By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, reporter
Philippine organizations must be strengthened Prepare their information technology (IT) systems and contingency plans as a failure in global digital services this year could disrupt daily operations and revenues, analysts said.
Nicola Gerber, vice president of Asia-Pacific and Japan at Fastly, explained that failures affecting major technology providers pose economic and social risks to the Philippines as many businesses rely heavily on online platforms and mobile-based systems. businessworld.
Rather than assuming “zero failure,” organizations should expect the possibility of technical disruptions and design their IT systems for “recovery and prevention,” he said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Ms. Gerber said flexibility should be treated as a business priority rather than a purely technical issue, warning that service interruptions abroad could cause local problems for Philippine companies.
Several large technology providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Cloudflare, experienced service failures in 2025, impacting airlines, banks, online retailers, and digital platforms around the world.
Such incidents could be costly for Philippine companies, Ms. Gerber said. Banks, telecommunications companies, logistics providers and online sellers can lose millions of pesos per hour when systems stop working, while payment delays can impact sales, payroll processing and customer transactions.
“All of this reduces productivity and ultimately affects branding and breaks customer trust,” Ms. Gerber said.
National Promoter for Digital Pinoys Ronald B. Gustillo said many local organizations rely heavily on single service providers, increasing their risk if global systems fail.
“Organizations should not rely solely on the availability of cloud services,” he said in a Viber message. “They should consider investing in multi-cloud or hybrid services, building data redundancy, and regularly testing failure and recovery plans to ensure operations can continue even during widespread disruptions.”
According to Kane Research, the Philippines' cloud and software-as-a-service market is expected to be valued at $3.2 billion (P190 billion) in 2024, driven by digital adoption, e-commerce growth and remote work.
Mr Gustillo said companies should strengthen response processes, clarify who makes decisions during system failures and run regular simulations to test readiness.
He said it is equally important to review contracts with technical providers and training staff to provide prompt response.
US-based technology services provider DXC Technology said it is helping Philippine customers prepare for system failures involving global providers.
Malou Ocampo-Quimbao, site leader for DXC Philippines, explained that some incidents are beyond the company's control because they originate overseas. businessworld. He said what matters is to be prepared to respond quickly so that the impact on operations and customers is limited.