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PLDT Enterprise, DTI to enable MSMEs restart with 3-month FREE business bundle

PLDT Enterprise, the Business-to-Business (b2b) arm of the country’s leading ICT and digital services provider, introduces a solutions bundle designed to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) get their businesses back on track. Recognizing that businesses have differentiated digital priorities, PLDT Enterprise designed the said package with flexibility to allow MSMEs to build upon their requirements by offering reliable business and connectivity solutions and selecting add-on services best suited to shift their operations to digital—all with first three months of use for free. The bundles are founded on connectivity solutions that feature PLDT Enterprise’s newest fiber broadband service BEYOND FIBER and wireless broadband Smart BizLTE 1899. “We at PLDT Enterprise have always aimed to make a positive impact on every single business. With our current situation posing much financial pressure on MSMEs, we have endeavored to design a customizable solution that goes beyond basic

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Mastercard partners with tonik, Philippines' first digital-only neobank, to accelerate financial inclusion

Mastercard today announced a new partnership agreement with tonik, a two-year-old startup that recently received a bank license in the Philippines. Through this partnership, Mastercard will further enhance tonik’s market proposition by enabling the latter to issue a range of electronic payments products that tap into Mastercard’s global network and extensive business intelligence when tonik launches operationally later this year. Internet penetration in the Philippines is at 67 percent, and one-third of the population is millennials—many of whom are digital natives. However, according to the 2017 Financial Inclusion Survey by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), over 70 percent of the country’s population is unbanked. At the same time, 60 percent of Filipinos who are either in the formal banking system or can become part of the system, are willing to use offerings that are digitally focused. Achieving financial inclusion by leveraging financial technology has been top on the agenda for

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Converge ICT commissions high capacity backbone in the Philippines to improve internet connectivity

Converge ICT, the country’s fastest-growing local fiber internet provider, has commissioned an innovative and flexible high capacity backbone to give Filipino consumers and enterprises their most powerful connection yet. The new 400G metro backbone utilizes industry-leading optical solutions from a United States-based networking systems, services, and software company, paving the way to support current and future requirements from a range of applications. As demand for bandwidth increases, the 400G optical solution allows Converge ICT to be flexible and efficiently improve the capacity of its nationwide backbone to deliver a more seamless user experience. Leveraging ASON technology, the network is capable of automatically routing traffic to multiple available paths during fiber breaks, a feature that traditional DWDM technology cannot provide as it’s limited to switching of traffic from the main path to only one protection path. This deployment gives Converge ICT a programmable, dynam

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Demystifying 5 Myths About Collaborative Robots

Collaborative Robots or “cobots” are more than just a cool innovation we all are excited to discover and utilize. It is in fact widely used in manufacturing companies around the world, wherein automation has increased productivity dramatically while realizing immense growth and sustainability. This has led to having cobots being hailed as one of the fastest-growing products in automation, as independent research forecasts sales growth to jump sixfold by 2030. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, that push towards automation has never been so emphasized and necessary.  In a purely manual labor-dependent manufacturing setup, the disastrous effects were seen as factories shut because workers were not allowed to report for duty and operate equipment in person. With the collaborative nature of the cobots, it is certainly possible to have manufacturing operations run smoothly even with less human intervention, while still realizing productivity gains and business continuity. Yet, despi

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Enabling business continuity through Teleperformance digital solutions

With Covid-19 disrupting business operations around the world, and people everywhere practicing social distancing, companies have been forced to reconsider how work gets done. Many businesses have opted to continue their operations through work-at-home arrangements. Yet these companies continue to face the challenge of providing an excellent customer experience to their clients while having to deal with the reality of limited resources while working at home. As companies adjust to the new reality, digital interactions are alternatives that can provide a human connection when customers need it the most. Teleperformance, a global leader in digital business solutions, is already helping companies overcome the operational difficulties posed by Covid-19 through a variety of services that blend high-tech platforms with more personalized high-touch support. To effectively manage call volume spikes and optimize live customer service agent performance, Teleperformance recommends blending on-s

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Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise collaboration platform – Rainbow – takes on a new dimension

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, the global leader in business communications and collaboration solutions, has upgraded its cloud-based video and communications platform Rainbow to take the user experience to a new level and facilitate advanced interactions between larger groups of participants. Over the past months, the global Rainbow platform has seen dramatic growth in usage as companies and organizations worldwide have adopted the solution to maintain business continuity while ensuring secured remote working for their employees during the crisis. The enhancement of the platform will further improve the collaboration experience for Rainbow users while supporting safe working practices and teamwork during social distancing. The evolution of the user experience centers around four keys areas: ergonomics, videoconferencing, audio-conferencing, and time management. “Each evolution of the platform ensures that Rainbow continues to be the easy-to-use, flexible and multi-device solution for sec

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EON lits LIGHT Microfinance, Inc. towards digital transformation Taps EON for faster disbursement of loans

Lead with Integrity and Good Governance in Helping Communities for Holistic Transformation (LIGHT) Microfinance, Inc. has announced the partnership with Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), through EON, to quickly get much-needed loans in the hands of its customers – mostly micro-entrepreneurs persevering to grow their businesses.  Instead of getting checks, LIGHT’s almost 150,000 Partner-Clients will be given an EON account through which the loan will be credited.  Partner-Clients can use the EON VISA card linked to the account to withdraw from the ATM or pay for purchases at merchant establishments.  What’s more, customers can access EON’s award-winning app for more banking services like fund transfers, bill payments, and purchase of prepaid credits. “Like LIGHT, UnionBank is driven to elevate the lives and fulfill the dreams of its Partner-Clients.  We are delighted that LIGHT was able to address its operational challenges by leveraging on the EON platform, enabling it to se

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Fujitsu Sets Out the 'Fujitsu Technology and Service Vision 2020'

Fujitsu recently released its Fujitsu Technology and Service Vision 2020, which sets out how stakeholders can drive success in digital transformation during these uncertain times. The current COVID-19 outbreak has an unprecedented impact on people’s lives, economies, and societies, all while the world experience other challenges, from climate change to rapid urbanization and an aging population. There have also been new risks brought by digital, including the spread of false information and the infringement of privacy.  For Fujitsu, digital technology has the power to, significantly, change the way people live and work. As such, it must be used to solve these challenges. “Fujitsu believes that the value of digital transformation lies in the idea that technology can help solve the challenges we face and change the world together. Digital transformation will enable the necessary shift of existing businesses, leading to the realignment of business goals with that of society,” said Fuji

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Caring for customer service agents amidst the pandemic

“Working during the pandemic is so risky.  But it’s worse if we just stay at home and there’s no food to eat.  My house is so far from my work.  There’s no jeep so I have to walk.  Thankfully, during the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), the company offered to house us so we can still work and have a salary.  And the company provided us allowances and hazard pay and free meals.  I am content but worried,” narrated Fatima Perido, an employee of a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) unit in Cebu City who works as a Globe customer service representative. Fatima, like many call center agents, continues to brave the threat of the virus in order to survive and feed her family.  But despite her difficult circumstances, other call center agents have it worse.  The challenges that COVID-19 brought has prompted some of Globe’s BPO partners to close or limit their operations, drastically cutting down to less than 40% the manpower supporting Globe’s customer operations for both its hotline and

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Former HSBC Head of Mortgages Backs Philippines’ First Mortgage Broker, Nook

Former HSBC Head of Mortgages, Steve Martinelli, has backed fintech, Nook, the Philippines’ first mortgage broking firm. He joins other top banking executives along with Australian entrepreneur, Chris Elder, as the group capitalizes on the growing yet underserved markets of South East Asia. As an emerging market, the Philippines has one of the highest GDP growth rates in the region and strong residential real estate loans growth which makes it the ideal location for the firm to expand from. The fintech has already tapped some of the biggest banks in the country for its lending panel as it moves fast to capture market share and change the way the country applies for home loans.  According to a survey done by New Perspective Media Group in 2019, property assets remain the top investment choice for most Filipinos who are still considering property as an investment in the country, specifically in locations such as Metro Manila, and outer areas such as Cavite and Laguna. Commenting on th

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