RP businesses urged to join IT 'makeover' contest

ABS-CBN News

Posted at Jun 08 2009 07:12 PM | Updated as of Jun 09 2009 03:13 AM

Small and medium enterprises can win up to $30,000 worth of IT products and solutions by joining an IT makeover contest sponsored by IBM Philippines.

Entitled “The IBM Business Reality Challenge”, the makeover contest requires SMEs to describe in 100 words or less their biggest IT challenges and how the $30,000 prize will help build a smarter business for them.

The challenge will run between May and June with registrations closing on June 26.

The latest IBM IT Challenge cuts across the ASEAN region where one SME from each country will win $30,000 worth of IBM IT products and solutions including IBM hardware, software and consulting services. All entries will be evaluated by an IBM panel and the winners will be unveiled in July 2009.

“The SMB market is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in IBM and we are committed to making it easy for these companies to leverage the technical innovations that deliver business differentiation and spur growth. This is very much applicable in country, wherein more than 90 percent of the companies are classified under SMB,” said Pia Azarcon, country manager for ibm.com (Mid-Market), IBM Philippines.

“Through the IBM Business Reality Challenge, we aim to deepen our understanding of SMBs’ biggest business and technology pain points and provide them with the appropriate solutions to work smarter than their competitors, for them to succeed in good and as well as in challenging times,” she added.

Eligible to participate in the challenge are businesses with staff strength below 1,000, who are keen to empower their employees through collaborative tools to increase productivity, secure key data and business processes, and keep operational costs low; and ultimately to generate higher ROI within a shorter period of time.

Companies interested in the IBM Business Reality Challenge can visit www.ibm.com/ph/smarterbusiness for more details.