Figaro taps PLDT Enterprise

MANILA, Philippines — The enterprise arm of PLDT Inc. has been tapped by the Figaro Group to further boost the operations of its coffeehouse chain nationwide.

PLDT Enterprise will provide additional digital services that will augment the connectivity and communication requirements of Figaro’s branches.

“The additional services that Figaro Group have availed of highlights the continuing solid partnership between PLDT Enterprise and Figaro Group which started in 2015,” PLDT first vice president and Enterprise revenue group head Mitch Locsin said.

“We both have the shared mission to provide the best quality products and services to our customers, and this latest signing is indicative of the trust and confidence that Figaro Group has placed with PLDT Enterprise,” Locsin said.

Figaro Coffee is a company established in 1993, with 20 company-owned stores and over 40 franchised outlets.

It has since become Figaro Group, having diversified its food service offerings with the acquisition of Angel’s Pizza and Tien Ma’s Taiwanese Cuisine.

With the increased demand for online food deliveries given the pandemic, PLDT Enterprise said Figaro can immediately attend to orders and deliveries of their customers since its hotline and network are founded on the company’s reliable services.

Figaro has signed up for PLDT Enterprise’s services to complement its existing trunk line service in all branches.

“Despite these very challenging times, the food business climate has remained very competitive, particularly for the Figaro Group, and connectivity with our end customers and B2B clients is key to staying successful,” Figaro Group COO Mike Barret said.

“PLDT remains our preferred telco partner, and the technological advantage that PLDT Enterprise gives us, provides optimal support for our organization to achieve our business goals. The opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by equipping our system with the right technology, and evolve with the emerging trends will help ensure that our products are always easily accessible to our customers,” Barret said.

Meanwhile, the international subsidiary of PLDT announced a partnership with LARUS Ltd. to enable carriers and enterprises to access geolocated Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses.

The partnership allows customers of PLDT Global Corp. (PGC) to access LARUS’ geolocation feature, strengthen their cybersecurity, and identify and customize their product offers for better customer experience.

“We recognize that the global demand for faster, more secure, and more reliable connectivity has grown at an unprecedented scale as more business transform digitally. This partnership with LARUS gives us an opportunity to deliver a stable supply of IPv4 addresses in Southeast Asia and beyond, as well as simplified solutions that cater to the needs of our carrier and enterprise clients who are looking to level up their services,” PLDT Global president and chief commercial officer Albert Villa-Real said.

The localization of IPv4 addresses ensures reliable connection, data protection and privacy, security against malware, management and streamlining of network operations, and essentially, lower the costs for network support.