Why Eastwood Cyberpark remains the country’s number one IT ecozone

According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Eastwood City Cyberpark is the most successful IT park in the country. Its more than 30 PEZA-registered locators earned $228.09 million in export revenues in 2007 and employed an average of 12,515 individuals — number one in both categories nationwide. No other place has so fully embraced the country’s IT culture, ushering in a new breed of young professionals who imbue its “live-work-play-learn” philosophy.

For 10 years now, Eastwood City Cyberpark has been a shining model for the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. This pioneering project from premier developer Megaworld Corp. was the first IT park to receive a PEZA certification in 1997, and remains a leader up to this day in terms of expertise, technology and revenue. From its inception, the 17-hectare property has now grown to include 160,000 square meters of office space used by 60 locators in various industries such as call centers, semiconductors, software design and animation.

Many of the best IT locators, such as big-name companies IBM, Dell, Citibank, Canon, Trend Micro, Siemens, Emerson and TOEI Animation, have found a home in Eastwood City. Its location and the many government incentives that are made available to locators make it a prime spot for both established and start-up companies. The Cyberpark now houses eight BPO buildings namely, Citibank, Epixtar House, IBM Plaza, Cyber One, 1800 Eastwood Ave., I-CITE, Technoplaza 1 and E-Commerce Plaza. All of these buildings offer a slice of the young and vibrant IT worker culture.

According to Megaworld Business Development and Leasing Division first vice president Jericho Go, Megaworld is successful because of a number of factors.

“What we offer at Eastwood City is a lifestyle, an IT-BPO lifestyle. While others offer just a building, we offer a live-work-play-learn community. This is what makes Eastwood City the country’s best IT park. Combine this with our expertise, advanced infrastructure and scalability, and you have a very ideal location,” Go said.

Eastwood City has over 100 leisure, dining and entertainment establishments catering to the young crowd. Locators have also been attracted to Eastwood City’s residential properties around the area.

“We see companies here which recognize the value of time and sleep of their employees. They decide to buy and rent a unit inside Eastwood City to save up on transportation and travel time. Plus, it’s also a secure place to live in. It’s exciting to be here because the IT culture and lifestyle is so alive. We have the latest bands, great food, an abundance of cafes and shops, and so much more,” Go explained.

Eastwood City is not only appealing to IT workers around Metro Manila. Locators are also drawn to it because of its advanced high bandwidth telecommunications system and fiber optic backbone. It also offers a high degree of scalability for growing companies.

With Eastwood Cyberpark’s phenomenal growth, Megaworld is planning to double the size of the leased office space in five to six years as their way of committing to the BPO industry. It is also establishing locations in Cebu and Iloilo as part of their BPO triangle strategy.

Eastwood City is also active in the BPO Association of the Philippines (BPAP), which consolidates the industry as a single voice to attract locators from the US and Europe of the many IT possibilities offered by the country. The BPAP has also established the Philippines’ IT roadmap to drive the growth of the BPO industry.