The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

In a week dominated by news of the spread of the coronavirus and its impact on global markets, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines has said reassuringly that so far it remains business as usual for the BPO sector. Within the country, workers are still being hired, contracts still being won, and investments still being made. Sutherland Global Services said it is hiring hundreds of workers for its new facility in Nueva Ecija; and Concentrix said it still hopes to generate up to 6,000 new jobs in the Philippines through the establishment of new contact center facilities this year. Outsourcing firm Cognizant said it has won a major contract for the processing work of the US-based insurance company Nationwide’s commercial insurance lines.

Telecommunications firm Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has announced plans to establish a smart city inside the Subic Freeport. The plan is to power the smart city with cable landing stations and data center infrastructure to help modernize the free port. Cisco, the global technology giant, is also planning to invest at least US$1 million to improve connectivity and cybersecurity in the Philippines. The investment is part of Cisco’s worldwide program to invest in connectivity initiatives across the globe of which the Philippines is one of 24 countries chosen.

Infosys has announced that it has formed a global alliance with IBM in order to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation journey using the IBM public cloud. The Indian giant has been aggressively expanding its activities in the cloud segment, acquiring businesses in the areas of cloud and data to achieve its goal of making these areas a billion-dollar unit of the company. Global consultancy and outsourcing firm Accenture has also acquired AlphaBeta Advisors, a boutique strategy consulting firm with around 35 consultants in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it has been in talks with South African investors, who may invest in the booming industries in Cebu province, including outsourcing, tourism, furniture, and manufacturing.

However, it is only a matter of time before the stresses on the global economy caused by the coronavirus start to take their toll on the country’s BPO sector. In the Philippines, other industries are already beginning to feel the adverse effects. The country’s national carrier, Philippine Airlines, announced that it is laying off more than 300 workers, adding to last week’s reported mass layoffs at a number of multinationals’ Philippine operations such as Honda and Wells Fargo. The ESL (English as Second Language) sector, an important economic driver for Cebu, has also slowed down since the outbreak started as foreign students cut down on their foreign travel.

The BPO industry is adapting to the new situation, and already is increasingly using work-from-home schemes in both India and the Philippines, according to a report in India’s Economic Times newspaper. Business process services and solutions firm Conduent has added coronavirus tracking to its Maven disease surveillance and outbreak management platform, which allows companies to securely track, manage, and report on coronavirus cases.  And despite strong performances last year from such firms as India’s giants, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, the virus is likely to result in some cuts to expenditure for the industry in areas such as IT, say analysts.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

NEWS THIS WEEK

09 March 2020

• Sutherland Global Hiring Hundreds Of Workers In Nueva Ecija – read article…
• Cognizant Bags Nationwide Insurance Outsourcing Contract – read article…
• Converge ICT Eyes Smart City In Subic – read article…

06 March 2020

• BPOs Pilot Work-From-Home Program – read article…
• Covid-19 Likely To Hit IT Firms’ Order Books – read article…
• Conduent Now Tracks Coronavirus For Clients – read article…

05 March 2020

• Concentrix Eyes Up To 6,000 New Jobs In PH – read article…
• Cisco To Invest At Least US$1m In PH – read article…
• Infosys Eyes Billion-Dollar Cloud Business – read article…

04 March 2020

• BPOS Keep Pace Amid Covid-19 Threat – read article…
• ESL Activities Hit By Virus Scare – read article…
• Infosys Forms Global Alliance With IBM – read article…

03 March 2020

• South African Traders To Invest In Cebu’s Outsourcing Industry – read article…
• Layoffs Continue In The Philippines As PAL Axes 300 Workers – read article…
• Accenture Acquires Australian Consulting Firm Alphabeta – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 4, 2020
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 18, 2020