Pinoy IT experts maintain strong presence in global tech arena

Filipino information technology and telecommunications professionals continue to have a considerable presence with a competitive edge in the international arena.

In the global organization of worldwide technology leader Motorola alone, Filipino engineers are lending their expertise to clients within and outside the Motorola network in various markets across the globe, from Asia and Europe all the way to the Americas.

And as a testament to the skill and talent of the Filipino, the Filipino "Motorolans" are providing services in a wide spectrum of fields and disciplines, from technical support in broadband and radio technologies to software research in systems programming, to customer service in business development.

"Our Filipino engineers are definitely world-class in terms of skills, work attitude, efficiency and productivity," says Joju Quejada, president of Motorola Communication Phils. Inc. (MCPI).

"It is then not surprising that in the Motorola organization, the scope of operations of the various support teams of Filipino engineers covers much of the world," he adds.

Quejada knows for sure. Prior to assuming the post of president, he had managed, and continues to manage, Motorola’s Regional Development Center (RDC), which provides software development and systems management services to the company’s Semiconductor Product Sector (SPS).

The RDC may be officially referred to as a regional center, but it actually provides services to Motorola globally. "RDC is called a regional center, but its customers are global," Quejada notes.

Motorola, the company that introduced two-way radio technology over 50 years ago, has maintained its leadership position in the industry by continuously innovating products and support systems.

"Aside from that, our customers are constantly assured of supportability. Our team of engineers is always ready to assist in operating and maintaining the systems that they get from Motorola any time of the day. And we do have a strong pool of talent to deliver the best service any customer can possibly ask for," says Eric Co, regional service manager of Motorola’s Commercial, Government and Industrial Service Sector or CGISS, which handles Motorola’s two-way radio business in South Asia.

Co manages a team of mostly Filipino engineers. The team provides customer support services to Motorola clients in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. "I think the company sees the Philippines as a good source of talent," he says.

Co attributes the high level of competitiveness of the Filipino engineer to several factors. "Foremost is our good work attitude," he says. "We are hardworking and diligent. Our work is never half-baked."

There are several other Filipino Motorola engineers who manage or work with regional or global support service teams in iDEN and personal communication technologies. All are one in saying that skill is one of the key drivers that has led and continues to lead the Filipino technology expert to a noteworthy position in the international arena.

David Oxford, Southeast Asia manager of the Motorola Professional Services, confirms this, saying, "I manage three Filipino engineers who work on IP systems and applications and all of them have been able to learn the new technologies very rapidly and are able to apply this technology in the field – Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and the United States. The trait that sticks out most to me is their ability to work in foreign countries with foreign people under pressuring circumstances."

"The Filipino is a real jack-of-all-trades but with a marked difference from others. He is a jack-of-all trades who is also a master-of-all trades," says Jun Datinguinoo, iDEN’s field engineering manager. He notes that the Filipino engineer has excellent skills and facility in dealing with various situations, including those that may no longer be within his field of specialization.