Pedro said IT professionals in the industry have been more than receptive of cost-cutting measures ASITEP is advising them, and have actually become more cost-conscious than ever before. "A lot of companies now are adopting server consolidation and virtualization strategies, and have welcomed open-source software such as Linux and OpenOffice as alternatives to expensive commercial software."

ASITEP, according to Pedro, is also partnering with vendors and suppliers to make sure their technologies are up-to-date and can deliver when necessary. "At the end of the day, our job is to keep the lights on, to keep the factory running, so we are doing our best to deliver in that area regardless of the unstable economic situation," he added.

SEIPI is composed of 239 member companies comprising foreign and local semiconductor and electronics firms based in the country. The organization said the industry contributes as much as a third of the growth in the global economy every year.