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