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Brother Philippines introduces Brobot, a cute and helpful customer service chatbot

With its mission of always making sure they’re at their customers’ side, Brother Philippines constantly develops new programs and methods to ensure top-quality customer service in all channels. It’s in light of this goal that Brother launches Brobot, a new customer service chatbot. It seeks to help customers inquiring about the brand’s products and services. The cute and helpful bot, accessible on the Brother Philippines website, has been steadily learning through constant interactions with customers—and continues to learn the more people interact with him every day. While he can already answer most queries, soon enough he’ll be able to respond to even more questions! “We always want to ensure that our customers will always get the help they need when it comes to Brother’s products and services,” said Brother Philippines President Glenn Hocson. “Having Brobot, who can answer questions all the time, anytime, is the best way we can attend to anyone looking for more information. We sugg

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Moving from resilience to renaissance –UnionBank President and CEO

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) held the seventh iteration of its E-Talk Tales webinar series last December 9, wherein UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista gave an overview of the Bank’s milestones in the past year and how it went from providing help for Filipinos to survive the pandemic to creating a better digital normal for everyone. UnionBank made headlines in May this year after being named ‘second most helpful bank in Asia-Pacific’ in the BankQuality Consumer Survey on Retail Banks that was conducted in April. This helpfulness was evident in UnionBank’s commitment to ensuring that its essential banking services remained accessible and reliable 24/7 during the enhanced community quarantine period, a time when uncertainties ran rampant and the needs of customers could change at any time. The Bank helped the government in the disbursement of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) cash assistance to 700,000 benef

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Prudence Foundation Launches Second Edition of SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards to Find Life-Saving Technologies for Disaster Resilienc

Winners will have access to financial support, coaching and networking opportunities to help scale their innovative technology solutions Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, together with Humanitarian Partner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Technology Partner Lenovo, today launches the second edition of the SAFE STEPS Disaster Tech (D-Tech) Awards1. The Awards find, fund and support technology solutions that save lives before, during or after natural disaster events. Since 2000, more than 40 per cent of global disaster events have taken place in the Asia Pacific region2, resulting in around 800,000 deaths and affecting 3.2 billion people3. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 11 million people4 and expected to result in over US$2.7 trillion in economic losses5, has magnified the importance of disaster preparedness and collaboration across all sectors in reducing the thr

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Hitachi Vantara Announces New Offerings to Support Data Infrastructure Needs of Midsized Enterprises

Company announces new all-flash storage solutions, new NAS product and expanded revenue opportunities for partners Hitachi Vantara, the digital infrastructure and solutions subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced the expansion of its E Series line of high performance NVMe all-flash arrays and additions to the HNAS family of NAS solutions. The company also unveiled new initiatives designed to enable channel partners to help midsized enterprise customers accelerate into a new era of digital business platforms and ecosystems. With data volumes growing nearly twice as fast as IT budgets (19% Y/Y vs. 10% Y/Y)1, a critical pain point is storing and making that data accessible for customers and their applications. With fewer IT staff and resources, midsize customers are eager for reliable solutions that can reduce their storage costs and drive efficiencies. Hitachi Vantara’s solutions address the most important needs of midmarket buyers, providing outstanding value and pric

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Fortinet Expands Network Security Expert Training Institute Offerings to Further Advance Security Skillsets

NSE Training Institute’s Certification Program Momentum Continues With More than Half a Million NSE Certifications Earned to Date Rob Rashotte, VP of Global Training and Technical Field Enablement at Fortinet “Organizations need to ensure their employees know how to identify and protect against all types of cybersecurity threats. From 2018 to 2020 the number of insider threats increased 47% according to a Ponemon Institute Report, making these threats a top concern. At the same time, IT professionals are constantly on the quest for continued learning opportunities to refresh their security skillsets. To address both these needs, Fortinet is rolling out a free Information Security Awareness and Training service for organizations, as well as additional continued learning incentives for IT and security professionals. These latest efforts build on Fortinet’s ongoing commitment to closing the cybersecurity skills gap and our Corporate Social Responsibility work.” News Summary Fortinet®

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MVP Bossing Bobby Claudio shares journey of Toby’s Sports amid pandemic

PLDT’s MVP Bossing Awards pays tribute to Filipino entrepreneurs’ resilience PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the country’s largest integrated telecommunications company PLDT, recently launched the MVP Bossing 2020 campaign with the theme “Rediscovery. Reinvention” to give recognition to and show appreciation for local business owners who are overcoming the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, instead of the usual awards night gathering, MVP Bossing now takes form as a digital campaign which intends to inspire businesses to bring fresh ideas to the table and impart the idea that the pandemic offers meaningful opportunities for change and innovation. One of these inspiring stories is that of Toby’s Sports, the Philippines’ largest store for sports and fitness, which managed to pull through by adapting and changing to the new normal. “I guess when we say new normal, there is nothing really normal with what we went through,” shared Roberto Claudio Sr., Chairman of

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Build a Home Business with the right digital and e-commerce solutions

Achieve your entrepreneurial success with PLDT Home Biz program Amid economic difficulties brought about by the pandemic-induced lockdowns, more Filipinos are now looking for ways to earn from home either through selling or re-selling anything from face masks to food packs and succulent plants or peddling their skills online such as graphic design or teaching a new language. The key to making this new breed of homepreneurs successful is connecting them to digital platforms so that they can reach their target customers and provide safe ways to transact business online. PLDT Home Biz, PLDT Home’s newest program for micro entrepreneurs operating at home, provides more than the fastest and reliable internet connection by equipping subscribers with the right partner e-commerce tools that are vital in the operating business in the new normal. “We have packaged our PLDT Home Biz KaAsenso plans with partner e-commerce solutions that provide a complete digital ecosystem for our subscribers

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The 4 steps of identity theft fueling massive COVID unemployment fraud

From data breaches to the dark web, fraudsters are exploiting unprecedented opportunities The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout has threatened the livelihoods of millions of people. However, it has been a windfall for criminals who take advantage of those who need help the most. Coming off historically low unemployment rates, unemployment insurance (UI) agencies found themselves understaffed and ill-prepared for the claims tsunami caused by the pandemic. Additionally, the CARES Act loosened controls in order to quickly get money out the door. While this was important for urgently getting assistance to those in need, it exposed agencies to fraud perpetrated by organized criminal networks at a scale never seen before, overwhelming fraud prevention efforts. How identity theft is fueling unemployment fraud One of the most common tactics of fraudsters is the use of stolen identity credentials such as names, Social Security numbers and addresses to file claims and open accounts on ano

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Mastercard partners with PayMongo to support SMEs’-going digital

PayMongo, a Manila-based fintech is set to be a Mastercard issuer and integrated into Mastercard’s global payment network. The partnership reinforces Mastercard’s commitment as a fintech accelerator. Mastercard has announced a five-year partnership agreement with PayMongo, a Manila-based fintech company founded in 2019, that allows businesses to quickly set up payment systems and accept multiple modes of payment such as cards, e-wallets and other alternative payment options. The strategic partnership with Mastercard will strengthen PayMongo’s business offerings by enabling the latter to be a Mastercard issuer to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also reinforces Mastercard’s commitment as a fintech accelerator. “Mastercard believes in the potential of collaborating with fintechs to enable new payment flows for businesses and consumers. PayMongo has demonstrated its commitment and capability to help build the financial infrastructure that would allow enterprises of all siz

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Eastern Communications wins Telco of the Year at Asia Leaders Awards 2020

Eastern Communications, one of the leading telecommunications providers in the country, was awarded Telco of the Year at the recently concluded Asia Leaders Awards in Makati Shangrila Hotel. The Telco of the Year seeks to identify and celebrate innovative telecommunication companies and their inspiring leaders who have excelled in the field of network technologies, operations, new implementations, innovative products, and services. The award also aims to recognize and showcase the best telecom products, apps, services, technologies, and initiatives in Asia. Asia Leaders Awards aims to promote the Philippines as a premier business hub and destination in Asia and acknowledge the leaders that do innovative works and help those in need. In recent months, Eastern Communications rolled out different initiatives to support Filipinos during the pandemic. This includes its holistic COVID-19 response entitled “Safe and Strong at Home” that mainly aims in helping front liners, employees, cli

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