A showcase of Filipino IT ingenuity

MultiSys founder as pinoy version of bill gates:

MANILA, Philippines — MultiSys founder and CEO David Almirol Jr. could very well be the Philippines’ version of Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates.

Almirol, after all, has taken a page from Microsoft’s business model when he created MultiSys. 

In an interview, Almirol said he admires Gates for his keen business sense and the corporate culture he created at Microsoft.

“Bill Gates is the biggest IT person. The model of Microsoft is very simple. He let Microsoft be distributed anywhere. He allowed it to be used by Acer, Lenovo and IBM. MultiSys is like that. It’s agnostic or interoperable among various systems like the Microsoft model,” he said.

Thus, when Almirol founded MultiSys five years ago, he took a page from the  Microsoft business model  and  together with his team, applied it to MultiSys.

“In other words, we made sure that our solutions are compatible with as many types of platforms or operating systems as possible,” Almirol said.

Since its inception, the company has unwaveringly sought true digital transformation that is sustainable for the country, through systems design, development (programming), and deployment (implementation). 

Mainly, MultiSys focuses on system automation services that smoothly expedite various processes and transactions. It aims to create a smart government, smart city or local government unit (LGU), smart community and smart enterprise – which altogether will create a smarter (and sustainable) Philippines, and reinforce ease of doing business across the country.

Its clients include Smart, Bayad Center, Meralco, the Villar Group, Gokongwei-led Robinsons Bank, Lazada, 7Eleven, Mini Stop, SM Cinema, Yuchengco-led RCBC, Cignal, Grab and GCash.

MultiSys also works with several LGUs for its Smart City project, which is a flagship program launched in 2019 to further ease LGU transactions through the creation of applications and installation of cashless payment kiosk machines in various government offices and local communities. Among the cities are Cauayan City in Isabela, Manila and San Juan.

MultiSys plans to launch new software solutions to enable companies and their customers a more convenient and cheaper way of doing things – from paying bills to setting up medical appointment online.

MultiSys focuses on different areas like eBusiness, eGovernment, eTechnology, eCommerce and eServices. 

It can assist the private sector as well as government agencies for faster and more effective delivery of services to the public. 

For instance, it developed the MeCom platform that provides linkages to e-commerce systems across different channels. This platform exclusively integrates e-commerce channels and can unify as a payment gateway provider. 

It also developed another product called the  HealthBox, which  manages the operations of  hospitals, electronic medical records, doctors’ schedules, as well as the integration of wellness partners, health maintenance organizations and pharmacies. The software can be used by both private and public hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, HMOs and diagnostics and wellness centers. 

These solutions are hatched in a Google community-style complex, MultiSys’s 1,702-square meter headquarters in Moonwalk, Paranaque. 

It’s a conducive environment that inspires MultiSys programmers  to develop the best solutions possible. 

During a recent visit to the company’s dynamic and hip multi-level headquarters in Paranaque, The STAR saw several rooms with computer programmers and business developers, a game room for both leisure and critical thinking, a veranda, a gym, a garden and  more amenities.

Employees who also want to save on transportation costs and travel time may live in the headquarters’ dormitory for free. 

“Under our domain are nearly 300 Filipino information technology professionals, of which almost half are full-stack programmers. These people have the same vision as I do. The number is still growing, and these people are vital if we are to achieve our vision of proving that the Filipino software development capability is world class,” Almirol said.

We at MultiSys will continue to search for local talents with  potentials – people who we can mentor in order to hone their skills and achieve that vision. We hold hackathons and projects like Clash of Codes to find “rockstar” programmers.

Moving forward, Almirol said that MultiSys, like Microsoft, is looking to expand its reach globally by exploring possible markets in neighboring countries. 

Unicorn

“It’s about time that the Philippines will have its own unicorn which is a tech company that should hit at least $1 billion  valuation. We don’t have that in the Philippines yet,” he said.

He said that with the support of the company’s valued partners like PLDT, MultiSys strives hard to empower businesses and institutions beyond the Philippines, through the continuous development of innovative Filipino technology. 

Ultimately, Almirol hopes for a “smarter” Philippines.  “My dream is a smarter Philippines and you can be a smarter country if you have technology with you because technology will convert everything you know and make things more efficient,” Almirol said.

In many of the rooms in the headquarters, there’s a collection of life-sized figures of Iron Man and other Marvel super heroes. 

Almirol is after all an avid Iron Man fan and is a serious collector. 

In the comic book, Iron Man himself, Tony Stark is a genius who is bent on using technology to save the world. 

And just like his favorite super hero, Almirol wants to do just that.