TAIPEI, Taiwan — Philippine organizations are increasingly preparing for larger data workloads, artificial intelligence deployments and stricter data sovereignty requirements, creating new opportunities for enterprise storage providers, according to a Synology executive interviewed during Computex 2026.
The comments were made by Claire Huang, Synology country manager for the Philippines, during an exclusive interview with The Manila Times on June 3 at Computex 2026, one of the world’s largest annual technology trade shows held annually in Taipei.
Known primarily for its network-attached storage (NAS) products, Taiwan-based Synology is expanding its focus toward enterprise infrastructure, data protection and AI-ready storage systems while maintaining its long-standing presence among small and medium-sized enterprises, content creators and home users.
Huang said the company’s strategy reflects changing customer requirements as organizations generate larger volumes of data and begin exploring AI applications.
“Since we already have a foundation, a good foundation in the small and medium enterprise, we’re trying to venture into new spaces to of course expand the market,” Huang said. “The small and medium enterprise still are very important sector of our clients, but we are trying to also enter the enterprise market through our enterprise workloads.”
Beyond storage
While Synology is often associated with storage hardware, Huang said the company’s competitive advantage has increasingly come from software and integrated services.
“What we do is, the product is called the network-attached storage, NAS,” she said. “But it’s not just storage. We don’t just provide the hardware where you can store your data, but we also provide solutions such as data management, data protection, productivity, and also video surveillance.”
She added that the company’s reputation was built over more than two decades of software development and customer support.
“The main differentiating factor for Synology really is not the hardware,” Huang said. “The value-add that we have is really the software inside, the applications, the things that you can do with the NAS that is not just somewhere you dump your things inside.”
That approach helped the company build a strong following among photographers, media professionals, small businesses and IT departments, particularly in markets such as the Philippines where reliable and affordable data storage remains essential.
Preparing for AI
A major theme at Computex 2026 was the growing need for infrastructure capable of supporting AI workloads. Synology used the event to showcase new enterprise products, including its PAS7700 storage platform and AI-related management tools.
Huang believes AI will become an important driver of future infrastructure spending, although adoption remains at an early stage.
“AI is still in a very nascent stage right now in the Philippines,” she said. “Actually not just in the Philippines, globally, there are only maybe a few countries that have more adoption of AI.”
According to Huang, organizations first need to address data quality and management challenges before AI projects can deliver meaningful results.
“With AI you need large datasets and these datasets need to be clean,” she said. “I think these are the first few roadblocks that need to be cleared before people actually use AI.”
Even so, Synology is positioning its enterprise portfolio to support customers when AI adoption accelerates.
“We want to make sure that you do have the tools at hand once you decide to jump into the AI applications,” Huang said.
Data sovereignty gains importance
Huang also pointed to growing concerns over data sovereignty, cybersecurity and operational resilience as factors driving demand for on-premise infrastructure.
“If we talk about data sovereignty, that’s definitely on-premise is the way to go,” she said. “All of your data is solely stored in your own hands, and you have the full control, you have the full sovereignty of your data.”
The issue has become increasingly relevant as governments and regulated industries seek greater control over sensitive information and critical systems.
Huang said government agencies and manufacturers are among the sectors showing the strongest demand for locally managed infrastructure.
“Government and manufacturing are contributing more to our portfolio,” she said.
She noted that manufacturers often prioritize reliability and security because operational disruptions or data leaks can have significant business consequences.
PH market continues to grow
Despite economic uncertainties, Huang said the Philippine market remains one of Synology’s growth areas.
“The Philippine market is definitely still a growing market,” she said. “It has been growing in the past few years, and it’s still continuing to grow.”
Many users initially purchase NAS systems primarily for storage, but Huang said customers are increasingly adopting backup, surveillance and data protection functions.
“I am seeing a more positive trend in terms of utilizing more of our software, not just for storage,” she said.
As Philippine organizations continue digitalization efforts and explore AI-driven operations, Huang expects demand for secure and scalable data infrastructure to expand beyond traditional storage requirements, making data management, protection and sovereignty increasingly important considerations for both public and private sector institutions.
