The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, January 30, 2018

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Philippine outsourcing players will be pleased to note that a recent forecast by Acumen Research and Consulting predicts that the global BPO market should grow by a healthy 8.3% a year over the next seven years, hitting US$344 billion in annual revenues by 2026. Furthermore, the number of firms in the past four years using artificial intelligence has soared by 270%, according to research house Gartner. That number could have been larger, constrained by the severe difficulties reported by the firms surveyed in finding suitably skilled staff.

This is all good news for those in Philippines IT-BPM that provide outsourced skills and services in these sectors, and it is an area that the country has earmarked as key for development. There are also opportunities not only in digital transformation, but also in improving the security of such systems once introduced. Accenture, a major AI evangelist, noted that cyber attacks over the next five years could put US$2.5 trillion at risk, unless appropriate steps are taken.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) continues to be proactive in building both physical and human infrastructure. The department has appointed Ronald Alzona as assistant secretary for management and operations, to add to an already beefed-up team. It announced its sign-off on a national broadband pilot scheme across 33 trial areas of the country. More still needs to be done – particularly in bringing training to provincial areas – said Frederick Amores, a regional director of DICT. According to job website Freelancer.com, outsourced data entry, graphics and Excel work top the list of freelance work on offer.

Local industry news reported that IBM has secured a major US$260 million agreement with the Bank of the Philippines Islands to partner on its digital transformation. SAP was voted top employer in the Philippines by the Top Employers Institute. Global customer experience and business process outsourcing firm TaskUs announced its best performance figures to date, on the back of aggressive expansion. Business process outsourcing in the Philippines is also among the top sectors that German companies are most interested in investing in, according to German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director Martin Henkelmann.

There was also noteworthy news from the large Indian outsourcing firms that have so successfully morphed into global brands, providing a reminder that the Philippines is not alone in the race to win the future of the industry. Infosys announced a deal with Verizon worth nearly one billion US dollars; global IT consulting and business process services firm Wipro is now the world’s third fastest-growing global IT services brand, according to consultancy Brand Finance; and  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) also announced a major management reshuffle to assist in meeting the challenges of the future. Meanwhile, Bangladesh, eager to emulate the success of its massive neighbour, announced a 20% growth in its BPO income.  It has already sent a fact-finding taskforce to the Philippines, and the Philippine BPO model is very much the one that Bangladesh is looking to emulate.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

28 January 2019

• 2018 is best year to date for TaskUs – read more…
• Bangladesh BPO grows at 20%, and uses Philippines expertise –  read more…
• Infosys deal with Verizon reaches nearly a billion dollars –  read more…

25 January 2019

• Wipro ranked third fastest-growing global IT brand –  read more…
• Philippines-wide broadband project to pilot in 33 areas – read more…
• IBM bags US$260m BPI IT deal – read more…

24 January 2019

• TCS names new deputy heads for HR, global diversity –  read more…
• US$5.2tr at risk from cyber attacks over next five years – Accenture – read more…
• Outsourced data entry, graphics and Excel work tops freelance work – read more…

23 January 2019

• German firms eye BPO investments in the Philippines – read more…
• Number of firms using AI globally up by 270% in four years –  read more…
• Global BPO market to hit US$344 billion by 2026 – Acumen –read more…

22 January 2019

• SAP is voted top employer in the Philippines by Top Employers Institute – read more…
• More ICT training in the provinces needed – DICT – read more…
• DICT names new assistant secretary for management, operations – read more…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: January 16, 2018
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: July 18, 2018