“[As a CIO] you have to be a strong communicator and it’s also important that you can influence a team.” JR Tolentino Head of Technology, GLC
JR Tolentino | GLC
GLC is one of the fastest-growing telecommunications distributors in the Philippines. It specialises in business communication solutions, such as world-class IP telephony devices, on-premises and cloud solutions, voice and video solutions, IP PBX and gateways, and session border control solutions.
GLC has expanded rapidly over the past nine years, accumulating a channel network of over 150 partners, and building a product range of around 5,000 SKUs. The business was being run on a patchwork of systems, including Quickbooks for accounting, SAP for CRM, and Excel to pick up the slack.
To keep pace with its expansion, GLC upgraded to NetSuite two years ago. Since deployment, GLC has experienced a 30% increase in customers, doubled its recurring revenue and tripled outright sales.
We spoke to GLC’s Head of Technology, John Robert Tolentino, about his passion for innovation, the importance of open systems, and why interoperability is top of mind for CIOs.
“[As a CIO] you have to be a strong communicator and it’s also important that you can influence a team.” JR Tolentino Head of Technology, GLC
JR Tolentino: The role has so many hats that I have to wear. One is internal operations; the internal enterprise applications for GLC are under my team, and also the technology support for our sales and implementations projects. Another big part of the role is innovation.
Tolentino: Right now I’ve moved more towards the innovation side of things, which is about 80% of my responsibilities. This involves meeting with partners like NetSuite to develop more valuable components to build on top of the existing minimum viable product, which is Telavi Cloud.
Tolentino: Currently, I work closest with the president. The actual vision comes from him, and we try to meet that idea on the technology side. Then we validate this with stakeholders in sales because we want to ensure that we’re not building something that’s only suitable for us. Basically, we validate with the market as much as possible while aiming to decrease the development timeframe, to take products to market as fast as possible.
Tolentino: The goal is to roll out new products every quarter.
Tolentino: Aside from the acquisition of new customers, I’m focusing on customer retention. Since this is a minimum viable product and Telavi is not yet a big brand, we want to take care of the reputation of the product. We want to make sure that customers are happy, so my operational targets are to reduce our support tickets and improve SLAs.
Tolentino: I strive to create a more personalised experience for the customer. As much as possible, we try to provide a service or solution that fulfils their needs. We want to make them happy, and ultimately this helps the company as a whole to succeed.
Tolentino: You must have a passion for technology. You have to be on the lookout, you have to learn, and you have to know what's new. You have to bring that passion and excitement to bridge the gap between the pain points and the solution that you have. You also have to have a winning attitude. So, you have the knowledge and that takes you so far, but you have to know your edge over the competition.
Tolentino: I would say cloud technology, automation, and solutions architecture. You have to know not just your own business infrastructure, but also the existing infrastructure outside of your own, so you can manage interoperability.
Tolentino: The role now involves more decision-making for the business as a whole. Previously, the role was more siloed.
Tolentino: I think it’s important that you can serve your customers wherever you are. If your system is not available, because it's on-premises and you can’t access it outside of your organisation, that needs to be reconsidered. You have to have mobility, but also ensure you can access the system securely. These are now key considerations for the CIO’s role when choosing technology.
Tolentino: Digital transformation has really helped CIOs become more strategic, as there are fewer hands-on tech skills required. It means there is room and demand for a greater focus on innovation. CIOs must now create a clear roadmap for progress and then get management or stakeholders to execute those things.
Tolentino: Yes, definitely. Previously, the CIOs wanted to implement what’s new, the latest and most expensive technology. But now, you have to understand the business side of things in order to choose your solution or design your product. I must understand how we’re going to sell the product and know if it’s going to be profitable in the long term.
Tolentino: Yes, I think you have to be a strong communicator and it’s also important that you can influence a team. This is vital for the success of the whole organisation in technology because the CIO should be able to meet the business demand of the CEO. So, the CEO has the business requirements and the technology team should be able to execute the vision for the company. Clear communication is important throughout this process.
Tolentino: Firstly, it should be fit for the purpose. This means to say we have a set of requirements that we want to meet within the scope – if it's out of scope, that's a nice to have. If it's fit for the purpose, we select the technology. From there, we determine whether it’s fit for use; what time frame it will be available in and how much the implementation and support costs. We want to make sure that if we're going to partner with another technology vendor, the vision and the length of usage of that application should be able to meet ours as a technology partner. Finally, the technology solution should be personalised. We have our own policies and procedures in place, so the system should be able to be customised for our use.
Tolentino: The role now involves more decision-making for the business as a whole.
Tolentino: The integration of technology systems helps drive efficiency for the business and personalisation for our customers. The integration of NetSuite with our Telavi Cloud communications platform allows us to directly access customer information and personalise the experience for them. As well as serving our customers, this personalisation helps our sales and after-sales support to approach the customer. I can also see that we now have a single source of truth with the NetSuite system. It’s helped remove inaccuracies in reporting numbers because we have a centralised system, and I don't need to ask anyone else about the project.
Tolentino: The CIO has to innovate because they have the vision, and having an open system supports me with this. In fact, we were able to create a new product with NetSuite and Telavi, called Telavi Connect. This is a CRM-based system that we’re now selling to our customers, so an open system with high usability and interoperability has enabled us to meet customer demands.
Tolentino: The cost of implementing an on-premises solution with servers is really high, so there’s a lot of capital expenditure compared to the cloud. It’s also important to serve your customers wherever you are. If your system is not available, because it's on-premises and you can’t access it outside of your organisation, that needs to be reconsidered. You have to have mobility, but also ensure you can access the system securely. These are now key considerations for CIOs when choosing technology.
Tolentino: The cost of implementing an on-premises solution with servers is really high, so there’s a lot of capital expenditure compared to the cloud. For startup companies, the cloud is advantageous because you can leverage a pay-as-you-go model, and scale up with features and licences as you grow
Tolentino: I would say they have to really define their goals and objectives. Then they should create a proof of concept and try NetSuite, as they won't need to invest in a lot of capital expenditure or need to set up their own data centre with the associated maintenance costs.
Tolentino: With NetSuite we now have integration with our Telavi Cloud platform, which has driven efficiency and added significant value to the business. Before, you’d have to look into different spreadsheets, separate files and separate systems to create a quote, and then the approval process was manual and disconnected, too. With NetSuite, all of those different systems are now combined into one.
Tolentino: Before, we were using a lot of spreadsheets and we didn't have accurate data in real time. It's really important for management to have this, so NetSuite plays a vital role. Now, we can create and pull reports on demand and this has helped improve collaboration and decision-making.
Tolentino: You have to have a passion for technology. You should identify your strengths, hire people who are better than you, and learn from them. The role of CIO is a lifelong learning journey.
Tolentino: Business acumen. When you learn how the business works, you can create a model out of it and then that model can be applied to any technology that you’re contemplating.
Tolentino: The role will surely grow because the technology is evolving. But what remains is CIOs must always be on the lookout for what's new and develop new models and solutions to support their businesses.
CIOs across the Asia Pacific region are now responsible for creating value and developing new business models for their companies through innovation and technology. IDC, the global market intelligence specialists, has explored this trend and the impact it’s having on businesses. Download this InfoBrief to discover the research results, including data and insights, industry trends, and top tips for navigating the future of business.
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