Amazon Web Services (AWS) brought together the country’s top business and technology leaders at Shangri-La The Fort, Manila for AWS Cloud Day Philippines on August 19, 2025. A full-day event focused on cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. Overflow rooms and online hubs carried the sessions to even more participants across the city.
AWS in the Philippines: Nine years of growth
Since establishing its presence in 2016, AWS has become a critical enabler of the Philippine digital economy — powering mobile apps, e-commerce platforms, streaming services, global support centers, government initiatives, and artificial intelligence innovations.
This year’s theme — People, Possibilities, and Performance highlighted AWS’s commitment to building talent, unlocking new opportunities through AI, and driving measurable business results.
“AWS has been a trusted transformation partner for the Philippines. We are here not only to deliver technology, but to enable Filipinos to build, innovate, and succeed in the digital economy,” emphasized Precious Lim, AWS Country Manager.
Empowering people: Siklab Pilipinas and AI skills training
A major highlight was AWS’s continued investment in skills development. Through its flagship program Siklab Pilipinas (which means “spark/inspire”), AWS has trained more than 100,000 Filipinos since 2017 via free cloud training and certification programs.
Partnerships with institutions such as TESDA have embedded cloud curricula into national education, while the AWS Restart program has produced success stories of career transformation:
- Eric Relevit, once a non-technical worker, now works as a junior engineer at Fujitsu.
- Carmina Bardula, who started as a virtual assistant, is now employed as a software developer.
This year, AWS announced a new collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to support the Philippines’ National AI Strategy. The initiative includes specialized AI training, certification, and an innovation sandbox offering free AWS credits for experimentation.
“We want Filipinos not just to use AI, but to build it, shape it, and lead with it,” Lim further emphasized.
UnionBank: A purpose-driven digital transformation
UnionBank of the Philippines has long been seen as a pioneer in digital banking, and President & CEO Ana Aboitiz-Delgado reiterated the bank’s mission to push financial inclusion.
“Our mission has always been clear: reimagine banking not just to digitize, but to uplift Filipino lives,” she said.
Facing an industry in disruption, UnionBank launched a bold digital transformation in three phases:
- Digitize the core – building a modern enterprise architecture and agile culture.
- Launch digital channels – ensuring reliability before scaling.
- Scale up – expanding reach and services, significantly powered by AWS.
The results have been transformative:
- The customer base expanded from 4.7 million to 17 million.
- The UnionBank app became the highest-rated banking app in the country.
- Innovations such as digital account opening, mobile tap-to-pay, crypto trading, and AI-driven fraud detection set industry benchmarks.
UnionBank also opened its Developer Portal with 70+ APIs, and its i2i network has onboarded nearly 2,000 rural banks, ensuring “nobody is left behind.”
Looking to AI, Delgado described the bank’s framework: automated intelligence, assistive intelligence, and actual impact.
“On the other side of technology is a real human with real needs. That’s the true value of AI,” Delgado added.
Smart Communications: From telco to techco
Smart Communications COO Anastacio “Boy” Martirez described the dizzying pace of AI progress and how Smart is positioning itself to harness it responsibly.
“We are no longer just a telco — we are transforming into a techco. Every innovation must tangibly improve Filipino lives,” he stated.
The Philippines, Martinez noted, is digitally primed. Consider these statistics:
- 98 million internet users (85% penetration)
- 142 million mobile connections (120% of population, many with multiple SIMs)
- 90 million social media identities (80% penetration)
Smart’s AI initiatives have already delivered results as well, as follows:
- 30% cost savings through AI-driven efficiencies.
- 10% more revenue from optimized marketing and operations.
Practical applications of AI are being rolled out nationwide: from network optimization and customer service chatbots, to hyper-local disaster response alerts and AI support for small businesses and teachers.
But Martinez underscored the workforce challenge, saying: “Nearly two million BPO workers must adapt. Work with AI — or compete with someone who does.”
He concluded with a national call “The Philippines can choose to widen the digital divide — or become a global lab for inclusive AI. We choose inclusion, so every Filipino is a co-creator in the AI revolution.”
AWS’ global vision: Building agentic AI
Pascual DeMaio, AWS VP for Customer Experience Services, delivered a keynote on the next frontier of AI: Agentic AI — autonomous AI agents that act on behalf of users.
“Software is undergoing its biggest shift yet. By 2028, one-third of apps will have agentic AI, and 15% of business actions will be AI-driven,” he predicted.
During the event, AWS also introduced its blueprint for agentic AI, including the Bedrock Agent Core, which provides runtime, memory, identity management, and observability for AI agents. Tools like QDeveloper, Kyro, and Amazon Connect were highlighted as enablers of AI-powered customer engagement and productivity.
DeMaio noted real-world results, including Amazon saving US$260 million by migrating 10,000 apps with AI-driven modernization tools.
“AWS is the best place to build the world’s most useful AI agents — helping you turn ideas into real-world results,” DeMaio concluded.
AI across telecom, fintech, and government
The panel discussion brought together leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence in the Philippines and across the ASEAN region.
Jeff Johnson, ASEAN Managing Director of AWS, joined Carl Cruz, CEO and President of Globe Telecom; Third Librea, CEO and President of PalawanPay; and Maria Francesca del Rosario, Undersecretary and CIO of the Department of Budget and Management. Each speaker emphasized how their organizations are advancing AI adoption in ways that go beyond technology.
Carl Cruz underscored Globe Telecom’s commitment to making AI accessible to all employees.
“We democratize AI across the company — no coding required. Every employee can innovate,” Cruz explained, stressing how inclusivity fuels innovation.
Third Librea, for this part, shared how PalawanPay revolutionized customer onboarding.
“We cut eKYC from two weeks to five minutes,” he said. He emphasized, however, that efficiency alone is not enough. The company also invests heavily in upskilling and nurturing critical thinking among its workforce.
Maria Francesca del Rosario described how the Department of Budget and Management positioned the government at the forefront of AI policy. “We built the Philippines’ first AI policy for the government. Our vision: sovereign AI infrastructure for all agencies,” she stated, highlighting the need for resilient and future-ready systems.
Throughout the discussion, the panelists reinforced a shared perspective: AI is not solely about technology. Its success depends equally on people, policy, and culture. They identified skills development, reverse mentoring, and data literacy as essential pillars for driving sustainable and inclusive adoption of AI across industries and government.
Business impact stories
Customer case studies underscored AWS’s measurable impact:
- Security Bank achieved a 90% reduction in outsourced staffing and 40% faster project delivery after migrating to AWS.
- First Light Productions slashed its content creation cycle from two years to just three months using Amazon Nova Reel.
- Maya deployed an AI chatbot on Amazon Bedrock, reducing call waiting time by 90% and cutting abandonment rates by 86%.
A young Filipino student, Blitz Furnaset, was also recognized for winning the AWS ASEAN LLM League, showcasing youth talent in generative AI.
Sponsors and ecosystem support
The event was made possible through collaboration with AWS’s ecosystem of partners and sponsors. Platinum sponsors included Linkhouse, eCloud Valley, Rapid7, and Teesys, with additional support from gold and silver sponsors acknowledged during the sessions.
These partners play a crucial role in providing implementation, security, and integration expertise to accelerate cloud adoption in the Philippines.
A shared national mission
The event closed with a resounding message of collaboration: AWS, its partners, and Filipino enterprises are building not just digital businesses, but a digital nation.
UnionBank’s Delgado summed it up best, saying, “With AWS, we look forward to making AI fly — not just for UnionBank, but for every Filipino.”
And Smart’s Martinez framed the national vision “Smart will be the nation’s digital backbone—carrying not just data, but the intelligence and the dreams of the Filipino people.”
As the Philippines stands at the intersection of cloud, AI, and inclusive growth, “AWS Cloud Day 2025” made one thing clear: the country is ready not just to consume digital technology, but to shape the future of AI in Asia and beyond.
