.
It is comprised of JG Summit Holdings Inc., Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., and Summit Media which provide a wide range of products and services needed by Filipinos.
The Gokongwei Group have colocated its critical data infrastructure at ePLDT’s global-class VITRO data center facility to ensure business continuity, service availability, and optimum security that will allow them to provide uninterrupted, quality services for their end customers.
Carlos Santos, Chief Information Officer of Gokongwei Group, said that the partnership is part of the conglomerate’s continued thrust for digital transformation to better serve their customers and unlock better business growth opportunities.
“The Gokongwei Group recognizes the role of technology in enabling our operations to efficiently meet the needs of our customers. We are in constant pursuit of seeking the latest innovations to support our systems, and we are glad to have ePLDT as one of our trusted partners in this digital transformation journey of ours. We hope that through this initiative, we can further strengthen our operational processes to future-proof our business,” Santos said.
The conglomerate has been implementing digital transformation initiatives for the past few years, employing major digitization efforts to bolster its business efficiency and offer more value to its customers. In 2018, the group embarked on a significant digital transformation plan which involved moving their major digital assets to the cloud.
They migrated their critical IT infrastructure to ePLDT’s world-class VITRO data center facility, acquiring multiple data center racks and other connectivity services from the PLDT Group. Their full migration to the cloud was completed last year.
“PLDT Enterprise, through its industry-leading ICT arm ePLDT, continues to heed the call of our partners for solutions that empower their business to be more resilient and future-ready. We thank Gokongwei group for their trust in PLDT Enterprise & ePLDT to be a strategic partner in their digital transformation journey. We will work very closely with them in co-developing a roadmap and implementing transformation programs that address their most pressing business challenges through our global class infrastructure and deep domain expertise,” said Jojo Gendrano, FVP and Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise.
ePLDT is a pioneer in the country’s data center industry, operating and growing its facilities since 2000 and establishing itself as the Philippines’ leading data center provider. It maintains the largest carrier-neutral data center network in the country with 10 globally certified data center facilities under the VITRO brand, strategically spread across the archipelago.
Moreover, ePLDT VITRO has four TIA 942 Rated 3-certified facilities – the most by any provider in the country. These facilities are likewise equipped with relevant global ISO certifications and Nexcenter certifications, which mean that they are recognized by NTT Communications as part of its Nexcenter accredited facilities that meet globally consistent data center standards in service quality, flexibility and cost efficiency.
“We at ePLDT strive to continuously expand and strengthen our VITRO data center facilities with the latest available technologies to serve the evolving requirements of businesses. We are committed to assisting more enterprises with our end-to-end information and communications technology services that will allow them to further enhance their resiliency and expand their business exponentially,” added Nico Alcoseba, PLDT Enterprise FVP and Head of Product Management & Marketing Group.
Last year, the PLDT Group announced that it is building a hyperscaler data center in the country through ePLDT to service the massive power and IT requirements of global hyperscalers. The hyperscaler data center will be telco-neutral and will be designed to be global class in energy efficiency and reliability, and is part of the PLDT Group’s major investments to continuously enhance its digital infrastructure.
The Gokongwei Group, through JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is a major stockholder of the PLDT Group.