Industry leaders to explore emerging services in global IT-BPO

IT-BPO has evolved into an “industry of industries”

While the Philippines is set on maintaining its global leadership in voice BPO or contact centers, it is rapidly expanding its share of the global non-voice IT-BPO services market, according to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). Research and consultancy firm Everest Group recently forecast the global market for outsourced services to reach US$220 billion to US$280 billion this year, with 90% expected to be non-voice work. Last year, 33% of US$11 billion in Philippine IT-BPO revenues was generated by non-voice sectors expanding from US$2.8 billion in revenues to US$3.6 billion.

This growth is being felt across several non-voice sectors in the Philippines which are restructuring to meet demand for more non-voice, complex services. The sector formerly referred to as medical transcription now includes health care information management, while animation services are now grouped with other creative services such as game development and graphic design. Business services for industries such as banking, transportation, manufacturing, retail, and pharmaceutical, among others, are also gaining traction, according to BPAP executives.

The Philippine IT-BPO industry last year accounted for about 5% of the country’s gross domestic product. One-third of the output consisted of non-voice work, delivered by approximately 220,000 employees. “The demand for new outsourced services is increasing and the potential for non-voice and other emerging services is enormous,” said Gillian Virata, BPAP senior executive director. “IT-BPO has now evolved into an ‘industry of industries’ with a broad range of new sectors seeking to leverage opportunities in the delivery of non-voice services.”

While the IT-BPO industry continues to grow at an impressive rate, posting strong 24% growth in 2011, the non-voice sector expanded by an estimated 30% last year, according to BPAP figures. This is a result of strengthening service delivery in the financial services, insurance, human resources, logistics, engineering, software, media, health care, IT, and legal industries, according to Virata.

“This is an exciting time for IT-BPO industry players. As a result of the industry’s rapid growth, the Philippines has become an important venue for global IT-BPO stakeholders to discuss industry developments and forecasts. The International Outsourcing Summit (IOS), an annual conference and exhibition that attracts 500 participants and close to 70 speakers and panellists from the world’s major brands, serves to facilitate that exchange,” said Raymond Lacdao, BPAP executive director for industry affairs.

For this year’s summit, the roster of confirmed speakers include Alfredo Ayala, president and CEO of LiveIt Investments Ltd.; Jean Paul Binot, director for Finance Transformation at Deloitte Consulting Pte.; Mark Bretton, vice president and head of BPO UK and Europe at Tata Consultancy Services; Prabhakar Bisen, head of Global Insurance BPO and country head – Philippines, Cognizant Technology Solutions; David Guerrero, chairman and CCO of BBDO Guerrero; Som Mittal, president of NASSCOM; Ralph Schonenbach, CEO of Trestle Group; and Aparup Sengupta, managing director and global CEO of Aegis Limited.

“We expect the presentations to fuel insightful discussions on strategizing for high growth, especially for the non-voice industry; managing talent supply; and assessing global economy, competition and customer retention,” said Lacdao.

For information on the Summit, visit www.internationaloutsourcingsummit.com.

About the Business Processing Association of the Philippines
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) is the umbrella association for the IT-BPO and GIC (Global In-House Center) industry in the Philippines. BPAP serves as the one-stop information and advocacy gateway for the industry. With approximately 300 industry and allied-industry members, including five associations, BPAP plays a pivotal role in sustaining rapid growth of the IT-BPO and GIC industry by working to ensure an enduring supply of high-quality labor, supporting service innovation, and providing country visibility. For more information on BPAP, visit www.bpap.org.