PanPages Group has more than 300 employees spread over seven countries who have built and now manage databases containing the details of nine million different SMEs in ASEAN.
The Challenge
The group had been outsourcing the management of its IT infrastructure, but found that the service being provided was unable to cope with their growth and changing needs. In the process of finding a new technology partner, PanPages also recognised that the traditional directory business was be-ing disrupted. Instead of using internet search engines to find localised service providers, people were increasingly seeking recommendations from those they know via channels such as business community sites, social media and chat apps. As a result, PanPages found itself needing new ways to deliver and monetise the data they had spent years assembling.
To achieve this solution, the group needed a proven technology partner to assist it in the creation of a new ASEAN business site, one focused on providing data insights into the wider business com-munity. Its key challenges were understanding the complex and dynamic business requirements of major search engine clients, what products would best serve the needs of its massive user base, and accessing the possibilities offered by the rapidly changing technological environment.
The Datacom Difference
Datacom was selected because of the broad range of capability in the organisation and our ability to deliver, allowing new technologies such as Azure Platform-as-a-Service to be trialled with support from experienced software engineers and platform architects.
The Results
After our initial meeting in April 2016 this the first outcome was the migration in September of PanPages’ data to a more agile and solid plat-form that would enable the group to leverage the latest technology and tap into the millions of SME businesses it had reached out to across South-east Asia.
With the project ongoing Datacom is currently reconfiguring a storage platform that will enable the creation of packaged and marketable data-based products.
“Datacom’s technical team is very attentive to the unforeseen issues that arise occasionally. Team members are able to resolve such issues in a very organised manner and the presentation of their technical solution is very well documented. Datacom has experience in delivering similar data-related solutions, which gives us the confidence in having them as a long-term partner. We can definitely leverage its abilities to help drive our technological expansion.’’
Fong Wai Leong, CEO, PanPages Group