IBM to double BPO staff in PH

US-BASED technology giant IBM Corp. is adding at least 10,000 jobs in the Philippines over the next three years as part of plans to expand in the country’s high value business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

IBM Philippines president Mariels Almeda Winhoffer said this would bolster the country’s position as a key component of the global operations of the firm known as “Big Blue.”

She said the company currently has between 10,000 and 15,000 workers in the Philippines.

“We will more than double that number by 2015,” said Winhoffer, the first Filipina to head IBM’s Philippine operations.

Most of these jobs would be in the company’s analytics outsourcing operations. Through the expansion, IBM hopes to grab a significant piece of the global IT analytics market, estimated to be worth $160 billion.

She said the new jobs would pay higher than typical call center jobs that make up two-thirds of the country’s $11-billion BPO industry today. It would also require employees to have a higher set of skills.

Part of the first phase of expansion includes the establishment of a new BPO facility that would handle support for the company’s “social business” software offerings to North American clients.