Alibaba Group Ranks Third in the Global IaaS Market and First in Asia Pacific for Third Consecutive Year

Alibaba Group once again ranked third in the global Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market and first in the Asia Pacific region for the third consecutive year, according to Gartner. This was confirmed in the leading global research and advisory firm’s latest report Market Share: IT Services, Worldwide 2020.

Alibaba Group’s market share in the global IaaS market climbed to 9.5 percent in 2020, up 8.8 percent from 2019, according to the report. The report also showed Alibaba Group’s position in various vertical sectors in global IaaS market, including education (1st), banking and securities (3rd), utilities (3rd) and retail (3rd). Alibaba Group saw its IaaS market share in the global education industry climb to 24.3 percent in 2020 from 18.8 percent in 2019, holding the number one share in the education vertical sector in 2020.

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Intel Launches New 11th Gen Core for Mobile

The new 11th Generation Intel Core H-series mobile processors, which are code-named “Tiger Lake-H,” launched worldwide, led by the flagship Intel Core i9-11980HK — the “World’s Best Gaming Laptop Processor.” 1

The Intel Core i9-11980HK delivers the highest-performance2 in laptops for gaming, content creators and business professionals reaching speeds of up to 5GHz.

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Oxford Business Group, Meinhardt Group Team Up for New COVID-19 Response Report

Construction is set to boost ASEAN’s COVID-19 recovery, thanks to public sector commitment to infrastructure development to spur growth as mapped out in a newly released COVID-19 Response Report (CRR).

Produced by Oxford Business Group (OBG) in partnership with global planning, engineering and project management company Meinhardt Group, the CRR provides an in-depth analysis of the bloc’s pandemic response in an easy-to-navigate and accessible format, focusing on key data and infographics to illustrate the region’s socio-economic landscape.

ASEAN’s collective commitment to reducing infrastructure gaps – particularly transport, utility and ICT-related projects – is a key focus.

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Celebrate Friendship with ‘Clash of Clans – Tropical Clash’ and Your Favorite SEA CoC Players

Clash of Clans, a leading freemium mobile strategy game, continues to receive a warm welcome both from new players and returning Clashers after its huge update for Town Hall 14.

To celebrate the fantastic update, CoC gathered 12 top CoC influencers from four Southeast Asian (SEA) countires — Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines — and held a KOL Showmatch for ‘Clash of Clans Tropical Clash.’ The influencers were separated into two teams for the competition and came up with mighty names ‘Battle Builder’ (MY, TH Team) and ‘Jungle Clasher’ (ID, PH Team) for a series of friendly Clan Wars.

The country representatives for the show match were pro-players, beauties and gaming influencers, namely MasterRamen, Ombong Haha and HarrisGameboy from Malaysia; Iwan Clasher, Kelvin Afiando and Benny Moza from Indonesia; Cherizawa, L3bron and Kayla Heredia from the Philippines; and Black gamer, ZadistiX and VRZO from Thailand.

The leaders for each country were as follows:

  • Iwan Clasher – One of the top Clash of Clans educational content creators in Indonesia
  • Cherizawa – An avid gamer and Clash of Clans hardcore player from the Philippines
  • Harris GameBoy – A Clash of Clans enthusiast and hardcore streamer from Malaysia
  • ZadistiX – One of the top Clash of Clans players in Thailand who creates a lot of educational CoC content

There were three Tropical Clash sessions:

  1. Epic Jungle Challenge – Who is the fastest?

There were many activities to do such as the in-game activity Epic Jungle Challenge where each player had to destroy a base within five minutes. Successful attacks granted the challenger lots of gold and elixirs to help chiefs strengthen their base further.

2. Challenge My Base – Can you beat me?

For this warm-up game before the Clan Wars, both teams used various attack strategies to challenge a base designed for all players. The team with the most stars obtained was declared the winner.

3. Friendly Clan War

Last but not least, the must-do activity for Clashers was the ‘Friendly Clan War’ where players practice their skills and see how far they can go with their friends. All players did well during this round.

Some of the highlights during the Friendly Clan War are:

  • Kelvin Gaming used a giant and archer combination, made an outstanding performance attacking another team and got two stars.
  • Despite lacking skills, VRZO amazingly performed a 3-star attack on his opponents.
  • The base of Iwan Clasher, the strongest player of Team Jungle Clasher, suffered from a 3-star attack by Harris GameBoy, causing hype among the members of Team Battle Builder.
  • Team Battle Builder led the game until Bennymoza from Team Jungle Clasher delivered a successful 3-star attack his opponent’s base, tying the score.

The players got to know each other better and had a good time sharing their own CoC strategies that they have practiced for many years, proving that friendship can develop beyond geographical and linguistic boundaries with the help of a friendly game.

It’s time to return to your beloved village! Download Clash of Clans now and experience the new gameplay with the Town Hall 14 upgrade!

Caltex Accelerates Network Growth in Q1 to Help Fuel Recovering Economy

Caltex, marketed by Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), posts strong Q1 2021 network growth with the opening of eight new service stations and two Caltex Havoline autoPro workshops in key provinces.

Bolstering its current retail network of nearly 650 service stations and 75 Caltex Havoline autoPro and bikePro workshops, Caltex seeks to cater to the fuel and car maintenance needs of both local and transient motorists nationwide.

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Airbnb Launches New Tool to Estimate Potential Income for Prospective Filipino Hosts

Travel is coming back and Filipinos can earn extra income through hosting with the help of the What’s My Place Worth tool, an interactive new resource rolled out by Airbnb. The tool helps prospective hosts calculate their potential monthly income through inputs for geography, type of listing and space, and factors in prior Airbnb booking data in the area.

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact local communities and businesses in the Philippines, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported that some 4 million Filipinos remain unemployed.  For many, sharing their homes on Airbnb has provided a COVID social safety net, helping them to stay economically afloat in these unprecedented times. In Baguio City, for example, the P11,491* in estimated monthly income through hosting on Airbnb represents important supplemental revenue for prospective Hosts.

For those considering hosting, now is the time. A recent Meaningful Travel Trends survey commissioned by Airbnb indicated that Filipinos are ready to reconnect with their families as soon as travel restrictions ease, and there is pent-up demand for travel as people yearn to get out of the house after months of pandemic-caused isolation.

In fact, latest YouGov data indicates that travel with immediate and extended family will be the #1 reason for domestic travel among Filipinos this year. Filipinos are also seeking safe and affordable travel options, with quick getaways and nature retreats likely to gain traction.

The What’s My Place Worth tool is one of many resources Airbnb has for prospective Hosts, all of which can be explored at Airbnb.com/host. Please review all local laws and general health and safety guidelines prior to listing your space on Airbnb.  

*The earning estimate for Baguio City hosts stated here is for an entire home listing with a guest capacity of six. It is based on booking data from the past 12 months for that area and calculated by multiplying a nightly price by the total nights of occupancy.