Solutions provider addresses cloud challenges for SMBs

the potential of digitization for small and medium businesses is the hallmark of Amazon Web Services’ mission in the Philippines.

At the core of this mission is the Lift program, designed to help SMBs kickstart their digitization journey with AWS. AWS launched the program five months back in the Philippines and Singapore and extended the program to include four more countries in the region.

“It’s been five months since we launched this in the Philippines, and we see really good traction and very diverse industry players. When we launched this, what we wanted to do was make it really easy for SMBs to experiment. What this program does is it gives essentially a startup pack of cloud credits for one year. There is no login, there are no hidden fees. Essentially, as soon as SMB is billing $1, they can start accessing our credits. It’s tiered over one year depending on the usage. They can unlock up to $83,500 in promotional credits, which is a significant amount for SMBs,” said AWS managing director of mid-market and SMB in ASEAN Gunish Chawla.

“SMBs are looking to adapt their business models given the current macroeconomic environment, and this is where technology can help. AWS is enabling SMBs to be more innovative and resilient as they accelerate transformation in the face of ambiguity and change. Through programs such as AWS Lift, we are demonstrating our commitment to invest in and power SMBs of every size and every industry in Philippines to digitize their business and unlock their economic potential,” he said.

As of February 2023, the AWS Lift program was running in Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Japan, India and New Zealand.

In collaboration with AWS partners, the solutions provider wants to make cloud accessible for all SMBs and being a unique segment, to tailor-fit the programs and ensure that, as a cloud solutions provider, it is accurately serving the needs of Philippine SMBs.

AWS is committed to supporting the digitization of SMBs with the power of cloud computing. With the majority of countries across Asia Pacific and Japan predicting a recession or slower economic growth in 2023, SMBs are under pressure to cut costs, in particular, to manage IT budget cuts. At the same time, SMBs recognize the importance of technology and the need to make IT investments.

As cloud computing is rapidly becoming the new norm in business operations, AWS is aware of the struggle SMBs face in pivoting to the cloud and the need to enhance technical expertise and skills of the workforce.

AWS noted that many SMBs may not feel confident to drive cloud implementations on their own as typically they either have very small IT teams or they might be using external vendors for managing IT premises. AWS is offering a global community of 100,000 partners that can leverage on AWS technology to build solution and services for SMB customers, working across a wide variety of use cases.

“We are deeply invested in helping the Philippines address this digital skill shortage and the way we do it, it’s through digital education and training support. So we’ve actually made digital training built by AWS experts available through qualified AWS instructor-led classes. If we want to build a strong future for our business in Philippines, this goes very much hand in hand with providing skills and training locally,” Chawla said.

AWS collaborated with the Department of Trade and Industry and the ASEAN Business Council in the establishment of the ASEAN SME Academy 2.0 which was launched in April 2022. The academy offers online training to SMBs to upskill the workforce following a DTI-AWS memorandum of understanding to extend AWS upskilling programs to SMEs and startups starting February 2023.

The technology firm also teamed up with several government agencies to deliver workshops and trainings raising awareness on disruptive innovations and emerging technologies.

The Philippines is undergoing rapid digital transformation and is heavily reliant on a digital workforce equipped to meet the rising demand for cloud computing. Unlocking the country’s digital potential requires a strong digital workforce and tech professionals with relevant and current digital skills to keep up with the pace of change.

The AWS Training and Certification team launched the AWS re/Start program in the Philippines in February 2022. As of today, AWS re/Start is working with two collaborating organizations to help close the country’s skills gap and inspire unemployed, underemployed, and transitioning Filipino learners to consider a career in cloud computing..

The firm is committed to nurturing the talent pool of the future through education programs –AWS Educate and AWS Academy – and making digital education accessible to everyone. It brings industry in-demand skills into academic institutions, and collaborate with them to nurture the next generation of cloud talent.