ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) and Fusionex launch a virtual platform to amplify Global business opportunities

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(PETALING JAYA, AUGUST 2021) – ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) signed an agreement with AI and Big Data technology market leader Fusionex to introduce ASEANTA Travel Exchange (ATEX), a comprehensive virtual exhibition and engagement platform, to help facilitate an inclusive business environment and provide greater access to new markets.

The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought unprecedented disruption upon the travel and tourism sector as borders have been closed and large gatherings discouraged. By leveraging ATEX to pivot from physical to virtual, ASEANTA is able to seamlessly improve accessibility, connection and engagement while removing the restrictions of time and space through virtual exhibitions, webinars, digital marketing campaigns and more.

Pak Eddy Krismeidi, President of ASEANTA, Head of Indonesia Affairs & Policy

“This collaboration between ASEANTA and Fusionex is a historical event – a true ASEAN partnership bringing together the combined resources of ASEAN member states, in both the public and private sector, to take tourism in the region to new levels and to firmly establish ASEAN as one of the most viable and attractive tourism destinations in the world,” said Mr Eddy Krismeidi Soemawilaga, President of ASEANTA.

Powered by Fusionex technologies, ATEX offers a suite of innovative solutions to empower ASEANTA in organizing virtual events while driving meaningful and measurable online interactions. The platform offers an intelligent B2B matchmaking feature that connects local enterprises with global businesses, thereby expanding market reach. Travel and tourism players can also leverage the platform’s global distribution system to conduct secure and uninterrupted business transactions.

The robust platform enables businesses to showcase their offerings via virtual booths, facilitate pitching sessions through livestreaming, provide real-time reporting capabilities as well as performance monitoring and measurement features. It also allows enterprises to capitalize on powerful AI-powered digital marketing tools to tailor personalized campaigns. ATEX enables ASEANTA to not only create engaging online events but generate vital business prospects and develop networking opportunities as well in a data-driven way.

Dato Seri Ivan Teh, CEO of Fusionex Group

“As Covid-19 has brought the travel and tourism sector to a halt, ASEANTA has demonstrated its dedication to the industry by embracing digitalization to bring new avenues of progress to pave the way for the future of travel, hospitality and tourism. We are proud to be joining forces with ASEANTA to introduce ATEX to the region as it will play a crucial role in empowering all industry players to innovate, share, collaborate and do business — helping enterprises to cope with the pandemic and new norm for continued sustainability,” said Fusionex Group CEO Dato' Seri Ivan Teh.

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About ASEANTA

The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) was formed on 27th March 1971 as a non-profit tourism association comprising 35 members from both public and private tourism sector organizations, such as national travel associations, national hotel associations, airlines and National Tourism Organizations from ASEAN Countries.

ASEANTA plays an integral role in shaping travel and tourism development within the ASEAN region inline with the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan with the following objectives:

• Unite our members in common purpose, working in a close bond of cooperation, fellowship and assistance in furthering and protecting the interest of our members. 

• Strive towards the attainment of the highest standards of service and facilities for travelers and tourists. 

• Uphold the dignity and ethics of the tourism business and strive towards its professionalism.

• Foster and maintain the best of relationships among the ASEAN countries and their people.

• Encourage, support and help develop tourism into and within the ASEAN region. 

• Act as a negotiating body for members of the Association and to make recommendations to government departments or Agencies or other bodies in relation to any measure which may be taken involving members and/or the travel industry in ASEAN countries. 

• Serve on or offer assistance to any government, statutory or International body in connection with tourism matters.

To learn more about ASEANTA, visit www.aseanta.org.

About Fusionex

Fusionex is an established multi-award-winning data technology leader specializing in Analytics, Big Data Management, IR 4.0, Internet of Things, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Its state-of-the-art offerings are focused on helping clients unlock value and derive insights from data.

Featured on Forbes, Bloomberg, Gartner, IDC, Forrester, Edison, and Huffington Post, Fusionex is the largest Big Data Analytics company and market leader in ASEAN, bringing state-of-the-art, innovative, and breakthrough datadriven platforms to its stable of clientele (including Fortune 500, FTSE companies, large conglomerates, as well as a wide array of small and medium enterprises [SMEs]) that spans across the United States, Europe, as well as Asia Pacific. Fusionex is also a MDEC Global Acceleration and Innovation Network (GAIN) company as well as an MSC R&D MGS award recipient.

Gartner’s report on Modern Analytics and Business Intelligence shortlisted and commended Fusionex’s data technology platform. In addition, Fusionex has been identified as a Major Player in IDC’s MarketScape Report for Big Data & Analytics. Fusionex is the only ASEAN-based company to be featured in both reports, cementing its credentials in the data technology market for this region.

To learn more about Fusionex, visit www.fusionex-international.com.

UnionBank translates DSAI (data science and artificial intelligence) insights into a very individualized and personalized way of banking

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Union Bank of the Philippines held the 6th virtual TalkTales on November 18, discuss more how Unionbank leverages data science and artificial intelligence to deliver data-driven, convenient, and personalized banking experiences to customers.

AI a vehicle for customers to achieve aspirations – UnionBank Senior Advisor for Data and AI

Data science and artificial intelligence (or “DSAI”) are two “tandem”-technologies that are now taking over many industries across the globe. 

Artificial intelligence has brought about many exciting prospects that have ushered more personalized, “tailor-fit” digital experiences for many of us. This has made many of the things we do in our lives simpler, more instantaneous, and, thus, more convenient.

As Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is now in the next phase of its digital transformation journey, the country’s leading digital bank has continued to invest in talent, infrastructure, and other resources needed to innovate and co-create using data science and AI, which is led by global data science expert Dr. David Hardoon Ph. D., as the Bank's Senior Advisor for Data and Artificial Intelligence.

On the sixth installment of UnionBank’s exclusive “eTalk Tales” with Media, Dr. Hardoon discussed how UnionBank is translating data science and artificial intelligence insights into a very individualized way of banking, making sure that everyone is statistically significant and provided the ‘VIP’ treatment with a wide range of personalized services and solutions.

“DSAI is a key element within UnionBank’s digitize or perish journey. It is the differentiator between just “Digitize to survive” versus “Digitize to flourish,” Hardoon said.

Hardoon emphasized that AI is a must-have to enable scalable customer-centric finance of tomorrow, today. The goal is to make finance relevant, specific, and contextual to each individual consumer.  His use of AI is not artificial intelligence but ‘augmented intelligence’.  Reality is that humans are phenomenal in creativity that machines do not have. Machines may be able to replicate but it cannot originate. This, according to Hardoon, is where augmentation comes in. Data science uses insights from machines to operationalize and contextualize. “It’s not a question of ‘can we do it’ but ‘should we do it’.”

“AI is the engine of the digital renaissance.  It is a vehicle to achieve an aspiration. It is important to anchor AI on what truly matters—people, whether customers or employees. AI is truly about being human-centric first. The purpose is us, primarily as customers, and how do we leverage on the insight and knowledge that can be derived from AI to help shape financial services around us.”

Digital transformation is heralded as the game-changer for the banking sector in today's reality and for tomorrow's necessity. The transformation is rooted on the aspiration of inclusive and resilient financial services and is about achieving a reality where ones’ moments of life are not defined around the financial products available, but where financial services and products are created to support the milestones in life. 

 

“The Bank has been introducing and enhancing countless digital touchpoints for customer ease and fluidity of engagement. These touchpoints mean exactly that, that customers engage with the Bank on a more regular basis. It is our responsibility to...imagine. Imagine the ability to provide bridging or intra-day loans without a customer's need to submit hefty financial historical statements,” Hardoon said.

 

UnionBank uses AI to upgrade its existing strategy and accelerate further innovation, an example of which is its use as an additional layer of defense against financial crimes. AI enables the Bank to detect more instances while making sure that the existing defense and process will not be disrupted to ensure operation efficiency.  AI is also being leveraged by the Bank to predict future volume of inbound calls that can reduce some of the volatility in call management.  Through AI, the cash management solutions team are provided with data-driven relevant recommendations and proposals for customers.

Data Science and AI (DSAI) enables capabilities in understanding customers' needs through their various engagements with the bank and providers and the ability to go beyond a templatized approach to ascertain relevance, suitability, and affordability.  This makes UnionBank, Philippine banking’s best in the data science and AI field.

Consistent with its commitment to make banking simpler and more inclusive via best-in-class digital and mobile capabilities, UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista believes that leveraging Data and AI is a key driver to the next-level of its digital transformation as the Bank continues to put the customer—both individuals and corporates, at the heart of its business.

About Dr. David Hardoon

Dr. David Hardoon is Senior Advisor for Data and AI at UnionBank of the Philippines. As part of his responsibilities, he works with various centers, groups, and units to reinforce data infrastructure and governance, behavior modelling, machine learning, and AI capabilities as well as applications in the Bank.

In addition to his responsibilities at UnionBank, Dr. Hardoon also serves as advisor for a number of other institutions on matters related to data and AI.