BPO sector revenue seen nearing $38-B mark

The largest umbrella organization of information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) firms in the Philippines is projecting the sector’s revenue in 2024 to reach nearly $38 billion, surpassing its baseline forecast for the year.

Jack Madrid, president of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) shared this during the group’s annual flagship event held at the Okada Manila resort and hotel complex in Parañaque City.

The group’s revenue growth projection for this year will mark a 7 percent growth from the $35.5 billion recorded in 2023.

The IBPAP’s forecast is that industrywide top line will grow by at least 6.5 percent this year to reach $37.5 billion.

“I think 2025 will still be positive growth. Maybe not 7 percent or 8 percent, but something more modest,” Madrid told reporters on the sidelines of the IBPAP’s 16th International IT-BPM Summit.

Further, Madrid said that they are also anticipating the domestic workforce headcount across the industry to reach 1.82 million by year-end.

Despite the rosy outlook, the IBPAP official cited five major challenges confronting the multibillion-dollar sector.

These include talent and skills gap, intensifying global competition, high operational costs, ease of doing businesses and cybersecurity risks.

Madrid said that talent gap, particularly in advanced digital skills such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and programming, remains the topmost concern and cited by 21 percent of respondents in their midyear survey.

In relation to growing competition, the IBPAP president said that countries such as South Africa, Columbia, Poland and Egypt are swiftly advancing their respective IT-BPM sectors, putting pressure on the local industry to catch up.

Meanwhile, high operational costs and constraints on the ease of doing business also continue to exert pressure on them, according to Madrid.

Lastly, he said that cybersecurity risks are becoming more sophisticated, necessitating the need for stronger frameworks to safeguard sensitive data.