PLDT inks new 6-year service deal with Amdocs

Industry giant PLDT Inc. announced the expansion of its partnership with United States-based Amdocs, which it earlier tapped to upgrade and manage the business technology systems of PLDT and subsidiary Smart Communications over a seven-year period.

PLDT said in a stock exchange filing yesterday that it had  sealed a new six-year service agreement with Amdocs.

Under the new agreement, Amdocs will consolidate, modernize and manage PLDT’s and Smart’s IT infrastructure, the end goal of which was to improve service offerings to customers while reducing operational costs.

“This will entail introducing artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics, and robotics to their operations. With advanced automation, PLDT and Smart will be able to implement predictive and zero touch operations, auto resolutions of errors, and self-healing of systems,” PLDT said.

No figures were indicated in the announcement. PLDT said its seven-year agreement with Amdocs, signed at the start of 2018, was worth about $300 million.

“This agreement will further boost our efforts to enhance customer experience and engagement. With Amdocs running and automating our IT operations, we will be better equipped to quickly launch innovative products and services to deliver a compelling digital experience to our customers,” PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.

PLDT decided last year that it would outsource most of its IT requirements in a bid to cut costs and shore up earnings. It initially wanted to tap US-based IBM but an agreement was never reached.

“We are committed to expedite PLDT’s digital journey, and together we have achieved significant milestones in the last nine months,” Gary Miles, chief marketing officer at Amdocs, said in the statement.

“With Amdocs Intelligent Operations, PLDT will be able to inject intelligence and automation into their entire operations, enabling them to become more efficient and take smart product and service decisions. This will help them accelerate innovation to further enhance the superior experience they deliver to their customers, while increasing engagement, loyalty and affinity to their brand,” he added.

Amdocs Intelligent Operations is part of AmdocsONE, an open, modular and integrated solution set “designed to accelerate the industry’s dynamic and continuous digital transformation.”