ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management software division of Zoho Corp., says businesses across Southeast Asia (SEA) are moving away from using separate IT tools in favor of a single platform that combines IT management, cybersecurity, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). This shift is helping organizations simplify operations, reduce costs, and gain better visibility across their IT environments.
“Previously, customers purchased standalone products to solve specific needs such as IT service management, cybersecurity, or monitoring,” Karthick Chandrasekar, associate director (Business) – APAC, Zoho Corp., told Back End News in an interview on the sidelines of the ManageEngine User Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He noted that organizations are now looking for complete platform solutions where everything integrates, automation is built in, and cybersecurity is part of the overall architecture.
He said the approach allows IT teams to manage their environments from a single platform instead of juggling multiple vendors and disconnected tools.
In the Philippines, however, cloud adoption remains uneven. Chandrasekar said banks, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), and government agencies continue to favor on-premises deployments because of data sovereignty, compliance, and security requirements.
“Most of the BFSI and public sector prefer on-premises solutions because of data security and compliance. They want to keep their data within the country,” he said.
Retail companies, on the other hand, are more open to hybrid environments that combine cloud and on-premises systems as they accelerate digital transformation. ManageEngine supports both deployment models, allowing customers to choose based on their business and regulatory requirements.
AI is also becoming a bigger part of IT operations, particularly for automating routine support work and improving network visibility. Chandrasekar said many organizations are using AI-powered chatbots and intelligent monitoring, but the region still faces a shortage of AI skills.
“The challenge we are seeing today is the skill gap. Organizations need more training so they can adopt and implement AI technology effectively within their IT environments,” he said.
To address this, ManageEngine has embedded AI into several of its products, including its help desk, network monitoring, and endpoint management solutions. The company’s AI assistant, Zia, is designed to automate Level 1 support requests while keeping customer data inside their own environments.
“Our LLMs are built only for ManageEngine tools. The data stays within the customer’s environment. It is not accessible by ManageEngine, and it is not used to train our models,” Chandrasekar said.
He also said that the rapid pace of digital adoption has also increased cyber risks. Organizations need stronger security tools, proper auditing, and employee training to protect against phishing, ransomware, and malware while rolling out AI.
ManageEngine sees opportunities in the Philippines as organizations consolidate multiple IT vendors into a single platform. Chandrasekar said the approach can reduce costs, simplify vendor management, and improve operational efficiency.