Philippine enterprise leaders are being urged to view technology as a key driver of business growth, efficiency and competitiveness amid the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, according to a top official of VST ECS Phils., Inc., who noted that the technology is making groundbreaking impacts across various sectors.
“Technology is no longer a department. It is no longer something handed to IT (information technology) and checked on at the end of a quarter,” Jimmy D. Go, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of VST ECS Phils., Inc., said in his virtual keynote speech on the second day of the VST ECS CXO Tech Summit 2026 on Wednesday.
“Technology is the core driver of margin, efficiency, and scale,” he added. “The CXOs (C-suite executives) who win are those who stop viewing tech as an operational support mechanism and start viewing it as their primary weapon.”
After two years of AI demonstration and pilot projects, leading enterprises are now integrating the technology into production to augment customer service, credit scoring, demand forecasting, document processing and software development, he said.
Mr. Go said 2026 is the year enterprises move beyond experimenting with AI and focus on generating tangible business results, citing reports from Deloitte and Citi.
A report from Citi found that 60% of companies that had reached the production or scaling stages of AI adoption reported more than 15% in value creation through productivity gains, cost efficiencies or revenue growth.
Mr. Go cited AI’s growing role in healthcare, logistics, finance and manufacturing, where it is accelerating drug discovery, optimizing supply chains, improving fraud detection and streamlining production processes.
He also noted its use in credit scoring to expand access to loans, automating routine customer service interactions in the business process outsourcing industry, and assisting doctors in diagnosis and clinical decision-making.
In software development, AI-powered tools are making coding faster and more efficient, while AI applications in education are helping improve operational efficiency and student outcomes.
With AI disrupting various sectors and technology advancing rapidly, Mr. Go warned that businesses that fail to adopt the technology risk falling behind their competitors.
“In a fast-moving market, waiting for technology to become 100% stable before adopting it is a death sentence,” he said. “By the time it is stable, your competitors have already optimized it, scaled it, and captured the market.”
However, Mr. Go acknowledged that infrastructure bottlenecks, talent shortages and organizational skepticism remain challenges to AI adoption among local businesses.
He said only 2% of firms have scaled AI beyond pilot projects, while rural areas continue to face connectivity constraints.
VST ECS Philippines, one of the country’s leading ICT distributors, is helping address these gaps by connecting local enterprises with global technology providers and making advanced technology solutions more accessible, Mr. Go said.
Mr. Go said the Philippines can position itself as a leader in the global AI-driven economy through strategic investments, supportive policies and international partnerships that accelerate digital transformation
The company also works with resellers, systems integrators and enterprise clients to support digital transformation across industries.
Founded in 1998, VST ECS Phils., Inc. distributes products from more than 100 global technology brands across various fields, including infrastructure, cybersecurity and cloud, software and consumer devices.
As part of its efforts to help enterprises adopt technology and innovation, the company is holding the VST ECS CXO Tech Summit in Boracay, which is now in its ninth year.
The four-day summit brings together technology leaders and executives to discuss how businesses can integrate AI into their respective industries. — Edg Adrian A. Eva