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Outsourcing’s conference season begins
As the year draws to an end, the outsourcing industry begins its conference season – AKA party-time.
This year I joined the two leading conferences in the Philippines, speaking at the CCAP Contact Islands bash this weekend. Many others represent the full spectrum of outsourcing verticals: software, healthcare, and freelancers.
The two conferences were attended by the who’s who of the global outsourcing industry. The private sector was out in force and joined by some of the Philippine government’s most senior officials.
Chris Caldwell of Concentrix (300k, 100k) flew in from the US for both events (unfortunately had to leave early due to a family emergency), joining other top ranks from Sitel (160k, 37k), Accenture (720k, 70k), Infosys (345k, 5k), Alorica (100k), and many others. These five companies alone employ over 1.6 million people globally and 300,000 in the Philippines. That’s big!
Many top government officials of DICT, DTI, BOI, PEZA, and BIR also came. You don’t need to know what those departments do, suffice it to say they are all here.
Not just VAs in pajamas
Many believe outsourcing is limited to amateur virtual assistants doing basic tasks poorly, working from home in their pajamas. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
Outsourcing is a $250 billion global industry, generating $25 billion annually and employing over 1.5m professionals in the Philippines alone. Despite being 30 years old, it continues to grow at 10% year-on-year. The Philippines expects to add another 1.1 million professionals to this sector in the coming six years.
Far from rudimentary tasks, outsourcing is pioneering aspects of AI, Robotic process automation (RBA), IT, and KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) – and manages business functions for the globe’s most powerful businesses across industry, tech, and banking – Google, JP Morgan, Facebook, Capital One.
People might also have the impression that the offshoring destinations are backward, lawless places. True, the countries are generally ’emerging economies,’ but the outsourcing sector is usually a beacon of hi-tech sophistication. The Philippine outsourcing sector contributes 12% to the country’s GDP and is the single biggest sector.
These impressive events remind me that the industry is much bigger, more sophisticated, and far more powerful than even I give it credit. And the government and private sector is working in unison to ensure that it continues to improve and grow.
Full support included
For people considering outsourcing, I wish they could join these events to see how advanced the industry really is. Outsourcing is a fast-growing $250 billion sector, highly sophisticated, and has full government and industry support.
That can’t be understated.
Plus, you get to save 70% on your staffing costs… How could you say no?
The question for your business
Do you think the outsourcing industry is limited to home-based virtual assistants?
