TCS & NOW Corp: Philippines Data Cloud & Inclusion

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday said it has partnered with NOW Corporation's telecom arm to boost digital infrastructure and enable financial inclusivity in the Philippines.

Now Telecom is a public sector telecommunications company in the Philippines offering services across mobile networks and fixed wireless.

"Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has partnered with NOW Corporation's telecom arm – Now Telecom, a public sector telecommunications company, to bolster national digital sovereignty, enable financial inclusivity, and build a clean network for the Philippines," according to a release.

With this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place, the release said, TCS will support the company with capabilities to expand trusted networks, provide sovereign cloud technology and a cyber-defence suite, alongside creating citizen-centric services in areas such as healthcare and digital banking, promoting financial inclusivity.

"...TCS will help in strengthening the national digital infrastructure of the Philippines and establishing new avenues for economic growth and citizen empowerment," the release added.

Both TCS and NOW Telecom are members of the Trusted Network Alliance under the Trusted Network Initiative (TNI), a global initiative to promote the development and deployment of secure and reliable telecom networks.

"With this partnership, TCS is reaffirming its commitment to advancing cyber-digital cooperation across the Indo-Pacific in adherence to the framework laid down by the TNI," it said.

TCS will deliver services to enhance technology initiatives for data sovereignty (safeguarding national data from external threats) and operational interoperability (enabling cross-agency collaboration during complex scenarios). Other outcomes of the partnership would be building robust infrastructure against evolving cyber threats and ensuring sovereign control over critical systems during a crisis.

"The NOW Group warmly welcomes the partnership with TCS in building the sovereign data cloud infrastructure for both the public and private sectors in the Indo-Pacific region," Mel Velarde, Chairman of NOW Group, said.

"NOW's and TCS' expertise and innovative services will contribute to our nation's data sovereignty by defending against risks and threats while creating a scalable, secure, and robust data infrastructure," Velarde noted.

NOW Corp and TCS will collaborate to co-design, develop, and deploy a scalable and secure digital infrastructure that is aligned with the country's Department of Information and Communications Technology and clean network principles.

"By leveraging our expertise and innovative services, we aim to support the Philippines in building a resilient and secure digital ecosystem. We look forward to contributing to the country's digital transformation journey," Shiju Varghese, Country Head, TCS Philippines, said.

TCS' 'SovereignSecure Cloud' will be deployed to develop a cloud infrastructure that will ensure local data control, AI infrastructure development, and enable operational continuity and local capability-building.

As part of protecting the country's networks against cyber threats, TCS will help in developing advanced security protocols to protect critical infrastructure and leverage the TCS 'Cyber Defense Suite' offering cyber intelligence, resilience, vendor risk management, and identity security.