PhilWeb to form software firm with Compaq

Leading Internet stock PhilWeb.com will establish a software development company in a tie-up with computer maker Compaq to break into a multi-billion dollar global market for software services.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PhilWeb president Alex Villamar said this will be the company's second joint venture with Compaq following an earlier agreement to establish an Internet data center.

The new joint venture, PhilWeb Software Corp. (PhiWebSoft), will be based in the Philippines and will concentrate in custom software development for leading Silicon Valley and other international Internet technology companies.

Villamar said their partnership with Compaq presents "a huge business opportunity for our company." "With our unique position of having access to major technology companies in the US and in Asia, and the burgeoning demand for Internet software programmers, with a backlog exceeding 300,000 programmers in Silicon Valley alone, this will be a real winner."

He said from their present base of Java-qualified and Oracle-certified programmers, they expect growth of over 1,000 programmers and IT professionals in two years' time. PhilWebSoft will have branches all over the Philippines and will have an office in Silicon Valley, he added.

Villamar said PhilWebSoft will be positioned to compete against Indian companies. InfoSys, the leading Indian software company, was listed in Nasdaq a few years ago, and now has a market capitalization of over $14 billion and over 5,000 employees.

"The software development business volume today is estimated at over $100 billion. India, with its English-speaking highly-educated professionals and low labor cost advantage, has so far dominated this market," Villamar said.

He added PhiWebSoft will launch PhilWeb IT Institute, which will specialize in training Internet programmers and, after graduation, will be guaranteed employment by PhilWebSoft.

Compaq, with a market capitalization of $50 billion, is the second largest computer company in the world and the largest global supplier of computer system.