BPO and telemarketing: Philippines to hit $20B target by 2016

Far from its previous incarnation as a struggling economy in Asia, the Philippines is now a premiere location for telemarketing, web design, and other segments in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. It has also proven to be quite the force as it has managed to surpass other outsourcing hubs in Southeast Asia. And if the current conditions continue, the Philippines just might reach its $20 billion target by 2016.

The Philippines’ rise in the BPO industry is no secret, with its skilled, English-proficient workforce fueling its steady trajectory. Furthermore, according to the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), if this growth is sustained, the country’s BPO industry can grow from its annual revenues of $9 billion to $20 billion in 2016. And along with this, the number of direct employees is also set to rise from approximately 500,000 to 900,000.

This comes on the heels of a recent report from IT information firm Nasscom, it revealed that the last five years has not been favorable for India. The former southern Asian BPO champ continues to lose its grip on the outsourcing sector, having lost 10% BPO market share as it is overtaken by rising outsourcing players like the Philippines.

In addition to this, IBPAP is also confident that the forecasted growth could exponentially increase at a faster rate should certain changes be implemented to help further the Philippines outsourcing industry’s development. The group said that if the Private-Public partnership with the government is strengthened, and both the quality and size of the Filipino workforce is improved, then the industry could achieve $25 billion revenue and 1.3 million employees by 2016.

This forecast shines a particularly bright spotlight on the Philippines’ ongoing efforts to be the go-to location for outsourcing. In a manner of speaking, this could be another milestone merely waiting to happen, and further proof that the country has truly shed its mantle as the “sick man of Asia” and is now sinking its teeth deeper into the global BPO mindshare as “Asia’s Rising Tiger.”