Data science and consumer awareness used to safeguard digital transactions

The digitization of money, widespread access to the Internet, and mass-adoption of smartphones are positive headwinds in the Philippines' journey towards a digital economy. While the potential is undeniable, there is also concern that cyberattackers are shifting their focus to Asia-Pacific.[1]

Cybercriminals are growing in sophistication, and they are constantly finding new ways to victimize consumers and breach enterprises. This calls for a re-evaluation of safeguards against cyber threats.

“For consumers, there is really no subsitute to awareness,” said Nagesh Devata, General Manager of Southeast Asia Cross Border Markets for PayPal. “For enterprises, we need to move from reactive to predictive models in risk management.”

PayPal, the global leader in digital payments, outlined five consumer tips to secure online payments: (1) protect your personal information; (2) choose a strong password that combines alphanumeric characters; (3) share personal information only through authentic online banking features (4); opt for a 2-factor authentication, where a user is granted access only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism; and (5) ensure that authentic apps are downloaded for payment. 

According to PayPal consumer research, 43 percent of consumers in Asia-Pacific identify security as the primary motivation when choosing a payment method while 38 percent choose convenience.[2]

With over 286 million active accounts made up of consumers and merchants. PayPal has a foothold on both equations of the purchasing process. “This puts us in a unique position to find insights [for consumers and merchants] in the entire process. Cybersecurity is a team sport, and everyone has a part to play.” described Devata.

Using data to mitigate risk

PayPal anchors its risk management on data science as it bridges technology and business. Through its two sidednetwork, it is able to study both sides of the transaction while providing buyer protection, data encryption, and a seamless experience for its customers.

For PayPal, data not only enables better customer experiences, but also enables it to take on more risk. “At the heart of everything we do with data, we do for our customers and to help our customers connect better,” said Devata. 

“There is a strong network effect in the digital payments business. And we want to enable the good guys while keeping the bad guys out. This allows us to provide security and value to both merchants and consumers,” added Devata.

Story-based analytics for risk assessment

Matching users poses a series of analytical and technical challenges, PayPal uses advanced machine learning combined with proprietary story-based analytics to drive better risk decisions. “We run multiple models and rules before making decisions on transactions—all within milliseconds,” Devata added.

PayPal leverages the network effect for risk management by evaluating all the accountsit recognizes for its customers when making real-time assessments. According to Devata, the task is to identify accounts with suspicious fraudulent behaviors, and that requires a lot of science and analytics.

“There is a human story behind every transaction, and we combine data analytics and human oversight to find this story and try to protect our customers,” said Devata.

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[1]Banks step up battle vs cybercrime

[2]On behalf of PayPal, Ipsos interviewed approximately 34,000 consumers from 31 markets to examine how people shop online and across borders. Research in the Philippines was carried out with 1,006 respondents between 16 to 27 April 2018. Data was weighted to adjust for panel bias based on external trend data on incidence of online shoppers in the country

Reimagine yourself with the Modern PC

Today’s modern professionals are more dynamic in how they work, diverse in their tasks, and mobile in their activity. Their lifestyles demand tech that not only fits, but also elevates their day to day activities. 

Enter the Modern PC -- thinner, lighter, faster, and able to perform even the most demanding tasks. From form to function and all the innovations in between, Modern PCs are packed with the power to meet the dynamic needs of today’s tech savvy users.

Reimagine the way you work
The advent of technology has radically changed the way people work. Gone are the days when professionals were limited to working on their computers in the office. The varied demands of real life call for flexibility -- the flexibility to work when you need to, not when your computer says you can.

Today’s new crop of Modern PCs are thinner and lighter than ever, so you can bring it wherever life takes you. Be ready to hammer out that presentation for tomorrow’s surprise meeting whether you’re in a cafe or in the airport or even at the beach. What’s more, revamped batteries capable of running all-day means you can keep working and not have to worry about looking for an outlet.

Creative professionals can also take advantage of the versatility of today’s modern PC. Its structure means you can use it in four different ways depending on your needs - from conventional laptop to tablet. Touchscreen operation, which allows you to interact without restriction, make desktop software like Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign more intuitive and easier to use so you can take your creativity to the next level.

Reimagine the way you play
What’s life without entertainment? It’s becoming more and more commonplace to use devices not just for work, but for play as well. With the all new Modern PCs, users can enjoy the very best of everything as they straddle the line between productivity and entertainment.

Imagine streaming high resolution media and incredible audio, while at the same time having access to a host of apps to enjoy. With vivid displays, powerful processors and lightning-quick loading speeds, you can enjoy the content you love without delay or distraction.

From gaming to surfing the net, the Modern PC is a very capable machine. Immerse yourself in high frame rate gaming, or surf, shop, and connect across multiple tabs and programs with ease.

Reimagine the way you move
Modern professionals are a nomadic and mobile bunch. Just go into any coffee shop and see how many people are working on their laptops. Today’s modern lifestyle demands mobility without sacrificing power and capability.

With thinner and lighter Modern PCs, you can do whatever you need to do, wherever you need to do it. It’s designed to fit seamlessly into your lifestyle whether you’re an entrepreneur, freelance designer, or a working professional. It enables you to realize your potential day in and day out. With extremely long battery life, you can work or play all day and leave the charger behind.

Be more productive and more mobile than ever before.

Learn more about Modern PCs at https://www.reimagineyourself.co/en-ph/.

AMD Returns Competition to the Datacenter

Three weeks ago, AMD along with its global ecosystem of server customers and partners,launched the groundbreaking EPYC 7000 series of high-performance processors to once again deliver AMD innovation to the datacenter. Here is the official launch press release.

Tomorrow we expect the competition to make its own news and you may be following it, too. We will send a prepared statement at the conclusion of the event, but wanted to make sure you have access to the full story on EPYC now. As a quick reminder, you can keep up with all things EPYC here.

Here are links to the white papers and Datacenter Tech Day presentations with all technical specs plus pricing details, as well as launch executive presentations from Lisa Su, president and CEO, AMD, and Forrest Norrod, SVP and GM of Enterprise, Embedded & Semi-Custom Products (EESC), AMD.

Individual links to performance briefs, white papers, presentations and videos are included further below. We want to specifically draw your attention to EPYC performance – record setting two-socket and one-socket performance on SPEC CPU benchmarks and exceptional results on the STREAM benchmark, as well as architecture advantages – AMD fellows provide an in-depth look at the EPYC architecture within the Datacenter Tech Day presentations.

Finally, we ask that you keep the following points in mind as you consider the evolving landscape for datacenter processors:

• Purpose-built for the modern datacenter, EPYC is intelligently packaged to yield 8, 16, 24 or 32 core designs, all with the same industry leading memory channel and I/O lane counts, in a single SoC.
• AMD has a rich history in servers and first delivered many of the innovations you see in the datacenter today, including 64-bit CPUs, multi-core processors, integrated memory controllers and virtualization.
• The ecosystem stands behind our product: HPE, Dell, Asus, Gigabyte, Inventec, Lenovo, Sugon, Supermicro, Tyan, and Wistron announced EPYC products. Primary hypervisor and server operating system providers Microsoft, Red Hat, and VMware showcased optimized support for EPYC at launch, and key server hardware ecosystem partners Mellanox, Samsung Electronics, and Xilinx were also on hand.
• The EPYC 7000 series completely disrupts the existing dynamic of the one-socket and two-socket servers and is specifically designed as a balanced architecture, perfect for scale-out cloud computing, storage, data analytics and the enterprise.

Oracle's 5 Key Reasons Why Organizations Need to Adopt IoT

Along with digital transformation, companies in today's business landscape face the challenges of fulfilling customer orders in any given place and time while lowering their logistics costs at the same time. 

Today, market leaders across industries also recognize the short comings of relying on rigid, legacy applications for logistics.  However, to catch up with the fast-moving eCommerce landscape, the birth of logistics and supply chain transformations become possible today as a result of disruptive technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT).

Sharing with you Oracle's 5 Key Reasons Why Organizations Need to Adopt IoT into their SCM Strategy.

Changing the way we view real estate

Everyday, we see or hear how technology is revolutionizing various industries. From AI, machine-learning, to blockchain, digital technologies are changing the world as we know it. And Microsoft is making sure its partners are equipped to drive innovation in this age of digital transformation.

Microsoft sees its partner’s success as its own and is squarely focused on delivering a true, two-way partnership with its partner network. It continues to build on a foundation of trust, collaboration, and growth to help its partner companies deliver cutting-edge technology to millions of customers. It’s through this ecosystem that Microsoft helps its partners innovate, grow, and differentiate their businesses across all industries…including real estate.

Real estate in the Philippines, like in the rest of the world, is a valuable commodity. In 2015, final results of the 2015 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) showed that a total of 4,826 establishments in the formal sector of the economy were engaged in real estate activities. That same year, real estate also contributed the major share in income and expense as the sector generated a total income of PHP534.5 billion.

But the real estate industry has, for the most part, remained static throughout the years. Traditional practices are still commonplace, especially in the Philippines. This means that there is a significant opportunity for real estate brokers to innovate and reach a bigger share of the market.

Virtual and augmented reality

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are often viewed as technology of the future. But the reality is it’s already being used today. Mostly popularly utilized in gaming, virtual reality has a slew of other uses, some of which have truly transformed their respective industries.

From academic research to engineering, design, business, the arts and entertainment, there are many more uses of VR. But no matter how you look at it, VR produces a set of data which is then used to develop new models, training methods, communication and interaction. In many ways the possibilities are endless.

In the real estate market, VR is becoming more popular among consumers and businesses as well. 3D cameras have educated the marketplace, creating an impact. Forward-thinking realtors are already moving beyond photos -- and even 360-degree video -- and offering clients 3D virtual property “tours” right on their devices. There are different levels of 3D aggregators on the market, but they are still in the early days for real estate.

Democratizing immersive virtual tours

VR/AR has revolutionized the way real estate businesses generate revenue. There are now a number of firms providing VR technology for virtual home viewings, staging and other uses. When real estate agents are looking for an edge in marketing their listings, they turn to 3D virtual tours. Nothing grabs attention quite like 3D, as 3D virtual tours get clicked on more often, get more phone inquiries, and generate more email inquiries versus those without.

Today, when a real estate agent wants to create a virtual tour of a home, he or she has to use special capture equipment. 3D cameras are expensive, complex, and are very time-consuming to operate. This led Simon Gemayel, CEO and Founder of HomeSpace360, to utilize smartphone technology to create, share, and display 360 content in 2D and 3D, at a fraction of the cost.

“Technology is the great equalizer. And we want to enable all realtors by democratizing immersive virtual tours through user-friendly technology. With HomeSpace360, we use smartphone technology to bring high quality 3D virtual tours within reach of every marketer,” said Gemayel.

HomeSpace360

HomeSpace360 offers brokers an all-in-one mobile app for creating high-quality 8K 2D and 3D photographic and video VR experiences directly on a smartphone. Together with the HomeSpace360 Cloud, the end-to-end automated system offers property marketers a solution for quickly and inexpensively capturing, distributing, and visualizing properties in 2D and 3D on web, mobile and in VR. It is a low-cost alternative to a 3D camera for providing immersive virtual tours.

The first of its kind, HomeSpace360 is a platform that allows real estate marketers to deliver gorgeous, immersive 360-degree virtual tours to prospective buyers and renters at scale, using both smartphones and virtual reality headsets. High quality 3D virtual tours used to be locked behind expensive, complex, and cumbersome equipment…until HomeSpace360.

How does it work? HomeSpace360 is very intuitive and easy to use, not to mention fast. A kit provides realtors everything they need to create and share high quality 360 virtual tours immediately. A HomeSpace360 kit includes: a (1) Mobile VR viewer, (2) battery-free smartphone rotator, (3) lightweight tripod with carrying bag, and an (4) HD fisheye lens for 3D capture.

Built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, HomeSpace360 is redefining how people view and acquire properties in today’s digital age. “With our technology, marketers can easily transport their clients to 10, 20, even 30 properties in an hour,” added Gemayel.

Through its robust partner ecosystem, Microsoft gives its partners access to the latest technology and guidance on how to extend that technology to build tailor-made solutions. “It’s exciting to see partners like HomeSpace360 create democratizing solutions to today’s problems with Microsoft technology. Microsoft Partners such as HomeSpace360 are at the center of our digital transformation as they continue to enable our customers to achieve more,” said Eileen Ong, Microsoft Director of Commercial Partners & Small Medium Corporate Business Units.

Valueline Systems and Solutions Corporation achieves Advanced AWS Partner Network Status

Valueline Systems and Solutions Corporation, one of the pioneer cloud computing service providers in the Philippines, is pleased to announce its membership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Partner Network (APN) as an Advanced Technology Partner.

The APN is the global partner program for AWS, focused on helping APN Partners build successful AWS-based businesses or solutions by providing business, technical, marketing, and go-to-market support. Valueline is proud to be part of the APN Partner Network.

AWS is the cloud computing services provider with more than 90 different services provided to individual, private sector, education, and government users. The company offers services including compute, storage, networking, database, analytics, mobile, developer tools, management tools and enterprise applications.

Cloud computing has since become a global trend among companies of all sizes across various industries and has gained much ground in the Philippines. By using a variety of cloud solutions, customers can benefit from cost savings without making tremendously large investments in terms of hardware. Through cloud, they can simply manage the right type and size of computing resources they actually need, whether for a new project or when operating their own IT departments. Users can easily access as many resources as possible in an instant by using the cloud, and they would only have to pay for the resources they actually used.

Valueline Systems and Solutions Corporation is one of the early adopters when it comes to offering cloud solutions and services in the country, moving from selling hardware and peripherals to offering a broad spectrum of solutions. Through cloud computing, Valueline was able to help many businesses transform their IT practices for the past years, with one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Asia and a prominent state university in the Philippines among its most valued clients.

                                

Valueline, through its subsidiary VBusiness Software and Solutions, Inc., established its very own cloud server called “Kube Cloud Solution,” proudly developed locally through VBusiness’ talented team of developers powered by AWS. Kube Cloud Solution provides seamless access to servers, databases, storage, application and even data centers over the Internet. This virtual computing environment can quickly scale the capacity the client needs, making the system up and running in as fast as only a few minutes.

The solution also allows clients to pay only for the actual computing resources that they will consume instead of investing heavily on expensive data centers and servers. Kube Cloud Solution is highly available, is already compliant with several global security standards and internationally recognized data privacy protocols and more importantly, it is fast and reliable with 99.99% guaranteed level of availability under the Service Level Agreement, and backed up with ample local support.

VBusiness also offers a host of other solutions that include VBroadCast Cloud, EXSA Cloud CRM, CARE Information System and Web and Email hosting.

“At Valueline, we take information security very seriously by developing our own comprehensive set of practices, technologies and policies to help ensure that client’s data is highly secured. We can offer better level of security features for client’s systems compared to what they have in place right now through mechanisms and other processes that will make sure the data is protected any time, all the time,” declares Jun Santos, President of Valueline Systems and Solutions Corporation.

He said Valueline’s security practices are grouped in four (4) different areas such as Physical Security, Network Security, People Processes and Redundancy and Business Continuity.

“We make sure that our solutions are built using high-quality standards in order to help clients meet their growing needs with regard to information technology, and at the same time help them reduce cost yet increase their revenue.  I hope that with our proven track record in the successful delivery of solutions to our clients from various industries and even in government using industry best practices, we will be able to help other potential clients start their journey in going into cloud solutions through Valueline,” adds Santos.

Valueline Systems and Solutions Corporation is headquartered at the 2^nd Floor of J&L Building, 23 Matalino Street, Brgy. Central District, Diliman, Quezon City. You can call (+632) 925-2938 or (+632)925-7623, (+632)925-2174 (fax), or visit www.valueline.com.ph.