The Philippine market for hardware and software for the financial
services only was estimated at $1.25 billion.
This market estimate was based on the statistics reported and gathered by
International Data Corporation and did not include the value of consulting
services. The amount of consulting services is difficult to estimate as most
consulting firms do not have itemized revenue per customer or sector.
Because of the worldwide downturn in the industry, the demand for IT products
and services have slowed down. The demand, however, is projected to
register a stronger growth rate of 20% to 25% within the next three years.
The financial sector is the heaviest user of IT products and services. The
financial sector’s demand for IT products and services are driven by the
following factors:
The entry of more foreign banks and insurance companies following the
liberalization of these sectors in 1994 and 1996.
Aside from traditional merchant banking of deposit-taking and lending
operations, commercial banks licensed as “universal banks” have expanded their
range of products and services.
The trend among non-bank financial institutions to offer integrated financial services that bundles insurance coverage, personal investment, and retirement pension fund.
The emergence of E-commerce, E-business, E-services in both private and public
sectors.
The transformation of the three ATM (automated teller machine) consortia BancNet, Megalink and ExpressNet as a common platform to provide expanded services to bank customers.
The recent mergers among large commercial banks as a move to consolidate and
strengthen the country’s financial system in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis
U.S. hardware manufacturers have significant market presence. U.S. PC suppliers have 20% market share while printer suppliers have 36%. U.S. companies dominate the server category.
