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Microsoft Introduces New Microsoft 365 Personal and Family Subscriptions

Microsoft today announced the refresh of Office 365 to Microsoft 365, a subscription that will better help users build professional and creative skills, organize personal planning and business operations, and allow deeper, more convenient, and safer connections with family and loved ones.  An evolution of Office 365, Microsoft 365 builds on the foundation of Office 365, infusing new artificial intelligence (AI), rich content and templates, and cloud-powered experiences to empower people to become better writers, presenters, designers and finance managers, as well as deepen people connections. These experiences start rolling out today and will reach over 38 million Office 365 subscribers over the next few months. In addition, Microsoft today unveiled two new Microsoft 365 experiences that will be available for preview in the coming months. Firstly, a new Microsoft Family Safety app designed to keep families safe across the digital and physical worlds. Next, to provide one application

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UnionBank deploys Phl's first 5G 'Bank On Wheels' to help communities amid ECQ

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is deploying the country’s first-ever 5G mobile banking kiosk to different areas in the country to help make banking services more accessible to customers, amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) implemented in Luzon to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19.) Rolled out early this month, UnionBank’s “Bank on Wheels” is the Philippines’ first 5G-powered airconditioned banking kiosk in a mobile van that enables customers to conveniently and comfortably avail of banking services like balance inquiries, withdrawals, bills payments, funds transfer, and even account opening, without leaving their communities. With 5G technology, UnionBank can leverage on higher bandwidth and faster internet connection—20 times faster than other networks available—which means better and more reliable digital services for the bank’s clients. As of writing, the van is scheduled to go to the following areas in the next few days: Eastwood

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OFFICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE LEADS DISTRIBUTION OF BOTTLED WATER

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDDRMC) Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, activated the pre-agreement with United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) ARISE Philippines network and partner Nature Spring, with the 1st batch delivery of 43,000 SM Bottled Water to various frontliners in Metro Manila, dealing with the COVID-19 health emergency. ARISE is the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, the DRR network of private sector entities in the Philippines. SM Prime is the UNDRR ARISE secretariat, headed by Hans T. Sy, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and its lead partner is the National Resilience Council (NRC). ARISE network pre-agreements are signed MOUs between members of the public and private sectors for immediate assistance with goods and services during times of calamity or crisis.

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Microsoft celebrates the 3rd anniversary of Teams: The hub for teamwork and productivity

Microsoft marks the third anniversary of Teams this week – a platform that is continually shaping a new culture of work and collaboration worldwide. Thousands of organizations, large and small, have been using Teams as a hub for daily work, helping them to stay connected and engaged. Worldwide, 44 million people are using Teams on a daily basis*, including 93 of the Fortune 100. Industry leading organizations are rolling out Teams enterprise-wide -- in fact, 20 customers have more than 100,000 employees actively using Teams, including Ernst & Young, SAP, and Continental AG, as well as Accenture, which has 440,000 employees actively using Teams. “Since we launched Teams three years ago, it has evolved to become the hub for teamwork -- a place where you can meet, chat, call, and collaborate all in one place. We will continue to improve and expand experiences for all workers to be as productive and connected as possible. As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to push people everywhere into

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SM SUPERMALLS TO WAIVE TENANT RENTALS NATIONWIDE

The SM Supermalls announced today it will waive rentals to all tenants nationwide from March 16 to April 14, 2020. This is to offer tenants some relief during this trying time, so that they can in turn lend more assistance to their employees during the period of Community Quarantine. “We share our tenants partners’ concerns at the unfortunate situation and will waive rental charges for those affected and unable to operate during this period,” said SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan. This support forms part of SM’s commitment to fight the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, in addition to its recent announcement that it has allocated PhP100M to provide protective equipment and supplies towards hospitals for the safety of medical front liners, as they actively fight the spread of COVID-19.”  

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Epson honors 100 years of Philippine Cinema at Art Fair Philippines 2020

Marking 100 years of Philippine Cinema, Art Fair Philippines in partnership with Epson Philippines presented The Unconfined Cinema—Art Fair’s inaugural film section which showcased masterful local films as a collective representation of Philippine Cinema without boundaries. Curated by film critic Philbert Dy, film composer Erwin Romulo and film archivist and historian Teddy Co., The Unconfined Cinema utilized three Epson EB-L1505 high brightness laser projectors to screen various Filipino films from February 21-23 at The Link in Makati City. Showcasing the power of Epson’s 3LCD technology, the films were projected with uncompromised quality, delighting the audience with stunning images and vibrant colors which brought more life to some of the country’s best films. “The cinema experience wouldn’t have been complete without proper projection. The short throw distance gave us a lot of flexibility in designing our space, helping us truly become an unconfined cinema.” Philbert Dy, Curator

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Canon Philippines and Philippine Red Cross send aid to help Taal volcanic eruption evacuees

In line with its corporate philosophy of Kyosei, which enjoins all people to live and work together for the common good into the future, Canon’s four companies in the Philippines and its staff have pledged a total of PHP290,000 to the Philippine Red Cross. This donation is dedicated to Filipinos affected by the Taal volcanic eruption. “Canon Philippines has always been an advocate of spreading delight even beyond the industry and we want to take part in helping Taal volcanic eruption victims the best way we can,” says Kazuhiro Ozawa, President & CEO of Canon Philippines. “We hope that our donation will aid those that were greatly affected by the calamity.” he adds. Aside from the monetary donation by the companies, their employees also contributed to the cause. Canon Business Service Centre Philippines, Inc. staff sent relief goods, Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. staff shared preloved clothes, while staff of Canon Business Machines Philippines, Inc., located in Batangas, pooled

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UnionBank drives financial inclusion in PH, brings rural bank partners to cloud with Microsoft

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) partnered with Microsoft and Swiss software company Temenos to bring Filipino banking to the cloud platform Azure and expand opportunities for financial inclusion and innovation in the Philippines. Under the tripartite agreement, UnionBank’s fintech arm, UBX, now has the capability to enable rural banks, microfinance entities, and cooperatives in the Philippines with technology to power their financial operations quickly and bring financial services within the reach of more Filipinos. Over the recent years, the adoption of technology in the Financial Services Industry (FSI) has grown exponentially, with recent strides on various innovations such as blockchain, virtual currency, instant payments, and robotic process automation. In the Philippines, digital banking has also seen rapid growth, raising financial literacy among Filipinos. People who used to have no access to financial services can now enjoy a myriad of options through various cust

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Eastern Communications wins two Anvil Awards

Eastern Communications, one of the country’s leading telecommunications companies, took home two Silver Anvil Awards for its 140th Anniversary celebration and Link VIP Club program at the recently concluded 55th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal at the Manila Hotel. The first winning entry, Eastern @ 140: A Celebration of 140 Years of Strong Connections under PR Program Directed at Specific Stakeholder (Employee), was focused on Eastern’s year-long anniversary celebration for employees.  This campaign includes employee incentive and recognition programs, recreational activities, employee empowerment seminars and even CSR activities. The anniversary was an opportune time for Eastern Communications to strengthen employee engagement as the company recognized achievements and the employees who have made their successes possible. Eastern Communication’s Elevating the Customer Experience: The Eastern Communications Link VIP Club also won a Silver Anvil for the PR Program Directed at Specific S

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PH the next hotbed for tech innovation

The Philippines is all set to cement its role as the next hotbed for fintech and tech innovation with all the necessary ingredients to tech up already present in the Southeast Asian country. A solid financial and business ecosystem with projected 6.2% GDP growth in 2020; an innovation-ready regulatory environment; a large, young, and increasing population with an internet penetration rate of 63% — most of them through mobile devices — the Philippines is certainly ripe for fintech growth. “We strongly believe that this is a pivotal moment for us to become more relevant and competitive in the global marketplace. DTI has always been supportive of the growing fintech industry because of its massive potential for financial inclusivity for our people. With all the work and tech innovation building up in the country in recent years, we are ready to expand our horizons,” shared Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Dr. Rafaelita “Fita” Aldaba. She underscored the significanc

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