Timeline: BPO in PH

1992 Frank Holz codevelops Accenture’s Global Resource Center in Manila, pioneering software development and shared services outsourcing in the country.

1995 President Fidel V. Ramos signs into law Republic Act No. 7916, or the Special Economic Zone Act, which promotes foreign and local investments in the ecozones.

1997 Sykes becomes first multinational call center to operate in the country.

1999 Jim Franke and Derek Holley establish eTelecare Global Solutions, the first call center in the country.

2000-2004 Trade Secretary Mar Roxas launches “Make IT Philippines” and organizes the first IT- enabled services to the United States, which inevitably led to the biggest global industry names to invest in the country, thereby creating thousands of jobs for Filipino IT workers.

2001 PeopleSupport, a US-based BPO company, move operations to Manila.

2001 The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the umbrella organization of the Philippine contact center industry, is established.

2003 Convergys opens its first contact center in Manila.

2006 ePLDT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), acquires 100 percent of SPI Technologies, the 9th largest independent BPO service provider worldwide.

2010 Philippines surpasses India as the world leader in BPO industry, according to IBM’s Global Locations Trend.

2017 Department of Finance assures that the foreign services of BPO companies in special economic zones (SEZs) will remain exempted from the value-added tax, while those outside SEZs, including those registered under the Board of Investments will retain their zero-rated status despite the implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, or TRAIN Law.

2018 Philippines ranks second in the Top 50 Digital Nations, while Manila reclaimed the second spot in the Top 100 Super Cities ranking for outsourcing, based on Tholons’ Services Globalization Index, an international ranking of IT-BPO cities and countries.

2018 Philippines takes 16 to 18 percent of the total outsourced services globally, says CCAP, citing data from Texas-based global consulting and research firm The Everest Group.

Inquirer Research Sources: sykes.com.ph, bloomberg.com, ccap.ph, bsp.gov.ph, forbes.com, convergys.com, sec.gov, dof.gov.ph, businessinsider.com and Inquirer Archives