MANILA, PHILIPPINES — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), a leading Universal bank in the Philippines and a digital trailblazer in Asia Pacific, has deployed VMware Cloud on AWS as part of its cloud-only IT transformation vision to become a leading digitally-enabled bank in the country. As cloud technologies continue to disrupt traditional banks and power the digital future of banking as an innovation catalyst, a more trusted digital foundation will support the Philippines’ financial ecosystem in accelerating innovations. The VMware Cloud on AWS deployment will provide UnionBank with the flexibility and agility for exponential growth and faster response time to consumer needs, enabling the Bank to drive greater financial inclusion in the Philippines.
According to VMware’s recent Digital Frontiers 3.0 study exploring consumers’ behaviors, preferences, and attitudes towards digital services and experiences in 2020(1), 77% of Filipino consumers surveyed have defined themselves as “digitally curious” or “digital explorers”. As such, forward-looking organizations in the Philippines need to transform their business models by integrating next-generation technologies such as Cloud, app modernization, and more to deliver customer-led innovations and experiences that are seamless, personalized, and secure. As a leading bank for innovation in the Philippines, this is even more urgent for UnionBank as it aims to improve access to financial services for its unbanked and underbanked consumers across the nation amidst a pandemic.
“Despite the reduced physical interactions last year, we managed to attract 24 million new accounts with a large portion coming from digital account opening. This signals the pivotal shift that Philippines is making towards digital banking, and as the leading bank in the country, we are on a constant pursuit of innovative banking services to deliver digital experiences that will best serve our customers’ needs,” said Senior Executive Vice President Henry R. Aguda, Chief Technology & Operations Officer and Chief Transformation Officer at Union Bank of the Philippines. “As such, we are pleased to work with VMware to supercharge our innovations and build a stronger, resilient ecosystem and empower Filipino businesses with the right tools and platforms to accelerate business growth as we continue to shape the digital future of banking in Philippines.”
Leveraging VMware Cloud on AWS can provide UnionBank with the power of flexibility in its multi-cloud strategy, while enabling the Bank to improve agility, scalability, time-to-market and gain faster recovery from deployment failures. In addition, the bank reports that it expects to generate savings of more than 30% over five years and achieve return on investment in less than 18 months(2). Additionally, the VMware Cloud Universal subscription will allow UnionBank to gain greater flexibility, simplicity and portability from a single cloud operation. These improvements will pave the way for the Bank to respond much faster to consumer needs by expanding accessibility for consumers in underserved areas where ATMs and bank branches are scarce or unavailable, and in turn, accelerate its transformation journey to become a leading digitally enabled bank for its Filipino customers.
For many successful digital transformations, organizations need not only the right tools and platforms, but also the right culture that embraces innovations. In addition to designing a platform that is optimized to UnionBank’s unique business needs, VMware consultants have worked closely with the teams, providing the expertise to help them unleash the full potential of their multi-cloud strategy while protecting their IT investments.
“UnionBank has always been committed to deliver superior digital experiences to its customers. With Filipino consumers becoming increasingly digitally savvy, it is crucial for our local banks to harness next-generation technologies such as Cloud and modern apps to boost consumer experience, trust and build a financially inclusive Philippines,” said Walter So, Country Manager, VMware Philippines. “As UnionBank continues to focus on pushing the envelope on digital transformation, VMware is excited to be part of their transformation journey. Through VMware Cloud on AWS, we are committed to building a strong digital foundation for UnionBank to accelerate modern applications and empower the bank with an end-to-end holistic approach from designing applications and integrating our solutions with their operations to respond, adapt and accelerate growth, agility and business innovations in today’s new digital paradigm.”
- VMware Digital Frontiers 3.0 Study, March 2021, n=1000
- AWS Press Release reprinted on The Asian Banker, “Union Bank to become first major Philippine bank fully hosted in the cloud” May 19, 2021
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