Outsourcing Industry - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 6

tj_brewed

March 22nd, 2008, 02:12 PM

Here's a good news for our fellow budding entrepreneurs in Davao City. You do not have an office? No budget yet to get one? Don't fret......

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/ETC/biznotes.jpg

Davao City's first business center
By Rhodamae M. Hernandez
Sunstar Davao Online

TWELVE years after working as branch manager of a company he was in, Johannz George Salopaso Peñaflor gave up his job and concentrated on his own business.

Peñaflor now owns and manages Mindanao Business and Training Center, which he claimed to be a one-stop destination for all business requirements, offering Triple C -- convenience, comfort and connection.

"I came up with the idea after years of experiencing problems like looking for a place that has Internet access. Usahay daghan ug students in these places, kaya samok pud while working," Peñaflor told Sun.Star Davao.

The center, which he described as the first in Davao City, provides convenience by offering every requisite of daily work routine right in one roof.

"This place is also good for young professionals, all they have to do is to move in. Besides, ma-forecast pa nila ang monthly overhead nila kasi complete na ang mga kailangan nila," Peñaflor said.

The establishment also offers efficient secretarial services to facilitate office operations, exclusive office space, individualized mailboxes, trouble-free parking space, reception area for clients, conference room for meetings, and courier services.

The clients can also have airline reservations, Internet connection, local and long distance calls, facsimile services, computer printing, photocopy, typesetting, bookbinding, laminations, and anything that an office needs.

The center also has in-house lawyers for legal services. It is also located right beside a laundry shop so you can drop off laundry while working. Economy but clean hotels are also a stone's throw away from the establishment.

MBTC also caters to the client's desire for maximum comfort by providing a coffee station, snack bar, cozy lounge, a well-lighted and cool and quiet environment that allows log-in long hours without distraction and a "no games" policy for the Internet services.

The center is located at Unit 1, Escobarte Building, Patnubay street in SIR Matina, Davao City and can be reached through 3017798 and telefax number 2972284. Its email address is mindanaobusinesstrainingcenter@yahoo.com.ph.

tj_brewed

March 23rd, 2008, 02:10 AM

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/ETC/bizidea.jpg

Starting A Biz with WiFi
Posted on February 17, 2008
from DavaoHotSpots (http://www.davaohotspots.com)

Davao City’s been dubbed as the WiFi City of the country because of its wide offerings of free wifi hotspots in the whole city. A lot of business and public establishments in the city have installed their own WiFi equipments for them to drive potential customers.

I’ve witnessed how Davao’s restaurant and coffee shop industry shifted its way from a for-the-rich image to a for-the-mass image. Nowadays, people from the middle class who owns wifi devices can utilize the free internet access offered by restos and coffee shops.

Thus, when opening a business, it is highly recommended that you incorporate the WiFi service to drive customers to your establishment. WiFi routers are now sold in the country at a very cost-effective price.

Of course, like any business establishment, you should also have a point of sale system for monitoring your sales. Since you are connected online, it is good to utilize web-based pos system to save on equipments and software costs.

tj_brewed

March 23rd, 2008, 04:39 AM

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/ETC/biznotes.jpg

How to run a part-time business
Money Sense (http://moneysense.com.ph)

Marco Abesamis, 29, is a well-known wedding photographer. In 2006, the MCM Grand Corp. vice president and chief operating officer started a wedding coordination business on the side with events organizer Nicholette Reyes and accountant Kenneth Lee. Marco shares the important things to remember when running a part-time business:

Be organized. Even if it’s just a part-time gig, make sure you are well organized and service-oriented. Make it appear to your clients like it’s something you do full-time.

Establish your network. Marco says it helps to build and nurture trusted contacts and suppliers, which can make your operations easier.
Be efficient and stay hands-on. Thanks to the Internet, Marco shares most of their communications are done virtually. But fieldwork is still necessary to ensure everything is running well.

Make it worth your while. Part-time work still requires your precious time, so make sure it makes sense for you financially. Marco hires part-time junior coordinators, who, if they are good, are paid competitive rates from P1,000 to P1,500.

Don’t depend on it. Marco says that the extra income is good (as a corporation, they get dividends annually). “(But) work as if you do not need the money,” he says. Beyond income, he adds a sideline like theirs expands their network and enhances their people skills.

Get the job done. Since it’s just a sideline, you may be tempted to do less than the best. Don’t. “Make sure you do the job the way it needs to be done,” Marco stresses.

dinabaw

March 25th, 2008, 06:05 AM

The Edge Davao

* Blogie

A new business paper is now circulating all over Davao City — The Edge Davao. It’s the first of its kind here: a newspaper that’s dedicated to business, investment and economy-centric news. And I’m part of it! I have been invited to handle the one-page “ICT hub” section, which is now the new home of my IT talks! column.

IT talks! column headerMy section also has feature articles, and quick facts about the IT industry of Davao City and the region.

Aside from the ICT hub section, the paper’s other sections are: The Economy, Entrepreneurs, Vantage Points, SciTech, Competitive Edge, AgriTrend, Community Sense, and Games. The last one isn’t about video games — it’s more for sports, particularly golf and other sports that are popular among businessmen.

I am deeply honored to be in the presence of media heavyweights. The paper’s editor-in-chief is Antonio “Tony” Ajero, one of Davao’s most respected journalists. Backing him is the venerable Ramon Maxey, who is the paper’s editorial consultant. And managing the entire operation is Olivia Velasco, who has tons of experience and skill in building publications from the ground up. The Edge Davao certainly has a bright future ahead.

The paper comes out once a week, every Monday. Eventually, in the foreseeable future, we’ll become a daily newspaper. It is circulated all over the city, and will soon be covering neighboring cities as well. You can read the paper at any of the popular coffee shops in town, as well as at hotels. Subscription will soon be offered. For information, please call (82)221-3601

http://www.angdabawenyo.com/2008/03/24/the-edge-davao/

dinabaw

March 28th, 2008, 06:16 AM

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/299/ictdavaoqm3.png (http://imageshack.us)

The 15th TechnoKapihan Davao will be held on 2 April 2008 (Wednesday) at the We R Inn Hotel in Bajada. The venue is by Central Plaza I, across the highway from Gaisano Mall of Davao. The event will be from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Attire: come as you are!

The TechnoKapihan was launched last January 2007, and serves as a venue for the growth of technopreneurship, and as a forum where technology entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and all the people in the ICT environment of Davao City to meet and discuss various issues and potentialities.

New media practitioners, SEO professionals, tech bloggers and freelance developers — you’re encouraged to participate in this event. It’s where you can show to the IT community that there is indeed new blood in the city.

http://www.ittalks.net/2008/03/27/technokapihan-15/

dinabaw

March 29th, 2008, 07:39 AM

Saturday, March 29, 2008
'Me' time
By Janette Huang Teves
Mom-About-Town

BECOMING a busy parent does not mean that you have to forget your own needs and interests.

Once in a while, we greatly deserve our precious personal or "me" time to either just relax or be given opportunities to learn and constantly improve as individuals. After all, it is said that, "love and care for others" starts with "love and care for the self."

This summer, I have compiled a variety of enjoyable and useful activities you and your hubby can pursue.

Know how to scuba dive, drive, cook or make a dress! Have the courage to enroll in a basic computer course. Turn your favorite hobby into a thriving business. Speak in a relevant foreign language. Be extra prepared for home emergencies.

As parents, we should continuously enrich and educate ourselves. And, remember to have lots of fun, too!

Life Saving Skills

WHAT: Home Medical Emergency Training

Topics include making your home kid-safe; introduction to basic first aid for the home; common home medical emergencies; proper calling of medical help; what to do in case of fire, earthquake, and tsunami; home safety and fire safety tips.

*Minimum of 35 participants per training session. This program is highly recommended for nannies as well.

SCHEDULE: April 20 (Sun)/8am-5pm

REGISTRATION FEE: P300 (inclusive of 2 snacks, lunch and training certificate)

VENUE: Davao Shanghai Restaurant Function Room, R. Magsaysay Avenue, DC

CONTACT: Knighthawk Rescue Team (An active member of the Davao City Disaster Coordinating Council) c/o Risty Libre/Tels. 2210819/2228332/3002395 or Bing Banzuelo/Tel. 3019663

****

WHAT: Standard First Aid Training, Adult CPR for Lay Rescuer with Basic Water Safety for 18 yrs. old and above

SCHEDULE: Available every week/7 sessions/8-5pm

FEE: P800

CONTACT: Philippine National Red Cross, Manuel Roxas Ave., DC/Tels. 2240217/2276650

Business Skills/Hobby Enhancement

WHAT: Various courses in the following fields:

ARTS AND CRAFTS: Basic Dressmaking/Basic Tailoring/Basic and Classical Balloon Arrangement/Advanced Balloon Arrangement/Photo Transfer to Balloon/Beadworks, Fashion and Accessories/Bedcover, Comforter, Pillow Cases, Curtains and Quilt Making/Commercial Candle Making Business/Scented and Decorative Candles/Cosmetology/Mastery in Hair Cutting and Style/Photographic Silkscreen Printing/Photo Image Transfer/Photo Thermal T-Shirt Printing/Silicone Rubber Mold and Figurine Making/Wood Framing Business/Electroplating Business/Fiberglass Making/Gift Wrapping, Packaging and Ribbon Technique Making/Alginate Mold Making for Self-Replica/Art of Glass Blowing/Basic Book Binding/Glass and Metal Etching and Key Chain and Paper Weight Making

COMPREHENSIVE COURSES: Advanced Fresh Flower Design/Mastering Therapeutic Massage/Basic Event Planning and Wedding Coordination/Floral Bouquet Arrangement/Fresh Flower Arrangement and Shop Management/Home Spa 1, 2 and 3/Jewelry, Cellphone Appraisal and Pawnshop Management/Jewelry Cleaning and Electroplating/Setting Up Laundry Business/Setting Up Printing Business/Organizing a Beauty Parlor Business/Wedding Planning and Coordination/Shiatsu and Significance of Touch Therapy

INDUSTRIALS AND CHEMICALS: Car Care Products/Cosmetics and Skin Care Products/Detergent, Dishwashing and Fabric Conditioner Making/Fruit Juice and Puree Making, Formulating Textile Ink/Herbal Soap, Bath Soap and Transparent Soap Making/Homecare Products/Janitorial Products/Haplas Ointment Making/Peanut Product Making/Perfume and Cologne Making/Preventive Maintenance Products/Salad Dressing, Mayonnaise and Sandwich Spread Making and Seasoning Mix Making
FOOD AND CULINARY: Advanced Cake Decorating and Sugar Flower Making/All Chicken Special Menu/All-Time Filipino Cuisine/Cake Baking and Decorating/Catering, Restaurant, Carinderia and Fast Food Business/Chewing Gum Making/Cookies, Pies and Cupcakes/Commercial Breadmaking and Bakery Management/Culinary Food Preparation and Catering Services/Fishball, Siomai and Kikiam Making/Fish Processing/French Cooking/Ice Cream Making/International Cuisine/Meat Processing and Meat Shop Operation/Pangnegosyo and Pasalubong/Pies and Pastries/Pizza Pie Making/Siopao and Siomai Making/Special Bread Making/Native Kakanin Pangnegosyo and Vegetable Salad Making

SCHEDULE/FEE: Available upon request

CONTACT: Pangkabuhayan Seminar Center (A Technology Research and Training Institute), Rm. 201, Dona Segunda Bldg., CM Recto St., DC/Tels. 2255034/2276089

****

WHAT: Fashion Design/Dressmaking/Cooking and Baking/Housekeeping

SCHEDULE/FEE: 24 hrs. (P6,250) and 14 hrs. (P5,150). Student will choose their own schedule.

CONTACT: Joji Ilagan of Career Centre Foundation, Inc., Chavez St., D.C./Tels. 2275602/2263783/2210315

****

WHAT: Certificate in Culinary Arts/ Halal Cooking/Truly Asian Cooking/Lifestyle Courses/Therapeutic Cookery/Baking and Pastry/ Cakes and Chocolates/Catering Operation/Restaurant Entrepreneur Program (curriculum combines 20 percent theoretical and 80 percent actual hands-on)

SCHEDULE/FEE: Available upon request

CONTACT: Most Institute Davao, LTS Bldg., Magsaysay Ave., DC/Tel. 3035991

****

WHAT: Various programs in Cooking, Travel and Tour Guiding Services, Front Office Services and Housekeeping

SCHEDULE/FEE: Commercial Cooking: P13,000 inclusive of ingredients and materials; Travel/Tour Guiding/Front Office Services: 10 sessions/P3,500; Housekeeping: 10 sessions/P4,500

CONTACT: St. Joseph Technical Academy, 3rd floor, Maxima Siasu Bldg., Lizada Cor. Magsaysay, DC/Tel. 2272392

Digital Imaging Workshop

WHAT: Southern Exposure: Digital Imaging Workshop with Parc and Borj (first come, first served basis only)

SCHEDULE: Batch 1:April 5(Sat); Batch 2: April 6 (Sun)/8am-6pm

FEE: P3,500 (inclusive of snacks and lunch)

WHAT TO BRING: Laptop or PC's / pen and paper/notebook, extension cord

SOFTWARE REQUIRMENT: CS, CS2 or CS3

VENUE: Lispher Inn- Conference E

CONTACT: Kat Mercado/Tels. 2262820/2242225

Computer

WHAT: Information Technology Power 2003 (Introduction to Computer with Windows 2003 and Outlook, Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point 2003/Surfing the Internet, E-mail and Chat)

SCHEDULE: 24 sessions/schedule available upon request

COURSE FEE: P4,000

REGISTRATION: P300

CONTACT: Genetic Computer Institute, Door 599, 2nd floor Tongson Bldg., Sta. Ana Ave., DC/Tels. 2244643/2255953/Cellphone no. (0917)6229081

Foreign Language

WHAT: Conversational Chinese (Fookien/Amoy and Mandarin) lessons (*Note: Fookien/Amoy is the Chinese dialect used in the Philippines while Mandarin is the national Chinese language)

SCHEDULE: Mandarin: Starting April 8 (12 sessions)/TTH/630-830pm; Fookien/Amoy: Starting April 9/WF/630-830pm

FEE: P3,500 with materials (CD and hand-outs), light snacks and coffee

CONTACT: Nancy Uyking, 2nd floor AG Uyking Bldg., M. Inigo cor. Lapu Lapu St., Agdao, DC/Tels. 2277015/3000861/Cellphone nos. (0922)8501568/(0917)7047195

****

WHAT: Conversational Chinese (Fookien/Amoy and Mandarin) 2008 Summer Enrichment Program

SCHEDULE: Batch 1: April 8-29/TTH/Mandarin 1-4pm/Fookien/Amoy 8-11am; Batch 2: May 6-27/TTH/Mandarin 1-4pm/Fookien/Amoy 8-11am

FEE: Available upon request

CONTACT: Mrs. Siu Lan Lim, 778 Lapu-Lapu St., DC/Tels. 2242244/2241789

Driving

WHAT: Driving Lessons for 16 yrs. old and above

SCHEDULE/FEE: 30 hrs (P14,200); 20 hrs (P9,600); 15 hrs. (P7,300); 10 hrs. (P4,950); 7 hrs. (P3,500) and 5 hrs. (P2,550). Fee is inclusive of free 2 hours orientation and 8 hrs. of lecture on defensive driving, rules of the road, preventive maintenance and making driving easier

CAR MODELS AVAILABLE: Toyota Altis and Toyota Vios

REQUIREMENT: Student driver's permit

CONTACT: A1 Driving Co., Inc., GGo Summit Bldg., JP Laurel Ave., DC/Tel. 2254284

****

WHAT: Driving Lessons for 16 yrs. old and above

SCHEDULE/FEE: 10 days-1 hr/day (P4,600); 5 days-2 hrs./day (P4,700); 7 days-2 hrs./day(P6,450). Fee is inclusive of orientation and lecture on defensive driving, rules of the road, preventive maintenance and making driving easier (3 Saturdays: 9am-12nn or 2-5pm).

CAR MODELS AVAILABLE: Honda City, Honda Jazz and Toyota Vios

REQUIREMENT: Student driver's permit

CONTACT: A1 DRIVING CO., INC., GGo Summit Bldg., JP Laurel Ave., DC/Tel. 2254284

Sports

All sports programs below are by WIND AND WAVE DAVAO, PDA Bldg., Sta. Ana Wharf, DC/Tels. 3053483/3003483/3007914.Website: www.windandwavedavao.com.

WHAT: Diving 101 (Introductory to Scuba Diving)

SCHEDULE: Every 3rd Sunday of the month/1 session only

FEE: P999 with inclusive of a free use of well maintained scuba gear, dive guide, Wind and Wave Davao souvenir shirt, boat fare, buffet lunch, and a personal photo and video clip CD.

VENUE: Talikud Island

****

WHAT: Open Water Scuba Diving Course/Advanced Open Water Diver Course

SCHEDULE: Anytime/Three sessions: 1st session-lecture/briefing/2nd session-pool session/actual open water dive/3rd session: 3 open water dives

FEE: P8,300 (promo rate) inclusive of scuba diving gear rental

VENUES: Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort, Wind and Wave Davao Dive
Shop and Europool

****

WHAT: Windsurfing Intro Course

SCHEDULE: 1 session

FEE: P990 inclusive of instructor, use of board, rig and life vest

****

WHAT: Kayak Paddling Intro Course

SCHEDULE: 3 hour-session

FEE: P495 inclusive of use of kayak, paddle and life vest

****

WHAT: Kayak Paddling Basic Course

SCHEDULE: 5 hour-session

FEE: P1,100 inclusive of use of kayak, paddle and life vest

*Note: Transportation/Resort fee/Food on client's personal account; students must be physically fit and comfortable with water

Other Services

WHAT: Organized Island Hopping (Barkadahan)

SCHEDULE: Every 2nd and 3rd Sunday of the Month

FEE: P399 inclusive of boat fare, buffet lunch and a personal photo CD

VENUE: Talikud Island

****
Most of the kiddie swimming, dance, music and art summer courses I featured in my March 8 and 15 issues also offer classes for adults. Check them out at www.mom-about-town.blogspot.com. (E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com.)

(March 29, 2008 issue)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/03/29/life/.me.time..html

kiretoce

March 31st, 2008, 02:24 AM

Change in employee demographics creates retention problems in RP firms (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/30/yehey/career/20080330car1.html)

Local companies are having problems in terms of keeping their employees in the organization as the demography of workers in the Asia-Pacific region changes, a human resource consulting firm recently said.

In a briefing, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, which has been providing Philippine companies compensation and benefits data and solutions, said that changes in terms of age group of work force in Asia have been proven to be a major factor in retaining employees within an organization. According to Andrew Heard, Watson Wyatt regional practice director, Asia generally has an ageing population as a result of falling fertility and rising longevity.

In Singapore, the proportion of population older than 50 years old is expected to increase from 23 percent to 50 percent over the next 25 years, and many firms in Asia Pacific are now facing a shortage of fresh skilled labor

Since more affluent countries like Singapore lack a younger pool of workers, they turn to the younger Philippine population in recruiting more workers to fill their requirements, rendering local firms in short supply of talent.

“For employers, hiring and retaining qualified employees is still a perennial task. More Filipinos are going abroad to seek work and better standards of living. Due to the increasing manpower demands especially from the business process outsourcing (BPO)-contact center industry, qualified new graduates are in short supply as well as other younger generation workers,” Watson Wyatt said in a research note.

James G. Matti, Watson Wyatt managing consultant, said that 50 percent of those that leave their companies go abroad while the other half are pirated by competitors. To retain its employees, firms have to look into the factors that make employees stay and be flexible about it. The consulting firm found that the number one concern or factor for staying in a company among Filipino workers is the compensation package, followed by job security and third is employee benefits.

The BPO or outsourcing and offshoring (O&O) industry has the highest average turnover rate among all other industries which is at 23 percent a year, particularly in the voice-related services which has about 46 to 53 percent turnover rate per annum. Matti said BPO firms have tried the cash-heavy route, like giving bonuses, to entice workers to stay. “However, that didn’t work. Now that things have moved on to a more predictable level, BPO firms are now moving on to offering more health and life insurance,” he said.

Employers should also be responsive to the needs of employees in terms of giving them a choice in the type of benefits they receive. Since the Philippines moved from an older to a younger workforce in recent years, especially with the boom of the BPO industry, the choices of employee benefits have changed. Some companies now have given workers a choice of whether to monetize their life insurance benefits, since younger people tend not to worry much about saving and retirement and instead they are more concerned about instant gratification like traveling, gym or spa benefits.

Older workers, on the other hand, choose life insurance and medical benefits over tangible material things since they have their families and dependents in mind.

“Benefits like iPods and laptops are now fading since it is too costly for companies to sustain,” Matti said. Instead, firms are being flexible with the insurance and medical benefits and the employees choose what is the best package for them. “The Philippines, second to Singapore, has the best medical and insurance programs among the Southeast Asian region. However the challenge is inflation, which pushes medical costs by 58 percent higher annually,” he said.

Mounting inflation aside, Watson Wyatt has been advising companies on how to implement total remuneration and flexible and benefits. By tailoring their benefits to suit their needs, companies have a better chance of retaining employees. The firm claims that 92 percent of firms that adopted the flexible benefits system reported an increase in employee retention.

davaoeagle

March 31st, 2008, 08:16 PM

Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Philnits exam slated April 6
Sunstar Davao

THE Philippine National IT Standards (Philnits) Foundation Inc.-Davao Office in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Southern Mindanao is now preparing for the Philnits Certification Exam slated on April 6 at the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) Annex, Audio Visual Room, Bonifacio Street, Davao City at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The fundamental IT examination aims to: improve the individual technical competence; indicate levels of competence required for various fields of IT engineers; act as guidelines in education and training; and establish objective criteria for evaluating skills and competence of IT engineers and to raise the social status of qualified professionals.

This year's exam is expected to draw more than 100 IT students and IT professionals coming from the various universities and colleges in the city.

Further, Japanese consulting firm Sanko Ltd. will again sponsor 40 graduating students who will take this year's Philnits certification exam. However, these students must be endorsed by their respective schools and must belong to the top 10 students of the class.

Since the government of Japan recognizes the certification, successful examinees will be given a working visa for Japan. The visa may last for one to five years and those given these can work in Japanese companies and receive compensation similar to other Japanese IT professionals.

Examination fee is P1,800. Interested graduating IT students and IT professionals may submit their application form to the Philnits Davao Office located at the 5th Floor, Mintrade Bldg., corner Monteverde Street and Sales Avenue, Davao City. They may also contact Joy Alferez at telephone number (082) 227-9448. (Press release)

dinabaw

April 1st, 2008, 04:36 AM

U/C Sutherland IT Bldg.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7861/reco0335or9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/388/reco0336zn7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Peng Hok

April 1st, 2008, 04:39 AM

^^
Ang sabi sa public hearing that I attended, that building will be 4 levels high.

Pero I think someone posted that it will be five storeys.

So which is which?

PINOYmeat

April 1st, 2008, 12:40 PM

Outsourcing business booms in the Philippines (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/191172,outsourcing-business-booms-in-the-philippines--feature.html)

Even Indian companies have discovered the Philippines in the meantime. WIPRO, one of the 10 largest IT companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation, just opened a call centre with 900 employees on the island of Cebu.

"Indian outsourcing agents have become a bit too arrogant," explains WIPRO boss TK Kurien about his decision.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pinakamaldito/DSC02448.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pinakamaldito/DSC02447.jpg
^^ at the lower left side of the pic, a few meters away from ayala center cebu.

tj_brewed

April 2nd, 2008, 01:44 AM

http://www.rflonline.com/clientsummit/img/sponsor_logos/wats.gif

The largest independently owned market research data collection company in the US, WESTERN WATS, which conducts market research for many prominent businesses worldwide
is now in DAVAO CITY!!! It was once noted that a particular city in Minanao was also bannering the entry of Western Wats to their locality but to no avail. Today, Western Wat's newest and probably the largest investment in this side of the archipelago would be in Davao City particularly in NCCC Mall of Davao. :okay:

Western Wats is the leading provider of survey research data collection. Western Wats empowers decision makers to advance their interests with accurate, timely information. They specialize in quantitative research data collection via live telephone interviewer, automated telephony and the web.

Since 1987, they have been pioneers in data collection. Their proprietary systems have enabled them to remain at the vanguard of technological change. Their expertise and passion about survey research has established Western Wats as the proven partner for the most respected research teams in the world.

tj_brewed

April 2nd, 2008, 02:45 AM

Sutherland's second callcenter in Davao will be located near Chimes Mall. Anybody knows where the old PRC is? well that's the spot.

There was a report before stating Sutherland's plan to build another call center in Mindanao. And here it is, instead of building another facility in another city, Sutherland will put up its second call center in Davao's very own Chinatown area. :okay: Sutherland Davao's accounts include a popular social networking website, an anti spam application, and a mobile phone content provider! :okay:

dinabaw

April 2nd, 2008, 05:28 AM

^^ galing fresh from the oven news ..i like it hot !:okay:

i think yung DTI bldg. ang tinutukoy siguro lilipat ang DTI into another bldg.

dinabaw

April 2nd, 2008, 05:48 AM

The Buddy Blogs in The EDGE

The Buddy Blogs [migs.wordpress.com] can be seen in Davao’s new business newspaper - The Edge Davao.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4516/theedgeej0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Actually, its the second time that my blog has been mentioned in the paper.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4751/theedgebuddymigsvh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/454/winstonedge01ij7.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Thanks to Oliver “Blogie” Robillo who wrote the articles and the man behind the ICT HUB Section of the paper.

My section also has feature articles, and quick facts about the IT industry of Davao City and the region.

The Edge Davao is initially a weekly business paper but will soon become daily. You’ll find copies of the Edge at cafes all over Davao City.

Peng Hok

April 2nd, 2008, 11:21 AM

red_jasper

April 2nd, 2008, 03:12 PM

Accenture launches BPO operations in Cebu

By Erika Tapalla
INQUIRER.net (http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20080402-127932/Accenture-launches-BPO-operations-in-Cebu)
First Posted 16:10:00 04/02/2008

CEBU, Philippines--With the expansion of its operations in Cebu to include business process outsourcing (BPO) services, Accenture has cited the Philippines as the "key differentiator" for the company.

"Global businesses and clients need a company to represent them in all parts of the world and presently, Accenture is the most credible provider in the Philippines," Accenture Delivery Center Network for BPO Global managing director Pankaj Vaish said in an interview.

Accenture has expanded its Cebu operations by offering BPO services in addition to application management services and systems development. Starting with the Accenture Customer Contact BPO Service, the Accenture Delivery Center in Cebu began offering BPO services last week with one client.

Vaish said Accenture is not looking for a specific number of clients, but is instead "focusing on growth and the variety of services offered."

"The key to growth and variety of services offered are our people," said Accenture Philippines BPO Delivery Center senior executive and country lead Yogesh Malhotra in his presentation.

He also cited the Philippine advantage since a great majority of Filipinos speak the English language well.

The Accenture executives, however, declined to reveal the total amount invested on the expansion of the company's services in Cebu.

Accenture Philippines now has about 15, 000 employees, most of whom are based in Manila. With the expansion to BPO services, the Accenture Delivery Center in Cebu is now looking at roughly 500 seats for employment.

Accenture has been in the country since 1985.

In the interview, Vaish said Philippine politics does not affect their business,

"Accenture has been around for over 20 years now and we are still expanding; we are still rapidly growing," he said.

PINOYmeat

April 2nd, 2008, 04:49 PM

heres whats happening down south, cebu's asiatown IT park (from sunstar cebu)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pinakamaldito/DSC02452.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pinakamaldito/DSC02453.jpg

jhunix

April 2nd, 2008, 10:03 PM

Shots from the recently concluded contract-signing and press conference of Western Wats.

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5309/photo490ra7.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3876/photo492yp0.jpg

photos by peng hok

Business World - Apr 2, 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vol. XXI, No. 172
Thursday, April 03, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Corporate News
500-seat call center to open in Davao in July

DAVAO CITY — Western Wats Philippines is opening a call center at the New City Commercial Corp. (NCCC) Mall here, the Philippine head of the US-based firm said.

Western Wats, which also operates in Cebu City, has spent about P60 million to P70 million for its Davao operations, company officials said.

"This does not include our other operational expenses as we are bringing in equipment from the US," Western Wats Philippines President Jose Antonio T. San Gabriel said during a press conference.

Derek Rice, Western Wats operations director, said the company will hire 500 employees this year, and the number will double next year.

These employees will go into market research since the company is into data gathering and analysis for clients, Mr. Rice said.

The Davao operations will start in July and employees will have their hands full by then considering that the American election is heating up. The call center will gather data for US presidential candidates, he said.

In May, the company will start recruitment and will hold jobs fairs and other similar events to fill the seats required.

With the entry of the US-based call center company, Ivan Spencer A. Lim, manager of NCCC malls, said extending mall hours is being studied.

Mr. San Gabriel said his company does not want to "overpay" its employees so as not to disrupt the operations of other call center companies in the city.

Andre Joseph T. Fournier of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that based on a government survey, call centers in the city pay between P7,000 to P11,000 a month for entry-level positions, and the salary can rise to P13,000 a month.

Mr. Fournier earlier urged local call centers to increase the pay of their workers even if the level is still below the rates in Metro Manila.

The entry of more call centers Western Wats being the fifth among the big contact center firms to operate in the city — will give opportunities to many local residents who are proficient in English, he added.

World's biggest data collection company sets up shop in Davao
by Prix D Banzon

Davao City (3 April) -- Western Wats, the biggest data collection company in the world will start operation by mid July 2008 in Davao City.

The company last year had negotiations for locating in Cagayan de Oro City decided opted to settle in Davao City instead because Davao can supply double the manpower requirements they need said Western Wats Philippines president Jose Antonio San Gabriel in an interview after the Contact Signing held yesterday between their company and NCCC Mall Davao.

"We'd rather be where the source is," he said. Western Wats is considered as the preferred company for market research by the top 500 corporations of the world as named by Fortune magazine.

But he feared that the academe may not be able to supply the need of the industry in the next three years as many BPO (business process outsourcing) companies are looking at the Philippines to expand their operations.

He said many companies operating in India are locating in the Philippines and they fear of a demand and supply situation for manpower in the future.

Gabriel said they are willing to partner with the academe and conduct strategic planning in order for these universities come up with the right module that would produce graduates with skills that fit into the need of the ICT industry.

He clarified however that it is not the schools that has a problem but the individual himself and this has to be addressed.

He said Filipinos really are already known for its good command of English and the moment the worker is trained on the right accent nobody would notice whether they are talking with a call center agent from the Philippines or in America.

With a kick off investment of P70 million Derek Rice, operations director of Western Wats said they already are finishing the infrastructure requirements and will start recruitment by May. They need for 2008 about 500 agents, he said.

Rice said their company provides survey research data collection and specializes in quantitative research data collection via live telephone interview, automated telephony and the web.

The Western Wats based in Utah, USA will have Davao as its second branch in the Philippines next to Cebu that was opened six years ago.

The Western Wats' 300 clients ranges from government agencies, auto manufacturing firms, advertising outfits, media organizations, print publications and universities, to mid-sized grocers, small private businesses, non-profit groups.

Gabriel meanwhile said that they are open to expansion of which they had an initial five-year contract with NCCC Mall and an extension for six years.

On the other hand Gabriel emphasized that the hiring rate of the agents would be higher than the P8,000 rate that other call center operators are giving to their workers. And passing their standard qualifications they could train these workers become call center agents within three days.

Gabriel also said that their clients are allowed to monitor the survey and even listen to the conduct of the survey by the call center agents.

"Presumably all our clients mostly in the US are satisfied with the way call center agents deliver the work. They also noted that the Filipinos are more patient," he said.

jhunix

April 2nd, 2008, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by tj_brewed
International Callcenters in Davao

- Sitel (callcenter facility)
- Sutherland Chinatown (callcenter facility)
- Sutherland Luisa Avenue Square (callcenter facility)
- Callbox (callcenter facility)
- PeopleSupport (recruitment and training facility)
- Etelecare (recruitment facility)
- Link2Support One (callcenter facility)
- Link2Support Two Damosa IT Park (callcenter facility)
- GCom/Cybercity Teleserv (callcenter facility)
- Western Wats ((callcenter/ back office facility)

Proudly Dabawenyo owned callcenters

- Callwell (callcenter facility)
- Sixeleven Global (callcenter facility)
- Qualiserve (callcenter facility)
- Quantom (callcenter facility)
- and other locally owned contact centers

Plus other med transcription, software dev, web and content providers, ITES and IT firms.

dinabaw

April 3rd, 2008, 05:04 AM

^^

Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 15

Business World - Apr 2, 2008
Vol. XXI, No. 172
Thursday, April 03, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Corporate News
500-seat call center to open in Davao in July

DAVAO CITY — Western Wats Philippines is opening a call center at the New City Commercial Corp. (NCCC) Mall here, the Philippine head of the US-based firm said.

Western Wats, which also operates in Cebu City, has spent about P60 million to P70 million for its Davao operations, company officials said.

"This does not include our other operational expenses as we are bringing in equipment from the US," Western Wats Philippines President Jose Antonio T. San Gabriel said during a press conference.

Derek Rice, Western Wats operations director, said the company will hire 500 employees this year, and the number will double next year.

These employees will go into market research since the company is into data gathering and analysis for clients, Mr. Rice said.

The Davao operations will start in July and employees will have their hands full by then considering that the American election is heating up. The call center will gather data for US presidential candidates, he said.

In May, the company will start recruitment and will hold jobs fairs and other similar events to fill the seats required.

With the entry of the US-based call center company, Ivan Spencer A. Lim, manager of NCCC malls, said extending mall hours is being studied.

Mr. San Gabriel said his company does not want to "overpay" its employees so as not to disrupt the operations of other call center companies in the city.

Andre Joseph T. Fournier of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that based on a government survey, call centers in the city pay between P7,000 to P11,000 a month for entry-level positions, and the salary can rise to P13,000 a month.

Mr. Fournier earlier urged local call centers to increase the pay of their workers even if the level is still below the rates in Metro Manila.

The entry of more call centers Western Wats being the fifth among the big contact center firms to operate in the city — will give opportunities to many local residents who are proficient in English, he added.

PINOYmeat

April 4th, 2008, 03:35 PM

CEBU's....

*724Care
*Access Direct Teksolutions
*ADD Force
*Bigfoot Global Solutions, Inc.
*Blue Sky Trading Co., Inc.
*Brightpoint Philippines, Inc.
*Calltek Center Int'l Inc
*Cebu Global Teleservices
*Convergys Corporation
*Data Center Design Corporation (DCDC)
*Enabling Solutions, Inc.
*eTelecare Global Solutions
*ExcelAsia
*Giedo LLC
*Goldtelecomm Specialist, Inc.
*ICapital, Inc.
*iCatchIT, Inc.
*iComm International
*iNTOUCH
*Lexysoft
*Live Service
*Live2Sell
*MT LINK Asia, Inc.
*Northern Transcriptionworks, Inc.
*Oracy Concepts
*Pacific Global Outsource Solutions, Inc.
*PeopleSupport
*Qualfone
*Shem Data
*Sykes Asia, Inc.
*Touch Asia Contact Solutions, Inc.
*Trends & Technologies
*Tricom Systems
*Voiceville Communications
*WebFocus Solutions Inc.
*Western Wats
*Xsolus
*Zzubo Systems, Inc.

there are more than 30!!!! waaaaah, and this list is not even updated!!!

not in the list

accenture, xlibris, and supportsave, ePerformax, wipro, 123Ten, SourceHub and i guess too many to mention :lol:

from HERE (http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-location/Philippines/Cebu/directory-7-page-2.html)

davaoeagle

April 4th, 2008, 07:01 PM

PIA Press Release
2008/04/04
Davao offers BPO's needed manpower
By Mai Gevera

Davao City (4 April) -- Gradually, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are beginning to see the potential of Davao City in terms of tapping the huge manpower supply that even exceeds what Cagayan de Oro can offer.

This was the edge of the city which made Western Wats, the largest data collection company in the world, to finally open a branch at NCCC Davao.

Western Wats Philippines President Jose Antonio San Gabriel explained that what made the company try Davao is the fact that it has about 42,000 qualified manpower that the company could make use of.

San Gabriel further said that Cagayan de Oro, which may have been quite advanced than the former, is only producing 20,000 potential workers which is not enough to fill in the needs of BPO companies.

Western Wats has seen and also believed on the quality of students and professionals that are English proficient and at the same time possess an empowered bearing.

After setting the trend of BPO industry in Cebu City, Western Wats bravely poured in a P60 million capital to start their branch in Davao City.

Western Wats is the first market research call center that will test the waters in Davao. It will hire agents, train them for three days, and allow them to start the job right after.

Here, the agents do not sell, do not encounter irate callers, and suffer the disadvantages of shifting. Instead, agents simply need to be English proficient to collect data for a wide variety of agencies.

Davao will then be the home of market research which posted a big demand especially by large multinationals that need data collection services for their business plans and how to launch their product and services.

"Our clients love Filipino agents because they are understood better than Indians and even by the native speakers," said San Gabriel. "We allow our clients to monitor our agents and so far, they have been contended with our workers," he said.

It has been observed that the entry of BPO companies is not as fast as Cagayan de Oro and Cebu City. This was believed to be caused by the travel advisory as well as the peace and order image that is wrongfully attached to the city.

"However, with the entry of Western Wats, we believe that all the other large BPO companies will follow just like how the said company also started the trend in Cebu City," said an NCCC official. (PIA) [top]

dinabaw

April 5th, 2008, 12:46 PM

karon lang ko kabalo EMCOR is Davao based business diay :cheers:

EMCOR to offer Western Union® Money Transfer Service in Vis-Min area

EMCOR, a wholly owned Filipino retail chain of household appliances and motorcycles and The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a provider of global money transfer services, signed an agreement to offer Western Union Money Transfer services in Visayas and Mindanao.

Davao City based EMCOR is the first retail company to join Western Union’s network of more than 6,400 agent locations in the Philippines. EMCOR has nine existing affiliated companies that produce quality products and services in the motorcycle and household appliance industry. In becoming a Western Union agent, EMCOR will be the first company of its kind in the Philippines to offer remittance services. Being based outside of Metro Manila also strengthens Western Union’s footprint in the Vis-Min area.

“Because our business is in the re-selling of products rather than manufacturing them, the essence of our company’s business operation is high-quality customer service,” said Jesus del Rosario, founder of EMCOR.

“EMCOR’s reputation for excellent customer service and drive for maximum client satisfaction fits well with Western Union’s focus on taking care of our customers,” said Patricia Riingen, Western Union’s vice president for the Philippines. “This partnership gives us the opportunity to reach out to Filipinos in the Visayas-Mindanao area and offer them the same quality service we offer our customers in Manila. By the end of this year, EMCOR will have specially-built Western Union kiosks in 100 EMCOR retail stores for easy access and convenience.”

About EMCOR
EMCOR was founded in 1958 as the franchise dealer for International Harvesters in Mindanao. In 1976, it shifted its product lines to motorcycles and appliances. For the first time, the company will not only offer products but also Western Union services to consumers available in 100 EMCOR retail outlets.

About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global money transfer services. Together with its affiliates, Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable, and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a network of more than 312,000 agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. For more information, visit westernunion.com.

http://moneysense.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=40

dinabaw

April 5th, 2008, 01:11 PM

Davao ICT Council notes a rising demand for ICT jobs

The demand for jobs in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Davao City is expected to go up, according to Davao ICT Council chairperson Lizabel Holganza.

Holganza said the Council has been deluged with invitations from the US, for medical billing and coding jobs although she said existing skills could not yet match the increasing demand.

She said that existing medical health practitioners in the city still need to upgrade their ICD level to ICD-10 from their current level of ICD-9.

ICD is a system of categorizing or grouping diseases, injuries, conditions and procedures using specified codes assigned according to set criteria. This system is a vital requirement in the processing and renewal of hospital licenses by the Department of Health and Philhealth for all primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals.

The ICD-10 is used to code and classify mortality data from death certificates, having replaced ICD-9. The ICD-10 is copyrighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), which owns and publishes the classification. WHO has authorized the development of an adaptation of ICD-10 for the US government and all modifications to the ICD-10 must conform to WHO conventions for the ICD.

Meanwhile, there is also an expected sharp rise in the call center industry.

In a property forum of the Davao Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) on February 28, Head of the Davao City Investment and Promotion Center (DCIPC) Engineer Roberto Teo announced that the city is set to make available some 20,000 square meters for call center operations toward the end of the year.

He said the projects are in Lanang (Davao Motor Sales), J P Laurel Avenue (Robinsons Land, Inc) and on the fourth one is at the fourth floor of NCCC Mall in Matina, Davao City. He added that some call center buildings will also house its own supermarket.

Chief executive officer of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines Oscar Sanez also reported that call centers will be really big and, by 2010, it is expected that some 310 billion dollars will be outsourced in countries like India and the Philippines. Sanez says they expect 10 percent or $13 billion of this investment with about 5 percent going to Davao City. He says this means that the city needs to make available 180,000 square meters of spaces for new sites.

The property forum was held specifically to orient Davao City real property owners and developers about BPOs and give them a clear picture of the ICT industry. Holganza said they noted some interests from the property owners and are hopeful that land owners will consider investing in Davao to siphon from the already overcrowded Manila.

Sanez confirmed that they want to break the concentration of the ICT sector in the National Capital Region because it was not good for the industry. However, Teo admitted that although Davao City would be ideal place for offshoring and outsourcing, it would need still a road map to determine what the city really has.

“There is a need to conduct inventory on what Davao really has,” Teo said. He added that he would like to see investments in the light and service industry and find out if they would put up another PEZA accredited site ideal for IT Park,” he said. (CJ Kuizon with reports from PIA)

http://davaotoday.com/2008/03/03/davao-ict-council-notes-a-rising-demand-for-ict-jobs/

dinabaw

April 9th, 2008, 08:49 AM

Business Article
US-based firm opens call center operations
By Carmelito Q. Francisco

WESTERN WATS Philippines is opening a call center at the New City Commercial Corp. (NCCC) Mall here, said its president, Jose Antonio T. San Gabriel.

San Gabriel said the US based call center company, which also has operations in Cebu City, has already spent about P60 million to P70 million “to kick operations.”

“This does not include our other operational expenses as we are bringing in equipment from the US,” he said during a press conference here.

Derek Rice, its operational director, said the company will start hiring employees with about 500 of them will be employed this year and that the number will double the next year.

These employees will go into market research as the company is into data gathering for their clients and analyzing the data that will help the clients shape the operations, Rice said. “We help improve the quality of the products of the establishment,” he said.

The operations, he added, will start in July and that the employees will have their hands full by then considering that the American election will start heating up. It is during the elections, Mr. Rice explained, when the company’s 16 other call centers get busy because they are tasked of getting data for the presidential wannabes.

In May, the company will start recruitment as it will hold jobs fairs and other similar events to fill the seats.

Unlike in other call centers, San Gabriel said the employees are not going to receive irate calls nor are they going to sell products. “It is the most pleasurable job in the call center business,” he said, pointing out that the company ensures that the employees will be in an environment conducive to work.

Ivan Spencer A. Lim, manager of NCCC malls, said the entry of the US-based call center company is a welcome development to the mall operations.

Lim said that these “highly-paid individuals” will excite the mall considering that they have the money to spend. But Lim said the mall hours will still be the same as employees of the call center will only be given access to the 4,700-square meter area where the call center operations is placed.

“Now we have the option (to extend the mall hours or operate in a 24-hour basis). But we will still have to look into the operations,” he added.

However, San Gabriel said his company does not want “to overpay” its employees so as not to disturb the operations of other call center companies in the city.

Andre Joseph T. Fournier of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry said at present, based on the government survey, call centers in the city pay between P7,000 to P11,000 a month for entry level positions and this can rise to P13,000 a month.

Earlier, Fournier was among those who urged local call centers to increase the pay of their agents even if the level is still below the rates in Metro Manila.

He said the entry of more call centers, with Western Wats being the fifth among the biggest to operate in the city, will give more opportunities to those who have good command of the English language, some of them have been hired and brought to other areas of the country where call center operations are taking place.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=19633

henji

April 9th, 2008, 05:23 PM

Sutherland? Western Wats? whats next? keep it coming.... i hope more big guys come in our city since (based on the articles) we have a large pool of human resources, which is at present is relocated to Cebu, Manila or Subic. I hope too that they could offer attractive salaries to our relocated agents for them be able to comeback here in Davao.

A couple of years ago I was able to attend a seminar in UM regarding DTI linkages and Davao industries. and one of the speaker shared that he invited an investor to come over here to think about and invest and put up a call center. Sadly that investor transfered to CDO to invest there. As he shared it to us it buggled my mind "why not here?".

So Now (2008) we now have a business park, come in come in......

tj_brewed

April 9th, 2008, 06:19 PM

^^ wala na silang kawala satin...we have the IT Parks, the IT Buildings, the new IT Centers...ahahahahhaha

dinabaw

April 10th, 2008, 07:01 AM

DOLE to strictly implement OHS standards in call centers

by Prix D Banzon

Davao City (9 April) -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is requiring the strict implementation of Department Circular No. 1 series of 2008 on ensuring occupational health and safety (OSH) programs in all call centers throughout the country.

The circular issued by Labor Secretary Arturo D. Brion is a guideline that guides call center firms in the formulation of OSH program and compliance with OSH standards and other related OSH issuances that are being enforced to protect workers across industries from life-threatening hazards in workplace.

The OSH program should include hazard and risk prevention and control to reduce the extent of workers' exposure to hazards and decrease the likelihood for those hazards to cause illness or injury;

It must also include capability building for members of the call centers' safety and health committee to undertake risk management activities through information, training, and work environment safety and health interventions.

Referra l and access to medical and welfare services that should address the physical ergonomic, and psychological aspects of the work environment as well as the health and safety needs of the workers must also be included.

In a press statement Brion said safety and health concerns of call center workers must be addressed as this could undermine the workers' physical, mental, and psychological well-being and subsequently the workers' efficiency in the performance of their job.

Among the concerns affecting the health of call center workers is the weather prevailing in tropical country like the Philippines as it is usually very cold inside the call center but hot outside. This combination may result to health problems like cough, cold, dry itchy throat and other voice problem.

Call center workers perform job using computers and telephones uninterrupted for long hours with minimal movements that may cause eye strain, hearing problems, and musculo-skeletal symptoms. The workers are also subjected to stress and pressure due to quotas and constant monitoring.

Graveyard shift, on the other hand, poses a threat to women workers' physical safety and reproductive capability.

The DOLE he said shall coordinate the provision of training, information and technical assistance in the implementation of the safety and health program in line with the Zero Accident Program.

The Labor Inspectorate of DOLE Regional Offices shall be responsible in the enforcement and monitoring of call centers' compliance with the provisions of the Circular. (PIA) [top]

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=R11&y=08&mo=04&fi=p080409.htm&no=04

bongskie09

April 10th, 2008, 08:25 AM

Maayong udto sa tanan!

^^ Just want to share the good news over my most recent promotion as TM* (Team Manager or TL <team leader> as it is called in other call centers) in our company. It has been my goal (naningkamot jud og katkat :lol:) since joining the call center world in 2005 to hold a higher position and i thank God for entrusting me the responsibility. Glory be unto him! :)

*still unofficial, since i'm still subject for training as TM which will start next week, per our program director.

Peng Hok

April 10th, 2008, 08:26 AM

^^
More power to you Kuya Bongskie!

:cheers: to that!

bongskie09

April 10th, 2008, 08:27 AM

Thanks atty.! :cheers:

dinabaw

April 11th, 2008, 08:12 AM

Job fair at Gaisano
Share and Enjoy!

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/1621/jobfair3sl8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A swarm of people yesterday at Gaisano Mall of Davao, owing to the job fair. Not a bad idea holding it at the mall: it's accessible and it has the space, and the mall makes a killing from the additional sales arising from increased foot traffic.

It also becomes a one-stop location: all the relevant government agencies are represented. Now, if only it didn't have such a big banner announcing that the fair was brought to you by Speaker Prospero Nograles. Sigh. Can't escape patronage.

On the other hand, makes me worry about the possibility of stampede.

henji

April 12th, 2008, 12:12 PM

Congrats po sir.... Congrats also for Davao for new BPO's.

dinabaw

April 14th, 2008, 07:11 AM

Starting A Biz with WiFi

Posted on February 17, 2008
Filed Under Blog

Davao City’s been dubbed as the WiFi City of the country because of its wide offerings of free wifi hotspots in the whole city. A lot of business and public establishments in the city have installed their own WiFi equipments for them to drive potential customers.

I’ve witnessed how Davao’s restaurant and coffee shop industry shifted its way from a for-the-rich image to a for-the-mass image. Nowadays, people from the middle class who owns wifi devices can utilize the free internet access offered by restos and coffee shops.

Thus, when opening a business, it is highly recommended that you incorporate the WiFi service to drive customers to your establishment. WiFi routers are now sold in the country at a very cost-effective price.

Of course, like any business establishment, you should also have a point of sale system for monitoring your sales. Since you are connected online, it is good to utilize web-based pos system to save on equipments and software costs.

http://www.davaohotspots.com/2008/02/17/starting-a-biz-with-wifi/#comments

dinabaw

April 14th, 2008, 01:24 PM

Business Article
Provide more perks to locators in rural areas, nat'l gov't urged
By Carmelito Q. Francisco Published : 2008-04-11

THE national government should provide more incentives to business locators in the provincial areas so that more companies can be lured to locate in the countryside particularly those in the information and communications technology sector, said Andre Joseph T, Fournier of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Fournier said that at present are the same as those offered for locators in Metro Manila.

“This is our priority plan. We will continue to persuade the national government to provide more incentives to (locators in the) provincial areas,” he said, pointing out that some companies still think that infrastructure facilities outside Metro Manila are still lacking.

But Teolulo T. Pasawa, city chief of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center, said most of those prospective locators in the industry would locate in the city if they could realize a 20 percent savings on their operating expenses.

Pasawa said that while operational expenses are lower here and other provincial areas, most companies still prepare Metro Manila because of the perceived better infrastructure facilities and wider pool of human resources.

“We need to strengthen our campaign for them to consider the city as investment area because of the (bad) perception,” Pasawa told the TIMES in an earlier interview, pointing out that the image of the city has made foreign executives to consider it not as a primary choice for investment.

Business leaders both in the Davao Region and the rest of Mindanao have blamed the negative publicity that the island has gotten, particularly the perception that it is hounded by armed conflicts even when these were isolated.

Last year, the city’s main business organization, the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry even passed a resolution calling embassies in the country to be specific in their travel advisories, saying that the city and several other areas of Mindanao were more peaceful than most of the capitals of the countries that the embassies were representing.

On human resources, Fournier added that the city can even compete with any part of the country, except for Metro Manila where the big universities are located. “We have enough human resources, the problem is that most members of our labor forces have even been recruited by companies to work outside of the city,” he told the TIMES.

One of the pioneering consultants of the information and communications technology industry in the city having helped earlier some of big companies in holding recruitment activities, Fournier even threatened not to help companies recruit in the city if they would still bring their recruits to work outside of the city, saying it would be better for them to locate in the city.

Lizabel G. Holganza, president of the Transcription Alliance of Davao Inc., said the industry was already preparing to come up with a study that will look into the status of human resources in the city.

On the incentives that the local government should provide to industry locators, the city government has started discussing the package of incentives as part of the amendment of the investment incentive code.

Councilor Peter T. Lavina, chair of the committee on commerce and trade, said this will mean including the industry in the list of priority areas of investments in the city. By doing so, Lavina said, industry locators will be given incentives like those locators in other industries that were included in the list.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=19688

lightsaber46

April 18th, 2008, 06:19 AM

Friday, April 18, 2008
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/apr/18/yehey/business/20080418bus1.html

Short-term weakness blamed on US woes

BPO office demand to slow down
By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter

DEMAND for business process outsourcing (BPO) office space is seen to ease this year due to the US economic slowdown, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Philippines, Inc. said Thursday.

In a briefing, Joey Radovan, CBRE Global Corporate Services head, said demand for BPO office space is unlikely to top last year’s performance of about 300,000 square meters, adding the office sector is assuming a cautious posture as the US economy lingers in a “psychological recession.”

“The challenge is to weigh the pros and cons of new capital expenditure to off-shore their back-office operations or to right-size to be able to ride through the economic slowdown,” Radovan said.

He said third-party outsourcing providers will have to convince prospective clients that out-sourcing is the way to go in surviving the economic slowdown, adding developers are working hard to catch actual demand that will still come out of the US.

If office space take-up slows this year, the demand profile of BPO companies could shift immediately and as early as the first quarter of next year, the CBRE executive said.

“The name of the game is being in the market as early as possible and being able to provide the space at the most competitive rental rate,” he said.

Radovan said there is unlikely to be a property slump in the Philippines as developers have already learned their lessons in 1997.

“They do not build anymore on pure speculation. They build on actual demand. If the additional demand does not come, then they shift gears and hold back any planned construction,” he added.

In the Philippines, the BPO industry as well as the marked increase of tourist arrivals has fueled the growth of the real estate sector over the last three years. Likewise, continued growth in overseas Filipinos worker deployment and the increase in their remittances, which hit an all time high of $14.4 billion last year, have propped up the property sector.

The US is widely feared to be in a recession as a result of a credit crunch and dwindling consumer confidence stemming from defaults in the US sub prime housing market and huge write-downs by big-name lenders that invested in instruments based on these soured loans.

Peng Hok

April 19th, 2008, 02:07 AM

Saturday, April 19, 2008
NCCC opens new branch in GSC

A LONG time Davao-based supermarket has opened a branch in General Santos City just recently.

The New City Commercial Center (NCCC) opened its 1,000-square meter Supermarket Wholesale Center outlet in the tuna capital on April 14, 2008.

NCCC mall PR officer Aileen Gajo said the newly opened wholesale center is located along Leon Llido Street in Lagao district. The property is on lease to NCCC.

She said it is the eighth supermarket branch, and will focus on servicing wholesalers and distributors in the city and nearby towns of Sarangani Province.

This will bridge medium to small-scale distributors, and sari-sari store retailers that service their community's daily household needs.

Director for Operations Jojo Canda meanwhile said they are looking at servicing other customer-driven outlets like school canteens, hospitals and clinics, restaurants, even hotels and inns who may want to take advantage of quality merchandise at reasonable prices.

He said that on the opening day the NCCC's Rewards membership sold at P88 attracted 300 new members who will receive rebates from purchases made at the wholesale outlet. More purchases of at least P200 allows more points that may be redeemed as gift certificates or gift items within the year.

The opening ceremony were led by chair of the Board, Helen A. Lim; Group president Tek Sim L. Go; Group executive vice president, Tick Hua L. Fernandez.

The NCCC Supermarket is a member of the NCCC Group of Companies operating in the cities of Davao, Tagum, Palawan and now, General Santos City.

henji

April 19th, 2008, 03:32 AM

red_jasper

April 19th, 2008, 07:32 AM

Saturday, April 19, 2008
More space for IT, BPO
By Debra Magallon-Estero
Sun.Star Correspondent

THERE are more than 154,000 square meters of office space in Metro Cebu registered with the Philippine Export Zone Authority (Peza) for information technology (IT) companies.

Having more space for IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) operations (will attract more investors to Cebu, said Juliet Banogon, Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) investment promotions officer.

She said most of the investors that they have briefed about Cebu’s industry situation usually make a decision to invest and operate within three to six months.

“So we have to be ready when they are here,” Banogon told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.

Banogon also confirmed that aside from the usual Japanese and American investors, there is also a Korean group that initially showed interest in putting up investments in the Cebu City.

The Koreans want to invest in the IT industry, as well as in power generation, medical tourism and food processing. Call centers with operations in Luzon are also planning to expand its operations in Cebu.

Read more here (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/04/19/bus/more.space.for.it.bpo.html)

henji

April 22nd, 2008, 07:17 PM

Davao Technopreneurship: post post away........

JoeyIncali

April 22nd, 2008, 07:40 PM

OT: I am amazed some Pinoys think Davao or most parts of Mindanao is infested with terrorists. Once I was talking to my kumpare. He mentioned "magulo" daw sa Davao.
I asked him, whenever you watch the news on TFC, how many stabbings in Manila do you hear before you hear a grenade going off in Mindanao?
You guessed it, a lot more he said. Turns out his brother in law and father were just stabbed in Angeles.
I'm planning to retire in Davao and hopefully I can teach computer repair or CAD/CAM to help the next generation of Davao kids.

dinabaw

April 23rd, 2008, 05:35 AM

davaob4now

April 24th, 2008, 05:26 AM

One leap further for NCCC since its a KCC dominated area.

is it a full service shopping center?they are planning to put a branch at Digos City too, they are in the planning stage.

dinabaw

April 25th, 2008, 01:43 PM

JIB e-Academy and
USEP ink agreement

The JIB e-Academy and the University of Southeastern Philippine inked a partnership agreement last April 16 that will give USEP students the chance to undergo training in all communication skill offerings of the academy for free.

At least 50 students per batch will be accommodated to undergo training on communication skills program and English language pronunciation enhancement in two to three days.

“The training will be best for the students especially for job opportunities,” said Joji Ilagan Bian, academy chair.

The agreement also includes offering the students with free instruction on the basic training for call center agent.

“This is like sharing to them the call center environment,” Ilagan said.

JIB e-Academy is the only school accredited by the Language Institute in the entire Mindanao. Its language and communication skill offerings will help develop one’s speaking voice, articulation, pronunciation, and diction of the student using Standard American Speech pattern. Maya M. Padillo

http://www.dailymirror.ph/pep&events04252008&02.html

henji

April 26th, 2008, 02:10 AM

lightsaber46

April 26th, 2008, 06:31 AM

Regus Group finds RP property market strong
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0425&262008/companies05.html
By Max V. de Leon
Reporter

SEEING a strong potential in the Philippine property market, global provider of outsourced workplace solutions Regus Group is keen on expanding here by putting up at least two more business centers this year.

Regus launched Thursday its third facility in Metro Manila at the Net Cube Building in Fort Bonifacio’s Global City, with 1,134 square meters of prime office space.

The center offers 49 fully furnished offices with dedicated conference and meeting room facilities, coupled with state-of-the-art information technology and telecommunications infrastructure.

Regus’ other centers in the Philippines are at the Enterprise Center and Philamlife Tower, both in the Makati business district.

“This new center is an important part of our Southeast Asia expansion plans,” said William Willems, country general manager for Regus in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines, Willems said, is an important emerging market in Southeast Asia, given its highly skilled, English-proficient workforce and low infrastructural costs. “The country is undoubtedly one of the most popular outsourcing destinations in the region.”

With this, Willems said the company is eyeing to put up business centers in the Central Philippine province of Cebu and Metro Manila’s Ortigas business district in the next 12 months.

Depending on demand, Regus has contingency for another facility in Global City.

Regus’ current clients in the Philippines include Lawson, IBM, Lenovo, McCann and Nokia.

Regus’ business centers offer increased flexibility in terms of rent, space and support services to help customers better manage their property needs and focus on the development of their core businesses.

PINOYmeat

April 26th, 2008, 07:14 AM

Regus Group finds RP property market strong
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0425&262008/companies05.html
By Max V. de Leon
Reporter

With this, Willems said the company is eyeing to put up business centers in the Central Philippine province of Cebu and Metro Manila’s Ortigas business district in the next 12 months.

Depending on demand, Regus has contingency for another facility in Global City.

Regus’ current clients in the Philippines include Lawson, IBM, Lenovo, McCann and Nokia.

could be in one of these U/C IT buildings in asiatown

IT Park 04.24.2008

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x248/gibbster1/SSC%20Cebu/ITPark04242008.jpg

Here are some Updates on AITP...:) As of 4:15PM

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/miaka_cham/DSC00980.jpg
eBloc - now on its 10th floor..

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/miaka_cham/DSC00977.jpg
Skyrise 2

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/miaka_cham/DSC00982.jpg
Skyrise 1 & 2

and...
here's Skyrise 3

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/miaka_cham/DSC00979.jpg

lightsaber46

April 28th, 2008, 08:58 AM

Monday, April 28, 2008
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/apr/28/yehey/business/20080428bus9.html

Space rental, leasing to BPOs
lift industries’ gross revenues

OFFICE space rental and leasing operations in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector boosted the gross revenue of industries in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said.

Romulo A. Virola, NSCB secretary-general, said in a statement that industries’ total revenue went up by 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter, from 11 percent in the previous year.

“Real estate posted the highest growth at 15.3 percent, bolstered by the increased income from office space rental and leasing operations in the BPO industry,” Virola said.

The NSCB official said the finance sector also contributed to total earnings, as its revenues expanded by 14.9 percent due to higher earnings from lending activities amid a low interest-rate environment.

The trade sector grew by 10.1 percent, driven by brisk sales from the country’s newly opened super malls.

Virola said total employment, however, declined by 2.5 percent, from a positive growth of 3.7 percent in 2006.

“Employment was pulled down by the manufacturing and electricity and water sectors, which dropped by 5 percent and 1 percent, respectively,” he said.

The real-estate sector, however, recorded the fastest growth of 15.4 percent, followed by mining and quarrying, up by 9.9 percent; finance, by 9 percent; transportation, communication and storage, by 1.4 percent; and trade, by 1.3 percent.

Total compensation, which represents the salaries and wages paid out by industries in cash and in kind, grew by 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the highest growth recorded for last year.

Leading the growth in compensation were transportation, communication and storage with 15.4 percent; and finance, with 12.4 percent. Other sectors which showed improvements in growth were electricity and water and trade, with 7.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar

dinabaw

April 30th, 2008, 06:25 AM

Vol. XXI, No. 191
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Corporate News
Mindanao cities drawing BPO firms that seek to reduce costs

DAVAO CITY — Fierce competition in the business process outsourcing industry is speeding up the expansion throughout Mindanao of BPO firms looking to lower operating costs and access new sources of talent to fill demand.

Davao and Cagayan de Oro are becoming known as BPO hubs offering a wide range of services, but there is still room for regional expansion, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said.

Current estimates of the total number of call centers in the Philippines range from 90 to more than 120. Fewer than 10 of these are in Mindanao, which has a quarter of the national population.

The global BPO industry will generate an estimated $310 billion by 2010, according to the Oxford Business Group. "The Philippines is projected to take 10% of the world market, and Mindanao stands to benefit from the country-wide expansion," the USAID said through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program.

Most larger-scale firms now investing in Mindanao are in Davao and Cagayan de Oro. "There are 3,000 existing seats in five call centers in Davao alone, with 3,000 more in the pipeline," said Andre Fournier of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Link2Support, Inc. already employs several hundred call center agents in Davao and Cagayan de Oro. Western Wats, a US-based firm, is said to be investing P60 million in its Davao operations.

Joji Ilagan Bian, president of the Philippine Call Center Alliance, said Mindanao is also attracting firms planning small-scale centers with 250 seats or less. "They’re considering other urban centers like General Santos, Zamboanga, Iligan and Cotabato," Ms. Bian said.

General Santos, a bustling agroindustrial hub, is said to be planning a citywide wireless network using WiMAX technology, which should make it more attractive to BPO investors. It already has a fiber optic network in place.

The three-hectare Mabuhay IT Park, set up in General Santos by private developer Mabuhay Technopark Corp., is a one-stop facility for voice, video and data services, with secure network communications and backup power supply.

The potential BPO labor force in the city includes 5,000 new graduates from colleges in the city per year, with about 10,000 more from Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat, according to a report prepared with the Board of Investment.

"General Santos is definitely at par with other information and communications technology hubs," said Ellorence Cruz of the BOI. "The only hindrance is the lingering perception of security risks in the region. We had the same problem in 2002 when promoting the country as a BPO hub. Little by little, the firms started coming to Manila, then to other cities. And now they’re coming to Mindanao."

Filipino-owned BPO firms appear to have discounted these security perceptions, Ms. Bian said. "I tell other firms less familiar with the region that they should just come over and judge for themselves. They can incubate accounts with a limited number of seats and see how well things work out."

Skilled BPO workers can be found throughout Mindanao, said Ms. Bian, who operates several call center training schools. Most of the region’s universities and vocational institutions are now offering extension courses in BPO skills. Iligan City and Zamboanga have particularly large labor pools and strong college level programs in IT. "Graduates with IT skills or call center training end up migrating to Cebu and Manila to get jobs. "Why not bring the business closer to the labor pool?" Ms. Bian said.

Setting up BPO operations right at the manpower source has advantages for both the firms and their local hires, according to the USAID’s GEM program which, with the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council, is helping to expand employment opportunities and improve IT infrastructure in the region.

Mindanao-based personnel who do not have to commute and pay rent as they would in Manila and Cebu are content with a lower pay scale. "Also, since call center jobs carry more prestige in Mindanao, personnel are more committed," Mr. Fournier said. According to the GEM program, the employment of young people ensures peace and economic development of their communities.

Call center agents from Zamboanga have been known to trade P20,000 call center jobs in Manila for P12,000 jobs in their home city because, they say, there they can enjoy better quality of life. Brenda Nazareth-Manzano, regional director of the Department of Science and Technology, said incoming BPO firms would have the benefit of strong interagency collaboration.

Operating costs in Mindanao can be 25% to 30% less than in Manila or Cebu. Power in General Santos and Zamboanga is less than P5 per kilowatt-hour (kwh), compared with P10 per kwh in Cebu and P8.23 per kwh in Metro Manila. Labor economists forecast the creation of up to two million jobs in BPO-related industries by 2010. The USAID wants to help ensure that Mindanao receives an equitable share of this pie. — Growth with Equity in Mindanao

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW043008/content.php?id=042

dinabaw

May 1st, 2008, 04:15 AM

3 Davao IT instructors pass latest PhilNITS exam

By glenrose on May 1, 2008 in News

Davao City (1 May) — OUT of the 70 information technology (IT) students and professionals who took the April 6 Philippine National IT Standards (PhilNITS) Certification Exam for Fundamental Engineers (FE) in Davao City, only three passed.

They are Vanessa Castillo Ramoran and Jan Vincent Quindoy Miro of University of the Philippines in Mindanao (UP-Min) and Antonio Tantoy Trasporto, Jr. of STI College of Davao, all are IT instructors.

Given said result, this brings to six the PhilNITS Certified Professionals in Davao City. Others are Lorraine Raissa Yu, Aloysius Torres and Everisa Torres.

Since the PhilNITS certificate is recognized by the Government of Japan, successful examinees are able to acquire working visas to Japan and have bigger chances of working in Japanese business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

Meanwhile, PhilNITS Davao Branch Office announced that the next PhilNITS certification exam for FE is slated on October 26. Anyone interested, particularly graduating IT students and IT professionals with knowledge in C and Java programming languages, may register for the exam.

Requirements are the following: three 2×2 colored pictures, filled-up application forms, and registration fee of P1,800. Application forms can be downloaded through the organization’s website, www.philnits.org or you can get it at the PhilNITS Davao Branch Office at telephone number (082) 227-9448 and look for Ms. Joy Alferez. Deadline for submission of applications is on October 17.

The Certification exam is a project of PhilNITS–Davao in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 and the University of the Immaculate Conception. (DTI-PIA XI)

http://mindanao.p7107.com/davao/2008/05/01/3-davao-it-instructors-pass-latest-philnits-exam/

Ic3

May 2nd, 2008, 06:05 AM

Filipinos father open source electronic health record system

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 09:09:00 05/02/2008

SINGAPORE -- Filipinos have announced the first beta release of an open source electronic health record application that hopes to pave the way for low-cost electronic health record applications for the healthcare industry, the manager of an international open source network told INQUIRER.net on Thursday.

"This is groundbreaking for several reasons: it is free, portable, and open source that even doctors can contribute to its development," Dr. Alvin Marcelo, manager of the International Open Source Network (IOSN) Asean+3 node based in Manila, in an interview.

Dr. Marcelo said the Asean+3 node of the IOSN commissioned the Free Feathers EHR (FFEHR) project, which is an electronic health record application. The public beta was launched on April 28.

The IOSN Asean+3 is based at the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center.

"This release comes six months after the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center tasked free/open source software (F/OSS) programmer Nathaniel Jayme and Davao-based F/OSS organization DabaweGNU, Inc. to jointly develop FFEHR," the Davao-based open source organization said in its website.

Dr. Marcelo said this release would allow medical and nursing students, for instance, to start using it to understand electronic health records.

"We can graduate health professionals who are so adept with EHRs. They can't do this in developed countries because of the substantial cost of EHRs, which is mostly proprietary," he said.

Dr. Marcelo said that the public release of the open source application aims to generate more interest in lower-cost electronic health record systems.

"At the outset, an awareness that EHRs can be low-cost can generate new jobs since there will be a demand for customization. For the healthcare industry, this means better documentation and opportunity for better research on health care. We can't do this if we stick to paper-based records.

He said that EHRs in the United States are able to detect medical errors since records are now available electronically. In paper-based records, errors go unnoticed.

"Once the data are in electronic format, we can create algorithms that can detect errors and prevent them from being carried out. That's a little far off but the EHR is the first step toward that, and FFEHR gives us that first step," he said.

The Davao-based open source organization said the FFEHR is not yet ready for production use but it is expected that this initial release will rouse the interest of health care professionals and other developers.

"The increase in beta testers should enable the project to reach stability faster through the increase in bugs reported and through some contributed patches," it said.

Licensed under the GNU GPL3, FFEHR, is available for free download and use by the public including its source code. It can be downloaded from its project website at http://trac.afterfivetech.com/ffehr.

While the FFEHR was developed with the Philippine health care industry in mind, it can be customized for use in other countries.

The IOSN ASEAN+3 was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) initiative and is based at the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080502-134079/Filipinos-father-open-source-electronic-health-record-system

dinabaw

May 2nd, 2008, 06:10 AM

^^ good news! groundbreaking indeed! alot of good programmers from Davao that are making waves not only in local IT industry but also internationally. Kudos to Mr. Nathaniel Jayme:cheers:

Ic3

May 2nd, 2008, 06:53 AM

Indeed. This proves Davao's IT ecosystem is well-balanced. Open source advocates are also one of the active components here :)

Il Tenore

May 2nd, 2008, 03:04 PM

Good Evening Davao!

kiretoce

May 4th, 2008, 02:45 AM

Big US media firm outsources customer care to RP company (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=117024)

Customers of the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper San Jose Mercury News will now have to speak to Filipino call center agents after the paper's owners outsourced its customer care needs to a Philippine-based company.

MediaNews group, one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States with 57 dailies across 12 states, recently outsourced the company's customer care to APAC Customer Services, Inc., Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago said in a statement Saturday.

The San Jose Mercury News, founded in 1851 and based in San Jose, California, is the 34th largest US paper with a daily circulation of 230,870. It also won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1986 for its reports on the corruption of the government of Ferdinand Marcos.

Santiago, chair of the House committee on information and communications technology, said the decision of MediaNews will also drive its competitors to do the same.

"We expect MediaNews' decision to start offshoring some back-office services to the Philippines to drive the group's competitors to eventually do the same in order to stay economically competitive," Santiago said.

Santiago added that newspapers in the US and elsewhere face mounting financial challenges due to rapidly declining readership on account of growing Internet use.

APAC's Philippine call hubs will initially provide customer care and back-office solutions to San Jose Mercury News and two other sister publications, the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune, which will include inbound customer calls, subscriber retention, and delivery and billing inquiries.

APAC's main customers are involved mainly in healthcare, financial services, publishing, business services, communications, travel, and entertainment. It already has almost 80 newspaper clients from the US alone.

MediaNews followed The McClatchy Co., the US's third largest newspaper firm, which began outsourcing customer services back in July 2007.

McClatchy includes in its fold The Sacramento Bee, The Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Denver Post, and The Charlotte Observer, all among the top 50 US dailies.

"Global BPO providers based in the US have been crediting their Philippine operations as among the most productive worldwide, largely owing to the country's ample supply of highly cost-effective human resources," the Santiago's press statement said.

Philippine call centers are projected to have more than 300,000 seats employing 506,500 Filipinos and generating as much as $7.3 billion in annual revenues by 2010, it said.

dinabaw

May 4th, 2008, 11:38 AM

IBM Peace Corps Coming to Mindanao, Philippines

Last March 26, 2008, IBM launched a Corporate Service Corps program to help third world countries in various IT-related and socio-economic projects. Over a period of 3 years, the company will be sending about 600 of its employees to do volunteer work. Whether they will be working on a paid leave is unclear. For 2008, 100 volunteers composed of 12 teams will be sent to countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Ghana, Romania and Tanzania. Those assigned in the Philippines will be developing a system to track loan and grant beneficiaries of the Philippine Development Assistance Program. They will not be based in Manila, but in the less stressful areas of Davao City (yey) and Cagayan de Oro.

http://www.alleba.com/blog/2008/05/03/ibm-peace-corps-coming-to-mindanao-philippines/

oradude23

May 5th, 2008, 07:31 PM

Sutherland Global to expand in rural RP

A New York-based multinational company engaged in information technology and business process outsourcing in the Philippines plans to increase its call-center seats here by more than two-fold.

The firm, Sutherland Global Services, plans to open new offices in Davao City, Tarlac City and Iloilo and will be hiring more than 5,000 agents from those cities within this year to add to the current 5,500- strong workforce.

“The Philippines accounts for the 15 percent of Sutherland’s overall business…With [our] expansion plans, [we] also expect to double the capital expenditure this year,” Craig Bauwens, country manager and vice president for service delivery, said.

Bauwens said Sutherland will invest $3,500 per seat.

Further, the executive said that 80 percent of their market is the US and Canada, while the remaining 20 percent is being shared by Australia and Europe.

“Despite reports that a number of BPO companies in the Philippines are closing down due to the US recession, [we] believe that the slowdown is actually helping [our] business,” Bauwens said.

At present, Sutherland has BPO offices in Pampanga, Makati, Naga City, and Davao City.

The company specializes in integrated BPO solutions and employs over 21,000 professionals in India, the United States, Philippines, Canada and Mexico.

Bauwens said that once it has established its footprint in the Philippines, the firm will position its local offices to attract new markets such as Southeast Asia and other nearby countries.

“By integrating highly trained people with state-of-the-art technology and proven business methodologies, Sutherland in the countries will be competing head-on with other BPO giants,” Bauwens said.
--Katrina Mennen A. Valdez

lightsaber46

May 6th, 2008, 12:26 PM

Tuesday, May 06, 2008
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/may/06/yehey/business/20080506bus9.html

Sutherland Global to expand in rural RP

A New York-based multinational company engaged in information technology and business process outsourcing in the Philippines plans to increase its call-center seats here by more than two-fold.

The firm, Sutherland Global Services, plans to open new offices in Davao City, Tarlac City and Iloilo and will be hiring more than 5,000 agents from those cities within this year to add to the current 5,500- strong workforce.

“The Philippines accounts for the 15 percent of Sutherland’s overall business…With [our] expansion plans, [we] also expect to double the capital expenditure this year,” Craig Bauwens, country manager and vice president for service delivery, said.

Bauwens said Sutherland will invest $3,500 per seat.

Further, the executive said that 80 percent of their market is the US and Canada, while the remaining 20 percent is being shared by Australia and Europe.

“Despite reports that a number of BPO companies in the Philippines are closing down due to the US recession, [we] believe that the slowdown is actually helping [our] business,” Bauwens said.

At present, Sutherland has BPO offices in Pampanga, Makati, Naga City, and Davao City.

The company specializes in integrated BPO solutions and employs over 21,000 professionals in India, the United States, Philippines, Canada and Mexico.

Bauwens said that once it has established its footprint in the Philippines, the firm will position its local offices to attract new markets such as Southeast Asia and other nearby countries.

“By integrating highly trained people with state-of-the-art technology and proven business methodologies, Sutherland in the countries will be competing head-on with other BPO giants,” Bauwens said.
--Katrina Mennen A. Valdez

dinabaw

May 7th, 2008, 08:14 AM

-dp-

davaoeagle

May 9th, 2008, 11:34 PM

Business
US BPO firm Sutherland Global allots P3.1B for RP expansion
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
Saturday, May 10, 2008

US-headquartered Sutherland Global Services, a leading multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) provider, is investing at least P3.1 billion this year in its Philippine operations as the company expands its provincial operations and reaffirms its commitment to growing the local BPO industry.

Sutherland chairman and chief executive officer Dilip Vellodi revealed that the company is targeting more provincial sites like Tarlac and Iloilo to house additional BPO facilities within the year, potentially opening a floodgate of employment opportunities in these areas.

Of the P3.1 billion, over P2 billion will be spend for capital investments. “We expect our business here to grow 40 percent every year over the next couple of years,” Vellodi said.

In broadening its provincial reach, Sutherland has opened a new facility in popular eco-tourism destination Camarines Sur which was recently inaugurated by President Arroyo. Sutherland is the first international BPO in the Bicol region, providing a full range of back-office and customer life cycle management services to Sutherland’s international clientele.

Since it opened its first facility in Makati in July 2005, Sutherland has ventured outside Manila and has extended its operations to Clark, Davao City and Camarines Sur, growing its manpower in the Philippines to over 5,600 in a span of less than three years.

This expansion complements Sutherland’s delivery centers in India, US, Canada, Eastern Europe and Mexico with 21,000 employees worldwide supporting a client base of Fortune 500 companies.

According to industry analysts, the Philippines is currently the third largest destination geography for BPO services, next only to India and Canada.

Vellodi said Sutherland has a successful track record of investing in geographic areas that meet their strategic criteria – including access to infrastructure, high quality talent and a political and business climate conducive to the company’s business requirements.

“The Philippines is a strategic component of Sutherland’s global service delivery model. Its favorable economic environment, technically skilled workforce and business friendly government policies have all been driving forces in our ability to rapidly scale our operations,” he pointed out.

He added that the results of their operations in Manila, Clark and Davao have been impressive and that they look forward to leveraging that success as Sutherland continues to expand its presence in the Philippines.

With plans for new BPO facilities underway, Sutherland sees its provincial growth model as complimentary to the accelerating growth of its current outsourcing engagements as well as the addition of new clients.

Il Tenore

May 10th, 2008, 01:39 AM

Y'know what... Sutherland is doing well here in Davao...

ano kaya ang secret?

tj_brewed

May 10th, 2008, 08:10 AM

Peng Hok

May 10th, 2008, 01:49 PM

tj_brewed

May 10th, 2008, 02:00 PM

ako rin eh! mag business kaya tayong mga taga SSC Davao :D mag amot amot ta og pang capital ;)

Peng Hok

May 10th, 2008, 02:02 PM

ako rin eh! mag business kaya tayong mga taga SSC Davao :D mag amot amot ta og pang capital ;)

and let's build a 21 storey karenderia? :lol:

henji

May 10th, 2008, 02:29 PM

and let's build a 21 storey karenderia? :lol:

21 storey tapsilogan, one storey per menu... with elevator pa na ha....

neyoneyo80

May 10th, 2008, 02:46 PM

and let's build a 21 storey karenderia? :lol:

click po to!!!! dapat po triple towers to accommodate the livestocks, karaoke de cinco pesos & an abattoir :lol:

tj_brewed

May 10th, 2008, 02:54 PM

hmmmmm okies...back to the topic po ;) which is....entrepreneurship :okay:

Here's a good read...not directly related to entrepreneurship though...

The Perfect Storm
Joey Concepcion
Go Negosyo

As recession hangs over America today; it brings about memories of the Asian crisis during the late 90s, which was also the last three years of President Ramos’ tenure. If not for the Asian crisis, Ramos would have scored close to a ten for bringing the Philippines to greater heights. But, the Asian crisis was brought about by greed, pushing property prices and development as if there was no end to good times.

This was not a Philippine problem to start with, but more of our Asian neighbors - Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, etc.. Their rapid expansion in property development led a lot of companies to borrow money in US dollars. As the foreign funds pulled out of their country, it led to a massive devaluation, which caused the property bubble to burst.

In the Asian crisis, the property bubble and foreign exchange losses hit the developers and larger corporations. In America, the property bubble which led to the financial crisis is hitting not only the financial institutions but the American consumer who has borrowed with very low equity, even for as low as ten percent. Before the crisis, at that time, even a zero down gets a consumer to finance a house. People live by credit in America, compared to Asians who would rather pay cash. Now, financial institutions have realized this mistake. They have increased standards in lending, which is now making it difficult for people to finance the homes they want to buy or refinance homes. This reminds me of how lax traveling in America was prior to the 911 incident. After the terrorist attack, travel security has been so strict to some extent, maybe even to an extreme point. This is how credit in America is and this is how it will be in the future.

I hope I am wrong, but America is still going through the same denial stage as what I saw in Asia. Now, the questions are how long will this recession last and how will it affect us in Asia.

Stock markets surely don’t reflect a recession. Having dropped to 12800 from a high of 14200 is not a major correction. In fact, China, Asia and especially the Philippines have dropped a lot more - close to 30 % on the average.

Jobs are becoming more difficult. Now people have to face the high prices of gas and other commodities, from meat, milk, rice to wheat and sugar. Name it. All prices of food products are on the rise. This will hit the American consumers’ pocket. This could be the making of the perfect storm. With a looming recession and inflation, not caused by high demand but by basic commodities and gasoline hitting the roof, the American consumer will surely be affected.

How will Asia be affected? We, too, will have our share of problems but more on the high prices of oil and other commodities. I always believe that these situations are exaggerated by the hedge funds who bet on commodity and oil prices. These are the speculators - all part of the financial derivative system we live in today. Luckily, these have been mitigated to some extent with the currencies in Asia appreciating to high levels. Can you imagine what it would have been if the peso were at the rate of 56? How much would rice, bread, milk and gasoline be? Despite all these, I believe that if Asia will be able to show growth even with the recession in America; China and other Asian countries will eventually decouple from America. In a way, however, we also benefit from a recessionary environment in America. Due to cost pressures, several American companies choose to outsource or import cheap labor through call centers and other services in Asia, especially in the Philippines. This presents us with a unique advantage, as Filipinos are one of the best English communicators in the world. We will continue to have a shortage of accountants, legal professionals, architects, etc.; but the best part is that we don't need to export these people. They stay in the Philippines. The high cost structure in America will force them to import this labor.

What we also need to build is our food security program. I think the current situation shows us that we need to manage a balance between the necessity of a food security program and import liberalization. While importation is a way to ensure the availability of basic food items in normal times, we also see that it may not be that reliable as a source during tight global supply situations. We see some supplying countries naturally ensuring first the ample supply in their country before exporting priced food commodities. We therefore have to secure our capability to produce the basic critical commodities like rice and corn at any time. Like I said, we need balance. We cannot allow industries to be destroyed because it’s cheaper to import.

I believe that our ability to face challenges depend on the strength of our system and the resilience of our people. We have proven the resilience of Filipinos in facing one crisis after another, having lived with a boom-bust cycle over the previous decades. What we need is to further strengthen the very fiber of our economic and political structures to have a more robust growth. It is high-time we let the people and the experts review the important provisions in our charter; such as finding out the most effective form of government for our country, reviewing policies on land ownership by foreigners, development of natural resources, and foreign ownership in public utilities and telecommunications, to name a few.

Our advocacy to encourage Pagbabago in 2010.2016 presents us the opportunity to discuss these issues to have a more conducive Negosyo climate. We seek a stronger political-economic structure that allows greater unity and speed in moving the country and its people forward, a structure that can put us in a better position to face the perfect storms in our times… a structure that will empower the regions and create an entrepreneurial environment.

Time has come for real issues to be tackled. Let it start now...

dinabaw

May 11th, 2008, 04:17 AM

IT enabling facility
now serves Davao

DAVAO CITY — Mindanao’s Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) may access and upgrade their skills with the Information Technology (IT) enabling facility and upgrade their skills and become competitive.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Engr. Merly Cruz said the setting up of an IT facility is in partnership with DTI and the Philippine National Information Technology Standards (PHILNITS), Foundation, Inc. and the Japan External Trade Relations Organization (JE-TRO).

The PHILNITS Office Business Center in Mindanao was launched last year while the PHILNITS office is located at the DTI XI 5th floor, Mintrade building at Monteverde-Sales Streets, Davao City.

USEC Cruz said that with the center operating here, the MSMEs can improve their skills as they are provided with productivity tools, entrepreneurship program and skills training on new and updated technologies.

The center aims to promote PHILNITS certification program in Mindanao, USEC Cruz said.

It also aims to upgrade the quality of education in Mindanao region by adopting internationally recognized IT standards for its IT professionals and help generate employment for PHILNITS certified professionals in Japanese companies located here and in Japan.

With the center now available here in Davao, professionals and new graduates on IT courses can participate in seminars and lectures before taking the certification test.

She said they also would like to tap other IT professionals for them to be given the chance for possible job placements here and abroad with the assistance of the PHIL-NITS.

The PHILNITS Foundation is led by its President Ma. Corazon Okol. DTI 11/PIA
MORE STORIES

» http://www.dailymirror.ph/business05102008&03.html

henji

May 11th, 2008, 08:12 AM

tj_brewed

May 11th, 2008, 08:26 AM

^^ it cant... ;) PHILNITS from the name itself (Philippine National Information Technology Standards) is focused on assisting IT professionals, students, and netrepreneurs in the city.

henji

May 11th, 2008, 08:43 AM

^^ it cant... ;) PHILNITS from the name itself (Philippine National Information Technology Standards) is focused on assisting IT professionals, students, and netrepreneurs in the city.

a ok, sayang. mag-escuela na lang ko ug auto-cad.

tj_brewed

May 11th, 2008, 09:34 AM

^^ ehehehhehe...kelangan ba tlga? ano ba hilig mo na field? Ako I took up IT pero parang d ko tlga hilig ang IT...hilig ko lang ang mag net, magsurf, at magchat :lol:

bongskie09

May 11th, 2008, 11:29 AM

With the entry of major players in the contact center industry in Davao...As an average Dabawenyo, what would possibly be the good businesses to invest to in Davao City?

- career and language training centers
- dormitories or apartments
- food catering services for call centers
- 24/7 convenience stores
- tapsilogans, restos, and food chains that would open upto the wee hours.
- spas/saunas
- resorts for team building

care to share more?

Hmmmmm, gusto ko yung catering service kasi maliit lang ang puhunan. One of the caterers here in our office at Stellar confided to me that they are earning as much as P1,500.00 a day (except on Saturdays and Sundays kasi kokonti lang ang agents). They start peddling their food at 9pm and usually at 3am ubos na ang paninda nila.

And take note: we're talking about "net income" figures! Wala naman kasi silang binabayarang rental fee, which is usually the case in every call centers.^^

bongskie09

May 11th, 2008, 11:33 AM

With the entry of major players in the contact center industry in Davao...As an average Dabawenyo, what would possibly be the good businesses to invest to in Davao City?

- career and language training centers
- dormitories or apartments
- food catering services for call centers
- 24/7 convenience stores
- tapsilogans, restos, and food chains that would open upto the wee hours.
- spas/saunas
- resorts for team building

care to share more?

With regard to the career and language training center, you wouldn't need to shell out a large amount as capital by offering your services to the call centers by handling their soft skills training.

There were these 4 siblings here in Quezon City who put up their own company called Communica8it. They have no "office" as they are the trainers themselves for the call center's Skills and Communications training. Among their clients are Stellar Global Solutions (my company) HTMT, Convergys and several other call centers. They have no hard assets, yung english language skills lang ang puhunan nila kaya halos hindi nila pinroblema ang pang-capital.

As to how they are paid? Their paid P30,000 to P50,000 per class per week. So if each of them are handling one class per week, then it's 50k moolah for each of them as well per week! ^^

dinabaw

May 11th, 2008, 11:36 AM

Hmmmmm, gusto ko yung catering service kasi maliit lang ang puhunan. One of the caterers here in our office at Stellar confided to me that they are earning as much as P1,500.00 a day (except on Saturdays and Sundays kasi kokonti lang ang agents). They start peddling their food at 9pm and usually at 3am ubos na ang paninda nila.

And take note: we're talking about "net income" figures! Wala naman kasi silang binabayarang rental fee, which is usually the case in every call centers.^^

we are thinking of catering biz for IT people , meron kaming pwesto sa Market Basket sa Damosa, so ano ang usual treat ng mga call boys & girls ? ok lang ba ang styrofoam package?

bongskie09

May 11th, 2008, 11:39 AM

we are thinking of catering biz for IT people , meron kaming pwesto sa Market Basket sa Damosa, so ano ang usual treat ng mga call boys & girls ? ok lang ba ang styrofoam package?

Ok lang yun sir ambie as long as malinis at presentable naman. Usually it's one ulam and a serving of rice. If you want you can add side dish and/or fruit or any kind of dessert for a small additional amount.

dinabaw

May 11th, 2008, 11:45 AM

Ok lang yun sir ambie as long as malinis at presentable naman. Usually it's one ulam and a serving of rice. If you want you can add side dish and/or fruit or any kind of dessert for a small additional amount.

ok thanks so how much is the usual price for 1 rice & 1 viand?

my idea is P 45-50 for 1 rice & 2 viands ?

tj_brewed

May 11th, 2008, 11:54 AM

we are thinking of catering biz for IT people , meron kaming pwesto sa Market Basket sa Damosa, so ano ang usual treat ng mga call boys & girls ? ok lang ba ang styrofoam package?

Dinabaw...I suggest mag inhouse catering ka sa mga callcenters jan sa Davao. Im planning to have that business to but I dont have the means yet and Im not in Davao too.. huhuhuhu

Anyway, it's a good business if ikaw ang maging "food provider" sa loob ng callcenter tlga. Some of the agents are tired of going out na kaya they normally eat sa pantry na lang. Also, if naa may mogawas, paggawas nila daghan kaau og choices unlike if you are the food provider in a callcenter na ikaw ra jud isa sa sulod sa pantry. wala kay ka kumpetensya.

I ll give u an idea if how much ang servings ha (per city) para imong macompare dira sa Davao :okay:

Sa Cebu when I was in PS -

30 to 40 pesos (value meal) - 1 rice and 1 viand na.

Here sa Makati -

55 pesos (value meal) 1 rice and 1 viand din

Ok kaau ni na business dinabaw. Then mamaligya pud ka og snacks, junkfoods, cold drinks, etc.

dinabaw

May 11th, 2008, 11:59 AM

Dinabaw...I suggest mag inhouse catering ka sa mga callcenters jan sa Davao. Im planning to have that business to but I dont have the means yet and Im not in Davao too.. huhuhuhu

Anyway, it's a good business if ikaw ang maging "food provider" sa loob ng callcenter tlga. Some of the agents are tired of going out na kaya they normally eat sa pantry na lang. Also, if naa may mogawas, paggawas nila daghan kaau og choices unlike if you are the food provider in a callcenter na ikaw ra jud isa sa sulod sa pantry. wala kay ka kumpetensya.

I ll give u an idea if how much ang servings ha (per city) para imong macompare dira sa Davao :okay:

Sa Cebu when I was in PS -

30 to 40 pesos (value meal) - 1 rice and 1 viand na.

Here sa Makati -

55 pesos (value meal) 1 rice and 1 viand din

Ok kaau ni na business dinabaw. Then mamaligya pud ka og snacks, junkfoods, cold drinks, etc.

I think we can offer as low P45-50( 1 rice & 2 viands) per package , i based it sa City Triangle food stalls which they cater to the student price , pero meron pa ring nag oofer ng P30/ package hehe

bongskie09

May 11th, 2008, 12:04 PM

I think we can offer as low P45-50( 1 rice & 2 viands) per package , i based it sa City Triangle food stalls which they cater to the student price , pero meron pa ring nag oofer ng P30/ package hehe

Pero mas maayo kung mag in-house ka sir ambs as what tj suggested kay sigurado wa kay lugi kay dili ka na mamroblema og bayad sa rental fee for your stall sa pantry sa call center.

If in-house ka you can sell your food same as Cebu's rate (quoting tj's) at P30-P40.

tj_brewed

May 11th, 2008, 12:09 PM

^^ u got it right bongskie....

bongskie09

May 11th, 2008, 01:19 PM

Pag natapos na ang Ayala Center sa Davao baka mauso na rin ang jolli-jeep jan (jeep na ala-carinderia). Maglalagay din ako pero malaki-laki nga lang ang puhunan dahil bibili ka pa ng jeep hehehe.

Uso din ba ang jolli-jeep sa Cebu Teej?

tj_brewed

May 11th, 2008, 03:27 PM

henji

May 11th, 2008, 04:18 PM

^^ ehehehhehe...kelangan ba tlga? ano ba hilig mo na field? Ako I took up IT pero parang d ko tlga hilig ang IT...hilig ko lang ang mag net, magsurf, at magchat :lol:

plano plano ug aborad mao ng mag-escuela na lang ug auto-cad.

dinabaw

May 11th, 2008, 05:07 PM

plano plano ug aborad mao ng mag-escuela na lang ug auto-cad.

archi ka? I think Tesda is offering Auto-Cad , i just missed the oppurtunity to attend their presentation last month sa tapat ng BoyzTrek Ateneo.

davaoeagle

May 11th, 2008, 11:38 PM

Monday, May 12, 2008
IBM intensifies presence in cities outside Manila
Sunstar Davao

SOFTWARE and technology giant, IBM Philippines, launched the IBM Global Financing (IGF) in Davao City last week.

In a statement, Owen Cammayo of IBM Philippines said the IGF is one of the many activities being implemented in line with IBM's Geo-Expansion initiatives aimed to expand IBM's reach and operations in the key cities and locations outside Metro Manila.

IBM Global Financing is the world's largest technology financier with over 125,000 clients in more than 50 countries.

IGF provides a range of solutions to enable IBM clients to fund technology investments, manage asset lifecycles, and finance supply chain and working capital.

"Solutions are available for organizations of all sizes, from small and medium businesses to global corporations," Cammayo said.

"We are dedicated to every client's success -- working to the highest standards of trust and integrity to maintain the practices, policies and stability that the IBM brand has come to be known for," Dean Tabanao, IGF country manager of IBM Philippines

The IGF event is part of the IBM mission to reach out to all small and medium businesses in Southern Mindanao.

"We are here in Davao to help our clients and business partners acquire IT products and services through a single financing source," Tabanao said.

Tabanao added that the breadth and flexibility of their offerings enable them to provide leasing and financing solutions for IBM and non-IBM equipment, as well as related technology equipment used by the business and government.

IBM has more than 10 years of experience in dealing with small and medium businesses.

It has also sharpened its capabilities and offerings to address the challenges faced in managing IT infrastructure and services.

IBM Global Financing makes it easier for the small and medium businesses to afford these IT necessities, helping them compete better in an increasingly dynamic global economy. (CPM with PR)

henji

May 12th, 2008, 07:45 AM

archi ka? I think Tesda is offering Auto-Cad , i just missed the oppurtunity to attend their presentation last month sa tapat ng BoyzTrek Ateneo.

nope, pero in demand daw sa Dubai. maski dili engg related ang college course basta kabalo lang mag-auto-cad.

jhunix

May 12th, 2008, 07:30 PM

nope, pero in demand daw sa Dubai. maski dili engg related ang college course basta kabalo lang mag-auto-cad.

mahal kaayo sa dubai bai. lalo na ang rent sa house or room basi dili ka maka ipon didto hehehe....

JoeyIncali

May 13th, 2008, 12:48 AM

archi ka? I think Tesda is offering Auto-Cad , i just missed the oppurtunity to attend their presentation last month sa tapat ng BoyzTrek Ateneo.

Mao ba? Sus dire kung kamao ka architectural desktop, dako sweldo.
I'm learning Inventor 2008 right now as a hobby lang.
Autocad, Solidworks and Mastercam are hot right now.

tj_brewed

May 13th, 2008, 01:27 AM

mahal kaayo sa dubai bai. lalo na ang rent sa house or room basi dili ka maka ipon didto hehehe....

I agree.....ang expenses is directly proportional pud sa sweldo. pero nice baya ang developments didto noh? if naa namo didto, pabisitaha ko ha...then sa inyo ko puyo...ehehehehehhehehhe

JoeyIncali

May 13th, 2008, 02:04 AM

I agree.....ang expenses is directly proportional pud sa sweldo. pero nice baya ang developments didto noh? if naa namo didto, pabisitaha ko ha...then sa inyo ko puyo...ehehehehehhehehhe

Three of my cousins live and work there. One is a nurse and two are secretaries. Mahal daw didto pero ningkamot lang.

henji

May 13th, 2008, 02:12 AM

Three of my cousins live and work there. One is a nurse and two are secretaries. Mahal daw didto pero ningkamot lang.

a mao ba..... agwanta na lang ug bulad.:)

dinabaw

May 13th, 2008, 03:44 AM

Three of my cousins live and work there. One is a nurse and two are secretaries. Mahal daw didto pero ningkamot lang.

my nephew and niece are currently working in Dubai , my cousin works in an airline co. in Abu Dhabi.

JoeyIncali

May 13th, 2008, 07:43 PM

Maau pa study na lang ko Autocad and teach it there, Open an autocad school in Samal. ehehehe.

henji

May 14th, 2008, 03:30 AM

Maau pa study na lang ko Autocad and teach it there, Open an autocad school in Samal. ehehehe.

pero needs a lot of engineering background. which non-engg grads will cope up.

dinabaw

May 14th, 2008, 03:52 AM

pero needs a lot of engineering background. which non-engg grads will cope up.

pude kahit hindi engg. grad @henji ang alam ko it will only take you 40 hrs to complete the course excluding the advance course, ang bayad mga P1,200.00:)

henji

May 14th, 2008, 04:33 AM

pude kahit hindi engg. grad @henji ang alam ko it will only take you 40 hrs to complete the course excluding the advance course, ang bayad mga P1,200.00:)

unsa ning 1,200? the whole course? asa dapit? sa STI?

dinabaw

May 14th, 2008, 06:18 AM

unsa ning 1,200? the whole course? asa dapit? sa STI?

40 hrs basic course but puede ka ng mag floor plans, elevations except 3D's , sa TESDA .

dinabaw

May 14th, 2008, 04:57 PM

MTC Academy

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/6999/dsc00267hq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6347/dsc00284dd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/3452/dsc00275ax5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

JoeyIncali

May 14th, 2008, 07:07 PM

40 hrs basic course but puede ka ng mag floor plans, elevations except 3D's , sa TESDA .

That is great.

-TC-

May 15th, 2008, 10:01 PM

http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW051608/content.php?id=005
Pinoys’ English proficiency recovers
BusinessWorld
May 16, 2008

MOST FILIPINOS believe they have improved in terms of English proficiency but challenges remain, a new survey showed.

The study, commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (AmCham) and the Makati Business Club (MBC), was conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) earlier this year.

The Self-Assessed English Competence and Personal Usage of the English Language survey showed improvements compared to previous studies done in 1993, 2000, and 2006.

"A decline in competence was found in previous rounds from 1993 to 2006 but substantial recovery has occurred in 2008. We hope it’s a real improvement and not just the awareness of how important English is that boosted it," SWS President Mahar Mangahas said.

The results showed that thinking in English was the most difficult for Filipinos, followed by
speaking and understanding spoken English. The scores for speaking and thinking in English, in fact, were far from previous highs.

In terms of understanding spoken English, 76% of the respondents replied in the affirmative, compared to 65% in 2006, 77% in 2000 and 74% in 1993.

Asked if they read English, 75% said yes, up from 65% in 2006. The score was 76% in 2000 and 73% in 1993.

For writing, 61% said they could do it in English, a substantial gain from 2006’s 48%. It marked a return to the 61% in 2000 and was also better than the 59% recorded in 1993.

The speaking English score, at 46%, was an improvement from 2006’s 32% but remained below the 54% in 2000 and 55% in 1993.

In terms of thinking in English, the latest score was 38%, a gain from 2006’s 27% but below 2000’s 44% and 1993’s 42%.

Only 8% said they were not competent in any way in terms of the English language, better than the 14% in 2006 and the 7% for both 2000 and 1993.

Another survey needed

Former Department of Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus said a separate study should be
conducted to test actual English competency.

"While it’s good news, it’s also surprising. It’s quite a turnaround in just two years. While we see the results as an improvement, it’s also incumbent to ask what happened in the last two years," he said in an interview.

"We hope the results accurately reflect the real situation."

Improved self-assessed English competence could be traced to government and private sector initiatives to enhancing basic education, MBC President and Philippine Business for Education Chairman Ramon del Rosario, Jr. said.

"It could also be market-driven since people are always talking about the lack of English proficiency in the country. Market demand for English proficiency will continue to be strong and English proficiency will continue to be an important strength of the Philippines ," he said.

He stressed that both the government and private sector should not be complacent, as strong English skills will continue to be one of the country’s growth drivers.

Problems remain

"The problem of English proficiency is reflective of the problems of basic education as whole. There are also problems in Mathematics and Science, not only English. We should address this all at the same time," he said.

AmCham President Rick Santos said English proficiency was considered a significant plus when applying for jobs in emerging industries such as tourism and business process outsourcing.

He said the Philippines should continue to improve competencies in speaking, reading and writing in English to take advantage of global economic opportunities.

The 2008 assessment survey, conducted from March 30 to April 2, questioned 1,200 adults.
The SWS said 13% of the respondents were from Metro Manila, 44% from Luzon, 20% from the Visayas, and 23% from Mindanao.

-TC-

May 15th, 2008, 10:18 PM

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05152008/headlines01.html

Government pins hopes on BPO sector, eyes $13-B revenues
By Lenie Lectura
BusinessMirror
May 16, 2008

THE government is buoyant on the future of the local business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, predicting it would generate a million jobs and $13 billion in annual revenues by 2010.

The rosy picture was drawn by Ray Anthony Roxas Chua III, chief of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Wednesday at the sidelines of the ICT Professionals Congress.

He said President Arroyo’s training-workshop program for the offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) sector is the vital tool for attaining the agency’s vision of employing close to 1 million Filipinos.

This year, he added, the President has allocated P350 million from the PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) for the O&O sector. Through this program, Chua said the CICT hopes to train over 40,000 people to help them qualify to work in the O&O industry.

“We at the CICT believe that through this sterling example of public-private partnership, our lofty objectives are within our reach,” he said.

Aside from generating jobs and revenue, the CICT also hopes to capture 10 percent of the global O&O market by 2010. Another focus is the continuing development of the Philippine Cyber Corridor, a virtual channel running across the country that houses providers of ICT-enabled services such as call centers, back- office outsourcing, software development, medical and legal transcription, animation, game development, e-learning and e-entertainment.

The Cyber Corridor has created 320,000 jobs to date and generated close to $5 billion of export revenues in 2007, said Chua.

“Achieving our growth targets for the industry will be heavily dependent on our ability to sustain our pool of talent,” he added.

Secretary Augusto Syjuco of Tesda said his agency is intensifying efforts to train new call-center agents to fill the demand. “We have the potential to capture half of all the call-center requirements of regions in the world in the next five years, but it all depends on our ability to keep churning out the supply of knowledge workers to fulfill this potential.”

Under Executive Order 269, the CICT is designated the lead agency in government efforts to make the Philippines an e-enabled society by making ICT central to nation-building and national competitiveness.

The CICT envisions a Philippines with affordable and reliable ICT connectivity, a globally competitive ICT and ICT-enabled services sector, an ICT-competent work force and an ICT-enhanced government delivering services with efficiency and transparency.

dinabaw

May 19th, 2008, 12:25 PM

Phoenix Petroleum

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. (PPPI) posted a net income of P122 million in 2007, a robust growth of 65 percent compared to 2006, the company announced.
PPPI’s revenue likewise grew by 59 percent P2.377 billion in 2007, compared to the 2006 revenue of P1.494 billion. The growth was fueled by substantial increase in sales of petroleum products and revenue in storage, logistics and into-plane services.
PPPI Stockholders’ equity grew by 192 percent from P194 million in 2006 to P567 million in end 2007. Total asset increased to P1.192 billion in December 31, 2007 compared to P0.507 billion in close of prior year, a 135 percent growth.
The company improved its liquidity, with current ratio increasing to 1.42 in 2007 from 1.32 in 2006, and debt to equity reducing to 1.10 compared to the previous year’s 1.62. Return on equity was pegged at 32 percent compared to 2006’s 68 percent due to the company’s IPO in July.
Net book value per share in 2007 more than doubled, at 3.93 from 2006’s 1.67. Earnings per share was computed at 0.94 compared to 3.10 of 2006 due to the increase in common shares.
Replicating its success, the Davao-based petroleum company continues to expand its channel of distribution by opening retail service stations all over Mindanao. As of end of April, Phoenix already operates 60 retail service stations in Davao City, Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, General Santos City, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Agusan del Sur, and Sultan Kudarat. By the end of the year, Phoenix would have opened its first retail stations in Metro Manila, Northern Luzon, and Cebu, and total 100 stations.
To support the expansion, Phoenix will be constructing and expanding terminals and depots in strategically located sites. Its Dumaguit, Aklan depot was recently inaugurated.
PPPI has also opened sales offices in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and General Santos, and soon, Cebu City. The new offices are additions to current offices in Davao City and Makati.
Phoenix Petroleum Philippines went public last July 11, 2007, making it the first petroleum company to list in the Philippine Stock Exchange after the passage of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998. It is also the first Davao-based company to be publicly listed. The company is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products, lubricants, chemicals and an array of car care products and accessories. It also provides services such as depot operation, depot storage, logistics, into-plane and allied services.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20052

dinabaw

May 19th, 2008, 01:15 PM

a great lost to Davao , bata pa pala siya...

Monday, May 19, 2008
Dalight's Aboitiz death confirmed
By Stella A. Estremera

DAVAO Light and Power Company president and chief operating office (COO) Alfonso Y. Aboitiz was found dead at 7 p.m. Saturday night in the guest room of his parents' house at Maria Luisa Village in Cebu.

This was confirmed Sunday after text messages went the rounds among Dabawenyos about the executive's death.

No details of his death, however, have been released as the family appealed for privacy.

Aboitiz's death is another blow to the family, who just recently grieved the death of Marie Aboitiz, Alfonso's mother, earlier this month.

"It was a tragic accident and the family wishes their privacy to be respected in this time of grief," said Carol Go, spokesperson of the Aboitizes in Cebu, in a text message.

Aside from being Dalight's president and COO, Alfonso, 47, was also the COO of the Aboitiz-owned Visayas Electric Company, Cebu's power provider.

While he regularly goes home to Cebu every weekend, Alfonso was known here having spent his growing up years in Davao City. He completed his elementary and secondary education in Ateneo de Davao.

He was at the forefront of city concerns that saw the institutionalization of Central 911 in Davao City.

It was through Alfonso's instigation that Central 911 became fully operational by sharing Dalight's computer technology to track down in a matter of seconds where a distress call is coming from just by using the caller's Dalight account number or the number of the electric post nearest the place of the incident.

In the 1990s, Alfonso also spearheaded the annual economic fora that tracked the city's growth trends using the power consumption as key indicator.

It was also Alfonso who offered the free use of the Aboitiz property in Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya, for the city's marine turtle sanctuary and hatchery.

He vowed to keep the land in its undeveloped state so that the nesting area, the only white sand beach in the whole of Davao City, will not be disturbed.

tj_brewed

May 19th, 2008, 01:16 PM

^^ he was found dead sa bahay nila sa Cebu...may tama ng baril:cry:

henji

May 19th, 2008, 02:44 PM

Sad to hear.... Condolences sa mga Aboitizes.

henji

May 19th, 2008, 03:23 PM

viable ba ang Medical Transcription dire? since barato ra ang rates sa MT professionals dire sa Davao.

Animo

May 19th, 2008, 07:16 PM

PROPERTY developer AboitizLand will begin next month the construction of a building that will offer space for business process out-sourcing (BPO) companies.

Aboitizland said occupants of the five-story iMEZ will be assured of dependable power supply at competitive costs.

The building, which will be located at the 1.8-hectare expansion area of the Pueblo Verde commercial center fronting the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) 2 in Lapu-Lapu City, is expected to be completed and will be operational by March next year.

With its design complementing the modern Filipino-Spanish atmosphere of the entire commercial bloc, iMEZ will also house coffee shops, fastfood outlets, casual dining places and bakery or pastry stores at the ground floor, within an area of about 550 square meters.

The second to fifth levels of the building, with a combined area of 4,000 square meters, will house BPO companies.

“Apart from its proximity to hospitals, hotels and airport, iMEZ is a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) zone so BPO offices will get tax incentives,” said Floramie Vega, commercial leasing manager of AboitizLand.

AboitizLand Inc.’s sister company, the Mactan Enerzone Corp., will distribute power to its retail and BPO locators at a competitive cost.

“The power is far, far cleaner than what you get from others because there are less fluctuations. If you are a BPO company, downtimes are minimized and you will get long-term benefits, such that continuity of your operation is ensured,” said Allan Alfon, assistant vice president of Aboitizland Inc. and general manager for the property management commercial leasing special projects.

Other salient features of iMEZ include 200 percent power backup, modern Filipino-Spanish architecture, ample parking space and underground utilities, among others.

AboitizLand is already working on enhancements—such as new roads, landscaping and underground utilities-of the expansion area of Pueblo Verde, which is designed to serve not only MEZ 2 employees but also the residential community in the area and tourists.

Pueblo Verde’s transportation terminal, which serves employees and adjoining barangays, will be moved from its present location to the expansion site.

“(The company) is looking at a budget of over P25 million for the enhancement alone. It’s a big investment. There will be a separate budget for iMEZ,” said Vega and Alfon.

Medium-term plans for the expansion area will include a grocery store that, Alfon believes, would be useful to MEZ 2 employees as well a business hotel. (NRC (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/05/17/bus/developer.to.construct.building.for.bpo.companies.in.mactan.html))

dinabaw

May 20th, 2008, 07:26 AM

Business Article
Women behind banana chips business

SEEING how bananas make millions in profit, a number of women that formed the Council of Women in Tagum City, Davao del Norte then thought of another way to make millions out of the bananas all over the province.
Leaving the fresh banana business to the large export companies, the group then settled on the by-products of the said crop – processed banana chips.
Rooted from a feminine term, the “Byaneng” banana chips then started finding its niche in the local market. However, due to the big possibility of gaining international buyers, makers of the said product then suited the taste and mixtures to the preference of foreign buyers especially the Singaporeans, Chinese, and Japanese.
Not just an ordinary business owned by a single person, but Byaneng is the latest offering of Tagum City which is handled and worked for by hardworking women in Tagum.
The group was led by Tagum City first lady Alma Uy who is a known, business-oriented personality that hopes to uplift the economic status other women.
Council of Women Board of Director Dina Lopez narrated that it was the idea of Uy that pushed the group to start on something which is very ambitious.
“ Ma’am Alma Uy helped us to understand and appreciate the world of business and so everyday is a learning experience for us.” Lopez said.
The banana chips product has been helping plenty of women who work on different shifts just to handle the packaging of the product.
The Four Seasons Company, on the other hand, assists the group in the processing of the banana chips in such a way that the taste will be loved by both local and foreign buyers.
Byaneng banana chips are already distributed and displayed in leading Tagum and Davao malls such as SM Davao, NCCC malls, some department stores in Manila , and selected schools in the Davao Region.
“We are so young in the industry but with how buyers reacted to our product made us believe that there is a big market for us both local and international.”, Lopez said.
Recently, Uy also brought along some member of the Council of Women in Singapore to present and exhibit the Byaneng products in a trade exhibit held there.
“Singaporeans loved the taste (not so sweet) and so they told us that we might start a business deal very soon.” she said.
Exploring other potential business aspects, the Council of Women also ventured on vinegar products, peanut butter, and bangus sardines.
Uy envisions an empowered women’s group in Tagum City by providing them the business knowledge and opportunities that they could bank on as they start their business. PIA

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20079

Il Tenore

May 20th, 2008, 07:54 AM

Sinjin P.

May 20th, 2008, 10:17 AM

Please vote for your favorite entries in the 2008 Philippine Independence Day Banner Contest here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=630569

dinabaw

May 20th, 2008, 01:06 PM

PCT teams up withint’l BPO company

The Philippine College of Technology (PCT) has forged a two-year partnership with Sutherland Global Services Philippines Inc (SGS) – a foreign Business Process Outsourcing Corporation with local branches in key cities in the Philippines.

The partnership aims to provide mutual assistance in terms of employ-ment opportunities for PCT graduates including training, recruitment and placement.

A memorandum of agreement was signed by both parties on March 12, 2008. PCT is represented by president Dr. Ma. Rossini L. Balili and Sutherland by its director for training and recruitment Joe Marie J. Yulo.

SGS plans to pursue Special Elective Program at PCT and a Faculty immersion Program to enhance the knowledge, skills and qualification of the members of the academe in relation to SGS specific industry needs and qualification requirements. PCT students enrolled in the 100-hour finishing course for Call Center Agents will have the opportunity to be trained specific to the demands of SGS. Graduates of the said program will be evaluated by PCT for referrals to SGS for further evaluation, on the job training and employment.

PCT through its Public Employment Service Office (PESO) is commit-ted to work hand-in-hand with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to meet its goal of decreasing unemployment in Region 11. SGS acknowledges the same commitment and aims to support the placement program modeled to faci-litate employment of PCT graduates.

http://www.dailymirror.ph/pep&events05202008&01.html

dinabaw

May 20th, 2008, 01:08 PM

Duterte welcomes entry
of Tagum Coop in the city

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte welcomed the entry in Davao City of one of the biggest cooperative in Mindanao, the Tagum Cooperative, with over 31,081 members spread out in the provinces of Tagum, Panabo and Davao, with a total asset of Php583.3-million.

The Tagum Cooperative, in one of its expansion program have established a satellite (branch) office located at McArthur highway (fronting NCCC mall), with Robert de Castro as its Davao Satellite Office branch manager.

In its formal inauguration Sunday, Davao City Development Cooperative head Engr. Jaime Adalin represented Mayor Duterte to grace the special occasion and read the inspirational speech of the Mayor.

“You (Tagum coop) have shown that Davao City is truly an investment haven and we are honored to have you to be part of the growing business community,” the speech of Mayor Duterte stated.

“The expansion of Tagum Cooperative (TC) services in Davao City is one potential area of partnership and complementation with our existing cooperative livelihood assistance program aimed at uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the cooperative members and their organization,” it stated.

For their part, TC Chairperson Antonio Arañas and TC Vice Chair Norma Pereyras both said that TC is committed to be partners with Davao City’s efforts for the city’s total development.

In an exclusive interview with Baby Gomez and Edith Isidro – both of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Manager de Castro said TC has also branch offices in Carmen, Davao Norte;Nabunturan, Comval province; and Buhangin, Davao City.

Manager de Castro said Buhangin branch is slated to transfer along Bajada by July this year to make the cooperative more accessible to the public.

As of end of March 2008, TC loan portfolio reached Php384.1-million; total deposits – Php289.5-million; Share Capital – Php156-million; and total net income – Php4.6-million.

We are proud to say that “TC has no external credit” and we have no loans nor borrowed anywhere else. This is the reason why TC can offer the lowest interest rates in members’ borrowings/loans, he said.

Official lists of Board members are: Antonio C. Arañas – Chairperson; Norma R. Pereyras – Vice Chairperson; and Directors: Nenita E. Lumaad, Atty. Celerina E. Esuerte, Nenita R. Malbas, Prudencio N. Mabanglo, and Evelia R. Sator.

Key Manager Officers are: Juris D. Perez – manager; Monica L. Salido – Treasurer; Atty. Rolando C. Casaway – legal counsel; and Hermarie Torreon-Esmael – BOD Recording Secretary. PIA/rbpalacio

http://www.dailymirror.ph/business05202008&05.html

bongskie09

May 20th, 2008, 01:49 PM

Has it ever been mentioned here that Jimm's 4 in 1 Coffee's owner is from Davao? He graduated from the University of Mindanao.

-TC-

May 20th, 2008, 04:13 PM

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20080520125036.html

24-hour stores serve needs of call center employees
Manila Bulletin
May 20, 2008

The emergence of the BPO/call center market has elevated the 24-hour lifestyle into the mainstream, with literally thousands of employees and call center buildings sprouting everywhere requiring consumer services such as basic food supplies and other proprietary products.

7-Eleven, the country’s biggest convenience store chain, has always been quick on its foot to spot rising trends and immediately addressed this need, along with the call for total customer convenience by being where and when they are wanted. Today, it is the BPO employee market which is taking the most advantage from the offerings of 7-Eleven stores all around the country.

Being the largest and most successful store franchise in the country, 7-Eleven constantly creates broader product choices for time-strapped night workers. Each store, which serves as symbolic beacon for many night-time professionals, carries a line of top quality suppliers and proprietary products, ranging from fresh food items like sandwiches, coffee, energy drinks, and healthy snacks, packed rice meals, basic groceries and other delightful choices of treats for the hardworking grave shifters (7-Eleven also boast of a 24 hour bills payment facility).

Unlike other retailing businesses that have tried to adopt processes to bank on the graveyard work trend, 7-Eleven has been successfully operating on a 24-hour convenience setup in the Philippines since 1982, making it a natural veteran. "That’s why we fully understand the needs of call center employees because like them, we also share the same compassion in our commitment to customers by living through tough work schedule," said Ma. Theresa Gutierrez, PR Specialist under the business Development Division.

Surveying the streets of call center-congested districts like Ortigas Center or Makati City for a casual "tambayan" is never a problem for Jirah Santos a 23-year-old agent. "After my hectic routine calls at the office, I make sure to give my body the right amount of rest and nourishment that it deserves. Thus, instead of going to pricey and often far-off dining joints, I just walk across and get my quick, healthy fix at 7-Eleven. It also has al fresco tables where I can comfortably eat and hang around with fellow agents for short chitchats." she said.

Meanwhile, Joshua Garcia, also a call center employee, noted that the cordial ambiance is 7-Eleven’s bonus attraction. "Most of us prefer to go to 7-Eleven. Apart from the great selection of ready-to-go snacks that we can get minus the long queue, we are always treated well by friendly and accommodating staff, a nice gesture that help us relieve of our stress," he added.

For Paul Fronda, a graveyard shift worker, dropping by the nearest 7-Eleven store in their office saves up his very limited time. "My work has very regulated policies, like we can only have our breaks on a specific time, no more, no less. Thus, having a 7-Eleven store close by allows me to have extra precious minutes to either catch some sleep in our quiet rooms or have recreational activities with my team members."

According to Gutierrez, most of the call center clientele patronize 7-Eleven’s proprietary brand of food items, specifically the hotdogs, siopao, and stuffed pandesal. "Especially near midnight, which is considered the peak ‘eating’ hour of most BPO staff, the best sellers are our rice meals," she said.

lightsaber46

May 21st, 2008, 04:02 AM

Convergys builds 5 more BPO sites

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20080521125158.html
By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

The Cincinnati-based Convergys is adding five sites in the country this year with additional 7,000 workers making the Philippines its second largest operation outside of the US.

Convergys President for Customer Management Andrea Ayers at a press conference stressed that the expansion would translate to a total of 14 sites and 20,000 personnel in the Philippines by 2009.

Globally, Convergys has 67,000 agents in a total of 85 contact centers in 35 countries.

"The Philippines is an ideal location for us. We are committed to continue investing and building here in the Philippines," Ayers said.

The five new sites of Convergys are to be located in Cebu i3, UP Science Park, NuvalI, San Lazaro and Glorietta 5.

Ayers said that its clients want to expand the load of jobs outsourced to the Philippines, which is serving U.S. and European clients.

With a recession happening in the U.S., companies have learned to outsource some of their functions.

"This business is recession-proof. We are blessed because the business becomes more attractive with an economy under a recession," Ayers said.

"It’s a funny situation but it opens up opportunities," she added.

While a company can save between 15 to 30 percent by outsourcing its non-core businesses, outsourcing would become more expensive if there is no quality in the job that is being farmed out.

"Without customer satisfaction and quality, outsourcing becomes expensive," Ayers said.

That makes the Philippines an ideal location for outsourcing because of its customer service orientation.

Besides, workers have a good command of the English language and have the right technical skills.

"Even if you are fluent in English and have the right skills set but you don’t have the customer service orientation it will redound to an unsatisfied clients," Ayers added.

At present, the Philippine operation is serving 22 clients and 48 programs.

The voice service still accounts for the bulk of 95 percent of its total Philippine operation but the company is seeing a shift towards the non-voice services into the back office and technical services.

For instance, the new contact centers will provide both general support and advanced technical help desk services to a variety of Convergy’scleints via traditional voice calling, e-mail and web chat as well as back office application and document processing.

All Convergy’s facilities are closely integrated into Convergys’ Global Assurance Network giving the company contol of its endto-end operations and processes and assures 100 percent redundancy and flexibility for its clients.

A listed company in the New York Stock Exchange, Convergys is a global leader in relationship management.

Convergys is a member of the S & P 500 and has been voted a Fortune Most Admired Company for eight consecutive years.(BCM)

Christendom

May 21st, 2008, 10:34 AM

May 21, 2008
Convergys announces major expansion plan (http://www.visayandailystar.com/2008/May/21/businessnews2.htm)

MANILA - Convergys Corp. will open five new call centers in the Philippines in a major expansion move which will see it employ up to 20,000 people, the US-based company said yesterday.

Customer demand is driving the expansion, the company's president for customer management Andrea Ayers said at a media briefing in Manila.

She said Convergys Philippines, which recently opened its ninth call center in Bacolod City, now employs 11,000 people, already more than their offices in India.

"Our expansion here (Philippines) has been customer-driven and demand-driven," she said.

Ayres did not say how much the expansion would cost.

The company will open five new call centers with four in Manila and one in Cebu.*AFP

PINOYmeat

May 21st, 2008, 12:03 PM

^^ this will be their 3rd facility in cebu :cheers:

kevinb

May 21st, 2008, 02:16 PM

Ph Man

May 22nd, 2008, 08:11 AM

odyssey

May 22nd, 2008, 11:02 PM

British consulting firm to open BPO unit in RP
BERNARDETTE S. STO. DOMINGO, Reporter/ BusinessWorld
05/23/2008 | 03:51 AM
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/96878/British-consulting-firm-to-open-BPO-unit-in-RP
Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us MANILA, Philippines -
ATKINS, the United Kingdom’s largest engineering design consultancy firm, is opening a business process outsourcing (BPO) facility in the Philippines within the year to handle most of its back office operations.

British Ambassador to Manila Peter Beckingham said the company would formally open its Philippine office in September.

"The BPO sector in the Philippines continues to be an attractive sector for British investors. Also of interest are the energy and retail sectors," he said on the sidelines of the signing of a bilateral agreement that seeks to boost Philippine trade policy in Makati on Wednesday.

The agreement between the British government and the Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry involves the grant of an P18-million technical assistance aimed at strengthening local trade policies.

Atkins, which is into planning, designing and enabling delivery of capital infrastructure programs to clients in both the public and private sectors, is moving majority of its back office work to the Philippines from the Middle East.

The company is also providing training and opportunities for Filipinos to work abroad, Mr. Beckingham said.

Apart from Atkins, he said two more UK-based companies from different sectors are considering to put up businesses here. He declined to give details.

While British businessmen remain interested in investing in the Philippines, they have also expressed concerns about the high cost of power and foreign ownership restrictions, the British ambassador said.

In an earlier interview, British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Chairman Leslie Stokes said challenges in infrastructure and bureaucracy remain major turn-offs to foreign investors,

The Philippines’ best assets, meanwhile, are the robust performance of its economy, which according to the government had grown by 7.3% last year, a three decade-high. Mr. Stokes also cited the country’s educated work force.

He added that other sectors attractive to British investors are business process outsourcing, hospitality, tourism, aquaculture, biotechnology, distilled liquor and alternative energy.

Data from the British embassy in Manila showed UK exports to the Philippines as of November last year stood at 232 million pounds, or about P19.37 billion.

Britain is the country’s 15th largest export destination after Japan, the US, Saudi Arabia, Germany and East Asian neighbors.

Top British exports include electrical apparatus/appliances and spares, medical and pharmaceutical products, manufactured metals, office, general industrial and power-generating machinery.

UK imports from the Philippines reached 667 million pounds, or about P55.7 billion, as of November last year.

Top UK imports included electrical and office equipment and machinery, apparel, miscellaneous manufactured material, road vehicles, fish products, textile fibers, yarn and made-up articles.

Citing data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the embassy said the UK was the country’s largest investor in 2007, but did not provide specific figures.

It said the UK has major investments in the country’s power, energy, water and financial service sectors.

There are about 200 British companies active in the Philippines. Major British firms include Shell, HSBC, BG, Standard Chartered Bank, Misys and Unilever.

A number of British companies are involved in franchising operations, including Debenhams, M & S, Top Shop, Burberry, Clarks Shoes and Lush.

nayki

May 23rd, 2008, 01:27 PM

I had a conversation with one of the project managers in Accenture this morning. He reveiled that Accenture will have its own office complex in Fort Bonifacio. The location is in McKinley, Im not really sure if its along McKinley in BGC or in McKinley Hill. According to the executive, the complex will be compose of between 5 - 10 medium rise towers with 10 -20 floors each. Current Philippine Accenture population is 15,000+, the McKinley site will be the workplace of the next 10,000 future employees of accenture and will house the Accenture campus as it heads to an aggresive expansion. The first tower will start contruction this year, the second will be next year and so on. Also the complex will have a large artificial pond and some sort of a garden. No time line given to the completion :banana:

icarusrising

May 24th, 2008, 07:05 AM

Outsourcing industry
sets road map till 2010

By Rory Visco
Correspondent

THE so-called sunshine industry, according to one of its leaders, will continue to shine in the future.

This was the essence of the message delivered by Oscar Sañez, president and chief executive officer of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), in his speech during the official launch of Roadmap 2010, a comprehensive report commissioned by the industry’s stakeholders for the future of the country’s offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) industry.

The O&O industry is composed of sectors like contact centers, which involve both voice and data, business process outsourcing for accounting, payroll, human resources, and legal and medical transcription, plus software design and development, animation and other IT-enabled services.

Sañez said that this is a young industry but a fast-growing one, which, he said, grew by 48 percent per year for the last two years. Total Philippine revenue last year totaled $3.6 billion, with a growth rate of 40 percent per year and employing about 260,000 people.

He said the Philippines is targeting 40-percent growth year-on-year and to hit $13 billion in revenues by 2010, or about 10 percent of the expected market size of the global O&O pie of $130 billion by 2010, and provide direct employment to close to 1 million people.

Sañez also laid out action plans that include programs in key areas like talent, business environment, the so-called next-wave cities, plus the creation of a full-time BPAP team called Team 2010.

In terms of talent, the BPAP has five programs already lined up, like assessment and training programs in order to find the best talent for job demands, promote O&O as a viable career opportunity for graduates, tap other talent pools, especially in areas outside of Manila, and improve access to funding for deserving students.

“Developing talent is a top priority for us. We hope to increase the employment yield in order for us to achieve our objectives,” Sañez said.

For the business environment, the BPAP will help in creation of public policies, promote the country as viable location and seek more investor support.

Another important aspect of the road map is the creation of the next-wave cities by creating additional hubs in the country. Right now, Sañez said, there are now 15 cities classified as next-wave cities. “The BPAP will continue to provide tools and services to support the development of these cities,” he explained.

The creation of a full-time team called Team 2010, composed of the brightest minds in their respective industries, is also a vital initiative, he said. From a mere volunteer-type of team, Sañez said the BPAP will now be a full-time, fully resourced organization, and will work closely with other industry stakeholders like academe, the government and the industry through various working groups.

Chris Beshouri, president of McKinsey and Co., the company commissioned to the report, said the road map may seem aggressive but it is achievable. “India did the same thing a couple of years ago and they achieved their targets. If they were able to do it, so can the Philippines,” declares Beshouri.

“This road map is formed to get all stakeholders involved. This also shows that the Philippines is determined to win the O&O game, and we will surely do that,” adds Sañez.

When asked for the BPAP’s vision beyond 2010, Sañez intimated in an interview with the BusinessMirror after the press briefing that the association is taking it one step at a time and, being a fast-growing industry, it is hard to make long-term forecasts.

“So many things can happen between now and 2010, that’s why we’re careful about our forecasts but yes, we’re surely looking beyond 2010, probably even up to 2012,” he said.

Even if by 2010 there is already a new administration, Sañez is confident the new leader will still support the industry. “We believe the next president will support us. We just have to show good and positive results in our efforts.”

The seven-chapter, 240-page Roadmap 2010 contains four chapters that include, among others, a description of the global O&O industry, its successes, growth prospects for the local industry, potential problems and their solutions, plus necessary actions on possible growth challenges and to advance the business. It was middle of last year, Sañez said, that industry members decided to invest on the study.

Source (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/11062007/economy03.html)

dinabaw

May 24th, 2008, 03:18 PM

JIB unveils P10-M culinary facilities

By janice on May 24, 2008 in News

Davao City– A P10 million kitchen and other facilities and component set up by Joji Ilagan Foundation, College of Business and Tourism will teach students become skilled chef as it offers Certificate 111-Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) starting June 2008.

In a press briefing held at the JIB school along Gov. Chavez Street in Davao City, president Joji Ilagan Bian disclosed that the course will be handled by British Chef Peter Bucky, who is a holder of a Masteral degree in Culinary Arts at Birminghan College of Food and PhD in Education and has obtained assessor qualification in DS 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36.

She said the British Chef has been a qualified auditor for ISO and HACCP by Lloyds of London and has been a verifier for PACUCOA in the Philippines.

Bian said the course is in partnership with the government of Australia through its school the TAFE New South Wales South Western Sydney Institute.

Upon completion of the 10-month course the graduate will be awarded with Australian Certificate of qualifications issued by Australian based school.

“This certification is recognized by leading international hotel industry,” she said.

Bian said once the student is enrolled in this course, his or her pathway is clear because it is clear to them on what to do next.

The course she said is about P120,000 including laboratory fees and ingredients but they offer an easy scheme for their clients.

If we compare the cost here to that of Manila culinary schools, it would cost about P250,000 to P350,000 a year and abroad would sum up to over P1.5 million.

“My purpose of offering this course is to allow those from Mindanaoans who have the potentials to avail of it at reasonable cost,” she said.

She stressed however that despite the affordable cost they do not sacrifice the quality of the facilities these students would use in their entire course.

She also said that they install CCTV camera in the classroom because the TAFE from time to time would view the proceedings of the lectures conducted by the chef and actual cooking of the students.

Bian said they have to be very strict in carrying out the program because they are carrying the standard set by the Australian school.

She said they want their students to develop skills through training on maximum theoretical and practical hands-on-experience to prepare them to work in a commercial kitchen of a hotel, restaurant or any retail systems and resources with competent chef trainer. (PIA)by Prix D Banzon

http://mindanao.p7107.com/davao/2008/05/24/jib-unveils-p10-m-culinary-facilities/

henji

May 24th, 2008, 03:22 PM

"Another Callcenter facility to rise in downtown Davao
May 22, 2008 by tjbrewed
The callcenter wave has officially hit Davao City’s shores. Today, big names in the contact center or the BPO industry are now starting to establish their facilities in Davao. BPOs such as Western Wats, Sutherland, Link2Support, Sitel, and others. Hence, the demand for office space in Davao is now increasing."

Excerpt form Tjbreweds blog.... NeoDavao...

Curious lang ko.. asa dapit ang site sa sitel... full blast na sila dire sa Davao?

dinabaw

May 24th, 2008, 03:25 PM

henji

May 24th, 2008, 03:37 PM

kuyaw sad ng "full blown" hehe, they are located in Pryce Tower , they occupied @ least 2 floors :yes:

bitaw no... murag sakit... pero ive edited it anyway...

oic, mao diay ng call center diha sa pryce. dako ba ilang operations diha? siguro the two floors will tell. tanx

bongskie09

May 24th, 2008, 04:20 PM

Curious lang pud ko. Ngano wala pa sila ga-advertise sa mga national dailies regarding sa ilang Davao operations? :dunno:

henji

May 24th, 2008, 04:34 PM

wala, pero i found this article last feb pa pero wla ng update after this...

Friday, February 08, 2008
Call center firm to invest in city

DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (Dole) newly designated OIC-regional director, lawyer Jalilo O. dela Torre said Friday that Sitel, one of the leading call center companies, plans to invest and establish its company here in Davao.

Dela Torre, who is also labor attache' and just assumed office last February 1, said that with Sitel's plan to expand its services here in Davao, Dabawenyos would expect more employment opportunities to be provided by one of the biggest call center in the world, he said.

Sitel's Human Resource Development for Northern Mindanao, Irene Roa, presented its company profile during their visit here in Davao.

The presentation was held at the Holy Cross of Davao College gym with the support of Dole regional office and Peso Manager Arnold Barillo, participated in by partner stakeholders, Peso managers, students and Dole personnel coming from the various parts of Mindanao region.

Dela Torre shared a success story of Dole-CAR in its linkages with Sitel and other stakeholders in making Baguio City as an ICT friendly City that boost employment generation in the area.

Sitel is now looking for a competitive agent who can help in upholding and bringing out the name of the company here in Davao City, an agent who can help in providing fully integrated customer care and back office processing services.

Roa, in her company presentation said, "one thing I can assure is that: customer can expand professionalism, service consistency, support and information in every transaction."

"We are set to establish a well-managed call center that can serve customer quickly, honestly and efficiently and effectively in call handling, faster response to callers, phone etiquette, basic logic in telephone problem solving and many more outsourcing services, Roa added. (Press release)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/02/08/bus/call.center.firm.to.invest.in.city.html

dinabaw

May 25th, 2008, 08:50 AM

ICT center provides free computer lessons for PWDs

By janice on May 25, 2008 in News

Davao City — The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) computer center located at Lispher Inn, Davao City has been here to provide free computer lessons for persons with disabilities.

Computer center professor Engr. Darlito Palermo said the computer center also caters, not only for disabled persons, but for those able-bodied persons who wish to learn basic computer and communication technologies.

The ICT center for PWDs is the first to be established in Davao City with the help of the Rotary Club of Matina, Davao and the San Pedro Parish Foundation to provide the necessary computers and facilities for ICT, said Engr. Palermo.

The center allows PWDs to reap the fruits of the latest trends in information and community technology, according to Dr. Luchie Aportadera, president of the Kapansanan foundation.

Our Muslim brothers who wish to learn basic computer and other communication technologies are also welcome to study here, Palermo said.

The Rotary Foundation Skills Training Cenbter was launched in July 22, 2002 through a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the city government and other participating agencies like the labor department.

This is a stepping stone for PWDs to land a job, said assistant regional director Ofel Domingo of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and DSWD in reg
ion eleven.

City Hall, through Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has also employed PWDs as computer operators and movie house checkers. (PIA)By Rose B. Palacio

http://mindanao.p7107.com/davao/2008/05/25/ict-center-provides-free-computer-lessons-for-pwds/

davaoeagle

May 25th, 2008, 09:02 AM

^

Kudos to our beloved mayor who always looks after his people no matter what situation they are in...:cheers:

kevinb

May 25th, 2008, 12:08 PM

why is that Kevin? I know you work with CVG. but what's wrong with Sutherland? pareho pa mandin kami ng company name: SGS. nagulat pa ako dati bakit naghahanap ang company namin ng hundreds of call agents. Sutherland Global pala and not Societe Generalle. :lol:

Before CVG, I was with SGS. I just finished three months there. Why? Good luck sa employee handling nila. :ohno:

-----

I recently was one of the people who had a meeting with Andrea Ayers, Convergys' Global Consumer Management President. It was recently unveiled that five new Convergys sites will be put up in the Metro, Sta. Rosa and Cebu, which will generate about six to seven thousand jobs. With this projection plus the current 13,000 ++ employees in the country, it will make Convergys Philippines the second largest BPO unit of Convergys, just after the US. Wala lang. I was just thrilled about the new jobs that will be created with the new sites that CVG will putting up. Oh di ba? Hindi na India ung second, tayo na. :D

bartstrife99

May 25th, 2008, 04:09 PM

Before CVG, I was with SGS. I just finished three months there. Why? Good luck sa employee handling nila. :ohno:

-----

I recently was one of the people who had a meeting with Andrea Ayers, Convergys' Global Consumer Management President. It was recently unveiled that five new Convergys sites will be put up in the Metro, Sta. Rosa and Cebu, which will generate about six to seven thousand jobs. With this projection plus the current 13,000 ++ employees in the country, it will make Convergys Philippines the second largest BPO unit of Convergys, just after the US. Wala lang. I was just thrilled about the new jobs that will be created with the new sites that CVG will putting up. Oh di ba? Hindi na India ung second, tayo na. :D

so you are working in call center industry before?

icarusrising

May 25th, 2008, 04:16 PM

^^ CVG is Convergys and SGS is Sutherland. Both are call centers. He's still working in one.

henji

May 25th, 2008, 04:33 PM

Regarding the Sitel: unsa ng naa sa Pryce? recruitment center or call center seats na jud?

MtApoStandard

May 25th, 2008, 05:09 PM

Curious lang pud ko. Ngano wala pa sila ga-advertise sa mga national dailies regarding sa ilang Davao operations? :dunno:
is it bec ang target recruits exclusive sa davao? and from there spread through networks of applicants friends by word of mouth. siguro

dinabaw

May 25th, 2008, 05:14 PM

^^ siguro as of now maliit lang slots nila but definitely they are operating right now, makikita naman na 2 to 3 floors lights are open in the evening same with Landco bldg.

henji

May 25th, 2008, 05:20 PM

a okies, wala jud toud na-publisize ilang operation dire sa Davao. pero nice one for us here. Hope theyll scout for a permanent location like Sutherland did..

dinabaw

May 26th, 2008, 02:45 PM

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/9954/damosa1un3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is the Damosa IT Park complex nearing completion, located north of the city. The sudden mushrooming of the almost 2.3 hectare complex attest the city's potential in becoming an important center for Information Communications and Technology. Despite initial infrastructure concerns, Davao now ranks high as an attractive ICT investment capable of providing about 42,000 English proficient workforce and possesing, as an investor puts it, an "empowered bearing."

http://anywheredavao.blogspot.com/

dinabaw

May 26th, 2008, 02:50 PM

wi-fi NCCC Food Court

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/4388/ncccwifi1oa7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This hotspot is still on the same homegrown mall in the south, at the 2nd level food court where shoppers can sit for rest during shopping, meet with acquaintance, chat, ogle, and of course, order food.

http://anywheredavao.blogspot.com/2008/05/free-wifi_20.html

henji

May 26th, 2008, 03:27 PM

wow, nice to know that... mayu na lang magamit nako akong PSP sa wifi diha.. hehehe

bongskie09

May 27th, 2008, 09:54 AM

^^ siguro as of now maliit lang slots nila but definitely they are operating right now, makikita naman na 2 to 3 floors lights are open in the evening same with Landco bldg.

Good! ^^

It's nice to know that sir Ambie :cheers:

bongskie09

May 27th, 2008, 10:05 AM

a okies, wala jud toud na-publisize ilang operation dire sa Davao. pero nice one for us here. Hope theyll scout for a permanent location like Sutherland did..

Right. If they intend on employing more than a thousand peeps, then they should find or build a bigger and more spacious site because if my estimate is correct, the 2 floors that they're currently occupying at Pryce tower could only hold around 1000 agents max.

kc5169

May 28th, 2008, 12:50 PM

Dont get too settled on call centers, with the huge amounts of complaints and inquiries about peoples personal information being sent overseas from the US, my prediction is the call centers will grow a lot more then it will crash down to just a few. Im looking at 2010-2012. You wont believe how many accounts move BACK to the US from the philippines.

Ph Man

May 28th, 2008, 11:34 PM

oh really? that's sad. please tell us more about that.

Kev, thanks for the info man.

henji

May 30th, 2008, 07:50 AM

I am very happy for SITEL, since the employment it will bring will benefit multiplier effect to our economy (strengthen consumer spending in the City).

lightning099

May 31st, 2008, 02:41 AM

Japan BPO firm chooses Philippines over India
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Tokyo-based Transcosmos Inc., said to be the biggest contact center company in Japan, has chosen the Philippines over India as a launch pad for its entry into the English-language market, its chosen Philippine partner said.

The local partner is the medium-sized call center firm, Logicall Inc., based in Makati City.

“The objective of this partnership is for the Philippines and Logicall to become the primary English delivery location that will answer the existing demands of Transcosmos Inc.’s client base,” Logicall chief executive Archie Rodriguez said.

He said Transcosmos would invest P120 million to help Logicall expand its capacity in the Philippines from 300 to 3,000 seats by 2011.

The partnership also enables Logicall to offer more value-added services such as multilingual support, digital marketing and analytics, he added.

Transcosmos and Logicall officials said at a news briefing Friday that Transcosmos would leverage its strength in the Japanese electronics market to offer technical support and after-sales call center services in North America, Europe, and Australia.

They said the Philippines in general and Logicall in particular had the right values, quality of labor, scalability and culture to cope with value-added work.

Transcosmos officials said the company recently registered revenue of $1.6 billion. They said Transcosmos had an international footprint that concentrated on the Japanese market.

They said the company’s existing network of 22 delivery centers and IT support facilities in Japan, China, South Korea and Thailand supported some of the world’s biggest blue-chip companies.

Logicall officials said their company specialized in customer relationship management.

It provides customer management solutions for technical support, communication, travel, health care, insurance, human resource and financial services for American and European clients, they said.

henji

May 31st, 2008, 04:43 AM

Wazzzupppppp Davao ICT....

Juan Pilgrim

May 31st, 2008, 08:16 PM

Inquirer Money / Breaking News
http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080531-139914/Japan-BPO-firm-chooses-Philippines-over-India

Japan BPO firm chooses Philippines over India

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: May 31, 2008

MANILA, Philippines—Tokyo-based Transcosmos Inc., said to be the biggest contact center company in Japan, has chosen the Philippines over India as a launch pad for its entry into the English-language market, its chosen Philippine partner said.
The local partner is the medium-sized call center firm, Logicall Inc., based in Makati City.

“The objective of this partnership is for the Philippines and Logicall to become the primary English delivery location that will answer the existing demands of Transcosmos Inc.’s client base,” Logicall chief executive Archie Rodriguez said.

He said Transcosmos would invest P120 million to help Logicall expand its capacity in the Philippines from 300 to 3,000 seats by 2011.

The partnership also enables Logicall to offer more value-added services such as multilingual support, digital marketing and analytics, he added.

Transcosmos and Logicall officials said at a news briefing Friday that Transcosmos would leverage its strength in the Japanese electronics market to offer technical support and after-sales call center services in North America, Europe, and Australia.

They said the Philippines in general and Logicall in particular had the right values, quality of labor, scalability and culture to cope with value-added work.

Transcosmos officials said the company recently registered revenue of $1.6 billion. They said Transcosmos had an international footprint that concentrated on the Japanese market.

They said the company’s existing network of 22 delivery centers and IT support facilities in Japan, China, South Korea and Thailand supported some of the world’s biggest blue-chip companies.

Logicall officials said their company specialized in customer relationship management.

It provides customer management solutions for technical support, communication, travel, health care, insurance, human resource and financial services for American and European clients, they said. Riza T. Olchondra; edited by INQUIRER.net

:horse:
J.P.

Igsuonnimo

May 31st, 2008, 09:25 PM

RP a strategic partner for HP's outsourcing plan

By Lawrence Casiraya

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 17:14:00 05/31/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- HP is leveraging on the vast supply of "knowledge workers" in growing its outsourcing operations in the country, a top local executive said.

HP began its outsourcing operations in the Philippines around 2003 following a long-term services deal with Procter and Gamble. Since then, the client base served by the local delivery center has grown to around 80 companies, according to Noel Mendoza, director of HP's Philippines global delivery center.

HP's local delivery center has also grown to more than 1,500 employees. Unlike most business process outsourcing (BPO) companies present in the country, HP provides higher-value services making the Philippines a "strategic" partner for the company's global customers.

"BPO typically refers to non-core processes a company is willing to outsource to a provider that would provide these services back to them," Mendoza said, describing the difference between BPO and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).

"KPO can be in the realm of very core processes, things that are very critical to the customer's operations which they entrusts to a strategic partner who will be able to deliver these capabilities for them," Mendoza said in an interview with INQUIRER.net.

Thus, he noted a closer and more strategic working relationship between HP and its customers, "not so much a vendor-client relationship."

"The capabilities and skills that the partner must bring forward are higher in terms of intelligence, processing and analytics that go into the delivery of these services to the customer," Mendoza added.

The Philippines, he noted, offers a wealth of talent from the supply of graduates every year. Industry rivals IBM and Accenture have also cited building KPO capabilities from out of the Philippines.

"I think this has been realized by not only HP but other service companies who see the Philippines as a center to be able to drive KPO capabilities derived from a vast pool of talent with keen focus on customer care," Mendoza said.

The presence of HP and its rivals could indicate a maturing outsourcing market in the Philippines. Companies are capitalizing on the country's strength as a call center hub and branching out into non-voice based services.

KPO provides a good career opportunity for graduates who want to be part of the global outsourcing phenomenon, according to Mendoza.

"Not only to be part of delivering these capabilities but to be part of a global team working with clients in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific region," he said.

So does this mean the Philippines is growing the same way outsourcing pioneer India has grown? "I think we are going the same way with the rest of the world is growing," Mendoza said.

"The world is becoming very seamless, becoming one big community and that the Filipino is world-class and can participate in this community and be seen as valuable in delivering these services," he said.

:horse:

:okay:

:rock:

:wave:

bartstrife99

June 1st, 2008, 01:41 PM

[QUOTE=

"The world is becoming very seamless, becoming one big community and that the Filipino is world-class and can participate in this community and be seen as valuable in delivering these services," he said.

:horse:

:okay:

:rock:

:wave:[/QUOTE]

I agree with him!

kevinb

June 1st, 2008, 02:51 PM

so you are working in call center industry before?

Still am now. :)

^^ CVG is Convergys and SGS is Sutherland. Both are call centers. He's still working in one.

Right. In CVG, currently. :)

Dont get too settled on call centers, with the huge amounts of complaints and inquiries about peoples personal information being sent overseas from the US, my prediction is the call centers will grow a lot more then it will crash down to just a few. Im looking at 2010-2012. You wont believe how many accounts move BACK to the US from the philippines.

oh really? that's sad. please tell us more about that.

Kev, thanks for the info man.

With the US recession happening, I don't see these BPOs closing down. On the contrary, the clients that the BPOs the Philippines currently have will stay since everything will be more expensive in the US, so they will more likely open more centers here to cater to their clients. The concept of offshoring is for companies to spend lesser, and that's why this industry in the Philippines is growing by leaps and bounds.

@Ph Man: You're welcome. :)

Igsuonnimo

June 2nd, 2008, 01:50 PM

Take Note:

The 17 areas are as follows: Bacolod, Bacoor, Baguio, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cainta, Naga City, Cebu, Angeles, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lipa, Manila, Sta. Rosa and Dagupan.

CICT reports outsourcing investments in 17 areas

By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:46:00 06/02/2008

MANILA, Philippines--Seventeen areas in the country now have investors from the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, according to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).

CICT has identified a total of 22 areas in its drive to establish so-called ICT hubs ideal for BPO investors, according to Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim.

The commission is now working on adding Tagbilaran and Tuguegarao the list, he told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.

"Out of these, 17 already have locators and most of them have created their respective ICT councils to take care of HR [human resource] issues," said Ibrahim, who is heading CICT's efforts to establish ICT hubs in partnership with the private sector.

Quezon City, which already has BPO locators in areas like Eastwood City, is the latest to form an ICT council. Metro Manila, which comprises Quezon City and other cities like Makati and Mandaluyong, is considered as just one area or ICT hub.

Ibrahim also cited the growing awareness about BPO in cities outside of the Metro Manila. He also noted increased enrollment in ICT-related courses in these areas.

The local BPO industry today generates estimated revenues of $5 billion and the industry is targeting to more than double that in less than three years.

Call centers continue to be the biggest revenue contributor although there are non-call center investments as well, even in areas outside Metro Manila.

In Bacolod, for example, major US operator Convergys is opening a call center, the fourth operator to locate. The latest investments in Bacolod also include a software company, and BPO companies that handle services for medical billing and investment banking customers.

"Total employment in Bacolod is expected to reach 6,000 by the end of the year. That should result to about P60 million to P90 million in new investments getting in Bacolod's local economy," Ibrahim said.

The 17 areas are as follows: Bacolod, Bacoor, Baguio, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cainta, Naga City, Cebu, Angeles, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lipa, Manila, Sta. Rosa and Dagupan.

From inquirer.net
CICT reports outsourcing investments in 17 areas (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080602-140303/CICT-reports-outsourcing-investments-in-17-areas)

:horse: :rock: :hi: :wave: :cool:

davaoeagle

June 3rd, 2008, 05:45 AM

Alsons ventures into mining, ethanol
By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT
Manila Bulletin

Encouraged by the high prices of metal, publicly-listed Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) has announced plans to pursue more mining projects in the country.

ACR chairman Tomas I. Alcantara told the recent stockholders meeting that mining can soon become another core business under its portfolio.

"We are encouraged by favorable prices for minerals that have reached unprecedented levels in recent times due to strong demand from high growth economies like China and India," he added.

Its first venture in mining was the development of the Manat Gold property in Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte.

"We are currently in active talks with interested parties to advance the project’s exploration activities and expect resumption of on-site work within the year," he said.

Mining is just among the conglomerates interests.

Alcantara also announced a $ 750 million investments in various energy-related projects over a five-year period as the company seeks to widen its involvement in the energy sector.

"Our energy group has continued to be the main contributor to the company’s revenues and this group is expected to continue to deliver steady profit streams in years to come," Alcanatara said.

According to Alcantara, the company is about to complete the feasibility study for a 100,000 liter per day fuel grade ethanol refinery in northern Mindanao using cassava as feedstock.

This project will include an agriculture component with ACR’s direct engagement in the production of cassava tubers and chips for its feedstock and the balance from contract growers.

The project would require a total of 10,000 hectares of farmlands to fully meet the requirements of the alcohol refinery.

"We expect a decision for this investment in the second semester this year and commercial operation in 2011,"Alcantara said.

A second ethanol refinery is also planned in Southern Mindanao, Alcantara added.

"All told, the energy related projects that we have line for the company to pursue in the short and medium terms will involve about $ 750 million and would be implemented over a five year period," he said.

At present, its two main power companies are Western Mindanao Power Corp. and Southern Power Corp. under its power management firm, Alto Power Management Corp.

The company has also begun initiatives in establishing a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant in Southern Mindanao to respond to the projected power supply shortage by 2012.

But Alcantara stressed the company has no interest in the Manila Electric Company as earlier alleged noting that the conglomerate would remain mainly as a power generator and not as distributor.

"The Alcantara Group nor its affiliates have not manifested even a passing interest in MERALCO," he pointed out. (BCM)

TONZI

June 3rd, 2008, 12:26 PM

Correct me if im wrong..but based on my observation.....Most of the entrepreneurs fueling Mindanao's economy are Dabawenyos! :rock:

i think whole phrase is wrong. Perhaps you could change that into:
"Most of the entrepreneurs who started the most notable local SMEs are Dabawenyos"

"fueling Mindanao's economy"-its a bit unfitting for SMEs to fuel Mindanao's economy since the fuel of Mindanao's economy are numerous and are situated in the whole island.

Igsuonnimo

June 3rd, 2008, 12:33 PM

^^ Ibig sabihin ang drivers of engine for growth sa Mindanao ay mga Dabawenyo?

paulkrps

June 3rd, 2008, 12:36 PM

compared with large corporations, SMEs impact probably in a sense is limited, it can still be felt because of it's numbers. while a lot of dabawenyo entrepreneurs and homegrown businesses have made strides in different parts of mindanao, palawan and visayas, that in itself is a feat. thing is investing and expanding in other places not your own can be challenge because it is not your "comfort zone".

paulkrps

June 3rd, 2008, 12:40 PM

^^ Ibig sabihin ang drivers of engine for growth sa Mindanao ay mga Dabawenyo?

contributory yes, but not solely. maybe it is tj's own opinion and can be debatable. altho as i have said in my other post, dabawenyo entrepreneurs and homegrown businesses have made strides in other parts.

TONZI

June 4th, 2008, 07:48 AM

contributory yes, but not solely. maybe it is tj's own opinion and can be debatable. altho as i have said in my other post, dabawenyo entrepreneurs and homegrown businesses have made strides in other parts.

this is what im pointing out that most dabawenyos have started most SMEs in Mindanao. But to say that "it has fueled Mindanao's economic growth and even encompassed the whole island's economic growth" is debatable. If you remove the economic contributions of the other places in the island, then the remaining percentage would not be enough to encompass that of the whole. That would be illogical.

Maybe what he pointed out was that "Davao's economic contributions have encompassed that of the other cities in the whole island of Mindanao" rather than "it encompassed the economic contributions of the whole island of Mindanao."

There is a really big distinction between the meanings of the two statements. But based on numbers, I really commend Davao as Mindanao's premier city in terms of economy, commerce and trade.

GearX

June 4th, 2008, 01:02 PM

couldn't agree more with @Tonzi :banana:

dinabaw

June 4th, 2008, 01:16 PM

^^ great news , and this new IT center will be BIG help for the anticipated IT companies who will locate in DC :cheers:

IT center to open in Davao

Mindanao’s micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) can now upgrade their skills and be more competitive with the help of an information technology (IT) enabling facility.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) undersecretary Engr. Merly Cruz has announced a partnership between the DTI and the Philippine National Information Technology Standards (PHILNITS), Foundation, Inc. and the Japan External Trade Relations Organization (JETRO) to set up an IT facility in Davao City.

Cruz said that the center will help MSMEs improve their skills by providing productivity tools, entrepreneurship programs and skills training on new and updated technologies. PHILNITS has several certification programs available and will be promoting them in Mindanao.

The center aims to upgrade the quality of education in Mindanao region by adopting internationally recognized standards for its IT professionals. Through this Davao based center, professionals and new graduates on IT courses can participate in seminars and lectures before taking the certification test.

The center also hopes to help generate employment for PHILNITS certified professionals in Japanese companies located here and in Japan. Cruz said they would like to open to other IT professionals job placements opportunities here and abroad with the assistance of the PHILNITS.

PHILNITS opened its Mindanao business center last year and has been alotted space at the regional DTI office at the fifth floor of Mintrade building at Monteverde-Sales Streets, Davao City.

The PHILNITS Foundation is led by its President Ma. Corazon Okol. (DTI)

http://davaotoday.com/2008/05/12/it-center-to-open-in-davao/

dinabaw

June 4th, 2008, 01:28 PM

Davao to be a center for outsourcing companies
06/04/2008 | 10:40 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Davao City, the Philippines’ largest urban area in Mindanao, is expected to be a viable alternative information technology hub three years from now, a study said.

In a report, research firm XMG said organizations belonging to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry are expected to lead the development of the area as a robust technology hub.

Citing a study it conducted between January to March 2008, the company said that outsourcing vendors who participated in the survey are very bullish about Davao City, primarily due to the area’s larger population of untapped qualified resources compared to Cebu City in the Visayas.

The study highlighted that competition in Cebu City is nearing saturation as the talent ramp-up continues.

The study also highlighted the population of Davao City as considerably higher than other Tier-2 offshoring cities globally. In the Philippine context, Davao City’s population is 71% higher than Cebu City, 499% larger than Olongapo-Subic City, 333% higher than the Angeles-Clark area, and 340% larger than Baguio City.

“The city’s estimated workforce is twice of Cebu, 9 times of Subic, and 7 times of Clark, and 6 times of Baguio. This has not even taken to account the manpower pool at the nearby cities and provinces of Davao City," the company said.

According to the study, Davao City has various educational institutions annually yielding a higher number of IT and BPO qualified graduates than Subic, Clark, and Baguio by 689%, 278%, and 40% respectively.

Telecom facilities, transportation networks, and public transport systems are already in place in Davao City, the study said. However, XMG indicated there is a need to further improve and modernize these services.

In addition, the existence of a public transport system in Davao City is noteworthy yet still needs improvement in order to expand locators’ recruitment reach and the transportation of people from various points in and out of the city.

The study said the attractiveness of Davao City is greatly affected by the negative perception about the Mindanao region as a whole.

On February 2008, a travel advisory was released by US Consular Affairs warning their citizens on the risk of traveling in Central, Western, and Southern part of Mindanao due to security and safety reasons, which includes terrorism.

XMG researcher Camille Lumbang said that although these travel warnings are empirically grounded from actual hostile incidents in Mindanao, it should be emphasized that these are only isolated incidents from specific areas.

“There is a challenge then to substantiate and prove that such occurrences do not pose a general security threat for Davao City," she said.

Lumbang admitted, however, “there is a crying need for both the government and private sector to act together in improving the overall image of Davao City to attract ICT locators."

Citing a previous study, XMG said Davao City has been upgraded to a level C2 rating from its previous level D standing as the city emerges as a viable site for captive and outsourcing services.

“While there are still a number of geopolitical, geophysical and infrastructure challenges, the large untapped manpower base in Davao City will give its allure and ‘staying power’ as a viable site in the years to come," Lumbang said

The report continues added: “Potential locators in Davao City must have a heightened awareness and should conduct their own formal and internal risks analysis rather than reacting to headlines about specific regions under consideration such as the problems happening in other parts of Mindanao."

Among the emerging alternative offshoring cities cited in the study were Montevideo in Uruguay, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Casablanca in Morocco. It focused on forecasting the global demand for offshoring and outsourcing services and the site optimization of emerging cities. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99096/Davao-to-be-a-center-for-outsourcing-companies

wow! we are at par with emerging alternative offshoring cities such as Montevideo, Casablanca & Jakarta ! :cheers:

henji

June 4th, 2008, 03:11 PM

dinabaw

June 6th, 2008, 01:02 PM

SUREcruit Career Center
Posted In: call center agent , customer service representative

Call Center Agents
Requirements:

* Strong verbal and written communication skills
* Highly developed listening skills
* Highly motivated and enthusiastic
* Excellent computer and typing skills
* Excellent Customer Service and Customer Interaction skills
* Ability to multi-task and stay organized in a high volume environment

Please submit resume and application to:

SUREcruit Career Center
4F Pryce Tower, J.P. Laurel, Davao City

Text: 0928-591-0777
Hotline: 303-1888
Email: jobs@surecruit.net

http://jobs-in-davao.blogspot.com/search/label/call%20center%20agent

dinabaw

June 6th, 2008, 01:05 PM

Sutherland Global Services Inc.
Posted In: Jobs in Davao , program manager

Program Manager

Responsibilities:

* The Program Manager would be responsible for managing metrics in a highly dynamic and fast paced environment.
* Ability to manage clients is highly desired.

Requirements:

* Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor's/College Degree in any field.
* At least five (5) years of working experience in the related field is required for this position.
* Applicants must be willing to work in Davao City.
* Applicants should be Filipino citizens or hold relevant residence status.
* Preferably Assistant Manager / Managers specializing in Customer Service or equivalent.
* Full-time positions available.
* Candidates applying for the position would have at least 5 years experience of which the last 2 years would be in a managerial position, preferably in the BPO industry. He/she would have excellent communication skills, high energy levels and manage teams of 120-150 members. Experience in a technical support or customer service environment is essential.

Visit our website www.suth.com. Please make sure to send your updated resume to MariFeL_Gutana@suth.com with your complete contact details and availability options for phone and personal interviews. We will immediately respond to those qualified candidates. Previous applicants who were asked to send their resume need not to apply.

http://jobs-in-davao.blogspot.com/

dinabaw

June 6th, 2008, 01:07 PM

ABM Computech Enterprises, Inc.
Posted In: CPAs for business application consultants

CPAs for Business Application Consultants Davao-based

Responsibilities:

The successful candidates will train clients on the use of business applications including proper set-up and reports generation. They will also assist clients in terms of on-site support for system migrations and upgrades. Additional responsibilities will include analysis and design of customization on programs based on clients' requirements.

Requirements:

* Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor's/College Degree in Finance / Accountancy / Banking or equivalent.
* Required language: English.
* With at least one (1) year of working experience in the related field is required for this position.
* Applicants must be willing to work in Davao City.
* Preferably 1 to 4 years experienced employees specializing in IT/Computer - Software or equivalent.
* Full-time positions available.

ABM Computech Enterprises, Inc.
25/F Pacific Star Bldg. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. corner Makati Ave. Makati City 1500
Visit their website: http://www.abm-computech.com

dinabaw

June 7th, 2008, 03:53 PM

CDITE-XI at 7

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7818/regionuh8.png (http://imageshack.us)

How time flies. The Council of Deans for IT Education in Region XI (CDITE-XI) started in year 2001 and spread its wings under the presidency of Vic Calag (UP-Mindanao) for three years until year 2004. I took over as president until July 2007. In six years, CDITE-XI has grown stronger and has made significant inroads in the field of IT Education as well as contributed to the growth of the local IT industry of Davao. CDITE-XI is now on its seventh year with Chrys Ibarra (Holy Child School of Davao) as the new president.

The first three years of CDITE-XI under the leadership of Vic Calag was basically the laying down of the foundations of the organization. The first three years were characterized by periodic meetings in different schools, sharing of best practices in curriculum development and student researches, faculty enhancement seminars and trainings, dialogue with the local IT industry, representation in the ICT Council of Davao, collaboration with PSITE, and the IT Olympiad (student programming competition and quiz bowl).

The next three years of CDITE-XI under my leadership was basically sustaining the gains and making inroads. The main accomplishments are: (1) having a legal identity as a SEC-registered organization; (2) clarity of roles vis-a-vis PSITE-XI; (3) administrator-focused seminars; (4) curriculum prototypes for BSCS, BSIT and BSIM with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among IT Education Heads and CHED-XI; (5) continued collaboration with PSITE-XI, especially the IT Education Weeks and the hosting of the 4th National Conference on IT Education (NCITE) last October 2006; (6) Summer Seminar-Workshop Series; (7) Technopreneurship Training and development of the SEED Technopreneuship Course; (8) linkages with PSITE-National and the other regional chapters, ICT Davao Inc. (the umbrella organization of all IT organizations in Davao), Davao Business Community, Technology Providers, and the various government agencies as well as the local government unit; (9) and saving the best for last, the four Centers of Development in IT Education (ADDU, UIC, UM, UP-Min).

It would be worthy to note that the vision of CDITE-XI is to make Davao as the center of quality and world-class IT education and training in Mindanao. The mission is to produce highly competent and efficient IT professionals with sound social and ethical standards. The five main programs are: (1) Administrators and Faculty Development; (2) Academe-IT Industry Linkage; (3) Inter-School Cooperation; (4) Advocacy; and (5) Networking. The core values are commitment, professionalism, excellence, continuing education, integrity, social relevance and unity.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2232/davaovg1.png (http://imageshack.us)

CDITE-XI is composed of twenty-seven member IT schools. The bulk of the membership comes from Davao City with nineteen IT schools (refer to the table above -- the 19th school is Assumption School of Davao with their BSCS program). There are two member IT schools in Davao del Sur, four in Davao del Norte, one in Compostela Valley, and one in Davao Oriental (refer to the table below). Almost all member schools offer the BSCS and BSIT programs. Only five schools offer the BSIM program. Among the twenty-seven member IT schools, only three of the universities offer masters degree courses (ADDU, UIC, USEP). The shared vision of CDITE-XI and PSITE-XI is making Davao as the IT Education capital of Mindanao which complements the vision of ICT Davao Inc. -- that is to make Davao as the IT capital of Mindanao.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4518/outernn2.png (http://imageshack.us)

There are still some unfinished business to focus on, namely: (1) student competencies and immersion framework; (2) faculty immersion, consultancy, research & development partnerships; (3) IT Educators Academy; (4) technopreneurship program; (5) continuous dialogue with IT industry; and (6) school-initiated technology development programs. These are tall orders to attain, but definitely not unreachable. On its seventh year, CDITE-XI, under the leadership of Chrys Ibarra, will focus on these concerns.

We in CDITE-XI have indeed come a long way in six years. We have developed into a cohesive and forward-looking community because of long-standing relationships and respect for each other's pace and growth. We just have to capitalize on our gains and soar further to greater heights. As the Jedis would say, "the force is with us..." -- and I greatly believe in this. :-)

Note: This is the narrative form of the President's Report I delivered to the Joint CDITE-XI and PSITE-XI Regional Assembly for IT Educators last July 20, 2007 at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP).

http://convergentperspectives.blogspot.com/

Juan Pilgrim

June 11th, 2008, 11:15 PM

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!!

http://anton.blogs.com/flag/large.jpg

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINO!!

MABUHAY ANG ARAW NG KALAYAAN!!

:horse:

J.P.

tj_brewed

June 12th, 2008, 05:54 PM

BPOs, schools match needs in Mindanao meet
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:24:00 06/12/2008

DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- Academic administrators are meeting with business process outsourcing (BPO) firms here this week to ensure a better match between local workforce training and the requirements of the global outsourcing industry.

The BPO Human Resource & Recruitment Forum, organized by ICT Davao, Inc., is the second in a series of events designed to accelerate the sustainable development of this city as the leading information, communication and technology (ICT) hub in Mindanao.

The forum will brief local academic institutions on trends in the BPO industry and provide benchmarks in English language capability and other skills. This will enable schools to improve their curricula and anticipate changes in the industry's workforce needs.

"BPOs are particularly interested in schools with a strong English-language focus throughout their entire academic program," said Joji Bian, president of JIB e-Academy and of the Philippine Call Center Alliance.

The forum will also be attended by industry representatives from the cities of General Santos and Zamboanga, which likewise have a significant number of schools offering BPO training.

These cities, as well as Iligan, Cotabato and Marawi, expect to benefit from the development of Davao as an entry point for BPO locators, according to USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, which, with the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council, is helping to improve IT infrastructure and generate employment in the island-region.

XMG Asia Pacific, which analyses trends in the global BPO industry, has put Davao at par with other emerging alternative offshoring cities like Jakarta and Montevideo.

Davao's workforce is estimated to be almost double that of Cebu, which currently has the country's second largest concentration of BPO workers. Other Mindanao cities, such as Zamboanga and General Santos, have skilled labor pools similar in size to that of Cebu.

kiretoce

June 16th, 2008, 11:00 PM

Pinoy software firms invade US soil (http://www.mb.com.ph/INFO20080617127381.html)

The IT prowess of the Philippines, considered as one of the world’s top outsourcing destinations, will be put to the test as a group of Filipino software development companies represent the country in the world’s largest outsourcing conference after holding a series of roadshows across the US.

The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), the trade group composed of local software development firms, said in a statement that it will participate in the upcoming World BPO Forum in New Jersey in the United States.

The forum, slated on July 28 to 29, is considered the largest offshoring and outsourcing summit in the world. Major outsourcing service providers attend the forum to network and to discuss emerging trends and issues affecting the sector.

Beng Coronel, president of PSIA and Pointwest Technologies, said the group’s participation in the global forum is a "landmark achievement" because it will be representing the Philippines.

Before the World BPO Forum, the Filipino software trade group will hold a series of US roadshows to showcase locally developed information technology solutions and software products for the global market.

The PSIA has scheduled roadshows in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose that will feature Philippine software companies, including Exist Global, Morph Labs, Headstrong Philippines, Soluziona, and Pointwest Technologies.

Winston Damarillo, PSIA chairman for international marketing, said the objective behind the US roadshows is to further improve the image of the country in the international IT and software development scenes.

"With the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), we hope to solidify the country’s stand as one of the major players in both of these fields, bringing with us a local team of progressive companies that will exhibit the industry-leading technologies and services our country now offers," he said in a statement.

Damarillo and Josephine Romero, DTI trade representative in New York, originally conceived the idea of holding roadshows in the US. The two worked together for over a year to design a project to encourage local industry players to bring their businesses into the global market.

The US roadshows are expected to kick off on July 17-18, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Exist Global and Morph Labs, where Damarillo concurrently serves as executive chairman for both software companies, have pledged additional logistics support in the California leg of the roadshows, particularly in Los Angeles, where they hold significant presence.

The roadshows will culminate with the World BPO Forum in Jersey City.

dinabaw

June 17th, 2008, 05:18 AM

IT Business ‘08 to stage mall tour

The D’ Ultimate Event Conceptualization and Management in cooperation with RODY Project will stage “Tetchie”, an information technology business mall tour for all IT business oriented and students.

Attend and learn the newest key to learn business in IT on the following schedules of events: June 17 to 20 at the NCCC Mall of Davao; August 5 to 8 at the Gaisano Mall of Davao; and coinciding the Tuna Festival Week in September at the Gaisano Mall of General Santos City.

Witness also the fashion show dubbed “Elite Products fascination” scheduled on June 18 to 19 at the activity area of NCCC Mall of Davao. Maya M. Padillo

http://dailymirror.ph/June/business06172008&04.html

dinabaw

June 17th, 2008, 05:34 AM

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Center aims to produce 200 skilled workers yearly
By Joy Romares-Sevilla

THE newly inaugurated auto training development center in Matina Aplaya, Davao City is targeting to produce 200 skilled workers in a year.

"Now that we have started to help other people and the community to be more productive and competitive, we want to produce 200 skilled workers in a year and 1,000 skilled workers within five years," said Rodolfo A. Hao, president and founder of the R.A. Hao Training Development Center Foundation Inc.

Hao said 30 students have already started their training classes Monday.

"Initially, we start with 30 students because we only have one teacher. The teacher we hired is accredited by Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority)," he said.

Sam Castillero, one of the students at the training center, said the foundation "is a blessing to everyone because we don't have to pay a single centavo for the training."

"When my uncle informed me of this opportunity, I immediately applied because after six months, I will already have a certificate which I can use in finding a job," Castillero said.

Hao, on the other hand, said the applicant may be at least high school graduate and is willing to learn.

"This training center is free, walang babayaran ang estudyante ni kusing (the student won't have to pay anything)," Hao said, adding that for the meantime, he will give priority to his 1,000 employees to avail of the free training program.

He said: "Eventually, it will also be opened for all, but for now, I will give my employees and their immediate family the opportunity to avail of the program first."

Hao is the president of the R.A. Hao group of companies, which includes the Southern Maligaya Taxi Inc., Phoenix-Happy Gas, Matsuko Rubber, Globatech, Happy Fresh Fruits, and the Davao Joni Auto Supply.

The R.A. Hao Training Development Center Foundation Inc. was inaugurated Friday.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/06/17/bus/center.aims.to.produce.200.skilled.workers.yearly.html

dinabaw

June 23rd, 2008, 01:42 PM

Banking & Finance
One Network Bank plans expansion in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY — One Network Bank is expanding its reach in Mindanao this year by adding five more branches and 32 automated teller machines.

Alex V. Buenaventura, bank president, told stockholders over the weekend that the bank is committed to have the widest reach in Mindanao as it already has 70 branches and 68 automated teller machines.

He said the bank is targeting P335 million in net income after tax, P6.117 billion in net loans and P5.011 billion in deposit liabilities this year.

Despite these lofty goals, Mr. Buenaventura said the bank will continue to service small accounts particularly in the countryside, considering it has branches in areas not served by other banks.

Last year, the bank registered a net income after tax of P231 million, 14% higher than the P202 million it made in 2006.

Net loan volume last year also reached P4.5 billion, 37% higher compared with P3.28 billion in 2006.

Mr. Buenaventura explained that the growth in loans resulted from the salary loans of public school teachers after the bank and the Department of Education signed an agreement for this purpose.

Another factor that resulted in the increase in the bank’s loan portfolio, he added, was the expansion of banana farms in Davao del Norte. — CQF

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW062308/content.php?id=024

davaoeagle

June 25th, 2008, 08:16 PM

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Davao emerges as among best sites for BPO, ICT business
Sunstar Davao

DAVAO City has been named recently as one of the world's best investment sites for business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and global offshore ICT hubs, according to a recently released study conducted by the EU-based XMG Global ICT Research and Advisory Service.

The other "emerging off-shoring cities" cited in the global study together with Davao in the southern Philippines, include Casablanca in Morocco, Montevideo in Uruguay, and Jakarta in Indonesia.

XMG-Global public affairs officer Pierre Boudreau said foreign researchers and BPO executives who took part in the worldwide study are "very bullish about Davao City."

This is due to the area's much larger population of untapped English-speaking students and graduates compared to Cebu in the central Philippines and the country's capital city of Manila where competition for qualified staff among BPO companies are fierce and the number of call centers and ICTs are nearing "saturation point."

"We're impressed by the huge untapped manpower base in Davao. This will be very attractive to many BPO companies in US and Europe planning to locate and expand their operations here," Boudreau said.

This was confirmed by Teolulo Pasawa, head of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac) -- a special unit of Davao Region's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) -- that helps new BPO investors set up their new call centers and other ICT businesses in the city.

"There are many schools, colleges, universities and training centers in Davao today producing thousands of qualified graduates for the BPO industry," Pasawa said.

The XMG-Global ICT study show that the city of Davao alone with these various educational institutions and training centers, is producing every year a much higher number of IT and BPO qualified graduates than the cities of Subic, Clark and Baguio in central and northern Luzon.

Davao has 689 percent more graduates than Subic, 278 percent more than Clark, and 40 percent more than Baguio.

"This has not even taken into account the manpower pool at the nearby provinces, towns and small cities like Tagum, Panabo, Digos, Bansalan, Mati, Compostela, etc, which are also producing thousands of qualified graduates yearly," Boudreau said.

The worldwide study highlighted the population of Davao City (1.4 million) as "considerably higher than other Tier-2 offshoring cities globally."

In the Philippines, Davao City's population is 71 percent bigger than Cebu City, 499 percent larger than Olongapo City in Subic, 333 percent higher than Angeles City in Clark, and 340 percent bigger than Baguio City.

Davao City's estimated workforce, according to the study, is twice that of Cebu, nine times bigger than Subic, seven times bigger than Clark, and six times bigger than Baguio.

Modern telecom facilities, transportation networks, and public transport systems are already in place in Davao, according to Boudreau, "but there's still a lot of room to further improve and modernize these facilities and services."

To attract more BPO and ICT locators to Davao, XMG Researcher Camille Lumbang urged both the government and private sector "to act together with plans and programs to boost the overall image of Davao" as a top investment site for ICT and BPO businesses.

Foreign BPO executives are amazed that while Davao is now identified with three other global cities as best sites for BPO and ICT investments, "this fact alone has not sank in yet as local officials still could hardly believe it," said Lumbang.

dinabaw

June 26th, 2008, 03:06 PM

Intelligent software by Lane Systems
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/704/logolanesystemsvi8.png (http://imageshack.us)

by Blogie • 21 June 2008

As this kind of technology is not yet pervasive in Davao City, not many locals are aware of the advanced developments being accomplished by a certain Davao-based software house. Cutting-edge technologies in industry-strength inventory systems, telephony services — these software applications are being designed and developed right here.

Lane Systems Lane Systems Inc. is a 12-year old company that has been involved in foreign projects, long before outsourcing and offshoring became buzzwords in the Philippines. Lane Systems (LSI), spearheaded by CEO Rodney Jao, is Davao’s showcase of success in the field of software development, and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

They call their best offerings “mobility solutions”. Centered mostly on inventory and related applications, LSI has developed and deployed programs for barcode- and RFID-based business requirements. For example, currently, they are building an application that will run on a handheld rugged computer. Their application will make it possible to gather data contained in two-dimensional barcodes, as well as process such data for use as decision-making business information.

Blogie with the Intermec CN3 This gadget LSI is working on, an Intermec CN3 Mobile Computer (shown in photo), is capable of electronic data collection and processing for entire warehouses. It’s a remarkable piece of equipment: a very durable handheld computer with Bluetooth and barcode scanner (one- and two-dimensional), WiFi-enabled, plus it has a slot for a SIM card. It runs on Windows Mobile, and LSI is currently developing an application that will run on it and take advantage of the hardware’s functionalities. The project is for a client in the United States.

In the field of telephony, LSI counts a number of call centers in Metro Manila and Cebu as clients. BPO companies, especially call centers, have very demanding requirements for contact management, and the people at Lane Systems have delivered to their customers’ satisfaction.

Lane Systems’ motto speaks of their business culture: Process Improvement Through Technology. Here’s a quotable quote from their website: “Lane Systems is unique in several aspects; among them is the unparalleled ability to examine a business challenge, apply appropriate technology solutions, and effectively articulate the solution to our own teams and the customer from start to finish. We guarantee customer satisfaction as we go the ‘extra mile’ to see that our customers know we mean business when we say we are committed to them.”

More than just their clients, LSI also takes care of their employees. Operating much like their Silicon Valley counterparts, LSI believes that the talent pool that they have is as much capital as money in the bank. That’s why their people are some of the better paid technology workers in Davao, as well as the more fulfilled in their careers.

Lane Systems is hiring! For more information, please visit their Web site, or call 221-3344. You may also submit your résumé to Davao Tech Jobs.

dinabaw

June 30th, 2008, 05:42 AM

Monday, June 30, 2008
Cyber expo set this week
By Ben O. Tesiorna

AFTER a successful Davao Cyber Expo last year, e-Squared Event is holding its second edition this week at the ground floor of the NCCC Mall in Matina, Davao City.

Kitsi Avila of e-Squared said this year's event will yet be another classy approach of cyber gaming entertainment.

The Davao Cyber Expo (DCE) on July 4 to 6 is a system of events carefully designed by e-Squared Event to celebrate today's tech-savvy lifestyle.

The DCE is an annual mall wide event that draws participation and audience from groups like PC gamers, PC enthusiasts, graphic designers, and the likes and students from different schools.

The nation's top online gaming companies like ABS-CBN Interactive, Level Up and E-Games are also supporting the event.

The Davao Cyber Games consists of LAN (local area network) games and online games.

Eliminations started on June 21 at Boyztrek, Intertouch, Cindrews and NetExpress internet cafes.

On July 1 eliminations were conducted by Jumbers, Blinque, Allyzone and Sequel.

Online games championship will have its own format prepared by the top three (3) online gaming companies namely: E-Games, Level Up and ABS CBN interactive. Avila said this is the only time that you will see the top three online gaming companies in the Philippines will be together in an event.

Cyber Games or e-Sports are now known as the modern sports or the digital sports. It doesn't require physical talents but mostly mentally. So anybody can be a cyber game athlete.

For details please call 09228595561 or log on to www.e2-events.com.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/06/30/bus/cyber.expo.set.this.week.html

davaoeagle

June 30th, 2008, 08:39 PM

Tuesday, July 01, 2008
PhilNits Davao now offers review course
Sunstar Davao

THE Philippine National Information Technology Standards Foundation Inc. (PhilNits) will be hosting a Fundamental Exam (FE) Review Course for all IT professionals, teachers, and students to be conducted by the PhilNits Society in its offices in Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City.

In Davao City, this will be handled by a veteran trainer/lecturer of the PhilNits Society, Aloysius L. Torres.

The review courses are designed for beginners and/or experienced IT professionals who want to pass the PhilNits FE exam, which will be held on October 19 this year at the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC), Bonifacio St., Davao City.

Passers of the PhilNits FE examination will have bigger chances of working in Japan and get the same benefits being enjoyed by the Japanese employees.

The Review Course will be in two sessions, to wit: Option A -- afternoon sessions every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Option B -- evening sessions every Monday and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Classes will start on July 5 for the afternoon sessions and August 4 for the evening sessions.

For more information, please feel free to contact Joy Alferez of PhilNits-Davao at telephone number (082) 227-9448 or email at philnits.davao@gmail.com.

Interested parties may also visit the PhilNits-Davao Office at 5th Floor Mintrade Building, corner Monteverde Avenue and Sales Street, Davao City.

davaoeagle

June 30th, 2008, 09:11 PM

Phoenix Petroleum to pay cash and stock dividends
Manila Bulletin
July 1, 2008

The Board of Directors of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. (PPPI) has declared cash dividends of 10 centavos (P0.10) per share to stockholders of record as of May 30, 2008, to be paid out starting June 26, 2008.

In addition to the cash dividend, by a unanimous vote of those present during the Annual Stockholder’s Meeting held at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao on June 16, 2008, the stockholders ratified the decision of the Board of Directors declaring 30 percent stock dividends of the company’s issued and outstanding capital stock or a total of 43,108,800 shares.

The issuance of the stock dividend shall be subscribed and paid out of the surplus profit of the company as of December 31, 2007. The issuance of the stock dividends shall increase the paid-up capital of PPPI from P145 million to P188 million.

PPPI declared a net income of P122 million for 2007, 65 percent higher than the previous year. The record and issuance date of the stock dividends shall be announced later pending approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The stockholders also approved the retention of the PPPI Board ofDirectors for 2008-09 namely: chairman Domingo T. Uy; president and vice chairman Dennis A. Uy; treasurer Jose Manuel R. Quimson, corporate secretary Socorro T. Ermac-Cabreros, director J.V.Emmanuel de Dios, and independent directors Ricardo S. Pascua and Monico V. Jacob.

Reappointed external auditor of PPPI is Punongbayan & Araullo. PPPI is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products, lubricants and other chemical products, operation of oil depots and storage facilities, and allied services. Its products and services are distributed and marketed under the "Phoenix Fuels Life" trademark. PPPI became the first oil company to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange inJuly 2007 after the 1998 Oil Deregulation Act.

PPPI also became the firstDavao-based company to be listed on the stock exchange. Since its incorporation in 2002, PPPI has opened 60 stations in Mindanao. The company targets to open 100 stations by the end of the year, including its first in Luzon and Visayas.

henji

July 1st, 2008, 12:50 AM

PIA Press Release
2008/07/01

Davao chamber sees growth of ICT, SME sector

Davao City (1 July) -- Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. (DCCCII) President Simeon Marfori II sees the expansion and growth of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between PLDT and the Chamber on the offering of a wide range of ICT services to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises members of DCCII.

The MOU was signed by Marfori and PLDT SME Group head Katrina C. Luna Abelarde last July 27 at the Apo View Hotel Davao. The MOU is the first in the country where PLDT hopes to help SMEs foster connectivity and access to the latest innovations on ICT.

DCCII will provide the venue, linkage and technical skills to SMEs while PLDT will provide affordable, practical, scalable and managed solutions to these SMEs.

Marfori said that these are the elements needed for the growth of a sector (ICT) which along with agriculture, tourism sectors is where the Chamber will be focusing on for this year.

"The more SME users of ICT the better it will be for the industry as it will be used to increase productivity and efficient allocation of resources.

Marfori said that he hopes to enter into another agreement with another company. He said the DCCCII is looking into IBM which could provide the server, which could be used by the SMEs.

Luna-Abelarde said that the PLDT SME Nation Group was formed in January this year to help provide SMEs and IT platform. She said that of the 300,000 SMEs only 10-20% are connected to the internet of which 2 to 5% have websites of their own.

She said that among the packages offered to SMEs include Voice solutions which include a full PABX solutions package comprising of the switch and line. Also offered are Broadband package and applications for business operations. (PIA/RG Alama) [top]

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p080701.htm&no=1

dinabaw

July 1st, 2008, 05:02 AM

DCCCII , PLDT ink
pact to aid SMEs

Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. (DCCCII) President Simeon Marfori II sees the expansion and growth of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between PLDT and the Chamber on the offering of a wide range of ICT services to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises members of DCCCII.

The MOU was signed by Marfori and PLDT SME Group head Katrina C. Luna Abelarde last June 27 at the Apo View Hotel Davao. The MOU is the first in the country where PLDT hopes to help SMEs foster connectivity and access to the latest innovations on ICT.

DCCCII will provide the venue, linkage and technical skills to SMEs while PLDT will provide affordable, practical, scalable and managed solutions to these SMEs.

Marfori said that these are the elements needed for the growth of a sector (ICT) which along with agriculture, tourism sectors is where the Chamber will be focusing on for this year.

“The more SME users of ICT the better it will be for the industry as it will be used to increase productivity and efficient allocation of resources.

Marfori said that he hopes to enter into another agreement with another company. He said the DCCCII is looking into IBM which could provide the server, which could be used by the SMEs.

Luna-Abelarde said that the PLDT SME Nation Group was formed in January this year to help provide SMEs and IT platform. She said that of the 300,000 SMEs only 10-20% are connected to the internet of which 2 to 5% have websites of their own.

She said that among the packages offered to SMEs include Voice solutions which include a full PABX solutions package comprising of the switch and line. Also offered are Broadband package and applications for business operations. PIA/RG Alama

http://dailymirror.ph/July/business07012008&05.html

dinabaw

July 1st, 2008, 05:05 AM

Tuesday, July 01, 2008
PhilNits Davao now offers review course

THE Philippine National Information Technology Standards Foundation Inc. (PhilNits) will be hosting a Fundamental Exam (FE) Review Course for all IT professionals, teachers, and students to be conducted by the PhilNits Society in its offices in Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City.

In Davao City, this will be handled by a veteran trainer/lecturer of the PhilNits Society, Aloysius L. Torres.

The review courses are designed for beginners and/or experienced IT professionals who want to pass the PhilNits FE exam, which will be held on October 19 this year at the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC), Bonifacio St., Davao City.

Passers of the PhilNits FE examination will have bigger chances of working in Japan and get the same benefits being enjoyed by the Japanese employees.

The Review Course will be in two sessions, to wit: Option A -- afternoon sessions every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Option B -- evening sessions every Monday and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Classes will start on July 5 for the afternoon sessions and August 4 for the evening sessions.

For more information, please feel free to contact Joy Alferez of PhilNits-Davao at telephone number (082) 227-9448 or email at philnits.davao@gmail.com.

Interested parties may also visit the PhilNits-Davao Office at 5th Floor Mintrade Building, corner Monteverde Avenue and Sales Street, Davao City.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/01/bus/philnits.davao.now.offers.review.course.html

dinabaw

July 2nd, 2008, 08:06 AM

Lifestyle Article
DAVAO CYBER EXPO 2008
By H. O. Castillo

TECHNOPHOBES,surrender! It is useless to resist computers and the fun that goes along with high technology.
To many young people, computer gaming is not a trivial pursuit of joy but a lifestyle. They explore the cyber-world to meet friends and download stuff; the affluent even shop through the Internet with a credit card. Pen pal writing has become obsolete eons ago due to email, chat, friendster, myspace, facebook and other social networking websites. The bold even upload their videos on YouTube hoping to be the next Arnel Pineda or Charice Pempengco.
Those who have embraced cyber-culture eagerly anticipate the latest news and events to keep them always techno-savvy. The Davao Cyber Expo 2008 at NCCC Mall, Matina, Davao City is something that techies look forward to. Organized by E2 (e-squared) Events, the expo will run on July 4, 5, & 6 during mall hours with loads of prizes and surprises. E2 President Kitsi Avila and VP Lester Avila announced the following activities to take place:
Davao Cyber Games - teams from Davao, Tagum and Gen. Santos Cities will compete in a popular game called Warcraft: DotA (Defense of the Ancients). The champion will take home 25k and the 2nd placer gets 10k cash.
Online Gaming Championships- - the top three (3) online gaming companies in the Philippines (E-Games, Level Up, and ABS CBN interactive) come together only at Davao Cyber Expo. Around 150k worth of prizes are at stake in the cyber games.
Creative Edge – This is aimed at recognizing the city’s finest graphics designers and animators - as well as inspiring others to pursue a career in this field.
Creative Sessions – learning sessions with talks from Davao City’s leading graphics designers. This is to educate and inspire young minds to get into the IT industry via creative skills such as graphic design and digital animation
LAN Party Extreme – a gathering of local gaming and PC enthusiasts. This event will host a free for all LAN gaming, as well as knowledge sharing among gamers and PC enthusiasts. LAN Party participants will bring their own computers. These computers are usually highly modified, optimized, and over-clocked. This gives the regular computer user a chance to see what can be done to a computer to improve its looks and performance. (This is like a “car show” of computers.)
Local bands will be on stage to provide live entertainment. Admission to the 2nd Davao Cyber Expo at NCCC Mall is free.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20598

dinabaw

July 4th, 2008, 07:50 AM

Callbox opens 4th facility in Makati

Makati, Manila – California-based Callbox Sales and Marketing Solutions, the largest call center and BPO in the Western Visayas, has completed the opening of its third facility in the Philippines. The offices on the ninth floor of The Pearlbank Center in the Makati commercial business district are already deployed exclusively to complement the management and sales teams nationwide. With its Davao branch recently launched in the Landco Corporate Centre in Davao City early this year, Callbox is now a formidable force in the country with representative offices in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“It's another exciting year for us. In the last six months we've opened smoothly, successfully, and on schedule, in three strategic cities, more than doubling our capacity to 1200. Our clients and our market need this, and our technical infrastructure supports it. Most significantly though, this healthy debt-free organic growth continues as we enter our fifth year of operations, because our marketing is effective, and reflexively, our product is effective," Callbox COO Glen Norris said.

"Exactly," chimed CEO Rom Agustin, "our marketing IS our product. The hundreds of clients we service is a buffet of evidence that our staff and technology, combined with our best practices, is uniquely effective. We're thrilled and literally 'on a mission' to provide the same effective sales and marketing solutions to thousands more. We are not just marketing-we are marketing marketing, and in terms of the sheer number of clients in the market for offshore marketing, that's a remarkable market. Month after month our marketing staff hits the mark," he remarked. "It's a fact that we have six Marks on staff, including one Mark in marketing."

Callbox Makati is now operating, and will continue to accept applicants for Inside Sales and Outside Sales Representatives. To apply, visit join.callboxinc. com and click “I want to join up in Makati City.”

Callbox Sales and Marketing Solutions is the sales lead generation company of choice for IT and software companies, financial services companies, commercial cleaning companies, as well as a host of companies from the logistics, telecommunications, and merchant services industries worldwide. Callbox operates facilities in Makati City, Iloilo City, Davao City, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

http://dailymirror.ph/July/business07042008&04.html

davaoeagle

July 4th, 2008, 09:23 PM

Saturday, July 05, 2008
IT firm in Singapore plans to locate here
Sunstar Davao

A SINGAPORE-based investor is interested in putting up a call center company in Davao City, according to the director of the Board of Investments (BOI) for Mindanao.

BOI chief for Mindanao Gil Dureza said Samuel Acosta, information technology (IT) manager, and Alvin Nathan, director of the Eureka Advisory PTE Ltd., have already visited the city for this perspective.

"They already visited Davao and they enjoyed the climate here. They moved around by night, they noticed the presence of some foreign-based companies and were convinced that Davao City is a secure place," Dureza said.

He said Acosta and Nathan also inspected the labor market of Davao and realized it is good.

"They plan to put up a call center company here because in Singapore, there is a very fast turnover of the labor market resulting in shortage of manpower," Dureza said.

He added that in Singapore, the lowest rate of an IT staff is P50,000 per month.

As to the image problem of Mindanao, Dureza said the investors did not mind the risk.

"Acosta is actually from Cotabato City, so he is used to that image perception," Dureza said.

He said Davao City is far better than Cotabato in terms of peace and security.

Initially, Dureza said if the perspective of the investors will materialize, a capacity of 50- to 80- seater call center company will then be added to the expanding number of call center companies in Davao City.

Davao City now has six to seven call center companies, said Dureza. (JGRS)

dinabaw

July 5th, 2008, 04:18 AM

Friday, July 04, 2008
Davao mangoes to be exported to US: Arroyo

THE country's rejuvenated economic trade ties with one of its strongest allies get another boost with the sweet mangoes of Davao del Sur possibly taking the first base in the recent trade talks led by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Fresh from his latest visit to the US, Arroyo on Tuesday visited a festive 41st Founding Anniversary of the Province of Davao del Sur bringing with her some good news of successful trade talks with American investors.

"We met with a number of investors and business leaders in New York. We secured new commitments for job creation and investments in the Philippines," Arroyo said before top government officials and employees at the jam-packed provincial gymnasium in Mati.

Soon to take its lead as the area's sunshine industry, the export of fresh mangoes to the US will be made possible though the signing of an agreement by Agriculture Secretary Yap and his American counterpart on the following: 1. Collaboration on sanitary and phytosanitary measures; 2. Agricultural market, institutional, and rural development; 3. Biotechnology and other new technologies and; 4. An improved climate between entrepreneurs of both countries for agricultural trade and investment.

All set to embark on a 45-city swing nationwide starting with the province's capital city of Digos following her successful trip in the US, Arroyo also announced a number of ongoing and incoming infrastructure projects particularly highways and bridges that will link the different municipalities of the province with neighboring provinces. (PIA 11)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/04/bus/davao.mangoes.to.be.exported.to.us.arroyo.html

kronology

July 5th, 2008, 04:27 PM

Duterte welcomes entry
of Tagum Coop in the city

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte welcomed the entry in Davao City of one of the biggest cooperative in Mindanao, the Tagum Cooperative, with over 31,081 members spread out in the provinces of Tagum, Panabo and Davao, with a total asset of Php583.3-million.

The Tagum Cooperative, in one of its expansion program have established a satellite (branch) office located at McArthur highway (fronting NCCC mall), with Robert de Castroas its Davao Satellite Office branch manager.

In its formal inauguration Sunday, Davao City Development Cooperative head Engr. Jaime Adalin represented Mayor Duterte to grace the special occasion and read the inspirational speech of the Mayor.

“You (Tagum coop) have shown that Davao City is truly an investment haven and we are honored to have you to be part of the growing business community,” the speech of Mayor Duterte stated.

“The expansion of Tagum Cooperative (TC) services in Davao City is one potential area of partnership and complementation with our existing cooperative livelihood assistance program aimed at uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the cooperative members and their organization,” it stated.

For their part, TC Chairperson Antonio Arañas and TC Vice Chair Norma Pereyras both said that TC is committed to be partners with Davao City’s efforts for the city’s total development.

In an exclusive interview with Baby Gomez and Edith Isidro – both of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Manager de Castro said TC has also branch offices in Carmen, Davao Norte;Nabunturan, Comval province; and Buhangin, Davao City.

Manager de Castro said Buhangin branch is slated to transfer along Bajada by July this year to make the cooperative more accessible to the public.

As of end of March 2008, TC loan portfolio reached Php384.1-million; total deposits – Php289.5-million; Share Capital – Php156-million; and total net income – Php4.6-million.

We are proud to say that “TC has no external credit” and we have no loans nor borrowed anywhere else. This is the reason why TC can offer the lowest interest rates in members’ borrowings/loans, he said.

Official lists of Board members are: Antonio C. Arañas – Chairperson; Norma R. Pereyras – Vice Chairperson; and Directors: Nenita E. Lumaad, Atty. Celerina E. Esuerte, Nenita R. Malbas, Prudencio N. Mabanglo, and Evelia R. Sator.

Key Manager Officers are: Juris D. Perez – manager; Monica L. Salido – Treasurer; Atty. Rolando C. Casaway – legal counsel; and Hermarie Torreon-Esmael – BOD Recording Secretary. PIA/rbpalacio

http://www.dailymirror.ph/business05202008&05.html

That guy is our Neighbor in tagum!!! he's the godfather of my younger brother.:) la lang. that tall guy is a very good person.:cheers:

kronology

July 5th, 2008, 04:35 PM

kronology

July 5th, 2008, 04:36 PM

Tagum Coop Brief History

Tagum Cooperative (TC) founded in Nov. 6, 1967 by a handful of determined and cooperative-mine individuals with a measly total share capital of only one hundred sixty ( 160.00 ) pesos at hand, and who had the passion to help the less fortunate brethrens it was originally called, the HOLY NAME SOCIETY (HNS) of Tagum Parish”.

Started only with one (1 ) or two (2) basic lending programs when it was founded in 1967, now it has over 20 major an minor lending, savings and mortuary programs and services where members can easily choose from.

oradude23

July 8th, 2008, 11:31 PM

RLC builds 7 BPO sites in provinces

By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the country’s largest office landlord, is developing seven BPO and call center sites this year to expand its office space inventory and give its clients a stronger presence in the provinces.

RLC president Frederick Go said in an interview that while many of these projects are relatively small compared to their projects in Metro Manila, these provincial office spaces give BPOs a chance to relocate to the region of their choice.

He added that these BPO spaces will be built together with new malls and will have about 5,000 square meters of leasable space costing "just a few hundred million pesos."

RLC disclosed earlier that it is allotting R13.9 billin for capital expenditures for 2008 and 2009 of which 40 percent will be used to build new malls while the rest will be for office and residential developments.

To be developed by RLC’s Office Buildings Division in tandem with its Commercial Centers Division, the seven new projects are adapting the mixed use format, a strategy RLC pioneered when it built the Robinsons Galleria Center.

"We are currently incorporating office spaces intended for BPOs and call center operators in our shopping mall developments, specifically Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu between Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital and Fuente Osmena," said Henry Yap, Business Unit General Manager for RLC’s Office Buildings Division.

He added that "Robinsons Cybergate Davao, along J. P. Laurel in the Bajada District, and Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City are also under construction and will be ready for occupancy by next year. We are currently accepting lease inquiries for all these properties."

These projects are in addition to two recently completed projects in Robinsons Otis, in Manila and Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City – both of which are now ready for occupancy.

BPO and call center firms are rapidly expanding into the provinces due to lower costs of operations, larger manpower pool and lower rate of employee turnover.

In addition, the relatively lower cost of operations in the Philippines have encouraged many firms in the United States and Western Europe to outsource their operations to the Philippines, thereby making these sites even more desirable and lucrative.

"We are also giving these BPOs an opportunity to undertake pioneering efforts in our sites, a move that is very much encouraged and supported by the local government units that hosts our malls and offices buildings," said Yap.

RLC, a leading property developer and landlord of choice, foresees that locators for business process outsourcing and the call center industry in general, are gearing their expansion plans toward key regional urban centers.

"These areas—-Cebu, Davao, Northern Luzon and the Calabarzon areas offer talented and highly skilled human resources sourced from prestigious educational institutions that are highly proficient in English," added Yap.

RLC has built BPOs and call centers in Bacolod, Lipa (Batangas) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Cainta (Rizal). In Metro Manila, in addition to Robinsons Novaliches and two Cybergate Towers within the Forum Robinsons Complex in Mandaluyong City.

RLC is now planning more buildings in the Old Medical City site in Mandaluyong, along Ayala Avenue where a recent joint venture deal was entered into by RLC, Security Land and Taganito Mining Corporation, and in Tacloban where a mall is now under construction.

dinabaw

July 9th, 2008, 04:11 AM

Blogie
8 Jul '08
Planning for more IT seminars in Davao

Inspired by the activeness of local bloggers, Ted Padova — Davao’s resident Adobe expert and co-founder of ApoVisions.com — has come up with a plan to organize high-value seminars primarily for Mindanao bloggers. It’ll be a series of teach-ins that will arm Dabawenyos with gainful knowledge in various I.T. fields.

Of course, Ted is more than willing to impart his expertise in Adobe products, particularly Acrobat, PhotoShop, InDesign, and others. For my part, I have volunteered to contribute my meager knowledge in WordPress and CSS.

Dennis Agulo is also on board. He’s a PHP developer who’s certified in Zend, so you can expect what he’ll be bringing to the table. Dennis has also promised to treat us to beer!

The beer will be for the planning session this Friday (11 July 2008) at Fwendz Diner in Metro Avenue, at the back of Gaisano Mall. For those who’d like to contribute to this effort, see you there at 8pm!

Anyone who’d like to help plan the seminar series and/or contribute his or her know-how is welcome to join us this Friday.

http://www.robilloblog.com/2008/07/08/planning-for-more-it-seminars-in-davao/

dinabaw

July 9th, 2008, 10:43 AM

Professional Audio Quality
By H. O. Castillo

WITH THE advent of powerful computers and available audio recording software (legit or otherwise), home recording has become a reality among pro and amateur musicians. Many computer programs even allow users to produce songs without using real musical instruments. But those who are quite serious about recording professional audio quality may find home recording inadequate due to two basic reasons: gear and ear. Good recording equipment are expensive and a reliable recording engineer is hard to find.
Fortunately, there’s a place called SOUNDTRACK Recording Studios along Ilustre Street in Davao City for those who want to produce great sounding songs. Formerly known as TRACK ONE, it is owned and managed by Ryan Cris Rellon and Lino Cajegas. These long time friends are like mortar and pestle since Ryan has exceptional audio recording, mixing, and mastering skills while Lino is gifted with admirable songwriting talent. It means that they know how to help polish a customer’s composition in both technical and musical terms. These guys have become well known in the local music recording business but they keep their feet on the ground. They maintain great respect for UM Broadcasting Network because it is where they honed their talents well. Creating jingles and full length songs at the UMBN recording studio, the inseparable duo eventually established their own recording business.
Ryan and Lino are the “unsung heroes” in the original production of HUBAG by Thavawenyoz, CHARING by 1017, and other local hit songs. Supporting 92.3 Wild FM’s 1st Battle of the Bands last summer, SOUNDTRACK Recording Studios gave free recording sessions to the winners in that competition.
Those who’d like to record their songs or voice-over pieces at SOUNDTRACK, they can find the studio at the mezzanine floor of the building that houses Greenwich Pizza at Ilustre.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20708

dinabaw

July 9th, 2008, 10:46 AM

Lifestyle Article
Scrumptious salads and sandwiches
By Ian Ray C. Garcia Published : 2008-07-04

HIPPOCRATES once said that “the wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings - let food be your medicine.” This must have inspired young entrepreneur Richard Ongyongyong to start his new venture to healthy eating.
When this 32 year-old health buff saw that Davaoeños have started to become more and more health conscious and have began to be more discriminating with their food intake, it gave him the idea to make and sell healthy and nutritious food preparations especially that not so many restaurants in the city serve food that specifically cater to such market.
Initially, he thought of making garden salads solely with ingredients from fresh vegetables sourced from our local markets. To give him enough credentials, he enrolled in a five-month skills course at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies Davao where he learned how to use simple ingredients for salads and dressings. Taking pointers from a close friend, he later included sandwiches in his menu, using fresh ingredients and whole wheat bread.
We all know that eating vegetables regularly can have many health benefits as these contain vitamins, minerals and thousands of other natural plant nutrients. Along with many disease-reducing benefits, eating vegetables can also help control weight since they are low in fats and calories, a good source of dietary fiber, and provide us with extra boost of energy.
Vegetables are also low in sodium, thus can cause less water retention. It has been estimated that an average person may be holding up to five pounds of additional water caused from a high intake of sodium. If we eat more vegetables, our sodium intake naturally lowers.
With these in mind, Richard made sure that his healthy salads and sandwiches will taste as good – or even better - than those high caloric (with saturated fats) versions served in other fast-food restaurants that lack antioxidants and the much needed fibers.
After spending many weekends experimenting and letting his friends and relatives sample his healthy culinary creations, Richard has finally unleashed his line of delectable and nourishing starters and snacks.
Today, one can enjoy his salads – Mediterranean Grapes (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with black and red grapes and slices of olives paired with French herb or sesame soy dressing), Nicoise (ni-suwass) Tuna (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with green beans and carrots, chunks of tuna, paired with harvest dressing), Garden Veggies (Iceberg lettuce with slices of cucumber and tomatoes paired with hravet dressing or lemon lime vinaigrette), Beans and Olives (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with red and white kidney beans, green olives paired with strawberry dressing) and sandwiches – Pesto Pastrami (Iceberg lettuce with thick slices of beef pastrami, pesto cream, slices of tomatoes, mustard and lite mayo), Chicken Ham (Iceberg lettuce with chicken ham, tomatoes, lite salt, mustard and lite mayo), Lemon Chicken (Iceberg lettuce with shredded chicken, zest of lemon and lite mayo), Salmon and Raisins (Iceberg lettuce with salmon fish, lite mayo and chopped raisins) exclusively at Bo’s Coffee Club – Torres St. outlet.
Man may not live by bread alone that is why Richard made sure that his customers will get enough nourishment and gustatory satisfaction from the fresh, crisp ingredients in his lip-smacking good salads and sandwiches.
POSTSCRIPT FROM THE EDGE: Join Holiday Gym and Spa’s major events for July and August as they pursue their efforts to campaign for healthy living. On July 27, join the Davao Mega Aero Marathon, 5:30 AM at the car park of SM City Davao.
Registration fee is at P200 with free shirt, cash prizes, trophy, and other surprises are in store for the winners. On August 10, take part in the Holiday 5K/10K Run for Healthy Living in cooperation with the Davao Sunday Runners Club. On August 23-24, experience a world-class fitness seminar by Lawrence Biscontini (for personal trainers, gym instructors and group exercise instructors). For more information, visit their Multiply site at holidaygymspa.multiply.com, email at holidaygymandspa@yahoo.com, or call at 222.3041/222.4207

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20647

Igsuonnimo

July 9th, 2008, 01:33 PM

kiretoce

July 10th, 2008, 01:15 AM

Call center school employs actors to teach would-be agents (http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/education/view.php?db=1&article=20080709-147318)

At Excel Asia, students brushing up on their English skills are coached not by duly trained language teachers but by theater actors and former television personalities.

The style may deviate from formal call center training schools but Rita Trillo-Ugarte, Excel Asia's founder and president, said her trainer's passion rubs off on the students in a good way, increasing their chances of getting into call centers.

Excel Asia belongs to an emerging crop of "finishing" schools that either train students looking to apply as call center agents or train "near-hires" or those who did not pass applications and looking to give it another crack but would want to improve their language skills.

Ugarte started Excel Asia two years ago in Cebu City and has expanded the business in Metro Manila, opening up its own training facilities.

"Our trainers are not veterans of call centers but stage actors and band members," said Ugarte, herself an industry veteran working for operators ePerformax and SourceOne before putting up Excel Asia.

"When a student walks into class and see our trainers, they already feel inspired by the personalities they see. It helps that our trainers look and speak American because of their heritage but are Filipinos at heart," she said.

Ugarte herself designed the two-week training course, which involves a lot of impromptu role-playing games.

"Most of it involves teamwork and getting students to go onstage," she said, giving credit to her years of experience as a pre-school teacher.

"We try not to teach only English and grammar, but building enough confidence in the student in answering calls. But we do have an English-speaking only policy and we have kicked out people accordingly. We also instill discipline and respect for superiors, which is an ideal scenario in call centers."

Excel Asia also provides similar services to call center operators that regularly send their agents for further training. But outside of corporate training, Ugarte said the company trains new graduates for free which makes for a pool of skilled people awaiting deployment.

The industry has no fixed hiring season, according to Ugarte, but rather depends on operators ramping up their workforce depending on the demand. Excel Asia also trains "near-hires" courtesy of scholarship vouchers from the government.

The company provides agents for around 40 regular customers. Ugarte attributes the company's success to her trainers' passion for helping students get jobs.

"They have genuine care for the students and feel disappointed themselves when some do not pass their applications. They even give students enough fare just so they can continue with their training," she said.

kiretoce

July 10th, 2008, 01:36 AM

Philippines tries to edge out India for U.S. outsourcing jobs (http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0707/p04s01-wosc.html)

Employee cutbacks in the US force firms to shift overseas, creating as many as 600,000 new jobs for Filipinos.

For investors in the US, the economic wobbles of recent months could spell the onslaught of a recession. But from his skyscraper office in downtown Manila, Danilo Sebastian Reyes, the president of Sitel, a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that employs some 2,000 people in the Philippines, sees the beginning of boom time.

As fuel and food costs continue to soar, forcing corporate cutbacks, more American businesses are looking to save by outsourcing portions of their business abroad. "For the last three months, there's been an accelerated number of companies that have decided to go into the Philippines," says Mr. Reyes.

That means more overseas workers from India to Poland will be fielding calls for Citibank credit card customers or remotely managing Hewlett Packard's human resources tasks. The Philippines, with some of the highest literacy rates and cheapest wages in Asia, is positioning itself to capture 10 percent of the world's back office work by 2010, which analysts predict will balloon to a $130 billion industry.

Shifting overseas could be a win-win, saving American companies 20 to 40 percent off their bottom line and creating as many as 600,000 new jobs for Filipinos, according to estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Corporate giants like America Online and Texas Instruments have been shifting call centers and other back office functions to the Philippines since 2001.

The BPO market has grown by nearly 50 percent a year in the past three years alone, generating nearly $5 billion in revenue last year. That's still only a fraction of the business that India – the global market leader – captures.

But the Philippines is catching up, and today employs some 320,000 people in the sector, where starting salaries average $5,500 a year. That amount is a far cry from the $30,000 an American employee might make, but it's double the national average in the Philippines, according to the ADB.

The outsourcing boom is welcome news for the Philippines, whose economy is otherwise in need of a boost. Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the country's economic growth forecast for 2008 to 5.2 percent from 5.8 percent, saying the global economic downturn and rising consumer costs will push inflation into the double digits in coming months. Unemployment, meanwhile, rose to 8 percent in April, up from 7.4 percent in January.

Responding to the IMF, the Central Bank of the Philippines recently cited the BPO market as an economic engine that can keep the country's growth on target. The BPO market's strength, analysts say, highlights efficient partnerships between the public and private sector.

For example, the government has worked closely with private industry to nurture growth, creating scholarships for college graduates to entice them into the market and allocating $500 million for infrastructure that will effectively sprout whole new cities and suburbs in a 600-mile-long 'CyberServices Corridor' throughout the country.

Many are questioning, however, whether the US economic downturn will benefit the Philippines only so much before it starts to hurt.

So far this year, US employers have already cut 80,000 jobs. The US economic slowdown has had a negative impact on the Philippines, which is the US's largest trading partner. Fewer Americans with money to spend means Filipino exports have slumped by 11 percent in the first four months of the year.

Still, Astro Del Castillo, a financial analyst, sees a bright future ahead for the BPO market. He contends that while Filipino exports might be affected, outsourcing will withstand the blows to the US economy.

"Our exposure to the US is around 17 to 20 percent of our exports. It's not much ... really," says Mr. Castillo. Many American companies have asked him to pencil out the potential savings to be made by outsourcing to the Philippines. "They're interested. It's a cost-cutting measure for them," he adds.

Others are less optimistic. As Donald Felbaum, the treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Manila, puts it: "The short term is good for the Philippines. In the long term, if this continues, all budgeting would be affected."

dinabaw

July 10th, 2008, 05:29 AM

Business plan making contest launched
Published: June 20, 2008

Davao City-The launching of a Dutch-funded business plan making competition was held here to encourage more Mindanaoans to participate in the contest.

Business in Development(BiD) Challenge 2008 is both a business plan making contest and a matchmaking mechanism that provides a forum for entrepreneurs and investors to come together. It is meant to spur innovation in small and medium scale enterprises; and stimulate transfer of wealth, knowledge and skills for these business enterprises.

BiD is funded by the Dutch national committee for international cooperation and sustainable development (NCDO), the main civil society promoting the millennium development goals in the Netherlands. In turn, the NCDO is fully funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Philippine BiD Challenge country manager Rene M. Fortuno said there are not enough participants in Mindanao that is why they came to campaign for more entries from the island.

He said that the plan could be a start up business or an expansion and must be profitable in the next three years with funding requirements from 420,000 pesos to 4.2 million pesos. It has to double its sales and employment within three years and must meet social and environmental requirements.

BiD aims to promote poverty reduction in developing countries through their profit-generation programs. It aims to engage with Dutch companies and their employees in initiatives for market-oriented sustainable development.

According to Fortunato, two participants made it to the international competition in the Netherlands in 2007, Gene Bonggo for tire recycling and Romy Miranda of King’s Grill for the coconut based charcoal briquette project.

The opportunity, Fortunato said, gave the winners a chance to meet investors and promote their product that brought in fresh investment and new markets for the two firms.

Fortunato explained that about 50 to 75 of the most innovative and most feasible proposals will be chosen from among the entries this year. Professional coaching shall be extended to the proponents of these proposals so they can develop these into solid, bankable and full blown business plans and better participation in the investment matching forum.

The best ten of business plans will be awarded seed capital from a pool of prize money while the top two will be represented in the International Challenge in Amsterdarm in the Netherlands along with 11 other participating countries.

The international winner will receive 20,000 euros.

Aside from the Philippines, other countries participating in the BiD Challenge are India, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tansania. (PIA)

http://davaotoday.com/2008/06/20/business-plan-making-contest-launched/

MtApoStandard

July 10th, 2008, 07:04 PM

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 11:49 AM

2008/07/11

Call center investors want to invest in Davao City

by Prix D Banzon

Davao City (11 July) -- Although there are some areas which Davao City needs to address in doing business in the city, both the government and the private sectors are one in saying that more call center investors are interested in investing in Davao City.

Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) executive director Conrado Hernaez, Jr. said that with the good human resource available in the region investors are attracted to come and operate.

Davao City government administrator lawyer Wendel Avisado in a separate interview said the entry of call centers and other industries only indicate that the city remains a good choice for business operation.

Avisado cited the result of the 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project where Davao City was among the rated metro cities of the country. Davao City ranked first in the Cost of Doing Business and Infrastructure, ranked third in the Responsiveness of the Local Government to Business needs, ranked fourth in Dynamism and Local Economy, and ranked seventh in Human Resource and Training and Quality of Life. 20 lgus competed in this category.

He said current figure of the city showed that about 30,000 establishments registered at the Business Bureau to operate business here.

"Whether we like it or not it seems that they are attracted here to do business," he said.

He said big retail groups like Robinson's is already undertaking ground works for their supermarket business while real estate developers are pushing their projects in our city like condoniums, resort, middle and high end subdivisions.

Hernaez meanwhile said that they will continue to partner with the city government even as he said that proposals and resolutions will be submitted to the government authorities for them to consider so that both sector could improve the business climate of the city.

During the 8th Davao City Business Conference yesterday, July 11, 2008 at the Davao Convention and Trade Center, key players in the business sector will also asked the city chief executive about the five resolutions they submitted last year on the same forum.

Hernaez said of the five resolutions, they expect that the city government to act on the four resolutions.

Meanwhile 11 resolutions will be turned over to the City Mayor of Davao which was the result of the series of focus group discussion among various sectors of the business community.

The resolutions focuses among others on the re-assessment of zoning plan, comprehensive and integrated marketing plan, improvement of drainage system, good manufacturing practices or food safety management standards for food handlers, comprehensive information communications and technology master plan, comprehensive tourism master plan, waste management and corporate social responsibility initiatives, development and improvement of the Davao port facilities, conversion of the old Davao International Airport Terminal to International Air Cargo, Logistics and Trade Center, and to convert the Davao River into a water highway. (PIA)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p080711.htm&no=03&r=R11&y=07&mo=12

Peng Hok

July 11th, 2008, 12:17 PM

2008/07/11

Call center investors want to invest in Davao City

by Prix D Banzon

"Whether we like it or not it seems that they are attracted here to do business," he said.

Period. :lol:

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 12:41 PM

meron ata akong alam na place na "whether you like it or else " :nuts:

how's watson wats btw?

Peng Hok

July 11th, 2008, 12:44 PM

^^
WW is almost done with its renovation of the fourth floor. WW Davao management intends to start operations by August. Recruitment is on-going. Period! :lol:

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 12:50 PM

^^ here nag rerecruit na sila....

Posted on : Jul-11-2008 08:06:15 AM

I had this copy pasted from the other site, and so i thought of spreading the information for People who are thrilled when it comes to Career opportunities..Check it out!

Western WATS, the leading market research company in the world, will be starting its 500-seat operations here in Davao City. In line with this, we are inviting qualified candidates to attend our job fair at the Gaisano Mall, Bajada, Davao City on July 11-12, 2008. Just bring your resumes and start your career with us. We are offering competetive salaries and benefits and numerous options for career growth.

JOB OPENING:

MARKET RESEARCHERS

- at least 18 years old
- Excellent English communications skills
- average typing skills
- excellent comprehension skills
- good working attitude

The Western Wats Advantage:

We do not sell. No Telemarketing involved.

We do not offer any Customer Service Assistance.

We do not do conduct any Technical Support.

We do not receive nor answer to the concerns of any irate callers.

We have a fixed schedule.

We do not have shifting or rotation scheduling.

We offer a 6-day paid training period.

We regularize our employees at a rate of 95% after 5 months.

We advocate meritocracy, by offering equal employment opportunities and career advancement from within our ranks.

We respect individuality, regardless of a person’s age, sexual preference, religion or culture.

We have a clean, spacious and conducive workplace.

We have a high retention rate with employee satisfaction.

See you there!

http://www.davaoexchange.com/topic.php?topic=241&page=6

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 01:02 PM

Posted on : Jun-26-2008 08:44:47 PM
Hi PeepZ, a friend of mine emailed me recently about some lists of Call Centers here in the City, it's kinda like surprise me how it progressed so far. It was 2years since i left for a BPO in Makati and now i'm back and somehow i'm seeing quite a handful of BPO's around.

SITEL
· Pryce Plaza Tower, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· call center facility
· http://www.sitel.com/
· jobs@surecruit.net
*SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES ONE
· TESDA – Korphil Training Center, Buhisan, Tibungco, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: New York City, USA
· tel.no. +63-2-459-2900
· call center facility
· http://www.suth.com
· MariFel_Gutana@suth.com
SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES TWO
· Luisa Avenue Square Bldg. 2, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: New York City, USA
· call center facility
· 459-2900
· http://www.suth.com
CALLBOX
· Landco Corp Tower, Pryce Business Park, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· call center facility
· tel. no. 3035772
· WorkinDavao@callboxinc.com
PEOPLE SUPPORT, PHIL.
· Luisa Avenue Square, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· career center and training facility
· http://www.peoplesupport.com/
· 227-9301
ETELECARE
· Plaza de Luisa Complex, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: USA
· career center
· 2218000
· http://www.etelecare.com/
LINK2SUPPORT ONE
· SYNNEX-Concentrix, Inc., Bldg. 1 Damosa IT Park, J.P. Laurel Avenue
· Lanang, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: USA
· call center facility
· 2355000 loc. 8012
· recruitment_dvo@link2support.com
· recruitment_dvo@concentrix.com
LINK2SUPPORT TWO
· SYNNEX-Concentrix, Inc., Bldg. 1 Damosa IT Park, J.P. Laurel Avenue
· Lanang, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: USA
· call center expansion facility
· 2355000 loc. 8012
· recruitment_dvo@link2support.com
· recruitment_dvo@concentrix.com
G.COM LIMITED/CYBERCITY
· call center facility
· 2214266
· Lioc Qui Fraternity Building, Sales street, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· http://www.cctll.com/
WESTERN WATS, PHIL.
· NCCC Mall Pavilion, Matina, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
· Company Origin: Utah, USA
· call center and back office facility
· http://www.westernwats.com
SURECRUIT SERVICES, INC.
· 2240087, 3031888
· 4th Floor Pryce Tower, Bajada, Davao City, 8000 Philippines
GLOBAL CONNECT E-SOLUTIONS
· Call Center Facility
· Company Origin: Davao City, Philippines
· murky.gratela@globalconnectesolutions.com
· jobs@globalconnectesolutions.com
GLOBAL X SOLUTIONS
· bobbyxsolutions@gmail.com
CALLWELL
· callcenter facility
· http://www.callwell.net/
SIXELEVEN GLOBAL SERVICES
· callcenter facility
· Company Origin: Davao City, Philippines
· hrd@sixelvencenter.com
QUALISERVE
· callcenter facility
· http://www.thequaliserv.com/index.php?module=index&event=news
· Company Origin: Davao City, Philippines
· Unit 178 Landco Corp. Center, Pryce Business Park
· J.P Laurel Ave., Davao City, Philippines 8000
· Trunk line: (+082)227.9440
Fax: (+082)227.7835
QUANTOM INFORMATION SYSTEMS DAVAO
· callcenter facility
HUBPORT INTERACTIVE CENTER DAVAO
· 3rd Floor Hubport Corporate blg.,
· McArthur Highway, Matina, Davao City, Philippines, 8000
· Company Origin: Chicago, Illinois
· francis.pineda@hubportinteractive.com
· http://www.hubportinteractive.com/
· Fax: +6382-300-9178
Telephone: +6382-299-2178, +6382-300-9178
(connecting all departments)
· Toll free customer hotline:
1-888-896-4827
· Direct lines for US callers:
503-419-6458
IDX WEB DESIGNS
· USA # 360-635-5688
· alittlebitofyou@yahoo.com
· cooper@idxwebdesigns.com
· Company Origin: USA
· Davao Hotline: 082-300-7741

add:

DYNATech Outsourcing
Address:Mayamaya St., Agdao D.C.

ULTRO Outsourcing
Address: Landco Bldg

http://www.davaoexchange.com/topic.php?topic=241&page=4

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 01:15 PM

Telesales Agents
Posted on Friday, June 6, 2008 by Chikai

A dynamic British outsourcing company is looking for BRIGHT individuals as

Telesales Agents (Part-Time or Full-Time)

Qualifications include:

• excellent English written and communication skills
• Has a proven telesales track record/ Call Center experience
• Must have a relaxed and confident telephone manner and a personal maturity to instill confidence in potential customers.
• College Graduate of any Course
• upbeat ability to be trained
• Ambitious, energetic and enthusiastic
• internet savvy and knowledgeable in computer applications

This role is an opportunity for you to grow as professionals and receive the rewards your talents deserve.

We have variable hours to fit your schedule, hence there is a preference for you to go part-time or full-time.

Interested to join our dynamic team? Send your CV to the email address below:

ULTRO SOURCING, INC.
JP Laurel Ave., Bajada
Davao City, Philippines Tel. (082)226-4219

Date: 4 June 2008
City/Town: Davao City
Location: Davao
Wage/Salary: negotiable
Start: unspecified
Duration: unspecified
Type: Full Time, Part Time
How to apply: send resume by email or via our website
Company: Ultro Sourcing Inc.
Contact: Cherry
Phone: (082)226-4219

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 01:16 PM

more from ULTRO

LF: CPA / aspiring CPA who wants to work with the UK
Posted on Thursday, July 5, 2007 by Chikai

Are you bored with your accounting job, and just want to do something a lot more enjoyable than accounting?

Are you familiar with the following terms, and would like to sell and talk about them to people in the UK?

Financial Statements
Intangible Assets
Cash Flows
Cash Management
Taxation
Takeovers, Mergers, and Acquisitions
Capital restructuring
internal accounting systems and procedures

A British-owned company is actively seeking a telemarketer that has in-depth knowledge of accounting and has the ability to sell accounting services to its clients in the UK. You must be able to speak good English, and it'd be better if you can understand and converse well in British English.

Term of Employment: Full-time
Salary: 15-22.5k
Start Date: As soon as possible
Working hours: 3:30 pm to 12:30 am
Location: Davao

Experience in the fields of bookkeeping, accounting, and audit is a plus. Having worked as a call center agent for some time will definitely increase your chances as well.

Please send your CV's to joyce at applications@ultro.co.uk. You can also send messages to mobile no. 09177202986 for inquiries. Please specify the job you are applying for in the subject line.

Date: 4 July 2007
City/Town: Davao City
Location: Davao
Wage/Salary: 15,000-22,500
Start: As soon as possible
Duration: Permanent
Type: Full Time
How to apply: send by email
Company: Ultro Consulting
Contact: Joyce
Email: applications@ultro.co.uk

===================================

Outbound Call Agents

A growing British company is looking for a number of outbound call agents. Candidates have to be able to understand fast British English,and should have one to two-year experience working as outbound call agents. You will be working for a UK company that pays huge bonuses.

Working hours will be from 3pm to 12am in our Davao office.

Please specify the job you are applying for in the subject line.

How to apply: send by email
Company: Ultro Consulting
Contact: Joyce
Email: applications@ultro.co.uk

http://www.davaoexchange.com/topic.php?topic=241

henji

July 11th, 2008, 04:11 PM

damo na natong call center te.

dinabaw

July 11th, 2008, 04:25 PM

^^ and more to come

Ibex

July 12th, 2008, 01:36 AM

My mistake (repost) :cheers:

[dx]

July 12th, 2008, 08:52 AM

Albay ICT group moves to attract BPO firms to Legazpi (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080710-147541/Albay-ICT-group-moves-to-attract-BPO-firms-to-Legazpi)
By Erwin Oliva

MANILA, Philippines -- A group representing stakeholders in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in Albay is moving quickly to attract business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to the province, its president told INQUIRER.net. Rosemarie Rey, president of the Albay ICT Association (AICTA), said the group is aiming to grow its membership this year, as they anticipate the influx of investments from the BPO industry to Legazpi City.

Rey who represented the AICTA, witnessed the signing of a deal between Embarcadero Land Ventures Inc. and five telecommunications companies as part of a plan to create an IT park in the city. Among the telecommunications companies that have agreed to provide services to the IT park are the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, Bayantel, Digitel, Globe and PT&T, the group said in a statement.

"We helped in the realization of this project because this will lead to more jobs," said Rey who is also president and CEO of Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation, an IT school located in Legaspi City. Legazpi City is the educational center for the Bicol region, she said.

While the IT park is mainly a private venture, Rey said the group is supporting this project because of BPO opportunities. Her school has been doing outsourcing services for some United States-based companies. The school has served as an "incubation" center for a supply of trained agents for a small operation of more than 20 seats.

IT schools like Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation have been operating facilities for outsourced services, she added. Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal said in a statement that the city is ready to provide manpower for the planned IT park.

Zaldy Co, president and CEO of Embarcadero de Legazpi, for his part, added in a statement that the IT park intends to attract talents and skills from the Bicol Region. The planned IT park is a 15,477 square-meter area located in Legazpi City. It can house about 8,000 seats in three buildings, she said.

dinabaw

July 12th, 2008, 02:39 PM

City gov’t urged anew to revisit zoning ordinance
By Rizalene P. Acac Published : 2008-07-11

FOR TWO consecutive times businessmen in the city will ask the city government to thoroughly review the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, a big issue which has haunted legislators for the past years.
Condrado Hernaez, Jr. executive director of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated said the review of the ordinance should be extensive since modifications in the zoning would affect not only the business but also other sectors in the city.
He said the city government should take into consideration the inputs given by the different stakeholders. He said last month they were able to invite the technical working group of the zoning ordinance headed by Engineer Mario Luis Jacinto who explained to them the impact of the proposed amendments in the zoning.
In a prepared resolution which will be passed during the 8th Davao City Business Conference (DCBC) on July 11, the sector said one of their concerns is the rezoning of agro-industrial zones to residential zreas which displaced members of the poultry and the hog industries.
The resolution added that the business sector is also looking into the viability of long standing businesses as well as location of cemeteries, and the development of new subdivisions. It said the city government should learn to “strike a balance” on health and sanitation, environment and agriculture.
During last year’s 7th DCBC, a resolution was also passed on the re-assessment of the ordinance. The ordinance which was passed in 1996 but was implemented a year was supposed to be reviewd every four years. However, due to budgetary constraints the review was only started this year.
Hernaez said aside from the resolution on zoning, they will also pass 10 other resolution to the city government after the conference. He said this includes the suggestion to implement a comprehensive and integrated marketing plan to promote the city as an investment destination as well as a comprehensive information communications and technology and a tourism master plan and a resolution to fast track the improvement of the drainage system among others.
He said of the five resolutions which they submitted to the city government in 2007 only two were given clear response. He said one is the passage of an ordinance banning the flying of kites near the Davao International Airport and the comprehensive beautification program.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20750

dinabaw

July 12th, 2008, 02:40 PM

ICT parks needed: exec
By Rizalene P. Acac

THE LACK of enthusiasm from local investors to put up information and communications technology (ICT) parks is among the reason the industry has not taken off, a member of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry said yesterday.
Andrei Fournier, former chair of the sector in the chamber, said after three years of strongly advocating for the industry he sees no significant change because entrepreneurs and even landowners do not take the risk of transforming their properties into parks.
He said since the business forum last February there has been no single interested party signifying to invest in this city. He said he even has difficulty of matching investors from outside the city with property owners.
Fournier said Robinsons and Ayala Land will build malls with ICT components, the initiatives are still inadequate to make the industry move forward. He said both already have ready locators which would occupy their spaces.
He said relying on big companies in terms of promoting business process outsourcing as part of the ICT industry is a “pessimistic” outlook. “It (initiative) really should be from the local businessmen,” he said.
Fournier said the recent inclusion of the industry in the preferred areas of investments under the Investment and Promotions Code would not create a significant impact in terms of luring investors to come to the city. He said the incentives offered to the industry are the same with the other areas.
“What we need are more incentives for them but I don’t know what would be these. It is the task of our legislators,” he said.
On the other hand, he said the city government should take time to talk with the ICT stakeholders to thresh out the concerns of the sector. He said the officials should be able to understand the needs of the industry so that it will be its advocate.
Fournier said the thrust to create a comprehensive master plan for the industry should only be limited to the medium and long term plans. He said the short term goals should just be worked out through consultations between the government and the private sector.
“How long will it take? And how much will it cost? (It will surely need) millions of pesos and by the time that it is done is it still going to be valid,” he said.
Bert P. Barriga, Jr., president and chief operating officer of Gibbex Outsourcing Solutions, said the stakeholders of the industry should also continue to influence more businessmen to fulfill their goals.
“We will not stop our advocacy in inspiring them to get into the bandwagon and let them accept that there is viability in the BPO industry,” he said. He said promotions must also be vigorously done in business forums and conventions.
Barriga said on July 23-24 he will join a roadshow to promote the city as a good call center company location.
He said while the companies are coming in trickles the city should also prepare its human resources. He said the academe “can only do so much” in training its students. He said there should be specialized centers that could hone the skills of the manpower that will work for the industry.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20778

dinabaw

July 12th, 2008, 02:51 PM

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/nick4ubaby/untitled-2.jpg

oradude23

July 13th, 2008, 07:43 PM

City can meet BPO's HR need

HUMAN resource is the least problem of Davao City when it comes to business process outsourcing (BPO), said the past chair of the committee on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII).

"We do not have problem in human resources, we have lots of people here who can speak English and are articulate of the language, it's the least of our problem," Andrei Fournier said Wednesday.

Fournier said the availability of spaces for BPO is one of Davao's problems.

"The attitude of the people here should be re-oriented and businessmen should be more pro-active to attract more clients. We also need more government support," Fournier said, adding that businessmen in Davao City are too cautious, some of whom even preferred to put up a coffee shop than a BPO location.

"They think they can not generate income by setting up a call center," he said.

He, on the other hand, said there are some property owners in the city who are interested to establish IT parks for the BPO industry. However, Fournier said that negotiations are still underway to realize this perspective.

"There are four IT parks coming, but these are still in the drawing board," he said.

Fournier added that as long as there is recession happening in the United States, there would mean an opportunity for the Philippines to entertain more BPO locators.

"There is about 150 percent increase in human resources for the BPO industry here in Davao since last year. For less than a year, there are about 500 to 600 seats added," he said, adding that the significant increase can be attributed to the coming of huge IT companies in the city such as the Global Connect, Sutherland, and the Western Wats. (JGRS)

dinabaw

July 17th, 2008, 07:39 AM

Business
A call from the center of the heart
TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS By Babe Romualdez
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Prospects for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry seem positive in the next few years, judging from the comprehensive report contained in the Business Processing Association of the Philippines’ “Roadmap 2010.” When the outsourcing industry was introduced sometime in 2000, it only had 1,500 people with revenues amounting to $24 million. By 2006, the BPO workforce had increased to 230,000 with revenues reaching up to $3 billion, representing a small five-percent share of the global market. According to industry experts, the current addressable market worldwide is worth $450 billion, and the Philippines has the potential to reach $13 billion in revenues by 2010 with a sizeable increase in the size of the workforce, estimated to reach 900,000.

A significant factor in the industry’s boom can be attributed to the demand for offshore call centers, which has grown from being mere providers of email responses to almost all types of customer relations ranging from travel, technical support, telemarketing, financial services, education, customer care and support as well as online businesses. In fact, the call center sector has been dubbed as a “sunshine industry,” contributing to 12 percent of the country’s gross national product.

At the onset, an obvious advantage for the Philippines has been the huge number of English-speaking professionals in the country, plus the fact that operational and labor costs are less expensive here than in other countries. But one growing concern is the deteriorating quality of graduates and their ability to speak English. According to data from the Commission on Higher Education, some 450,000 students graduate from college every year, but close to 75 percent of these graduates have been found to have “substandard English skills.” As a result, only five to 10 percent of applicants interviewed for jobs in call center companies get hired, mainly because most of these applicants lack the required proficiency in the English language.

With most call centers located in the National Capital Region and in Cebu, there’s also the possibility of reaching saturation point as these areas start to become “non-competitive,” which is why other cities are being developed as alternative destinations, like Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete and Tacloban.

The other day, I had the opportunity to meet Freddie Pacho, a Leyteno who is planning to put up a call center in Tacloban, the place where he was born and raised. An engineering graduate of the Mapua, Freddie has a semiconductor plant in Canlubang which is a joint venture with Japanese investors. He told me he wants to bring jobs to Leytenos, and a call center would be appropriate since Tacloban seems to have the right mix of educational institutions and infrastructure particularly with PLDT’s ability to provide the necessary technical and technological components, like the use of fiber optics which can assure higher quality of telephony.

One big consideration in setting up a call center is finding land and property – which should not be a problem since Freddie has property in Tacloban. Considering that rental costs are increasing in Metro Manila, this could significantly lower overhead costs by about 25 percent. Entry levels for call center agents is between P12,000 to P15,000 in Metro Manila, but in the provinces the range would be lower at P10,000 to P12,000 – still a significant salary especially for fresh graduates in the provinces.

With Freddie was Mike Smith, an American who has been living here for many years but unfortunately will be leaving soon. Mike, who had visited Tacloban, observed that English is given higher priority there than in most schools in Metro Manila. He also had a call center which he had sold recently, and he disclosed that the problem of English proficiency can be solved with call center companies partnering with universities, consolidating the curriculum to accommodate intensive English training for college seniors – who can then be hired as call center agents when they graduate.

According to Freddie, it will take about $2.5 million for a call center to be put up, and by the third year, you can expect $12 to $15 million since the business pays back very quickly. “I’m hoping to convince local investors in Tacloban,” he says.

But more than returns on investment and generating jobs for his fellow Leytenos, what particularly concerns Freddie is the displacement that happens to young call center employees who get transplanted from the provinces to Metro Manila. Majority of call center agents are single girls one or two years out of college who come to Manila and live by themselves. There have been a lot of stories about these girls eventually getting pregnant, with nothing to show even after two years of working in the city.

If more call centers would be put up in the provinces, obviously such problems could be avoided since employees will be coming from the area, with roots firmly established in the community. It won’t be surprising if a lot of the first hires would be Metro Manila agents – even supervisors and managers – who have transplanted themselves to Metro Manila and would like to go back to the province. Naturally, this would also help decongest Metro Manila.

Obviously, this man’s motivation stems from a call at the center of his heart. Hopefully Freddie Pacho will be able to convince not only local investors but others to join him in this noteworthy undertaking.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Business&p=49&type=2&sec=27&aid=2008071617

red_jasper

July 22nd, 2008, 06:31 PM

BPOs build talent pool through CSR programs
Written by Jesus F. Llanto
Tuesday, 22 July 2008

It is like hitting two birds in one shot.

Faced with a shrinking talent pool, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are using their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs not just to help local communities but also to attract and train potential employees.

During the CSR Conference 2008 held in Makati recently, BPO executives said that more than improving the lives of communities, most of their CSR programs, particularly those that focus on education, have helped them build potential pool of workers and meet their demand for skilled workers.

Industry experts said most of their external CSR programs put emphasis in education and training of college students to address the mismatch between the quality of the supply of workers and the needs of the industry.

BPO firms have undertaken educational projects like establishing schools that offer free training on information technology (IT), donations of computers to schools, and offering and sharing technical expertise in drafting courses in colleges and universities.

Beth Lui, country manager of Accenture, said that aside from giving their workers a chance to share their talents and expertise by volunteering to train students, their CSR program also helps build a pool of IT-enabled talent pool.

"We are getting our employees to step out of the workplace and do something good for others," said Lui adding that their employees are involved in coaching and mentoring the trainees and teaching basic computer skills to students.

Read more (http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5141&Itemid=88889053)

dinabaw

July 23rd, 2008, 04:50 AM

TVET a passport
to brighter future
BY JUDY QUIROS

Technical and vocational education is gaining access in schools and universities in Davao City and the rest of Mindanao, signaling the acceptance of skills training as passport to a bright future, Mindanao Technical Vocational Education and Training Association (MinTVET) chair Joji Ilagan-Bian said.

At the Davao Business Forum held yesterday at MediSpa SM City Davao, Bian, who is president of the Joji Ilagan Career Center Foundation, Inc., said MinTVET will maximize the development with the holding of the 7th Mindanao TVET Human Resource Skills Development (HRSD) Conference on August 6 to 8 at The Royal Mandaya Hotel.

The activity will be held back-to-back with the Mindanao Travel and Tour Expo (MTTE) 2008 on August 8 to 10 at SM City Davao.

Bian said the conference is aimed at upgrading the level of skills training in TVET centers and schools, even as the Department of Tourism (DOT) has already indicated that Mindanao’s level of skills training “is already at par with global standards.”

“We are now gaining access in schools. The participation of schools in the conference will help them improve their skills training and education programs,” Bian said.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) provincial director Mandy Aquino said 70 percent of Davao City’s more than 100 TVET centers and schools are excelling in terms of training output.

He said this has resulted in the mandatory assessment being conducted by TESDA in TVET schools to ensure that the schools’ skills training programs conform with TESDA standards.

DOT 11 regional director Sonia Garcia said the conference will be a venue for the academe and the tourism sector to muster strategies in making TVET a tool to pump prime the region’s tourism industry.

“TVET graduates and students are actually our ambassadors that could help in promoting the region as a tourism destination,” Garcia said.

Bian said the local tourism industry should not fear because TVET schools are continuously producing graduates who are capable of working in tourism-related establishments.

A copy of the 2005 impact evaluation study of TVET programs furnished by TESDA showed that employment rate of center-based TVET graduates registered 48.75 percent, school-based at 46.25 percent, enterprise-based at 54.13 percent, community-based at 49.69 percent, and all modes at 48.67 percent.

Land transport sector topped the TVET employment rate at 63.1 percent, metals and engineering at 56.8 percent, automotive at 53 percent, construction at 52 percent, health at 48 percent, agriculture at 47.5 percent, information technology at 46.4 percent, tourism at 43.5 percent, food and beverage at 40.9 percent, and maritime at 33.5 percent.

Bian recognized the significant role of TESDA in influencing parents to enroll their sons and daughters in TVET centers and schools for immediate employment.

She said TESDA’s effort helped in achieving a paradigm shift to skills training as an effective mode towards better living.

Participants to the 7th Mindanao TVET HRSD conference are expected to discuss the extent and nature of critical skills requirements in Mindanao and the global areas.

The participants are also expected to be exposed to new thinking to better cope with and respond to challenges emerging from the growth and spread of the knowledge economy.

After sharing and exchange of information, concepts and best practices, participants are expected to forge linkages with supportive agencies and organizations for future action and collaboration.

http://www.dailymirror.ph/July/business07232008&01.html

GearX

July 24th, 2008, 08:56 AM

Call centers should hire home-based workers—expert (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=126189)

By JESUS F. LLANTO
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

Philippine call centers are urged to try home-based operations to curb high attrition rate and increase employee satisfaction.

During the Annual Call Center Expo 2008, an expert on business process outsourcing (BPO) urge Philippine call center companies to hire work-at-home agents or home-based employees to solve the high turnover rate in the industry.

William Dieu, senior research analyst from callcentres.net, said that companies can lower attrition rate and foster high agent satisfaction if they will allow home-based operations.

"The Philippines should think about the benefits of hiring home-based agents," Dieu said. He added that working from home also allows employees to save on transportation cost, especially now when prices of fuel are soaring.

Dieu said that only nine percent of the companies here allow working from home and he warned that "it is not expected to increase" in the succeeding months.

Benedict Hernandez, senior vice president and general manager for Philippines of eTelecare, said technological factors hamper the development of this kind of job.

"It has not really taken off," said Hernandez. "There are many things to consider. We are not as wired as the United States."

John Langford, executive vice president of ICT group, said it will take time before this system is adapted. "The industry has been in the United States but this set-up has been used only in the last five years.

Big sector

Call centers are the biggest sector in the Philippine BPO industry. It generates the biggest revenue and employs the most workers. In 2007, contact centers accounted for 73 percent of the industry’s US$4.8 billion revenue and its employees accounted for 60 percent of the 300,000 BPO workers.

"The industry will grow at a healthy clip this year," said Dan Reyes, president of Sitel and director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

CCAP estimates that this year, contact centers are expected to earn US$4.3 billion dollars, or around 30 percent increase from last year’s US$3.3 billion. Around 50,000 additional jobs are also expected this year.

Contact centers in the Asia-Pacific region, said Dieu citing data from consulting firm Frost and Sullivan, generated US$665 million revenue in 2007 and is expected to earn US$13 in the next seven years.

oradude23

July 24th, 2008, 08:49 PM

Another Medical Transcription Company opens in Davao....

The Economy
P3.1-B investments committed to Mindanao in Q1

DAVAO CITY — Mindanao attracted P3.1 billion in investment commitments in the first three months of the year, about P2.353 billion more than the same period last year, data from the Board of Investments showed.

A press release yesterday of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) cited this data in saying that these first quarter investment commitments were made by 12 companies, whose planned projects are expected to generate 2,000 new jobs.

MEDCo chairman Unsec. Virgilio L. Leyretana projected that Mindanao will surpass the P7.227 billion committed in 2007, with power generation and business process outsourcing investments taking the lead this year.

Investing in Mindanao’s power sector are the Aboitiz Power Corp. which plans to build four hydroelectric plants in the Davao Region, and Alcantara-controlled Conal Holdings which is setting up a $450-million 200-megawatt coal-fired plant in Maasim, Sarangani.

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Nanoscript Inc., a medical transcription company that is conducting training under the MTC Academy umbrella, has started operating here.
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dinabaw

July 25th, 2008, 05:18 AM

Friday, July 25, 2008
Tesda: Call center agent tops BPO's skills demand
By Joy Romares-Sevilla

IN RESPONSE to industry requirements, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has identified the highly critical skills demand based on the labor market intelligence (LMI) report being prepared by the agency.

In a report released by the Tesda-Southern Mindanao on Wednesday, the highly critical skills demand from 2006 to 2010 are call center agent, medical transcriptionist, legal transcriptionist, animator, and software developer for the BPO industry; spa therapist, massage therapist, and pinoy hilot for the medical tourism; biomedical equipment technician for the health; butcher for the agribusiness sector; and ground equipment operator and aviation mechanic for the aviation industry.

Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo

The data showed that among these skills, call center agent is the most highly critical skills demand with 735,500, followed by software developer with 122,100.

It can also be observed that the most in demand skills fell under the BPO industry with about 962,259. The total highly critical skills demand from the five sectors, on the other hand, totaled 996,504.

Tesda-Southern Mindanao said one of the most crucial concerns of the technical and vocational education training (TVET) sector today is the appropriate development of Filipino human resources capable of responding to the challenges of global and domestic market.

To address this, the Mindanao TVET association has recognized the urgency to take appropriate steps by organizing a conference -- the 7th Mindanao TVET Human Resource Skills Development, which will serve a venue to review and understand the overall effect of globalization on economic competitiveness and educational system as they affect individuals, corporations, and policy makers in Mindanao.

The conference will be held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on August 6 to 8.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/25/bus/tesda.call.center.agent.tops.bpo.s.skills.demand.html

icarusrising

July 25th, 2008, 11:21 AM

Call centers now employ 200,000 workers--CCAP (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080724-150383/Call-centers-now-employ-200000-workers--CCAP)

By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:59:00 07/24/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The call center industry now employs no less than 200,000 workers and continues to grow by 30 percent every year, according to an official tally by industry group Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

CCAP has 39 member-companies consisting of the largest call center operators in the country. CCAP members alone account for about two-thirds of the 151,000-seat industry total.

This translates to a minimum of 200,000 workers, according to Raffy David, CCAP board director and head of its membership committee.

"Some in the industry said the total could be as much as 300,000 or more but as an industry group our conservative estimate is 200,000 workers," David said in an interview with INQUIRER.net.

Call center operators continue to expand operations in the Philippines, generating employment outside of business districts Makati and Mandaluyong City and into so-called "next-wave" cities.

Improved telecommunications infrastructure and a ready pool of English-speaking college graduates in these cities have attracted further investments from operators.

According to CCAP, 25 out of 39 member-companies have operations in 16 cities outside the Makati and Ortigas business districts. Quezon City, home to top-tier universities like the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University, now have call center facilities in 14 locations.

CCAP also noted operators present in Cebu, Bacolod, Muntinlupa, Manila, Baguio, Laguna, Batangas, Taguig, Pasay, Paranaque, Marikina, Rizal Cavite, Angeles and Dumaguete.

Dan Reyes, CCAP director, said the industry is growing by 30 percent every year, both in terms of seat capacity and headcount.

The industry still largely caters to US-based customers although Reyes noted operators are attracting offshore clients from other markets like the UK, whose National Outsourcing Association (NOA) recently noted the Philippines as the best offshoring destination last year.

"There are now customers from Australia and even New Zealand being supported by call centers here," Reyes said. "The industry is now serving different time zones."

icarusrising

July 25th, 2008, 11:25 AM

Solon wants English exams for teachers to help BPO industry (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080724-150382/Solon-wants-English-exams-for-teachers-to-help-BPO-industry)

By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:55:00 07/24/2008

PASAY CITY, Philippines -- Senator Francis Pangilinan is recommending English proficiency exams for teachers to help cope with the demands of the call center industry.

Pangilinan cited a recent SWS survey saying the country's English proficiency has recovered in the last two years.

The senator, however, said English proficiency needs to be increased further as the call center industry aims to increase from 200,000 workers to a million-strong workforce by 2010.

"According to industry executives I've talked to, only three to five out of 100 applicants in call centers successfully pass applications," Pangilinan said in his keynote address the at the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) conference Thursday morning.

"We cannot depend on our caring culture alone as Filipinos to be able to compete with the likes of India," he added.

Pangilinan emphasized the need for linkages between the industry and the academic community in areas like curriculum development and teacher training.

"We must focus on our mentors and look at periodic English proficiency tests for teachers," he said.

The senator also raised the need to amend the country's labor code to cope with the demands of the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

"The government alone cannot help solve the country's education crisis. We must channel more funds but we do need help from the private sector," he said.

icarusrising

July 25th, 2008, 11:46 AM

US elections won’t affect BPO industry, execs say (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080724-150454/US-elections-wont-affect-BPO-industry-execs-say)

By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:46:00 07/24/2008

PASAY CITY, Philippines -- The upcoming US elections will not have much impact on the call center industry although it may be wise for local operators to look at other markets.

"Regardless of political concerns, we will continue to service our customers," said Exequiel Delgado, general manager for Verizon Business Philippines, a local unit of US telecom firm Verizon.

Delgado took part in a panel discussion and was joined by executives from companies outsourcing call center work to the Philippines.

"It will have little bearing," said Steve Gambrel, group vice president for Semperian (formerly Accutel), a unit of General Motors Acceptance Corp., the financing arm of US carmaker general Motors.

The company outsources customer support operations to ICT Group, which has operations in the country.

The two executives were joined by Mabini Quezon, onsite operations program manager Paypal, and Prabhakar Pakalpati, process director partner management at Dell International Services, which runs support facilities in the country.

All four panelists agree that political concerns in the US, brought about by the upcoming November elections, will not have much effect on their respective companies’ outsourcing activities.

Outsourcing, they emphasized, remains largely a business strategy and will likely to continue as long as it makes business sense.

Dell's Pakalpati, meanwhile, said the local call center industry should instead see the elections as an opportunity to expand outside of the US.

"Business decision making tends to be slow after an election. It should be a good time for operators to look outside of the US and into markets like Europe and Australia," Pakalpati said.

dinabaw

July 26th, 2008, 05:38 AM

Saturday, July 26, 2008
Aussie volunteers willing to help Davao ICT trade
By Joy Romares-Sevilla

THE director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Davao City said that his agency recently conducted a discussion with Australian business volunteers on how to further improve the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Davao City.

Teolulo T. Pasawa, DTI Davao director, said in an interview that Australian business volunteers visited the city on Wednesday to provide consultation for ICT stakeholders, especially the small-scale in the ICT industry.

"We had roundtable talks and discussions. These volunteers are successful business executives, they were here to help stakeholders in the small-scale ICT industry improve by linking them with a potential partner," Pasawa said.

Pasawa, on the other hand, agreed that the ICT industry is one of the most promising sectors in the country since it can create a lot of jobs and contribute to the overall economy of the country.

Earlier, Nicasio Angelo Agustin, regional director of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), told Sun.Star the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) has now permeated business and government operations in rural areas.

"As the regional economy is further drawn into global economy, the demand for ICT is likely to expand," Agustin said.

Likewise, business process outsourcing groups, such as call centers and medical transcription services, have become important contributors to the local economy.

"The expansion of call centers outside Metro Manila is expected to continue despite the peso appreciation because of high global demand and availability of skilled and relatively cheaper human resources," he said.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/26/bus/aussie.volunteers.willing.to.help.davao.ict.trade.html

dinabaw

July 29th, 2008, 04:17 AM

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
We're one of the best
By Joy Romares-Sevilla

CALL center companies, not only based outside Mindanao, but also from foreign countries have realized the impact of investing in Mindanao, particularly in Davao City despite the negative image of the region brought about by baseless foreign travel advisories.

These call center companies have now seen Davao City's potential and advantage as the city has a lot of available untapped human resources, which became very attractive to them.

"The expansion of call centers outside Metro Manila is expected to continue despite the peso appreciation because of high global demand and availability of skilled and relatively cheaper human resources," says Nicasio Angelo Agustin, director of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) in Southern Mindanao.

Agustin's statement was confirmed by Gil Dureza, chief of the Board of Investment (BOI) in Mindanao, saying that a Singaporean investor is planning to locate in Davao as the latter saw the huge labor market in the city.

"The director and the IT manager of the Eureka Advisory PTE Ltd, an IT company based in Singapore, have already been to Davao and they enjoyed the climate here. They moved around by night and saw the presence of several foreign companies here," Dureza said.

He said that in Singapore, the rate of the lowest IT staff is P50,000, adding that one of the reasons why the company is planning to locate here is probably because of cheaper labor costs.

On the other hand, Andrei Fournier, past chair of the ICT Committee of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII), also said that BPO and IT investors would have lesser expense in putting up shops in Davao.

"Some property owners are interested in Davao.

Talking about investment projections, the Floirendos of Davao City are also partnering with the Ayala Land Inc. for a P2.3 billion mixed land use development project in Bajada this year.There are four IT parks coming, but these are still in the drawing board," Fournier said.

Peter Laviña, chair of the city council committee on trade, commerce, and industry, said the Floirendos under the Anflo group of companies, will be developing a nine-hectare land in front of the Redemptorist Church.

"The development will be a mix-use property where there are retail store resembling a mall, an IT park, and a product processing operation area," he said, adding that two hectares of the land will be utilized for the construction of an IT Park.

"This may be the biggest investment in the city for the next year," Laviña said.

The availability of skilled human resources and the cheaper labor costs in Davao also enticed the Utah-based call center company to locate in Davao City.

This Utah-based call center company is the Western Wats, which has 15 call centers in the USA and the Philippines. It already inked partnership with the NCCC Mall of Davao in April 2, 2008 where it will occupy 4,700 square meters of the mall's 4th level. Its operations cost is set around P60 to P70 million.

Derek Rice, Western Wats operations director, who will also head the Davao operations, said that the facility will operate on a 24/7 basis. The hiring of agents has commenced in May starting off with 500 agents and is expected to double personnel requirements by 2009.

When queried whether the mall will also operate in the same capacity as Western Wats, Ruel Gustilo, director for NCCC Mall and Entertainment, said the mall operating hours will remain the same. But he was quick to add that if the mall sees a demand in the future, then it is ready to make arrangements.

Teolulo Pasawa, director of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac), of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao, meanwhile said the untapped human resources is considered as the most reason why call center companies eye Davao to be a BPO destination area in Mindanao.

"Davao has thousands of qualified graduates for the BPO Industry considering that it has the most number of schools and universities in Mindanao which produce graduates every year," Pasawa said.

In a study conducted by EU-based XMG Global ICT Research and Advisory, which article was earlier released in this paper, it said that Davao City has 689 percent more graduates than Subic, 278 percent more in Clark, and 40 percent more in Baguio.

The same research agency has named Davao City as one of the world's best investment sites for BPO industry and global offshore ICT hubs.

The other "emerging off-shoring cities" cited in the global study together with Davao is Casablanca in Morocco, Montevideo in Uruguay, and Jakarta in Indonesia.

The Davao City Investment and Promotion Center (DCIPC), on the other hand, earlier identified ten reasons for people to invest in Davao.

Roberto Teo, DCIPC chief, said Davao City is much better than other metropolitan cities like Cebu and Manila.

He said Davao City has good weather condition; has excellent public utilities like water, electricity and telecommunications; has the presence of important institutions like schools, universities, and hospitals; it is one of the most peaceful cities in the world; has the most disciplined people in the country; has competitive cost of doing business; produces skilled professionals and laborers; considered as the fruit and food basket of Mindanao; is also investor-friendly as is has a center which provides free services; and has a responsible local government, which is positive on investments.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/29/feat/we.re.one.of.the.best.html

dinabaw

July 29th, 2008, 04:23 AM

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
It's not all wonderful, but
By Ana Felicia Dulay

FORTY-four-year-old Alejo Bulseco III has worked in two different call center for less than a year.

His first job was making outbound calls selling vacation packages to Bahamas, Mexico and other tourist destinations to United States of America.

Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo

His experiences ran from the extremely hilarious to the ghastly informative as to the life of a call center agent.

"Minsan pinapagalitan ka, kasi tumatawag ka sa kanila ng 12:00 p.m. Binubulyawan ka ng mga puti. 'Do you know what time it is? It is 12 midnight here," he said in an interview.

"Mga more than once, may nakasagot sa akin. I told her I was looking for Mr. X, sagot niya: 'Do you really want to talk to Mr. X?' Yes ma'am, I have a nice vacation package for Mr. X. 'Then call him in prison. He is in jail.' sabay baba ng telepono. Minsan naman patay na pala ang hinahanap ko and the one who answered the phone was being flippant," he said.

The list of prospective clients and their phone numbers, according to Bulseco, is provided by the company culled from their database. Agents just have to dial the numbers.

"Palakasan ng boses sa loob ng call center. Dapat audible ang voice mo. Minsan, nagagalit din yung tinatawagan mo dahil maingay daw," he said.

Bulseco also recalls a client who laughed at him outright when he said he was from Texas. "Sabi niya, 'I don't believe you. You are not from Texas'," he said.

This is so because of the accent. The famous Texan drawl is so hard to emulate even by Americans themselves who do not come from the place.

As it is, for call center agents, fluency in English is a must. And that includes the accent, which in our time was called the "American Twang."

The disadvantages of working in a call center, is in most cases you work the graveyard shift, from 12 midnight to 9 a.m.

"Pag-alis mo sa bahay, tulog na ang mga tao. Pag-uwi mo naman, naka-alis na silang lahat. Hirap ka sa tulog, pagkain," he said. "With the high price of gasoline nowadays, kakainin ang sahod mo. How can you reach work without public transportation at night? Mas lalo na kung car ang gamit mo. Wala ka na ding social life, no malling kasi you spend your entire day sleeping."

Three times a week after your shift, you have to meet with your team leader to assess what went wrong and what was done right. You work six days a week till Saturday. As trainee, you get P150 a day. After one month you get P325 per day. Not bad for fresh graduates.

For outbound call centers, you are given a quota, at least five sales per day. For inbound call centers, you are dealing with customer service. In Davao City most call centers are outbound, meaning sell, sell, sell.

"Maraming fresh graduates. Pero marami din yung over forty. Usually in one shift, there are about 40 to 50 agents. Depende kasi kung gaano kalaki ang company," he said.

Some big name companies require as much as P60,000 surety bond from trainees. This is to ensure that the employee stays with the company for at least six months after they are hired.

Bulseco said agents are trained for a month before they are considered for the position. He said once hired, agents usually get a one-year contract, which is renewable in most cases.

Aside from the government-mandated coverage to the Philheath, most call center agents do not have any other medical benefits especially if the company is small.

Bulseco has this advice to those who want to work in a call center.

"You have to have patience and selling skills. Dapat matatag ang loob mo to face irate customers. Pag inbound, puro reklamo ang matatanggap mo from clients. And you have to satisfy them. Bawal magalit sa kanila. Iyan ang pressure ng inbound," he said. "And you also cannot pass irate callers to your supervisor. Bawal 'yun. You alone should provide them with the best service that they are demanding."

Bulseco admits that outbound call centers have less pressure. But one needs to sell whatever goods or services the company is offering.

"Pag wala kang benta, tatanggalin ka. You set your own pace when placing a call to customers pero dapat may sales ka. Sa inbound, you can not go to the bathroom unless its breaktime. Pag baba mo ng phone, ring agad iyan," he said.

However, the advantages are numerous, too.

"Marami kang ma-meet na kaibigan. You get to bond with your co-workers. For fresh graduates, the pay is good. Ang laking tulong talaga sa economy ng country," he said.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/07/29/feat/it.s.not.all.wonderful.but.html

Animo

July 30th, 2008, 02:57 AM

By Joel D. Pinaroc (http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62044234,00.htm), ZDNet Asia
Monday, July 28, 2008 06:37 PM

PHILIPPINES--Despite the current gloomy economic outlook, the Philippines may still reach its 2008 growth targets for the local business process outsourcing (BPO) market, according to a research firm.

Canada-based XMG said the prevailing economic slowdown may even favor the Philippines' outsourcing industry as more companies that outsource, now look at cheaper ways to operate.

"Due to recent U.S. economic slowdown and poor global outlook, contract for offshore countries such as the Philippines will grow by an additional 7 percent to 12 percent as top multinational companies cut cost and transfer [processes] to cost-effective sites or outsource some of their needs," said Benedict Ferrer, research manger and senior analyst at XMG.

In an e-mail interview Monday, he said: "For this year, the country is on track to meet its revenue targets.

"In terms of revenue, our conservative contract outlook for the Philippines will be an estimated US$4.8 billion to US$5.1 billion by the end of 2008."

However, Ferrer cautioned that "the biggest potential pitfall" would be the lack of suitable candidates required to meet the surge in demand for relevant skills.

The analyst added that the Philippine BPO industry is experiencing difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled talents "due to poaching" from other companies, and the flux of workers migrating overseas.

"For the time being, the impact is relatively manageable but this could derail the industry by 2010 if not addressed properly," he said.

Ferrer, however, said significant BPO deals such as the agreement inked between IBM Philippines and Bristol-Myers Squibb, will continue to help spur the local BPO industry. IBM Philippines earlier this month unveiled it signed a 10-year outsourcing deal worth US$324 million (14.4 billion pesos) with the U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant.

In a press statement, the IT vendor said the deal aims to help Bristol-Myers Squibb "transform and support many of the company's global human resource (HR) functions".

In addition, IBM will implement an SAP application and integrate Bristol-Myers Squibb's global workforce data into one portal, which can be accessed by employees, managers and HR professionals based around the globe.

The services will support Bristol-Myers Squibb's operations in the United States, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium, as well as limited support to 40 of its other country locations in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas.

Ferrer said: "The entrance of BPO companies here in the Philippines will heavily contribute to [lowering] unemployment, and generate additional sources of revenue to various industries due to increase of disposable income."

Joel D. Pinaroc is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.

Fly2Bacolod

August 3rd, 2008, 05:25 AM

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www.alliancecallcentre.com.ph

Fly2Bacolod

August 3rd, 2008, 05:29 AM

Next Wave Cities’ host new call centers

Twenty five members of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) have already set foot in 16 so-called "Next Wave Cities" in the country, topped by Convergys and TeleTech with its seven sites outside the primary hubs of the Makati and Ortigas central business districts.

CCAP tallied the locations of all its member companies, showing the evident shift away from Metro Manila to outlying cities and provinces. Out of the 96 locations, 43 or around 45 percent are located outside Makati, Pasig, and Mandaluyong.

Among these emerging cities, the top three cities with the most number of CCAP call center locators are Quezon City, with 14 sites; Cebu City, with eight sites; and Bacolod City, with three sites. Those with two CCAP member locators are Muntinlupa, Manila, Baguio, Laguna, and Batangas. Taguig, Pasay, Parañaque, Marikina, Rizal, Cavite, Angeles, and Dumaguete have one each.

Among its 37 members, TeleTech has the most presence with all of its eight sites located outside the Makati and Ortigas CBDs. It is followed by eTelecare with four and Convergys with three.

"This only shows the unrelenting growth of the call center industry. We are proud of the fact that the phenomenon is not isolated in Metro Manila. More and more Filipinos are benefiting from the investment and employment opportunities provided by outsource and in-house contact centers nationwide," says Jojo Uligan, executive director of CCAP

Fly2Bacolod

August 3rd, 2008, 07:35 AM

TraxBarn Software & Design
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http://www.traxbarn.com/contact-us.html

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Elektronz Call Center
http://elektronzcallcenter.com/

Xeltran

August 3rd, 2008, 07:52 AM

Hmm, I dunno, but why are there so many "Bacolod" threads lately. Can't all of these be merged with the existing main thread?

SUV111

August 3rd, 2008, 07:41 PM

yes...i hope we can stick to one or two threads...lets just discuss things in the main thread.

dinabaw

August 5th, 2008, 04:13 AM

MinBC and UP working on
honey production project
BY JUDY QUIROS

The Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) is currently working on the development of Bee-Farming as a livelihood program.

MinBC executive director Ednar Dayanghirang at the Kapehan sa Dabaw yesterday held at Pizza Hut, SM City Davao said MinBc will undertake the project which is specifically about honey production with the University of the Philippines.

Dayanghirang said experts from UP-Los Baños and The Netherlands will be coming to Mindanao on September 15 to conduct training on honey production.

The target beneficiaries for the said livelihood program are Davaoeños, he said.

The bees that will be developed for production will be imported from Hawaii.

Dayanghirang said they are initially targeting to develop 24 bee hives for the said livelihood project.

Mindanao can export honey in the next five years if the project is materialized, he said.

http://www.dailymirror.ph/August/business08052008&01.html

junax

August 6th, 2008, 03:28 AM

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
DTI biz name listing reaches P4B as of June

BUSINESS Name Registrations (BNR) contributed the biggest bulk in revenue generation of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao during the first semester of the year, comprising 96 percent of the total revenues posted from January to June.

In a copy of the accomplishment report furnished by the DTI, it said that revenues generated through BNR amounted to P4.071 billion; investment facilitation, P143.38 million or 3.37 percent of the total investments; and financing facilitation was placed at P16.88 million or .40 percent of the total investments.

The report said the remaining .33 percent of the total revenues during the period was contributed by other DTI programs and projects that amounted to P13.70 million.

DTI reported that significant investments in information and communication technology (ICT) and property development were poured in Davao City during the first semester of the year, while tourism, fishing, property development and agribusiness were infused in Davao Oriental and in Davao del Norte.

DTI said new investments in agribusiness also poured in Compostela Valley during the period, and tourism, light manufacturing and agribusiness investments were also registered in Davao del Sur.

Meanwhile, of the top investments, property development and tourism facilities account for 50 percent, most of which, DTI said, are located in Davao City and in Davao del Norte as residential subdivisions, commercial buildings and hotels.

As to investments in ICT, DTI said the industry has continued to increase in the region particularly in Davao City with new on-the-ground projects, such as IBM Philippines, Southern Philippines Office, the Western Wats, Six Eleven Global Solutions, NCCC Mall ICT Building, the Qualiserve Contact Solutions, Reliance Transcription Services, and the ZIP IT Corp, also a medical transcription company.

With these new investments, DTI believe that the number of the BPO seats have increased with more than 3,000 at present.

The entry of the Ayala group in developing a P3 billion property development project which will include an IT park, is also expected to boost the ICT industry in the next few years.

source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/08/06/bus/dti.biz.name.listing.reaches.p4b.as.of.june.html

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Fly2Bacolod

August 6th, 2008, 08:45 AM

^^
most of the cities have more than 4 threads!:)

SUV111

August 6th, 2008, 10:10 AM

^^
most of the cities have more than 4 threads!:)

ok go!!! damo man ta call centers na pwede discuss di ah :) :lol::lol::lol:

cyclosimon_89

August 6th, 2008, 03:47 PM

ang solegy ng close na na knu hmbl sng magulang ko who use to work there several years ago..I don't know the reason..

SUV111

August 6th, 2008, 05:30 PM

One more outsourcing firm sets up shop in Bacolod City
08/06/2008 | 03:58 AM

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A US-based company is set to open a small-scale call center here this year, joining three more outsourcing companies that have come here to take advantage of the city’s skilled work force.

Lone Star Global IT Solutions, owned by John Burdick of Houston, Texas, will provide outbound telemarketing services to clients in the United States, said Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, who heads the Bacolod Negros Federation for Information and Communications Technology, Inc.

The call center will be located at the East IT Center, an information technology economic zone accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

Lone Star will also undertake data entry and encoding, design and implementation, and operation of office business process such as outsourced customer support services.

These include sales and marketing support, customer care, technical support, data management services and customer relations management.

Ms. Batapa-Sigue said the firm’s recruitment officer is looking for agents with at least six months of experience in the call center industry.

She said the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Bacolod continues to grow as Lone Star Global IT Solutions comes to the city along with other IT enterprises.

"As foreign players venture into Bacolod, local leaders should seriously undertake more human resource programs to sustain the gains of the IT and BPO industry," she said.

She noted that while Bacolod has promoted itself as one of the next wave of cities identified by the Business Process Association of the Philippines, the responsibility does not end there.

"The task becomes more difficult because we have to come up with more programs in response to industry demands, especially manpower," she pointed out.

At present, the city hosts three major call centers — Teleperformance, TeleTech and Convergys.

It has five special economic zones proclaimed as ICT parks and buildings, and these sites are now the workplaces of almost 4,000 employees.

These include Luxur Plaza IT Centre, the site of Teleperformance at the old Bacolod Convention Plaza Hotel; East Block IT Centre and Bacolod IT Park, both declared as IT parks.

The East Block is being occupied by First International Document Masters, Inc. and Intervoice Technologies, Inc., an insourcing company.

Others are the Robinsons Cybergate Center occupied by Teletech, and Monfort IT Centre occupied by Focus Pacific Communications.

Convergys is occupying One SanParq, the first and only built-to-suit Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered information technology center in Western Visayas. — Nanette Guadalquiver, BusinessWorld