BPO sector seen breaching $21-B ’15 revenue goal

The Philippine information technology and business process management industry (IT-BPM) was estimated to have breached its $21-billion revenue target last year as outsourcing and offshoring services were seen to remain a strong and significant driver of the local economy.

Danilo Sebastian L. Reyes, chair of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), said yesterday that the industry “was on track to hit $21 billion plus in 2015.”

Reyes explained that all the sectors under the IT BPM industry recorded growths in revenues, enabling the group to also be on track to hitting its targets for this year. The IBPAP official was referring to the targets set previously under an industry road map wherein revenues were expected to hit $25 billion this year while employment was seen to reach 1.3 million.

For this year, the IBPAP is expected to come up with a new list of locations that can serve as alternative sites for outsourcing companies looking to further expand or set up their operations in the country. At least 10 sites have been short-listed.

These cities, which will be part of a new list of Top 10 Next Wave Cities, are expected to benefit from an estimated revenue generation of as much as $25,000 a year per full time employee (FTE).

The IBPAP expected these cities to be able to generate at least 1,000 jobs over the first few years, thus translating to an estimated revenue contribution of about $15 million to $25 million yearly.

Meanwhile, the IBPAP is also set to release a new road map outlining the industry’s goals and strategies over the next several years, or from 2017 to 2022. The industry was reportedly looking to outpace its current growth rates of about 15 to 18 percent over the next six years, but the new road map to be crafted was reported to be crucial to enable local players to further expand and hit higher targets from 2017 to 2022. Amy R. Remo