Talk

IDC sees rise in AI adoption among ASEAN countries

A recent survey conducted by leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC titled IDC Asia/Pacific Enterprise Cognitive/AI highlights that AI adoption in the region is on the rise. Current AI adoption rates stand at 14% across Southeast Asia as compared to just eight percent last year, marking a clear move by companies to embed some form of AI/cognitive intelligence into their operations. Discovery of better business insights has become the most important adoption driver according to more than half (52%) of respondents, moving from third most important in 2017, revealing a maturity in the way the region is harnessing AI to enhance their business. Other top drivers this year are enhanced process automation (51%) and improved productivity (42%). With 24.6% of organizations in Indonesia adopting AI, the country leads the pack in terms of adoption. It is important to note that bimodal distribution is observed in Indonesia. While the country has the highest adoption rates amongst ASEAN

READ MORE...

Work mingles with life at List Sotheby's The Office in BGC

Emerging from a former military base located in the heart of Metro Manila, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) today is a bustling hub of multinational corporations, luxury residential towers, and posh retail strips. These developments helped in appreciating the value of the entire property, which is now one of the most expensive in the Philippines. Adding to the wide portfolio of workspaces in BGC, List Sotheby's International Realty Philippines, one of the largest workspace solutions providers in the country and a subsidiary of the entity behind one of the oldest luxury auction houses in the world, recently introduced The Office. "The workspace industry is fast growing in the Philippines and with The Office in our portfolio, we are able to provide more and better options to our clientele. This allows us to provide our clients with cost-efficient solutions right in the heart of the growing financial capital of Metro Manila - BGC. With the cost of office space in the area continuously climbi

READ MORE...

EasyDebit successfully completes EMV migration

Irish International fintech company, Fexco has successfully completed migration to EMV - Europay, Mastercard, and Visa - processing in the Philippines for its EasyDebit microATM solution ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deadline. The transition to EMV processing comes amidst industry-wide challenges on the migration from the less secured Magstripe (magnetic stripe) technology to the global industry standard of EMV chip technology. EMV ensures the safer and more secure processing of card transactions reducing the prevalence of fraud for card present transactions. EasyDebit has been at the fore of this industry change as one of first platforms to provide full EMV transaction activation on all of its terminals providing safe and secure banking to Filipinos across the country. EasyDebit is a ‘plug and play’ solution requiring minimal installation for merchants who simply download the EasyDebit Mobile App. EasyDebit is available in over 450 locations across the Philippines throug

READ MORE...

Globe, Nexmo ally to bring new voice solutions to SEA

Globe Labs, the innovative developer community of Globe Telecom, in partnership with Nexmo (part of Vonage (NYSE:VG), a global business cloud communications leader, have teamed up to deliver powerful voice solutions to the Philippine market and the rest of Southeast Asia. These readily-available and highly-reliable voice solutions will enable businesses and enterprises to boost operational efficiency and customer support functions; increase their customer engagement and loyalty with automated, contextual and personalized messaging; and, ultimately deliver much better business results. Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform, connects with more than 1600 carriers worldwide. Nexmo is also integrated with Vonage's global network which terminates 15 billion minutes of global voice traffic and more than 5 billion API calls annually. The combination of a vast carrier network and powerful APIs provides a high quality programmable voice experience. “We’re excited to partner with Globe Labs to offer

READ MORE...

Kaspersky's game simulates cybersecurity scenarios

Kaspersky Lab conducted its first Kaspersky Interactive Protection Simulation Online training (KIPS Online) with the local technology media recently to highlight the importance of teamwork in corporate cybersecurity. KIPS Online is a valuable addition to the previously available and highly regarded KIPS Live offline cybersecurity training. Both KIPS Live and KIPS Online versions offer actionable security intelligence training for top-level business executives around the world. Not your average Monopoly-style game KIPS Online brings cybersecurity awareness and real, actionable insight where it is needed most: to top-level management of large corporations. Based on 20 years of Kaspersky Lab’s cybersecurity experience, Kaspersky Interactive Protection Simulation solves two essential senior management awareness challenges: the need to be prepared for swift, high-level reaction on cybersecurity incidents and a lack of time. Mutual effort brings down recovery costs According to Kaspersk

READ MORE...

Ecommerce spending in PH to reach >PhP 121B this year

Digital payment and Ipsos leader PayPal released the PayPal Cross-Border Consumer Research 2018 for Philippines. The report, which investigates the online shopping habits of approximately 34,000 consumers in 31 countries, including 1,006 participants in the Philippines, reveals a healthy e-marketplace with over half of Filipinos looking to increase their online spending in 2018. Coupled with the optimistic e-commerce outlook in the Asia Pacific region, the report presents new opportunities for Filipino merchants to expand their international sales. Online spending to rise In line with 55% of Filipinos expecting to increase their online spend, the total online spend of Filipino shoppers is predicted to increase by 32% from an estimated PhP 92.5 billion in 2017 to PhP 121.9 billion in 2018. Cross border, which refers to international trade, spend in the Philippines is also expected to grow by 47% in 2018 from an estimated PhP 41.5 billion spent in 2017. The key motivating factor for t

READ MORE...

British Council Learning Hub for IELTS launches in PH

The British Council, one of the co-owners of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), recently launched the Learning Hub, a new center for learning the English language and preparing for English tests, particularly IELTS. "The British Council Learning Hub is a creative and inclusive space for individuals to gain new knowledge and skills that help improve their performance in the IELTS test, in turn enabling them to reach their goals," said Nick Thomas, Director for British Council in the Philippines. "It makes use of the British Council's 75 years of experience in English language teaching and assessment to provide a world-class facility for improving one's English proficiency." The new Learning Hub is located at the British Council's new office on the 7th Floor of The Curve at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Among the Learning Hub's offerings include the following: IELTS One-day Preparation Workshop - it familiarizes takers with the test IELTS Exceed Writing

READ MORE...

CIBI spearheads 1st Philippine Credit Forum

CIBI Information Inc. marked a new milestone as it spearheaded the first-ever Philippine Credit Forum at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taguig City. Riding on the theme Be Ahead of the Curve, the forum successfully gathered industry partners and representatives from various sectors, discussing relevant information about benchmarking and credit information. The first of its kind in the country, the forum put spotlight on financial benchmarking as an effective tool in assessing a firm's financial performance compared to its competitors. An embedded feature in financial institutions, it can be used in mitigating risk and fraud scenarios, and making sound decisions. "One of the key functions of this service is providing relevant information that gives users an insightful look into their specific industry," says Jim de Castro, VP for Credit Information, CIBI. "CIBI prepares this report through accurate financial data and other key statistics to ensure that the client will have the most complete

READ MORE...

LBC, Asia CEO spearhead 1st Asia ECOMM Summit

Industry experts recently gathered under one roof at the first Asia ECOMM Summit which was held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. Embarking on the the theme "At First, Disruption Looks Like a Toy", the forum spearheaded by LBC Business Solutions, in partnership with Asia CEO Events focused on disruptive innovations and trends that come with the birth of e-commerce. "The E-Commerce Forum is the most convenient platform to bring to light the breakthroughs and challenges that beset e-commerce, and find means to resolve its glitches that stunt the fast-paced growth of their businesses," says Asia CEO President Rebecca Bustamante. Helping more Filipinos be included in the financial ecosystem, e-commerce addresses the needs of those, particularly the ones living in the countryside, to send and receive money, and settle transactions online, activities that were previously possible only through a bank or a credit card account. With a wide variety of products, prices, and shippin

READ MORE...

PSBank empowers customers with array of digital services

Amid the growing customer preference for mobile and online transactions, PSBank is stepping up its banking innovations on the digital front, comprising of its wide array of products and services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “PSBank has been steadily creating a digital ecosystem for our banking services with the aim of making things simple for our customers and enhancing their banking experience with us,” said PSBank Senior Vice President Noel Tuazon, Head of Marketing Group. Metrobank Group's leading thrift bank pioneered Cardless Withdrawal which allows cash withdrawal from any PSBank automated teller machine (ATM) without using an ATM card. Launched in October 2017, the service has been gaining traction in terms of customer usage. According to PSBank, average daily transaction jumped 23% at the end of the first quarter versus its equivalent at the end of last year. Cardless Withdrawal is easy to use. Clients must simply log on to their PSBank account on the Interne

READ MORE...