Any doubt that the Philippines is destined to become the new global data center powerhouse was put to bed in April 2025. That month, VITRO, the nation’s largest data center network, opened VITRO Santa Rosa (VITRO Sta. Rosa), the first-ever hyperscale data center capable of handling AI workloads.
“The inauguration of VITRO Sta. Rosa signals the country’s readiness to attract the world’s largest technology companies and showcase our regional competitiveness in the digital space,” Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr said during the opening. “More than that, this technological development is an investment in the future of every Filipino.”
National implications aside, the opening is a true milestone for VITRO Sta. Rosa’s owner. The data center subsidiary of ePLDT, an industry-leading digital transformation partner for enterprises in the Philippines, VITRO has elevated into a class of its own.
Boosting capacity
VITRO Sta. Rosa is a fulfillment of PLDT Group Chairman Manuel V Pangilinan’s vision of building world-class data centers that benefit the digital life of every Filipino.
“What we launched in Santa Rosa was more than a data center – it was a declaration of intent,” says President and CEO of ePLDT and VITRO, Victor Genuino. “This is about enabling the AI-powered future, and making sure the Philippines is ready to lead it.”
A longtime veteran of the Filipino power and telco sectors, Genuino has held such a reality as his ultimate aspiration throughout his tenure as President and CEO.
“We’re excited to put the Philippines on the map.”
In the burgeoning tech corridor of Laguna, VITRO Sta. Rosa became the realization of that dream when it became operational in July 2024. The 50-megawatt facility, which houses telecom providers, global cloud technology companies and other enterprises, sets a new benchmark for digital infrastructure in the Philippines.
In a first for the nation, VITRO Sta. Rosa hosts ePLDT’s NVIDIA-powered GPU-as-a-Service, which will enable businesses to access powerful AI tools without heavy upfront investment.
For banking, healthcare, fintech and other sectors, this on-demand feature is an attractive prospect, allowing the building of scalable AI applications in a more cost-effective and secure way.
“The launch of VITRO Sta. Rosa has elevated the country’s ability to host the growing AI workloads in the region,” Genuino says. “And for the foreseeable future, our goal is to build ahead of demand.”
A growing footprint
VITRO Sta. Rosa joins 10 other VITRO data centers across the nation, with one more on the way. As befits a company so focused on innovation, its next data center is set to be its biggest yet.
“We can’t share too many details yet, but we have a location,” he says. “We know it has to be bigger than Santa Rosa, and we’re very excited about the prospect.”

Advertisement
When it arrives, it will join a 100-megawatt portfolio that doubles as a promise of continuous expansion in an industry on the cusp of a new day.
“We are in a sunrise industry,” Genuino says. “And one that’s in a constant state of change because of all the technological innovations happening within. It’s been a very exciting journey.”
Training and partnerships
As the industry rises to meet the day, so does the talent pool it can draw upon. For its part, VITRO has launched VITRO Academy, a micro-credential program that partners with local universities to meet the increasing demands of the Philippines data center sector with home-grown graduates.
“At the inception of every project, we understand we need the right ecosystem of people to cover all aspects, from designing to building to operating,” Genuino says.
“With VITRO Academy, we usher in a new wave of capabilities that can serve the agile innovation and change to come.”
“Our goal is to build ahead of demand.”
So far, VITRO has partnered with five colleges and universities in the Philippines in pursuit of tomorrow’s professionals.
“We’ve trained 400 students across the country, with 263 already earning their level one certification. Of those, 60 have advanced to level two and 40 have successfully earned their level three certification,” Genuino says.
“This is just the beginning – VITRO plans to expand its reach to train and certify even more students, helping hone the future leaders of the data center industry.”
VITRO’s hope is that once these trainees graduate, they’ll be among the best and brightest in the business.
“We’re doing our part to ensure that capability-wise, we’re ready to take on more work here in the Philippines,” Genuino says.

Advertisement
That’s not the only partnership VITRO has undertaken. Pioneering security solution provider Electronic Security System Corporation, leading systems integrator eBiZolution and infrastructure technology provider Touchcore Solutions, which supplies a cutting-edge range of products to data centers and manufacturing facilities, are all working with VITRO to realize a new generation of data centers.
“I think it’s very clear that for the industry to grow, produce new products and services and accommodate the quick nature of innovation, the partnership ecosystem needs to work hand in hand,” Genuino says.
“We worked with a whole range of partners when working on VITRO Sta. Rosa, and we continue to work with a broad range of suppliers to ensure we’re putting the right design thinking into our infrastructure.”
Customers first
But the most important voice in the conversation, Genuino says, is that of the customer. It’s a philosophy that stems from his personal leadership values.
“I pride myself on having an open-door policy. I’m the first to admit I don’t have a monopoly on ideas, so I take feedback from people within the organization very seriously.”
Likewise, VITRO takes feedback from its customers and uses the learnings to better its offerings.
“We are passionately driven by customer experience, and it’s through our conversations with various customers that we understand their requirements,” he says.
“We are passionately driven by customer experience.”
Many of VITRO Sta. Rosa’s innovations came from listening to the wants and needs of VITRO’s clientele.
“We built a facility that would solve their pain points, and we were successful,” Genuino says.
So successful, in fact, that many global companies previously hesitant to relocate major workloads to the Philippines are taking a second look at the nation.
“VITRO Sta. Rosa has made a convincing case that we have the infrastructure – and the leadership – to deliver.”

Advertisement
Until VITRO Santa Rosa, the biggest Filipino data center could accommodate roughly 10 megawatts. Now, Genuino says VITRO has made the Philippines the destination for data center capability worldwide.
“We broke ground, built a world-class data center and we’re proud to do it again. We’re excited to put the Philippines on the map,” he says.
“Hyperscalers and the biggest enterprises would say they wanted to shift workloads, but no data center could accommodate the size of infrastructure they needed. Now we tell them, ‘Look no further.’”