Biz Buzz: Boracay: Star for all seasons

Tourists are now longing for the pristine white beaches of Boracay all year long. According to AirAsia Philippines communications head Steve Dailisan, the favorite island destination is no longer just a summer getaway spot.

“There is no season required for visiting Boracay. We have seen families and groups of friends visit the island even during Christmas and New Year’s Eve,” he said.

Dailisan said that Boracay had also become a go-to place for digital nomads, who basically can work anywhere as long as they have an internet connection.

In January to August, the budget carrier flew 1.1 million passengers to Boracay. This figure is already nearing the 2023 full-year volume of 1.3 million.

With the upcoming -ber months, more passengers will certainly book their flights to Boracay.

“Vacation, staycation, or workation, AirAsia Philippines will continue to support our guests’ travel needs by providing the most competitive airfare to Boracay,” Dailisan said. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Converge expanding data hub capacity

Converge ICT Solutions has started building two new data centers in Metro Manila and Pampanga in response to the growing demand for facilities housing critical IT servers. These hubs, which are set to open next year, will have a combined capacity of 1,500 racks.

“This future-proofing investment is in anticipation of the massive demand in the coming years for more data-intensive applications in gaming, financial technology, OTT (over-the-top), public services and more,” said Converge CEO and cofounder Dennis Anthony Uy.

Earlier this year, the internet service provider teamed up with American tech giant Super Micro Computer Inc. for the construction of its data centers.

Converge will be installing Supermicro’s liquid cooling solution in its servers to reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent. This will not only result in less environmental impact but will also cut operational expenses.

“[We] are investing in the best possible network architecture and that’s why we’ve been partnering with world-class technology partners—to supply the best equipment and solutions to our data centers,” Uy added. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

EastWest rides digital wave

Digitalization is a never-ending wave, and the country’s banks are keen on riding it.

This time, EastWest Bank met the tide. The Gotianun-led bank on Wednesday officially launched its new EasyWay app, its mobile banking platform that is seen to “streamline and elevate the banking experience of today’s Filipinos.”

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“It’s a clear demonstration of our efforts to make banking simpler and more accessible for our customers,” EastWest CEO Jerry Ngo said during the launch ceremony.

EastWest promises a user-friendly interface and features such as account management, bills payment and loan and credit card management.

Meanwhile, essential features—credit card and personal loan application, quick response (QR) fund transfers and payments—that have noticeably been available in other banking apps have yet to be launched.

Norman Martin Reyes, EastWest senior vice president and head of marketing, said they planned to migrate all users from the old app to EasyWay by November.

No less than teleserye favorite and Gen Z Donny Pangilinan was also chosen as the EasyWay ambassador to reflect the changing needs of the bank’s younger clients.

“As an actor and business owner dedicated to his craft and advocacies such as financial literacy, the bank sees him as a fitting representation of EasyWay to the younger, modern, up-and-coming markets it would like to reach,” EastWest said. —Meg J. Adonis