The Philippines has been recognised for its best practices in adopting cloud services even though government agencies supposedly have a long way to go towards fully implementing its use in the delivery of services. Cloud technology is an on-demand availability of computer system resources, data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. This importance of cloud tech is magnified by companies implementing work-from-home arrangement, and other efforts in digital transformation to cope with the new normal brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Considering this, an international collaboration platform formally launched its cloud-based software in the country. Founded in 2012, the cloud developers said the platform enables local businesses, whether small or large scale, to build and create custom dashboards, allowing teams to work together and oversee various operations — from project management, HR, CRM and Sales, and IT — all in one workspace.
The tech company was founded on the belief that transparency and collaboration create a culture of ownership and empowerment. They added that their products are visual, easy and intuitive making them ready to customise according to needs. With these in mind, users can easily communicate with everyone whether they are working from home, on the road or in the office.
Officials from the tech firm presented a virtual live demonstration to showcase how the platform can be set up in minutes and transform into a collaborative workspace that fits the needs of any organisation of various industries. Local businesses who are current users of the platform also shared their first-hand experience on how the cloud tech helped their teams and how it made flexibility and productivity possible despite team members working remotely.
For the users, with work-from-home parameters set, collaboration is the key to navigate in the age of COVID-19. Through the cloud, they believe that teams can efficiently work together from various locations. The cloud’s main features include the following:
- Flexibility — There are over 200+ ready-made templates to customise the platform for any workflow build custom work applications for any workflow
- Intuitiveness — All projects and tasks can be viewed with a single glance; has multiple dashboards for ease of use and updates
- Collaborative — Easy communication as files are centralised in one place
- Seamless — Any existing work tools can be easily integrated into the platform
Accordingly, as reported by OpenGov Asia, The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) amended its Cloud First Policy to provide clearer instructions on policy coverage, data classification, and data security. It also covers policies on sovereignty, residency, and ownership as the government transitions to the ‘new normal’ amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
DICT said that the Philippine government’s Cloud First Policy promotes cloud computing as the preferred technology for government administration and the delivery of government services. Shifting to cloud computing is expected to foster flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency among users. Cloud computing also offers key advantages such as access to global systems of solutions, innovations, and services, as well as up-to-date cybersecurity.
At the same time, an American tech giant said that the policy of the DICT is flexible and adaptive to the IT demands of government agencies. He advised the department to develop a classification policy that will ensure the security of data being handled by the public sector while at the same time upholding the right of the citizens to be informed of vital government transactions.
The tech giant further stated that the public sector should evaluate their cloud product based on its capability to provide high security, ensure the privacy of personal information, and guarantee technology reliability. Moreover, a good cloud product must be compliant with all regulations and must be aligned with the agencies’ duty of accountability and for agencies to be able to look at the technology that can support their societal goals and help improve environmental sustainability.
