The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

It was a good week for industry recognition of big global players active in the Philippines outsourcing sector. Digital services and consulting company Infosys jumped to third place on the Forbes list of The World’s Best Regarded Companies for 2019, up from a ranking of 31 in 2018. Teleperformance also announced that it has been chosen as the 2019 Kincentric Best Employer in China, India, Morocco, and Tunisia. Another HR initiative started in the Philippines was Accenture’s opening of dedicated work spaces customized for persons with disabilities in both its Cebu and Makati offices.

Industry plaudits were not just limited to HR prowess. The BPO sector’s ability to innovate, and roll out new services in cutting edge technologies was also manifest. Wipro has been recognized as a ‘Leader’ in artificial intelligence consultancies by independent research firm Forrester Research, and has  also been named 2019 SUSE Global System Integrator Partner of the Year in the Most Innovative Solution and the Most Technical Certifications categories.

Infosys was also hailed as a ‘Leader’ in DevOps Services in the Everest Group’s 2019 PEAK Matrix Assessment. The company is also beefing up its programming capabilities with plans to double the number of fresh coding experts on its payroll to develop its digitally skilled talent pool. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it received the Channel Innovation Award in the Big Data and Analytics Innovation category from business publication Channel Partner Insight. Accenture launched its new compliance-as-a-service (CaaS) offering, part of its managed services suite, which is targeted at the financial services industry. Business process services firm SYNNEX Corporation was also chosen as this year’s North American Distributor of the Year by Infoblox Inc, an IT automation and security provider considered as a leader in secure cloud-managed network services.

There was also good news on business being won from the United Kingdom.  The UK’s cash-strapped high street retailer John Lewis has reportedly now moved its call center tasks to the Philippines to cut costs. On the KPO front, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, England, said it is conducting a small-scale pilot of outsourcing transcription to the Philippines.

Meanwhile in the United States, Alorica, a leading customer service outsourcing vendor, announced that it will be shutting down its call center in Green Bay, Wisconsin early next year, and growing its overseas presence in the Philippines. TCS has also announced that it has laid off employees at its Cedar Rapids operation in the US state of Iowa, as a consequence of its shift towards a digital operating model.

With the Philippines government’s moratorium on new economic zones in Metro Manila constricting new supply, news that Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, have now overtaken the BPO industry in demand for office space, may indicate that a hike in office rents may be on the cards. This year has seen office space take-up reach a record high, according to Leechiu Property Consultants CEO, David Leechiu, with it reaching 1.7 million square meters in total. Of that, POGOs accounted for 738,000 square meters, of which 296,000 square meters were in Metro Manila, mainly in the Bay Area. It is a timely reminder that, at present, outsourcing is not the only game in town.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

16 December 2019

• Wipro Chosen As SUSE Global System Integrator Partner Of The Year – read article…
• Infosys Is World’s Third Best-Regarded Company – Forbes – read article…
• Teleperformance Hailed As Best Employer In Multiple Countries – read article…

13 December 2019

• Wipro Named Leader In AI Consultancies – read article…
• UK’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital Pilots Transcription Outsourcing In Philippines – read article…
• Alorica To Lay Off Wisconsin Workers, Add Philippine Hires – read article…

12 December 2019

• Accenture Unveils Dedicated Space For PWDs In Cebu, Makati – read article…
• SYNNEX Chosen As North American Distributor Of The Year By Infoblox – read article…
• POGOs drive office space demand in Philippines in 2019 – read article…

11 December 2019

• Retailer John Lewis Shifts Call Center Work To Philippines – read article…
• TCS Axes Some Iowa Staff – read article…
• Infosys To Double Headcount, Salaries of Coding Experts – read article…

10 December 2019

• Infosys Recognized As Leader In DevOps Services – read article…
• TCS Receives Innovation Award For Its Intelligent Urban Exchange Software – read article…
• Accenture Rolls Out Compliance-As-A-Service Offering – read article…