Philippine businesses should enhance the return on their technology investments by striking a balance between investing in innovation and optimizing existing systems, according to an IT expert.
Han Law, regional chief technology officer for ASEAN and Greater China at Rimini Street Inc., said the Philippines is undergoing a “digital revolution,” citing its status as the fastest-growing internet economy in Southeast Asia and the rapid increase in digital payments.
“In this exciting time, IT and finance leaders must find the right balance between investing in innovation and optimizing existing systems, taking a strategic approach to achieving both growth and profitability,” Law said in an email interview.
Rimini Street is a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, products and services and a leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software and an AWS partner. The company said it has successful partnerships with firms like Philippine Airlines and ICTSI, helping organizations move beyond cost-cutting by guiding them through strategic technology investments that drive both innovation and efficiency.
Law cautioned that while software and service vendors promise functions and features, failing to fully understand business needs and deviating from the company vision could lead to inefficient spending.
“IT leaders should focus on optimizing existing technology investments by reassessing software contracts—especially maintenance costs, which can add up to millions per year with very little ROI,” he said.
He said that by teaming up with Rimini Street, a global leader in third-party support for Oracle, SAP, VMware and others, thousands of companies have reduced their total cost of ownership by up to 90 percent, alleviating rising IT expenses. Law suggested these savings could be reinvested in strategic initiatives such as AI, robotics and analytics tools, funding innovation without requiring board approval or overcommitting to products without clear alignment with the business roadmap.
Grant Thornton’s International Business Report indicates that Philippine mid-market firms are shifting towards more strategic investments, focusing on technology, people, R&D and branding.
Law said maximizing the value and potential of technology investments is crucial in an era of high IT expenditures. He challenged the notion that mission-critical systems become outdated after a certain period, arguing that valuable data within these systems fuels AI.
He said that with the right third-party support partner, organizations can maintain their systems for years, preserving customizations that provide competitive advantages without costly and risky upgrades or re-implementations.
Rimini Street announced a strategic partnership with AI company ServiceNow Inc. in October 2024, establishing a concept of “Transformation without Disruption” to enable AI, automation, and modernization across enterprise software estates.
According to Law, this partnership eliminates the need for upgrades, migrations, or re-platforming to access new features, which typically require significant time, money, and personnel. Instead, it accelerates innovation and maximizes the value of existing systems.
Law said optimizing IT budgets is vital, especially with rising costs and the need to invest in emerging technologies. Citing Gartner, he noted that nearly 90 percent of IT budgets are often spent on maintenance, leaving insufficient funds for growth initiatives and digital transformation.
He suggested a healthier budget split of 60/40, particularly as investing in valuable innovation becomes a high priority for organizations seeking to remain competitive.
Law advised IT teams to assess underperforming line items, identify outsourcing opportunities, and understand the “real” and hidden costs associated with vendor promises of innovation.
He said upgrading or re-platforming systems should only occur when there is clear business value, not merely to maintain vendor support or access bundled or cloud-only features.
“Digital agility and resilience offer great promise for Philippines organizations to optimize and transform business operations, and at the same time improve customer, partner and employee satisfaction,” Law said.
“The key to digital agility and resiliency lies in a seamless data orchestration model with data extracted from a myriad of ERP sources, delivering operational data in real time to the right application. By leveraging AI built on this organization-wide data, you can predict supply chain disruptions, customer behavior and energy usage, as well as enable fraud detection, predictive maintenance and more,” he said.