realme Philippines bags an Asia-Pacific Stevie Award
Lifestyle partner of the youth realme Philippines was named a bronze Stevie® Awardee in the Most Innovative Startup of the Year – Consumer Product Industries category at the 2020 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. It is the only smartphone brand from the Philippines to win in the prestigious award-giving body this year.
Despite being in the market for just less than two years, realme Philippines has already cemented its place among the top smartphone brands in the country — a feat the brand achieved by launching attainable products with high-tier features and by providing technology that complement the lifestyle of its young market. The first international award of realme Philippines follows close to the heels of the launch of its latest smart wearable realme watch and flagship star-shooter realme X3 SuperZoom.
“We are just in awe of the trust and support we have been getting since we launched in the Philippines in November 2018. Being a young brand, not just in this country but across the globe, was indeed challenging since the smartphone market is already brimming with competitors. But we knew we have the technology, the features and the real value that can elevate the Filipino smartphone experience; thus here we are, dedicated and inspired to offer more. We are truly grateful to the realme Squad and all our customers. Maraming Salamat po,” shares Austine Huang, vice president for marketing of realme Philippines.
The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs such as The International Business Awards® for 18 years.
More than 1,000 nominations from organizations across the Asia-Pacific region were considered this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others.
Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 100 executives around the world acting as judges in May and June.
“We are delighted that the seventh edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards attracted so many impressive nominations,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. “This year’s winning nominations are testament to the resiliency and innovation of organizations in the region, many of which continue to succeed despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we are disappointed that we cannot stage the in-person awards banquet we had planned for Hanoi, Vietnam this year, we look forward to celebrating many of this year’s winners during our virtual awards ceremony on 22 September.”
Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the 22 September awards ceremony, and the list of Stevie Award winners, are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.
PSBank made QR feature available in its Mobile app for
safer banking in the new normal
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), the consumer banking arm of the Metrobank Group, made QR facility available in its Mobile App with the aim to provide another safe and secure way to bank amid the current health crisis situation.
With this new digital service, customers no longer need to leave the comforts of their homes nor worry about their health and safety when managing their finances.
The PSBank QR likewise reduces errors or risks as it eliminates the need to provide and enter long, confusing account information. Through a few simple taps on their PSBank Mobile App, clients may scan or upload QR codes to send funds to PSBank and other QRPh participating bank accounts. Customers may also generate their own QR code and send to persons for them to receive funds or payments more conveniently. Moreover, one does not need to generate, request for nor send another QR code as it can be saved in one’s mobile phone for future requests or fund transfer transactions.
Utilizing the benefit of QR technology and mobile apps, the new PSBank QR feature simplifies and secures person-to-person (P2P) payments or fund transfers to allow individuals to move their money with ease and flexibility as they adapt to the new normal.
The PSBank Mobile App QR facility is in support of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ National QR Code Standard (QRPh) initiative for safe, convenient, and seamless P2P payments and fund transfers.
For more information on the PSBank Mobile App QR facility, visit the website www.psbank.com.ph, call PSBank 24/7 Customer Experience Hotline at (632) 8845-8888 or LiveChat with us at www.psbank.com.ph.
Sky Fiber boosts most affordable plan to 10MBps
SKY Fiber has enhanced its most affordable plan by increasing the offered speed from 5Mbps to 10Mbps for the same monthly fee of P999, which offers the most value for money in the fiber broadband market.
Current SKY Fiber 5Mbps plan subscribers will be pleased to know that they will experience this speed upgrade beginning this 2nd half of July until August of this year without paying for additional fees. Meanwhile, those who are searching for unlimited fiber broadband connection no longer have to worry about high-end pricing and increased bill payments.
“In these times of economic uncertainty, we understand that people are more budget-conscious but at the same time still want to hustle at home as they engage in work or educational activities. Through the recent upgrade of our most affordable plan, we want our new and existing subscribers to stay productive and informed at home as they maximize unlimited broadband connection that perfectly fits in their budget,” Alan Supnet, SKY’s head for Consumer Broadband Products said.
Intelligent infrastructure management solution launched in Asia
Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, today announced the launch of the Liebert RDU501 infrastructure gateway appliance, an intelligent infrastructure management solution that allows data center administrators to monitor environmental conditions and data center infrastructure. The solution is available throughout Asia now.
Designed for computer rooms and small to mid-size data centers, the RDU501 is an upgrade to the existing RDU-A G2 appliance. It integrates easily within a data center rack, enabling users to easily monitor the performance of all IT assets, including thermal management units, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generator sets, providing added intelligence and ease of management.
The new device not only offers more device connections than its RDU-A G2 predecessor, but also comes with IT management functions such as out-of-band serial console access as well as IT server startup and shutdown.
It is equipped with a built-in web server, automated IT server shutdown and out-of-band management to offer the customer compete control over the data center infrastructure. For infrastructure monitoring, the RDU501 collects data from environmental sensors via Modbus 485, SNMP, dry contacts and analog signals.
IT managers are able to connect up to 40 IT servers via IPMI v2.0 and allows the following operations through a secure web page to be able to monitor the health and status of the equipment, access server service processor, out-of-band monitoring and Serial Console management and monitor the improved communication speed in transmitting control or commands to the equipment and parameter setting.
Online programs, recovery tools for pandemic-affected enterprises highlighted during MSME Week
In celebration of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Week, enterprise leaders and key representatives from the government, the humanitarian sector, and the business sector gathered for the 2020 National MSME Resilience e-Forum: Business Continuity Towards the “New Normal” which was held from July 14 to 16. The event sought to highlight pandemic-related best practices and strategies for MSMEs and launch the latest e-learning tools and recovery programs for MSMEs.
“Addressing the ongoing pandemic requires actions that transcend our traditional notion of data processing, communication, and capacity-building. This health crisis is reigniting the spirit of Bayanihan between the public and private sectors in helping our MSMEs bounce back through the development of responsive policies, recovery programs, and inclusive financing mechanisms,” said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
Tackling data and communication and their role in building resilient MSMEs, the role of capacity building in ensuring pandemic productivity, and how policy and finance can support resilience initiatives, the 3-day online event also aimed to initiate fruitful partnerships among MSME owners and enablers and provide a platform for sharing best practices and resilience strategies contributing to building the resilience of the country’s business sector amid the current disaster risk reduction and management landscape.
“MSMEs are the beating heart of our economy. We need to get them back on their feet so they can help millions of Filipinos to send their children to school and lift their families out of poverty,” said PDRF President Butch Meily.
During the e-forum, PDRF also launched the MSME Guide to Disaster Resilience, an all-in-one disaster preparedness and business continuity guidebook for enterprise owners; the SIKAP (Synergizing Recovery Initiatives, Knowledge, and Adaptation Practices for MSMEs) online recovery hub; and Dimatinag: The Entrepreneur’s Unbreakable Spirit, a comic book which tells the story of resilience of a Pinay negosyo owner.
“Access to timely and accurate information is more critical during the pandemic. And this is what the MSME Resilience Core Group, where PCCI is a member, has been doing since the start of the community quarantine. Individually, or as a group, we have been providing information to our constituents to enable them to manage the risks that the pandemic has brought to their business. We will continue to provide the support needed by the enterprises in their journey towards recovery,” said PCCI President Ambassador Benedicto V. Yujuico.
Recovery programs and tools for MSMEs were also featured, including RCBC’s financial inclusion mobile banking app DiskarTech, Small Business Corporation’s COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) Program, and Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s SURE Aid Program for MSEs, Farmers, and Fisherfolk.
Present in support of the forum were Office of Civil Defense Administrator and NDRRMC Executive Director Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, DOST-PHIVOLCS Undersecretary Renato Solidum, Jr., Employers Confederation of the Philippines Chairman Edgardo Lacson, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center Country Program Manager Edwin Salonga, and Philippine Exporters Confederation President Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr.
The 2020 National MSME Resilience e-Forum was organized by the MSME Resilience Core Group composed of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Office of Civil Defense, PDRF, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management-Philippines, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. Its project “Strengthening MSME Disaster Resilience in the Philippines” is supported by the Philippine Preparedness Partnership, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
