FOREIGN NEWS

| November-December. 2025

The new service allows customers to establish private, high-speed links between the computing platforms of both companies in mere minutes, a stark reduction from the previous timeframe of weeks.

This announcement comes shortly after an Amazon Web Services( AWS) outage on Oct 20, 2025, which disrupted thousands of websites globally and knocked some of the internet ' s most popular applications, such as Snapchat and Reddit, offline.

The outage reportedly cost US companies between US $ 500 million and US $ 650 million, according to analytics firm Parametrix.

The collaborative offering merges AWS ' s Interconnect for multicloud with Google Cloud ' s Cross-Cloud Interconnect, aiming to enhance network interoperability, as noted by the two cloud providers.

AWS Vice President of network services Robert Kennedy said: " This collaboration between AWS and Google Cloud represents a fundamental shift in multicloud connectivity."

Google Cloud Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Networking Rob Enns remarked that the joint network is designed to simplify the

THE Philippine digital economy expanded by 16 per cent, reaching $ 36 billion in gross merchandise value( GMV) in 2025, according to the latest e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co.

This growth, while softer than the 18 per cent increase in 2024, still positioned the Philippines as a leader in Southeast Asia.

The country excelled in transport and food delivery, both of which surged by 20 per cent, while also matching the regional high of 16 per cent in online media. Additionally, the Philippines recorded the second-fastest growth in digital payments at 20 per cent, following Indonesia.

Google Philippines Country Manager Prep Palacios said: " This momentum represented a sustained transformation, a convergence of innovative platforms, a tech-positive regulatory environment, and AI-curious Filipino consumers with

SWIFT CONNECTIONS: Amazon and Google ' s new multicloud networking service promises faster, more reliable connectivity for businesses worldwide.

CONSUMER POWER: The growing digital payments revolution is transforming the Philippine economy, driving a surge in consumer confidence and technological innovation.

real spending power."

The report indicated that Southeast Asia ' s digital economy was set to exceed $ 300 billion, with GMV and revenue growing by 15 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. E-commerce remained the backbone of the Philippine digital economy, accounting for over 60 per cent of total GMV, growing from $ 20 billion in 2024 to $ 24 billion in 2025. movement of data and applications between clouds. Notably, Salesforce has already begun utilising this new approach.

AWS, recognised as the world ' s largest cloud provider, delivers computing power, data storage, and various digital services to companies, governments, and individuals, outpacing Microsoft ' s Azure and Google Cloud.

With the rising demand for artificial intelligence and the accompanying surge in internet traffic, tech giants including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon are investing billions to build infrastructure to meet these needs. In the third quarter, Amazon ' s cloud business achieved remarkable growth, generating US $ 33 billion in revenue, more than double Google ' s US $ 15.16 billion.

Bain & Company Partner Bennett Aquino expressed optimism: " We see headroom for it to even double by 2030." Video commerce also rose significantly, now making up a quarter of e-commerce GMV, with approximately 475,000 sellers, a 90 per cent increase from 2024.

Online travel continued its recovery, expanding by 14 per cent to reach $ 4 billion GMV in 2025.

THE AI BOOM

The Philippines ranked among the top five Southeast Asian markets in interest in multimodal AI, with 78 per cent of digital users regularly using AI tools. Enrolment in generative AI courses surged by 480 per cent, the second-highest in the region, while AI app revenue jumped by 79 per cent.

Despite these advances, the country had only 10 registered AI companies, the second-lowest in the region. Aquino

IN a recent podcast interview, Google and Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai discussed the transformative impact of vibe coding on software development, calling it " so much more enjoyable " and " exciting again."

Pichai likened the potential of vibe coding to democratise software creation to the way blogging and YouTube have revolutionised writing and content creation.

He noted that this approach allows those without coding experience to experiment with building apps and websites, making the process more accessible and engaging.

Non-technical professionals, from HR experts to accountants, are increasingly using AI tools like ChatGPT and Replit for vibe coding. Pichai explained that this method enables users to visualise their ideas rather than describe them.

Moreover, vibe coding is fostering opportunities within tech companies. For instance, Meta ' s product managers have been using it to create prototype apps for Mark Zuckerberg, while Google has seen a significant rise in first CL submissions among employees.

However, Pichai cautioned about the risks of relying on AI-generated code, especially in large, securitysensitive projects. He emphasised that while vibe coding is best suited for low-stakes experimentation, its evolution promises exciting developments in the tech landscape.

" It ' s both amazing to see, and it ' s the worst it ' ll ever be," he stated, anticipating creative innova- t i o n s f r o m t h i s emerg- i n g trend.

VIBE FORWARD: With a vision for inclusivity, Sundar Pichai embraces vibe coding as the future of software development.

noted that addressing this gap would require easier business processes for AI integration. " Immediate growth might be seen in sectors not previously AI-native," he said.

Palacios called for collaboration within the ecosystem: " We must strategically leverage this momentum to ensure that more Filipinos can benefit from AI." @ ND