The 29 biggest business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the Philippines, mostly call centers, reported P94.4B in combined revenues in 2008, up 21% or P16.1B from P78.3B in 2007.

Catanduanes Representative Joseph Santiago, who is also the Chairman of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Committee of the House of Representatives, said the country “has definitely secured its position as a leading player in the global BPO market, judging from the sustained double-digit revenue growth of the local branches of mostly multinational BPO providers.”

“What is remarkable about the BPO industry is that it is highly labor-intensive. Since the industry employs a growing number of Filipinos, it also supports an increasing number of families,” he said.

Moreover, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) Executive Director for Industry Affairs Jonathan de Luzuriaga said the recent global financial crisis was less harmful to the Philippines compared to other offshoring destinations.

The Philippines is still a strong second as an non-voice offshoring destination, with a global market share of 15%, second to India, which accounts for 40%. In terms of voice subsector, however, the Philippines is considered the leader.

“We therefore have to leverage our strength, which is voice, as an introduction to other higher value processes such as knowledge process outsourcing (KPO),” de Luzuriaga said.

The voice subsector currently accounts for about 67% of all information technology (IT)-enabled services. The non-voice subsector, on the other hand, includes medical and legal outsourcing, publishing, financial accounting, among others.

At present, the global outsourcing industry is estimated at around US$83B in terms of revenues and is expected to grow by as much as US$500B by 2020.

Ganesh Natarajan, Global Chief Executive Officer of Indian IT giant Zensar Technologies, noted that the Philippines is a fast growing second player.

The expected US$100-B revenues for the Philippines by 2020 will translate into up to 4.5M jobs and another six cities being developed as BPO destinations outside of Metro Manila and Cebu.

The country currently has over 400 other BPO providers that generate annual revenues amounting up to P1B.

(Philippine Business Reports, December issue)