PH "Rock" of Global IT-BPO industry

By Tam Noda
 

MANILA, Philippines - Citing the way Filipinos deliver their services through call centers and outsourcing firms in the country, the Philippines today was tagged as "rock" of the global IT and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry.
 
"If before we call the Philippines as an important key in the field of outsourcing, we call it today as the rock of the global IT-BPO industry," said Martin Noel Conboy, president of the Australian BPO Association, during this afternoon's press conference of the 3rd Annual International Outsourcing Summit (IOS) at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza hotel.

Conboy made the announcement with Alfredo Ayala, chairman of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP); Valentin Makarov, president of RUSSOFT Association in Russia; Gaurav Gupta, managing partner (India) of Everest Group; Nour Al Hmoud, director of Investment Promotion at Jordan Investment Board; Grace Castillo, head of enterprise segment of Globe Telecoms; and Albert Mitchell Locsin, vice president and head of corporate relationship management of PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.).

Ayala told reporters that over 400 delegates and 80 speakers from various countries took part in this year's IOS, a high-level conference organized by BPAP to tackle the future of the global IT-BPO industry, particularly the development of non-voice and complex IT-BPO services.

BPAP reported the more than 50 percent of the summit's audience composed of foreign nationals only shows the country's significant role in the global IT-BPO industry that is expected to grow to $270 billion by 2016.

"Competition may be tough, but it opens a world of possibilities as well, especially for Asia. Our focus is on strengthening the country's IT-BPO sector," Lacdao said, as he reiterates BPAP's strategies in creating stronger collaborations and partnerhips with the government.

Lacdao shared that President Benigno Aquino III is keeping a proactive stance towards the industry by way of his Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, intending to extend this to infrastructure projects and to be applied later on to the local IT-BPO sector.

BPAP said that although voice service has grown globally by 20 percent since last year, non-voice is growing faster in services on back office, health care, IT, engineering, among others.

Conboy said the current outsourcing industry in the Philippines is no longer entirely made up of voice service, but more on non-voice and the challenge remains on how to attract the country's rich pool of non-voice talents to work in the industry.

Conboy added that among the new non-voice talents that are in demand today are the country's supply of workers who are skilled in social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Animation, according to Lacdao, remains a hot channel that the country can explore and develop fresh talents.

A study by The Everest Group revealed that Asia accounts for 21 of the 38 new delivery centers established in the second quarter of 2011. Aside from the Philippines, Brazil is considered a "mature" market location for IT services, while countries like Nicaragua and Kenya are emerging destinations for delivery centers.

Source: Philstar
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