MANILA, Philippines — The country’s largest data center builders have created an industry umbrella that would integrate strategies and push for policies that would make the Philippines a digital powerhouse.
Data center builders yesterday announced the establishment of the Data Center Operators of the Philippines (DCPH) with the aim of setting up the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s digital hub.
The alliance is made up of VITRO Inc., ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (Philippines), YCO Cloud, Digital Edge Philippines, Digital Halo and A-FLOW.
The founding members of the DCPH boast a combined 473 megawatts in capacity through their data centers across the archipelago.
The DCPH plans to lobby for policies that will transform the Philippines into a preferred destination for tech giants looking for facilities to store data.
Primarily, the DCPH wants policymakers to approve a law mandating data localization, starting with information handled by the government. This means moving all government data within the country’s borders in pursuit of privacy and security.
“Our neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have already implemented data localization policies, recognizing citizen data as a strategic national asset that underpins data sovereignty and economic growth,” the DCPH said.
The DCPH hopes policymakers can look into the benefits of localizing government data, saying it would drive up demand for more data centers.
The DCPH also said data localization would encourage foreign investors to operate here to offer their latest solutions on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.
On top of data localization, the DCPH aims to work with energy players in ensuring competitive rates and consistent access for data centers. The group also plans to collaborate with telcos, some of which are parents of their members, to develop connectivity solutions.
The DCPH hopes to meet with the Department of Communications and Information Technology to discuss policy proposals to encourage data center buildup in the country. As expected, it wants the DICT to champion data localization in the executive branch.
Further, the group is keen on putting up programs for the development of local talents that would be needed by the industry in the future.
“As digital transformation and AI adoption accelerate worldwide, this alliance marks this pivotal step toward building a future-ready and globally-competitive digital economy for the Philippines, one powered by data centers, the backbone of digitalization,” the DCPH said.