A lot of businesses these days tend to rely heavily on the income generated by apps. This is why there are a lot of games and even other types of smartphone apps that have in-app purchases. Gone are the days when people actually had to pay for a specific app. These days, it's all about buying add-ons to the free app or buying additional “boosters” when it comes to games. Behind all that however is the worry that people may find some problems in the app including their purchases not appearing on their account or the actual application showing all sorts of bugs. 

To paint a clear portrait on this, lets say your company is the owner of a big game app. The app can be downloaded on any smartphone and is free to play with in-game purchases available. A customer buys one in-game product and it fails to materialize on his or her account. He or she now contacts the support team to see where the error or the problem happened and more importantly, get the resolution they need. The app team gets contacted and they note what happens. Most likely after getting all the details, it gets sent back to you, the owners of the app, for further fixing or meeting out the proper resolution. 

The great thing about this is that app developers have it easy these days because there are a lot of app support services available now. A few years ago, this wasn’t the case for app developers and app making companies. The development team would have to find time to work together with the support team to fix problems that users encounter when using the app. And there’s no way out of that too because the app is a paid application so they are pretty much bound to work on getting customer satisfaction. This whole model stretches everybody out and stretches them thin. 

As mentioned earlier, these days, it's fairly easy to outsource the tough job of doing support for a specific app. There are a lot of companies both locally and abroad who can help businesses out with regards to apps. There are a number of things that needs to be considered though. There’s the idea of the budget that needs to be set for the actual company who will be doing the support, there’s the format of which customer questions can be answered, there’s a system of communication that needs to be implemented between the app support company and the actual app maker. 

Most of these can be sorted out easily too. Managers and owners just need to sit down and spend some time discussing these factors and a few more. They really should also a lot some meetings with the company and themselves to be able to draw a clear picture of what needs to be done and how it should be done according to the whims and standards of the company.

While it seems like IT careers locally have plateaued over the years, that’s really an understatement and false. Now more than ever, the IT industry is stronger than ever. If you want heavy proof of that, you don’t have to look further as a quick visit to any job portals or job search website will show you that there is still a lot of IT job openings in the Philippines. The game may have changed or evolved over the years but its really much alive and kicking. 

So what’s in it for young bloods wanting to jump into IT careers in the Philippines? Are there also any new careers waiting for people who have long past graduated from college and find themselves working for a career that’s not showing any signs of personal growth? You bet your bottom dollar that there are a lot of opportunities that await people of all ages and from different backgrounds. 

For fresh graduates, there’s a big mountain to overcome to really be able to succeed in life. That’s not just limited to the IT industry too. Other fields will have the same challenges and difficulties for new hires with zero to little experience. In the IT industry, there are roughly around three different categories now when you look up IT jobs on the web. There are IT jobs specifically built around hardware, there’s one for software and there’s another one for networking and infrastructure. 

IT jobs related to hardware will mostly deal with physically fixing equipment and other materials that are constantly used in the office. This will test newcomers and even experienced employees with regards to their problem solving skills and interpersonal reactions. Hardware IT experts get the easiest way into the corporate world too because every company will require a handful of these men and women to help out technical issues. Even companies like Globe have hardware IT in their offices to help out employees from other departments in getting their laptops fixed or checked. 

The software industry is a tad more difficult to come by but the pay is usually good. In this industry, the main focus is in helping develop a new software or anything in between. The tricky thing for applicants who want to start their IT careers with IT software is that they need to know which ones they will benefit the most. Because software can be long and difficult to develop, there will be times when the term “overtime” is forgotten. So applicants need to do their research or even ask around before signing the dotted line or even hitting the “apply” button. 

The most difficult of all the IT jobs that are currently available online are those that fall under the system networking line. This is the combination of both hardware and software knowledge. You can sum it up as being the “hard” mode when playing video games. Don’t worry though as careers that fall under this branch can welcome both fresh graduates and individuals with previous work experience. Although the ones with experience will find the work better than the fresh graduates.

Admit it. There will be a time in your campaign or project when you find yourself stumped. Nobody in the team can come up with a solution and even the people you bank on for a solution are also caught with nothing. It’s not going to lessen the respect levels of your company to be in this situations. Even writers get writer’s block from time to time. The important thing here is what you want to do afterwards with this situation.

Most companies would spend some time thinking about the problem. They stress about it and apply pressure on all the members of the team. There are other team leader or managers and companies who take a different route. They actually go out and have fun with the team. Positive reinforcement can go a long way and this route usually proves to be more successful. There’s actually a good number of “eureka” moments that have been developed while on a team dinner or a team outing. 

But what if you and your team find yourselves in a situation where you’re pressed for time and you need expert advice? Maybe its time to look for x as a service or somebody who knows details about a subject and have them join the team for the duration of the project.

There are a few benefits of doing this, I.e. getting an expert as a service. Read below at some of these benefits.

They have fresh eyes 

One of the things that people involved in a project often fail to see is that they are overlooking one important detail. Its a detail that could very well make things easier or finish the project in record time. Because the team members are so used to looking at the materials, they lose sight of what needs to be done. Bringing in an expert lets the project be seen from an outsider’s perspective. This may be the thing that needs to be done, a final look from an outsider that could finish the project.

They Bring Additional Knowledge

In college or in school, there will be a time where you are working in a project and the teacher adds somebody new to your group and they have insane knowledge about the project and you either finish on time or get high marks post-submission. This could be the same situation you and your team find yourselves in with the inclusion of an outside expert. The only difference is you’re not in school anymore and the expert is going to be paid by the company that “manages” him or her.

They Can Offer Alternative Ways

In coding and in other arms of IT where coding is involved, it’s not always about the one with the most meticulous codes. Somethings it’s all about how tight or short a code is. Sure there will be some major tests required but if a code does all that it is required to do and more, it’s usually the one that needs to be added or makes it into the final cut.

Did you know that those small inconveniences employees and managers experience with their computers and laptops can make for a huge deficit in productivity and office efficiency. Sure there are some companies that are more results-oriented compared to others but the problem is still there. This is the reason why managed desktop solutions have been invented and created. 

A managed desktop services company is basically an outsourced service that companies take advantage of to ensure that their computers and software are running in precise condition. It’s like renting or paying an IT staff to work on your computers in the office without having to pay for benefits and health care. But wait, if that sounds mean, don’t think of it as such because all those benefits including healthcare are taken care of these employee’s parent companies. 

So in a nutshell, you hire a company to work on your computer problems and then pay them for a specific amount. They in turn will take care of their employees. That’s pretty much how managed desktop services works be it in the Philippines or even in countries like the United States and other European countries. 

Now the bigger question to as is what makes a good service provider? Here are some tips that you may want to consider if you are still shopping around for the right company to do business with.

1. Charge you with the right amount - if you have done several meetings with different service providers then you are on the right track. Doing meetings and comparing prices and services can make a big difference. Think of it this way, what if you dealt with a company that charges double and have limited services and your employees encounter a hacking problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible. Everybody will be twiddling their thumbs hoping for a solution which your service provider cannot provide. That there is a nightmare scenario that you can avoid. Or if that’s too drastic how about getting an overpriced company and when disaster strikes, nobody can reach their IT team to work on it? What happens then?
2. Open Communication - Another thing that people could go for when it comes to hiring a service provider to manage desktop applications and services is the level of communication. You won’t see it early on but if you pay close attention, you would be able to determine your satisfaction levels for the service that is provided. If they don’t respond within a specific time frame, then it would mean that you need to cancel the contract or call the business off and start looking for another company. Remember, if they don’t respect your time and cannot cover the problem in time then getting their services would be moot.

Overall, you need to consider managed desktop companies in the Philippines like you would do other services or companies. Take the time to check and ask them the important questions.

If your business wants to expand or hit a new target demographic, the number one way to get in touch is through sms blasting services. Each company that operates locally have their own strengths and have their own specialty. Like there would be one company that offers great returns with the basic bulk sms messaging while there are other companies and service providers who excel in delivering results using text poll service. The trick, really, is to find which one excells in which area and utilizing them for your business’ advantage.

For this article, lets take a look at text poll services, what made them click before, what’s the biggest challenge and how it can be taken to the next level especially when the users are coming from a new generation. 

First off, the whole sms based voting system has been around since the time text messaging had been around. We’ve seen it grow and evolve through the years and even through the decades. It was also a big help that texting services operated in this country, which was once referred to as the “Texting Capital of the World”, 

The biggest challenge that this type of sms service being offered by various providers is the fact that messenger apps have popped up recently. Whether its Whatsapp or Viber or even Facebook’s very own Facebook messenger app, it’s become quite a breeze reaching out to audiences and even friends. Texting can be costly with the going rate before being a peso per text message, you can see why people aren’t keen on doing sms anymore. They would rather spend their hard-earned cash buying up load to use for mobile internet which will then be used to communicate with friends and relatives through the apps. So who would actually still need to spend money on texts?

But where is texting or sms messaging going in 2019 and beyond? There are alot of places that it could still be used for. First and foremost, its still a very alive means of communication. While the kids may prefer another medium to communicate with each other, it doesn’t mean that they don’t do texting anymore. They get messages from a lot of people at any given day; from their parents, peers, service provider and the ever reliable spammers. Parents also have the same amount of people who would text them including their kids, colleagues in the office and more. 

Just to add more credibility, there’s a big number of adults who do not have access to good internet or do not own a smartphone that would be able to use app-based messengers. These men and women do however own a mobile phone that would still be able to send out and receive SMS messages. And the fun thing is, they don’t really have any interest in going beyond what they have. For them, as long as they would be able to call in and send out messages, that’s good enough for them.

Every employed individual has had a memorable experience at one point or another with regards to how they got their first job. For Filipino employees, most would say that their first foray into the corporate world was joining a BPO or a contact center. Others would want to dive directly into a place they are more familiar with or where their passions really lie. It also ties up neatly with getting the job related to their college course. 

Whether people want to admit it or not, there are a lot of IT jobs opportunities for fresh graduates in the Philippines. They just need to look deeper or find the right places where to actually look for work. And take note, with the current today, IT jobs aren’t just strictly for IT course graduates. Even college graduates who took different course can find entry-level work in the IT industry. Who knows, that entry level career may become that graduate’s actual career for his or her entire life. They could even get promotion from time to time if they play their cards right.

Here are example of IT jobs in Manila, Philippines that are more geared towards IT graduates with a short description of what they do in those particular job openings.

Systems Admin - Basically in charge of the network for an office or a company. 

Programmers - programmers are responsible for developing the design and function of a software or a website. 

Mobile App Developers - these are the men and women in-charge of creating an app for smartphone or tablet use. They create the app from the ground up and working together to make everything work. So when you click a certain button on the app, you will open the right page or see the appropriate response by the program. That’s their basic function.

And here are some examples of IT jobs that are very welcoming of non-IT graduates. 

Graphic Designers - check any and all job opening sites and you will see that there is a continuous need for graphic designers. These designers are responsible for creating the necessary imagery or art for a specific software, website or even app. Graphic designers can also hired based on their skill when it comes to looking at other art works.

Community Managers - the digital age has developed new jobs for a lot of people and that includes community managers for social media spaces and pages. A community manager is tasked with looking after a specific social media page either to currate content and comments. They are, however, usually hired to look out for queries on the page and give the necessary responses.

Social Media Specialist - here’s another work that’s currently highly in-demand in the country. There are a lot of companies that want to hire a social media specialists to help boost their social media’s rankings and brand awareness. These specialists are also tasked with the responsibility of dealing or developing content that can be used and shared for both target and non-target audience.

One of the toughest challenges that a BPO or any outsourcing company faces on a regular basis is IT staffing. We are not in anyway saying that other careers and other jobs within the BPO industry is easier compared to things related to IT though. Remember, each job will have its own specialty, own skill and own challenges. That means that you need people with experience or are considered professionals for a specific task.

You just don’t send a surgeon to fix your pipes. You obviously can’t call in an electrician to do a double bypass heart surgery neither. You need people who knows what they are looking, know how to deal with the problem and people who know what they can actually do to either solve the problem or avoid it entirely. 

When it comes to IT though, that’s where everything goes hairy. Its easy to think that from an outsider perspective that IT deals with mostly wires and cables and being in front of the computer most of the time. But that’s far from the truth. Ask anybody working with the IT staffing services industry and you will find out that there’s a multitude of things they need to consider before they hire a person or recommend a person to their clients. For one they need to look at the applicant’s work experience. And that’s crucial too for the BPO companies because they pay handsomely for employees working for them. So they will definitely look for the applicants or individuals who have had a good run. 

There’s also the educational background. This comes in handy or as an additional booster in cases where the applicant has little to no work experience. School or academic experience can help jobhunters and staffing services to determine whether the applicant has had experience. For example, an IT staffing firm gets a request from their clients to look for an applicant who either has experience with system networking or is an expert in the same field. The problem is, all the applications that got turned in either come from new job applicants or fresh graduates. There are a few who have had one or two IT-related jobs that doesn’t really relate with the job posting. The recruiter will then follow protocol and start looking at the academic backgrounds of would-be applicants. The recruiter can then check whether or not this would be a good fit for them or not. 

This is also the main reason why BPOs still love to work with and get the services of IT staffing service providers. Because it frees up their hands from looking into each and every resume that lands on their laps and let them focus on the more important aspect of running the place and overseeing all the small details. They let the recruiters do their job and trust them to send over really good picks to work not just as a member of the IT department but even work as an executive or some higher up within the company.