Data reforms to boost PH data center investments

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. is banking on reforms in the classification and localization of data to drive fresh investments and ramp up the influx of tech giants into the country's growing data center industry.

- By DEXTER BARRO II

Victor Genuino, who heads both VITRO Inc. and ePLDT Inc., said the telco firm is actively engaging with the government to push for reforms that would position the Philippines as a major data center hub.

Despite the continued expansion and strong demand for data centers in the country, limitations from current policies are seen as setbacks compared to neighboring countries that have liberalized their respective industries.

PLDT, in particular, is targeting to capture the demand of global giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), which are looking for extra data storage amid rising dependence on digital technology.

VITRO, the data center arm of PLDT, earlier inaugurated the country's first artificial intelligence (AI)-ready data center, VITRO Sta. Rosa, with the hope of onboarding these clients.