CBTL Holdings expands tech firm as demand for cloud-based solutions grows

New Leaf Ventures was originally meant to serve the cloud-based technology needs of its parent firm CBTL Holdings Inc., the holding firm behind coffee shop chain Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

But the technology firm decided to expand its services amid the growing interest from Southeast Asian companies to move from pen-and-paper to cloud-based solutions, its ranking executive said.

CBTL Holdings was its first client until it started to actively market its solutions for payrolls and data support services, New Leaf Ventures managing director David Bonifacio told GMA News Online in an interview last week.

"We invested in a technology that we would use, then we got involved in the space... Then we started to use it as a vehicle to increase our participation in this space," he said.

From 1,300 clients for its payrolls solutions in 2013, New Leaf expects to end 2014 with 12,000.

Currently, most small and medium enterprises still use pen and paper, or spreadsheets -- the industry's biggest competition -- in human resource management and accounting.

"When you use pen and paper or a spreadsheet, you are probably not as secure and are prone to input error," Bonifacio said.

In Southeast Asia, companies are getting interested in software as a service, the official said.

"In the Philippines, what makes it attractive is the efficiency and the data you get. The challenge is the people who need it the most are not equipped or inclined to embrace and maximize the software," Bonifacio noted.

However, the company official said they are seeing a lot of traction in retail, business process outsourcing (BPO), and other people-heavy enterprises for cloud-based solutions.

Its current clients include Miladay Fine Jewelry, Monster radio RX 93.1, Otter Box, Krispy Kreme, Candy Corner, California Pizza Kitchen, iHOP and Subway.

Apart from offering solutions, New Leaf Ventures is also investing with other tech companies locally and abroad, Bonifacio said.

Early this year, it partnered with Singaporean company Wavemaker, which invest in a broad range of technology-driven companies in the US and Southeast Asia.

"We go look for and vet for enterprises, and we provide the necessary services for it to flourish in the Philippines," he said.

For next year, New Leaf Ventures will expand its functional training offering to build up the use of cloud-based services, Bonifacio said.

"The focus now is to identify new opportunities to invest in, increase our client base, growing our training programs with technology," he noted. — JDS, GMA News