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Business process outsourcing firms grow despite incurring project delays
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MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector managed to grow by nearly one-third last year despite having experienced project delays due to the global slowdown. Revenues of the country’s BPO industry rose to $6 billion last year, 26 percent more than the $4.9 billion reported in 2007, said Oscar Sañez, chief executive officer of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P). Call centers – the voice segment of BPOs – contributed 65 percent of total revenues. Non-voice operations were responsible for 17 percent while the rest came from IT operations, the industry group said. Similarly, the industry employed more workers, reaching some 371,000 individuals, excluding those from companies not belonging to the BPA/P. However, the expansion – both in jobs and revenues – failed to meet expectations since the industry expected a 30 to 35 percent growth last year. “There were some projects that were delayed in 2008. But that is still a strong growth. Not so many industries can show that," Sañez told reporters at the sidelines of the eServices Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition at the SMX Convention Center in Mall of Asia. For this year, Sañez said that the group is expecting growth of anywhere from 20 to 30 percent this year as executives of foreign companies are prompted to cut costs due to the slowdown. “That would put us to $7.5 billion to $8 billion. So we are still on track of our Roadmap 2010," he said, referring to the group’s plan to earn some $10 billion in revenues for next year. Next: BPO industry expects to grow at a slower pace this year 
BPO industry expects to grow at a slower pace this year Call centers will expand by 20 percent while non-voice segments of the business are seen to double, Sañez said. The industry will also employ an additional 100,000 to 110,000 workers, he added. The association will focus its marketing efforts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Currently, the US – the world’s largest economy – represents the biggest chunk of the industry’s market at 86 percent. Its top five plans for the year include advancing English proficiency training, formulating a national competency assessment tool, conducting more investment missions and conferences, supporting the Office of the President’s scholarship program for the BPO sector, and establishing a training program for the industry’s future managers and supervisors. The country was also advised to provide higher levels of education to its workforce so that it could get a bigger share of the two million jobs seen to be generated by BPOs in the next five years. Although India still remains the top destination for BPO and ICT operations, Filipinos have a greater chance of getting more than their fair share of BPO jobs in the next five years, a BPO analyst told reporters during the same event held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Foreign companies still consider labor and business costs, areas in which the Philippines has much to offer, Everest Group chief executive officer Peter Bendor-Samuel said. - GMANews.TV
