The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, July 25, 2018

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A steady flow of news this week reflected that the government’s push to spread BPO businesses into the provinces is not only gathering pace, but also developing increased sophistication. Qualfon confirmed it would become a cornerstone investor in Cebu’s new Call Center City mega development. The city already has a long line of A-grade BPO-friendly commercial properties coming on the market – the 8-storey ADG IT Tower announced this week that it is now ready to take on BPO tenants. On the back of upgraded telecoms services, Ormoc City believes that it is now firmly on the BPO list-of-locations map. In Baguio City, a survey revealed the alarming fact that 65% of BPO workers in the city are smokers, and efforts are underway to work with HR departments to promote healthier lifestyle practices and counseling to help quitting. Finally, a new government-backed portal was launched that allows local governments to directly publicize their regional service offerings to would-be outsourcing locators worldwide.

Outsourcing industry news was generally upbeat, and in keeping with the digital transformation that is redefining the future of the outsourcing industry. A future aptly reflected in BPM firm Firstsource Solutions’ new tagline “Stay Ahead” announced this week. Global outsourcing and technology services giants Aegis and Startek also completed their merger deal; Philippines player Conduent received a gong as a world leader in health and welfare admin outsourcing, and BPM firm WNS announced a solid 30% rise in first quarter profits year on year. IT outsourcing giant Indra Philippines said that it had bagged a major contract with the departments of education and health to produce an app to monitor dengue.

Supporting the growing momentum driving the development of the IT outsourcing sector in the country, Canon Business Process Services released a white paper aggressively pushing the need for digitization in business processes, and the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology pushed for more students to take on digital careers to provide the workers to meet industry demand. To cap off the rosy picture, the country’s central bank put out a report that IT-BPO earnings in 2018 are on track for a 10% increase year on year to hit US$24 billion, whereas overseas remittance are likely to only hit a 4% uplift.

There were a few warnings against complacency, however. As global economic storm clouds gather, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia warned that the country must also push to develop its tourism as well as BPO services. SM Investments Corp (SMIC) chair Jose Sio also cautioned that the country is becoming overly reliant on BPO and overseas workers’ remittances to drive its economy. It must also strengthen its manufacturing and agriculture sectors to sustain growth for the long term.

News Roundup

23 July 2018

• New portal allows LGUs to promote locations as IT-BPO hubs – read more…
• Aegis, Startek complete merger deal – read more…
• Don’t just rely on BPOs, remittances, say SM Investments – read more…

20 July 2018

• Conduent named leader in health, welfare admin outsourcing – read more…
• BPM firm WNS posts solid Q1 performance – read more…
• Firstsource Solutions unveils new branding tagline – read more…

19 July  2018

• Ormoc City confident on attracting BPO investors – read more…
• 8-storey ADG IT Tower in Cebu read to host outsourcing operations – read more…
• Students urged to pursue digital careers to meet industry demand – read more…

18 July 2018

• Qualfon ready to invest in Cebu’s Call Center City project – read more…
• 65% of BPO employees in Baguio are smokers: task force – read more…
• Indra bags outsourcing contract from DepEd, DOH – read more…

17 July 2018

• Canon’s white paper pushes digitization in business processes – read more…
• Central bank says IT-BPO earnings likely hit $24.4bn this year – read more…
• Philippines must ramp up services exports to cushion slowdown – Pernia – read more…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: July 18, 2018
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: February 5, 2020