Japan’s NTT Group expects faster growth for its IT consulting and learning arm in the Philippines, following the acquisition of Filipino firm Wizardsgroup Inc. early this year.
Wizardsgroup, renamed Wednesday to NTT Data Philippines Inc., projected revenue to double in five years, as it expected business activity in the country to remain robust, increasing demand in the $6.7-billion IT services sector, visiting NTT officials said.
This included expanding its footprint in the domestic business process outsourcing segment—still the main driver of IT requirements here, apart from healthcare, manufacturing and financial services.
Ryoji Fukaya, chair of NTT Data Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., did not elaborate on the acquisition price and revenue targets, but said the group had “very high” expectations for NTT Data Philippines.
“The Philippines is the most promising market as far as growth is concerned,” he told reporters in a press briefing.
NTT Data Philippines president and CEO Pocholo Reyes said they were aiming to grow revenue by about 20 percent yearly in the next five years. That compared with its previous yearly average of 8 percent to 10 percent.
“We’re increasing head count by 10 percent [ this year],” Reyes said. NTT Data Philippines has about 230 employees, he said.
As Wizardsgroup, the unit had built up a strong clientele in the high-value IT consulting and learning sector for Oracle and Microsoft technologies. These included support for clients’ so-called back office requirements like payroll, human resources and accounting. It also provides IT training services.
Some of its clients include large companies, including infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Pepsi, Alaska Milk Corp. and ABS-CBN Corp.