TECHNOLOGY company Yondu, Inc. has been recording increased demand for its products and solutions due to unique corporate needs that were born out of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Inc., said.
In a recent e-mail interview with BusinessWorld, Yondu President and CEO Joan D. Peñaflorida said the company developed new products in the past months to address specific challenges relating to employee health and e-commerce.
“The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of businesses across various sectors. We felt like we are in a position to help businesses survive these dire times as the crisis forced enterprises to operate remotely and employees to work from home,” Ms. Peñaflorida said.
One of the products Yondu developed is Health Management for Enterprise (HealthMe), a mobile application that allows companies to keep track of employee health digitally and remotely.
The technology has enabled companies to gauge how to adjust their working conditions based on symptoms that employees may be exhibiting, thus preventing any work-related spread of the virus, Ms. Peñaflorida said.
Another product Yondu developed is Vessell, which Ms. Peñaflorida described as an “e-commerce platform builder” that gives entrepreneurs the free hand to create an online store.
The platform, accessible through www.vessell.ph, provides businesses with tools such as an online store, product catalog, staff account, support, cart management, secure payments, logistics, order tracking and notification, and cross-sell and upsell.
Ms. Peñaflorida said consumer behavior has changed over the past months, as the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 has kept people inside their homes. In turn, many entrepreneurs are left struggling to survive in the emerging business environment.
“We will continue to help enterprises scale in a digital economy… This means leveraging our complete suite of technology solutions that seek to address specific business needs, such as e-commerce, custom development, managed services, SMS, and cloud business solutions,” Ms. Peñaflorida said.
The increased relevance of technology solutions has likewise pushed Yondu to expand its team to meet the greater demand of its clients.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our processes and upgrade our people’s competencies to help ensure our clients continue to thrive despite the ongoing challenges,” Ms. Peñaflorida said.
“The company is growing, and we are ramping up efforts to address the increasing demand for technology solutions, especially during this critical period. We have allocated an appropriate amount of capital expenditure to push our plans forward and meet our business goals,” she added.
Yondu functions as Globe’s subsidiary involved in the development of wireless products and services, which is meant to enhance the telco’s enterprise business.
Along with Electronic Commerce Payments, Inc., Yondu contributed P577 million to Globe’s P72.4-billion service revenues in the first semester, up 234% from the same period last year. — Denise A. Valdez
