Outsourcing Industry - Compiled Threads [Archive]

Francis20

October 27th, 2004, 07:30 PM

it helps a lot - in terms of country revenues and employment. plus there are more offices used up, more people coming in, more expats here. more foreign visitors - then hotels will have a jump up of their occupancy rates, more shoppers...etc. i can see more of the better side than the other side, if any.
and hey, outsourced companies are the one's where you can have clear career path. and as far as i know, performance is the key consideration in promotions and incentives, and NOT and SHOULD not be TENURE itself.

the job im doing is also outsourced. our HQ is in Geneva but they made manila the Regional Operating HQ due to cost effectiveness and expertise.
this is basically what I do:

i analyse docs sent from our regional office, where the exporting party is...(usually from Korea, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Dubai, Saudi, Turkey, Germany, France, NL, etc). these docs usually or should consist of the invoices, bill of lading/airway bill, analysis certificate, if needed, certificate of origin if needed. we process the docs, do the valuation and classification for import duty purposes as imposed by importing coutries (which is one of our external client). these documents covers everything on the Harmonized System from 01 - 99...i.e., from live animals, fruits, petroleum, resins, plastics to household articles, industrial machines, toys etc. and each team in the company consists of employees with specific expertise. we have steel experts, machinery experts, petrochem, textile, chemicals, etc. with all these stuff, i think these are not bobo jobs, nor will they make you bobo at all (if not insane). we had a lot of training. I especially liked the valuation trainings, where i got to know the big picture of WTO agreements, valuation, how trade is done worldwide, how big multinational companies make the most money taking advantage of the difference in duty rates or taxes in each countries, royalty, etc etc...

the drawbacks i see here are:

- our workforce is paid less than our US or EU counterparts, who basically do the same job as we do.
- work imposes a lot of pressure. since we're dealing with governments (customs), we have to do things correctly and accurately, and this is no simple job. everything is complicated. a lot of invoices passes to my hand with values from USD 10,000 - 10,000,000. Errors can mean claims from the importer or exporter. We have claims before. I think that was from Ciba Specialty Chemicals of Switzerland, and another from Coca Cola of South Africa. That's frustrating. I was never guilty anyway. It's always somebody else's mistake. A claim can cost about one year of my salary, can you imagine that? They don't deduct that from your salary anyway. Just some deliberation probably. I never dreamt of facing a panel consisting of the managers, CEO who will think it's your fault. so that's my story. ive said a lot tho. does anything make sense? i don't consider this my lifetime career place, as someone said on this thread. i got plans, and will stick to it -probably moving to another outsourced company? hehe...let's see how things will unfold.

kiretoce

October 27th, 2004, 08:07 PM

/\ If workers there are being paid up to par with what the US/EU worker gets, then there's no reason to have jobs outsourced. Jobs can stay in their respective countries and have unemployment figures go down. The only reason why jobs are going overseas is that the labor force in other countries are cheap and laborers are as competent. It all boils down to the almighty dollar, or euro, or yen, etc. Whoever can save the most money and yet still have excellent product and service quality wins.

pau_p1

October 28th, 2004, 03:52 AM

Out of curiousity, is Fujitsu's headquarters in Austin? Isnt it as Japanese company? Or is it because as you said your job is outsourced, Fujitsu doing the job for Americans back in Texas?

Fujitsu is a Japanese company based in Japan... Kobe I think... we are doing outsourced work for Dell Inc. that is based in Austin, Texas.... they had us and people in India to do the customization and development work for their ERP system...

according to our president, in the US, programmers are getting extinct now.. and they needed consultants.... if there are programmers there... it is still cheaper to get the work outsourced here in Asia where labor is cheaper... plus we can provide high quality work..

plus they say that Filipinos then to finish work by the schedule and not let a project get over extended... maybe because our company being of Japanese culture are always time-framed...

stephencua

October 28th, 2004, 04:02 AM

i think that outsourcing is a great way to show to other countries that the Philippines can compete with all the other developed countries out there.. it is our chance to show the world that our workforce is top-quality..

tiltshift

October 28th, 2004, 04:08 AM

JudeD

October 28th, 2004, 07:21 AM

Yup, I agree, we're really kulang sa entrepreneurs. There should be a shift from "I need to go abroad to earn money" mentality into an "I need to set up a business to earn money" mentality. Filipinos keep complaining that there's no money here, but look at the Chinese, they're doing pretty well. Same goes for the Koreans, Indians, and Arabs who're staying here.

Regarding the salary disparity though, you also have to take into account that cost of living over here is way lower than in the US, EU, or Japan. So the actual numerical value of an outsourced employee's salary might be lower than his 1st world counterpart, but his buying power isn't too far off. Just think, a manager in a company here might make enough to hire a full-time yaya for his or her kids and send them to private schools, while in the US, only upper management and professionals will be able to do that (and maybe not even make enough to hire a full-time nanny).

Anyway, I'm allergic to having a "boss" and being "managed" so I don't think I can stand to work in an outsourced job even if the salary is steady and temptingly high. Freelance na lang ako (which is another form of entrepreneurship, in my opinion).

Francis20

October 28th, 2004, 10:39 AM

ok, you said it Jude. but hey, in case one of your friends doesnt think the way you do...Errr...lemme clear than up. i mean if some of your friends wants to be in outsourced company, and is not thinking of putting up a business of his own, tell him to apply to our company. this invitation does to anybody else by the way. :D

here is the job description:

Job Summary, Major Duties and Responsibilities
*
·Ensures correct and timely issuance of Internal Consignment Reports (ICR’s) in relation to the productivity and quality targets of the Operations Department.

·Assess import eligibility, risk levels, and identification of standard and non-standard files following the Business Rules on valuation, classification, import eligibility and process flows, Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) Instructions, and other related references.

·Provides quality and technical based classification and valuation opinion.

·Identifying and putting in appropriate goods description and relevant technical details on the report in English Language to Portuguese or vise versa

the last one if the most important requirement for now. I guess someone who could speak little Portuguese and much of Spanish would do.

stephencua

October 29th, 2004, 04:15 AM

okay let me clarify my post earlier..

i think outsourcing is a great way to showcase our talents to the world but the people should not be content with working for a foreign company.. maybe they could follow the indian model where the employees just use the money that they earn and the knowledge that they gathered from the company then start their own company..

i totally agree with JudeD.. people need to have more of an enterpreneurial mindset.. we have to change the way we think..

Power-mad

October 29th, 2004, 07:31 AM

beggars can't be choosers. another problem i see is that most pinoys are comfy to become employees and getting a monthly paycheck. if they're retrenched they become OFWs to be employees/slaves in other countries. a lot of people fail to see that the only way we can be helped is if we help ourselves. entrepreneurs are the key to our success. they generate jobs and keep capital within the philippines. outsourcing helps but it sad that being a subcontractor gets you crumbs. So eventually entrepreneurs should build up and push their own branded services and products.

That about says it all.

@JudeD: Yup freelance work is entrepreneurship. Someone once said to me that once you've struck it out on your own (be it your own business or with freelance work) it will be very, very hard to work for somebody else again. Even if your ventures floundered, the spirit carries on and holds you up til something else promising comes along.

ryanr

October 29th, 2004, 09:47 AM

I agree with JudeD...We really lack enterpreneurs. As Gokongwei said in this speach in Ateneo earlier this year, it is key for the growth of our economy.

tyronne

November 5th, 2004, 09:35 AM

im new to this forum so im still trying to go over every single thread, even the very old ones. this particular thread is not too old to reply to so let me take my stab on it.

for some people here in the US, as another poster has already mentioned, they see outsourcing as something bad to the local job opportunities. it angers them as they think that these outsourced jobs should have been made available for them first, before anyone else in other parts of the globe can take them.

actually, this outsourcing phenomenon should not be misinterpreted by people as something against to the local job market, or to the local economy as a whole. the trend for companies today is to be globally competitive. gone are the days when the metrics for a company's success is its ability to do everything on its own, thus, the bigger and stronger a company is, the more chances of surviving.

however, times have changed. in order to do business more efficiently and effectively, a company has to formulate strategies that will improve its core competencies. in other words, determine the areas where you are strong at and make the most out of it. so what happens to the other vital business processes that are equally important? this is where collaboration with other companies that specialize in such areas come in. then, they form supply chain networks. competition today and the future is not really about among companies, but among network of companies. outsourcing is one "link" that keeps those companies together. outsourcing enables a company to let go of tasks that other companies can do better, and to just focus on its core competencies.

this topic is something i learned in my e-business program so i thought i might as well share some thoughts about it.

tiltshift

November 5th, 2004, 10:01 AM

I've new insight as to why pinoys dont want to go into business on their own. I recently registered a startup with SEC, registered a TM with IPO and will be doing more paperwork at DTI. First of the SEC experience was such a hassle. So much paperwork to be done, notorized, stamped, signed, filled up and ultimatly paid. Time was it would take 2 weeks to be registered with but now with the power of the Net it only takes under a week now. What's so sick about this whole experience that in theory you could register and pay for a startup electronicly. In theory you could register a startup in under an hour (provided you know what you're doing). The current system now is going at that direction (thanfully) but it's so damn slow. The payment scheme takes the cake as you can pay through the SEC teller, UNIONbank teller or bank transfer via UNIONbank. I tried the UNIONbank teller method cause it was a building away from our office and we couldnt pay cause only the Greenhills branch is authorized to take in payment. WTF? Bakit lang ba GH?

I hope when I next deal with SEC they'd modernize it a bit more

For those curious how the online reservation/registration of company is done at SEC go to http://www.sec.gov.ph/index.htm?choose

To top it all off the SEC charges 400 pesos for the forms. WTF? Bond paper lang siya!

Next up is the IPO (Intellectual Property Office) (http://ipophil.gov.ph/). Getting of the forms was hassle free. Requirements were reasonable (in the sense it made sense). Verification took about under an hour. Paying took under 10 mins. Smoothest time I've ever dealt with the govt. :)

DTI naman... that's for Monday. :)

tiltshift

November 5th, 2004, 10:07 AM

As for the Americans who hate outsourcing... well if they want higher bills they're welcome to keep the jobs in the US. Americans cant beat the producitivty dollars of Asians here in Asia.

tyronne

November 5th, 2004, 06:56 PM

To top it all off the SEC charges 400 pesos for the forms. WTF? Bond paper lang siya!

Php400 for a form??? what is that??? ano ba yan, pati form pinagkakakitaan nila. forms should be made available free, also, they should make it available electronically so customers can just download it from their web site.

Power-mad

November 6th, 2004, 06:18 AM

DTI naman... that's for Monday. :)

I'd say the processing in DTI is more streamlined and straightforward. You could go and be done with it in half a day. You could also reserve a business name, and alternate names, through their website. And, by the way, shouldn't it have been DTI first before SEC?

tiltshift

November 6th, 2004, 06:51 AM

DTI's for local business registration.

Lightspeed

November 7th, 2004, 12:54 PM

One of the largest BPO/Contact Centers in the Philippines - Ambergis Solutions - has opened its newest call center floor at the top of Market! Market!

So it looks like call centers on top of shopping malls are the newest thing nowadays? If I'm not mistaken, that's the same plan with Gateway Mall in Cubao right?

tiltshift

November 7th, 2004, 02:42 PM

Having your workplace within the same area where food, entertainment & parking can be found is a boon though it turns boring fast.

ryanr

November 7th, 2004, 02:55 PM

mysaong03

November 8th, 2004, 02:36 PM

Medical transcription firm to open offices outside Manila

Updated 09:47pm (Mla time) Nov 07, 2004
By Alexander F. Villafania
INQ7.net

PROMPTED by increased demand from US-based medical facilities for outsourced transcription services, Philippine transcription firm IntelliScribe said it would be opening new offices in several regions in the following months.

The company said it was in talks with potential partners from Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Batangas, Pampanga, Baguio City, and Cebu City.

Angelica Abella, president of IntelliScribe, said the firm's regional expansion would help decongest Metro Manila, where most local transcription firms are based.

“The number of transcriptionists needed to handle the requirements in the US is inadequate, thus increasing the need to outsource the work, and this is what we should take advantage of. By moving our operations beyond Metro Manila, we can give more job opportunities for Filipinos in the provinces,” she added.

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IntelliScribe started operations in July this year and has grown from 11 employees to 58 in four months.

mhe-ann

November 9th, 2004, 03:44 AM

Ok. It's a good news. :okay:

kiretoce

November 10th, 2004, 05:02 PM

Philippines frets as US targets outsourcing

MANILA -- In a bustling reception area, two 21-year-old college graduates clutch their application papers and anxiously await job interviews.

To pass the long minutes, Manuel and Liza wearily eye television coverage of the US Democratic National Convention as a parade of keynote speakers deliver an ominous message: outsourcing is hurting the United States and should be curtailed.

“Hopefully these are just more empty promises,” said Manuel, as he waited with friend Liza for a chance to join US firm Convergys Corp, one of the main call centre employers here.

“I don’t know what would happen to the Philippines if the US was serious about ending outsourcing.”

The two are among a growing number of Filipinos who appear daily in offices such as this for a chance to do work outsourced from the United States and other first-world countries.

They are being cast as villains as Democrats and Republicans raise the protectionist rhetoric in the run-up to November’s presidential election, blaming firms for exporting American jobs to India and the Philippines.

For Philippine graduates, working in call centres or processing documentation for foreign firms represents one of the few hopes they have of finding a decently paid job at home rather than being “outsourced” themselves to work in a foreign land.

With unemployment at 13 percent, the highest rate in Southeast Asia, the fast-growing industry is a rare bright spot for an economy unable to create enough jobs for its 300,000 graduates a year and stop a brain drain of migrants to wealthier countries. Given that the United States accounts for 90 percent of outsourced work in the Philippines, stricter tax steps being threatened against firms that transfer work abroad could prove disastrous, some industry executives say.

“Outsourcing is the line of hope for this country,” said Ramon Dimacali, head of Outsource Philippines, a federation of companies actively promoting a greater foreign presence in the country. “A lot of people in this country dream of going to America. Now they realise that they can have a global mindset here, stay with their families, and earn in their own country.”

While India has borne the brunt of US angst over outsourcing, the Philippine industry is growing fast and employs more staff relative to the country’s total population.

Around 130,000 people work in Philippine call centres and back office service centres, compared to 245,000 in India. The number of agents in call centres alone has doubled to about 40,000 over the past year and industry executives expect that number to double again by the end of 2005.

Benefits ripple out: A Columbia University survey of 45 US-based companies found the Philippines was the second-largest recipient of outsourcing, capturing nearly 30 percent of the market. “Recruitment is not just concentrated in Metro Manila, but is creating much needed opportunities in the provinces, spreading the wealth across the country,” said Karen Batungbacal, president of the Business Process Association of the Philippines.

The benefits are rippling out to other areas of the economy, which has struggled to attract foreign investment due to perceptions of corruption, bureaucracy and security worries.

Tax revenues from outsourcing firms are helping the government plug a $3.5 billion annual budget deficit that is one of investors’ biggest worries about the debt-ridden economy.

Trade Secretary Cesar Purisima said the call centre industry alone was expected to generate revenues of up to $800 million this year, easing the government’s fiscal headache.

“This contribution is extremely substantial,” he told Reuters. “It definitely helps our economic concerns.”

Purisima pointed to the seamless continuity offered by the 12-hour time difference with New York, a large pool of English-speaking graduates, and low business costs as the main incentives for foreign companies looking to outsource here.

The real estate industry, only now recovering from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, is another beneficiary.

“It is what is saving the office building industry right now. We have plans for three structures dedicated to BPO (business process outsourcing),” said Maria Anonuevo, vice president of Ayala Land Inc, the country’s largest property firm.

Incentives too big: Despite the fiery campaign rhetoric, industry officials in the Philippines and US experts say Philippine graduates may not need to worry too much.

Nirumpam Bajpai, co-author of the Columbia University report, found that companies saved between 5 and 50 percent in costs by outsourcing, margins that would likely outweigh any negative impact from tax changes.

“The revenue returns to America are large. These companies are benefiting greatly by coming (to the Philippines),” said Outsource Philippines’ Dimacali. A report on outsourcing released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics revealed that just two percent of all mass layoffs in the first quarter of 2004 were associated with the movement of work outside the United States.

But other studies have fuelled US voter anxiety with findings that millions of jobs are set to flow to Asian outsourcing centres in the coming years.

Such fears may weigh on the Philippine and Indian industries for years to come, despite appeals for Americans to bear the short-term pain and think of the longer-term benefits.

“Companies should respond by retraining within the US instead of putting up barriers,” said Dimacali.

“Americans should think (outsourcing) can help the companies to grow and create more high-paying jobs in the US while creating jobs in the outsourcing location.”

Lightspeed

November 10th, 2004, 06:20 PM

Well Kerry has lost.

Tuloy ang ligaya!

Mabuhay Outsourcing! Mabuhay Philippines!

ryanr

November 11th, 2004, 02:03 PM

Philips, other Dutch firms urged to outsource in RP

Government officials are set to lure consumer electronics giant Royal Philips Electronics N.V. and other Dutch companies into putting up backroom office operations in the Philippines as an alternative to India and Thailand, the Trade department yesterday bared.

Trade Secretary Cesar A.V. Purisima is heading an investment promotion tour to Europe to encourage multinational firms to consider the country as an outsourcing destination particularly in information technology or IT and IT-enabled services.

The mission has already met with IT executives from DHL, NestlÇ SA, Valora Group, Swiss International Airlines Ltd., Holcim Ltd., Swiss Re and Credit Suisse in Switzerland.

Officials are also in talks with the Swiss-South East Asian Chamber of Commerce for a possible Swiss investment mission to the country next year.

Mr. Purisima will meet with Philips officials in Rotterdam, the Netherlands to discuss the proposed shared services facility for the company's semiconductor operations in Asia.

Philippine officials will particularly arrange for joint-venture agreements with local outsourcing firms.

Philips has invested over $465 million in the country in the past 15 years. In Asia, Philips has the second largest presence in the Philippines next to China, with 2003 export sales totaling $652.51 million.

The firm bared plans last August to invest $330 million over the next four years to make the Philippines a manufacturing hub for microwave ovens and high-tech product tags. Philips Group Philippines said the mother company has decided to move its microwave production to the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) area from Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Fellow Dutch firm Royal Dutch/Shell has already committed to invest $11.184 million for Shell Shared Services (Asia) B.V., which will handle accounting, human resources, and other business-related processes using IT-enabled facilities for Shell firms around the world.

Shared services typically involve a common finance, human resources, procurement, and IT facility for large companies as a way of improving efficiency and cost.

Mr. Purisima is likewise scheduled to talk with the ING Group to woo the financial giant and its clients to invest in IT operations in the Philippines, as well as officials of the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands' logistics hub, for a cooperation scheme.

Government officials are also eyeing a training program with the Center for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries and a Dutch IT investment mission to the Philippines.

Aside from Switzerland and the Netherlands, the 10-day "Philippines Swing Investment Promotion to Europe" will also go to the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway.

Members of the investment mission include private sector representatives from Philips, ING Philippines, Innove Communications/Globequest, Pilipinas Shell Group, SGS Gulf Ltd., The Environments Collaborative, ITS International, Inc., Diversified Technology Systems Inc., Headstrong Philippines, and Ouillow Enterprise Developers Co. -- Felipe F. Salvosa II

Francis20

November 11th, 2004, 06:22 PM

Dutch companies? hmmm...let's see.

kiretoce

November 11th, 2004, 07:33 PM

RP outsourcing industry seen growing faster than India

With the Philippine outsourcing industry's better service orientation, the call center sector will continue to outrun the growth of India in the coming years, according to an executive of contact center solutions provider Nice Systems. Doron Ben-Sira, president for Nice's Asia-Pacific operations, said in an interview that the Philippines is showing a far faster growth rate than India, which -- despite its size -- is showing relatively slower growth.

Ben-Sira also noted that many of Nice's existing customers in the Philippines have indicated that much of their large-scale expansion would be in the country despite already having presence in India.

"India still has the biggest outsourced call center industry in Asia, but the Philippines is showing surprising gains and we're expecting this to continue for years," Ben-Sira said.

He added that the accent neutrality and close affinity with US-based industries are among the key elements putting the Philippines in the forefront of the global call center industry.

Tomer Vernic, Nice System's North Asia sales director, said their Asia-Pacific operations are 50 percent composed of call centers and that the Philippines contributes largely to their revenues in the region.

"Among our plans is to develop the Philippines as one of our Tier-1 markets in the following months, especially with the tremendous growth of the call center business here," Vernic said.

Nice Systems, headquartered in Israel, provides multimedia-based interaction applications for retail enterprises and contact centers. It also provides security infrastructures to government and public safety agencies.

In the Philippines, Nice Systems's offerings are largely for the contact center industry, though they are planning to introduce new call center solutions, such as a remote coaching software for call center training, interactive business analytics applications and a security solution using voice-over-IP.

kiretoce

November 17th, 2004, 05:48 PM

Found this great article online. Just wanted you all to know the flip side of the issue. :)

Putting The Market Place Before American Families
By: Frank Gangano November 17, 2004

Values and marketplace are words that usually do not end up in the same sentence. Values connote moral choices and the marketplace conveys maximizing profit on balance sheets. While the achievements of American capitalism should be celebrated, we should pause before marketplace values supercede all others. The question that needs to be addressed here is this: Are Americans merely a collection of consumers, or are we a collective family looking out for one another?

These philosophical reflections take on a special meaning in today's America because we are witnessing the wholesale loss of American jobs to India, China, Philippines, Mexico, etc. This development is not necessarily because of foreign competition, but is the result of the deliberate actions of American companies, who are cutting costs (and increasing stock portfolios) by exporting jobs to low-wage countries. This practice is known as outsourcing.

According to CNN's Lou Dobbs, 2.5 million American jobs have been shipped abroad over the past two years, and 560,000 jobs were in the fields of high technology. Many high technology US jobs are going to India. Why? Because where an American software engineer can command $150,000 a year, an equally competent Indian will earn $20,000.

Every sector of the American workforce is affected by outsourcing. Unless something is done to stem the tide, textile workers, machinists, government service providers, office workers, computer scientists, electrical engineers, information technology professionals, radiologists, biotechnologists, accountants, architects, and financial analysts will have their jobs and careers exported across the ocean. American families are spending tens of thousands of dollars to educate their sons and daughters for jobs and professions that simply will not be there.

Those who support outsourcing the practice are justified because any good or service that can be more cheaply produced abroad results in lower prices at home. This catechism proclaims that our highest value is market efficiency, i.e., the price of a shirt or the cost of a software program. This idolatry reduces Americans to a collection of shoppers only interested in the bottom line.

America never accepted the libertarian notion of a laissez-faire marketplace, which is the law of the jungle. Throughout our history, Americans always insisted that their government enact laws to protect people from the excesses of capitalism, such as greed.

The opportunity for blue-collar families to earn wages in a manufacturing industry and the opportunity for our sons and daughters to aspire to careers in high technology professions should not be sacrificed to the gods of globalism. Moreover, the key to collective prosperity in America rests with production. From radios, cameras and televisions to VCR's and the high definition flat screen; from the adding machine and calculator to the computer; from the typewriter to the word processor and digital communication - research and development always follows production.

Through outsourcing, however, American businesses are also shipping the nation's productive wealth abroad. Our dependency on foreign suppliers has exceeded 55% for the following critical goods: medicines and pharmaceuticals, metalworking machines, engines and power equipment, computer equipment, communications equipment, semiconductors and electronics.

Since 1950, America's share of world manufacturing has fallen from 60% to less than 25% today. Once upon a time, Detroit was the auto capital of the world and America was number one in the productions of televisions. Now we don't make televisions any more, and last year our trade deficit in cars, trucks, televisions, videocassette recorders, automatic data processing equipment, and office machines was $218 billion.
In reflecting on achieving the common good, Thomas Jefferson warned us to guard against the special interests of the business class: "The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country and feels no passion or principle but that of gain."

American companies receive a vast array of tax breaks, tax abatements and incentives, write-offs, and other economic benefits from all levels of government. Our federal, state, county, and town elected officials should revoke any special treatment, or contract, that a company receives in their jurisdiction if that company, or one of its suppliers and subcontractors, is guilty of exporting jobs. American companies that refuse to put American families first do not deserve special tax treatment or any contract for services.

absent-minded

March 12th, 2005, 09:58 PM

Me...And Then Manila
ARINDAM MUKHERJEE | OUTLOOKindia.com

A new survey shows India still holds the edge cost- and services-wise, but the Philippines is a contender on the horizon

Is India's supremacy in the call centre space under threat from other Asian challengers? If one goes by a new survey of the Asian call centre industry, the Philippines is emerging as the next big force in the BPO industry with huge growth in the sector in the last few years and a potential and infrastructure to take it higher.

The study which concentrates on four Asian countries—India, China, the Philippines and South Korea—states that as the call centre market enters a healthy growth phase in 2005, activity will continue to be concentrated in Asia.
The survey, 2004 Call Centre Industry Benchmark Study: Dynamic Asian Markets, was commissioned by US-based call centre and BPO consultancy Kelly Services and conducted by Sydney-based aca Research.

Business in the region is expected to grow over 50 per cent in 2005. And this growth, the researchers believe, will be led by India and the Philippines. "The two major outsourcing destinations in the region, India and the Philippines, continue to offer the best option with the lowest cost/transaction at $0.30 and 0.32 respectively," finds the report.

While the survey points out that India will maintain its winning ways through 2005 and be the most preferred destination for outsourcers, a stiff challenge is on from the Philippines which matches India's advantages in almost every aspect in the call centre industry, sometimes even performing better in certain areas.

As expected, India's flag flies high through the findings. The survey puts India in the highest growth bracket in the Asian call centre scenario with an expected growth of 64 per cent in 2005. This will roughly translate into the addition of over 1,10,000 call centre seats during the year.
Last year, India added 76,000 seats.

India, says the survey, has 324 companies operating call centres with a total of 1,72,000 seats at present. This is the highest in the Asian region followed by South Korea with 955 call centres and 1,09,000 seats, the Philippines with 162 and 51,000, and China with 525 and 49,000.

India also scores in having the lowest transaction cost in this industry apart from having the lowest hourly seat cost in the world. The cost per transaction in India is $0.30 while its hourly cost per seat works out to a mere $3.61. Against this, for South Korea, which is technologically superior to India, both transaction cost and hourly seat cost work out more than four times the Indian figure: $1.26 and $15.14 respectively.

Should India be worried about the rise of the Philippines in the ITES arena? Well, with its proximity to the US and western culture, it is developing faster than other Asian countries in the call centre space. This year, says the survey, call centre business in the Philippines is expecsted to grow by 53 per cent, adding another 27,000 seats to its kitty. Although these numbers look small on India's canvas, the high productivity rate and low costs give the Philippines some competitive advantage.

The Philippines probably also has the highest agent productivity in the region. For instance, take the handling of all calls. According to the study, agents in the Philippines handle an average of 98 inbound and 107 outbound calls per day while the numbers for Indian agents are 73 and 78 calls respectively. China has the lowest rates of 61 inbound and 41 outbound calls.

Also of concern is the low salary levels the Philippines has been able to achieve in this sector, something that has always been an edge for India over all countries. Average full-time salary for agents in India is $2,074 per annum, while in the Philippines it's $2,563. Against this, agents in South Korea are paid $15,496.

India also faces an unfavourable staff turnover of 31 per cent with 67 per cent of the job-switchers moving to other competing call centres.

Growth Projection '05

Country : No. of seats 2004 | No. of seats 2005*
India : 172,000 | 283,000
Philippines : 51,000 | 78,000
China : 49,000 | 76,000
South Korea : 109,000 | 126,000
*expected

Cheap And Good

Country : Hourly cost/seat (US$) | Hourly cost/transaction(US$)
India : 3.61 | 0.30
Philippines : 3.82 | 0.32
China : 5.38 | 0.45
South Korea : 15.14 | 1.26
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the future of the BPO industry in the Philippines is looking great...

Lightspeed

March 13th, 2005, 03:05 AM

Wow! That's more good news for the Philippines!

Watch out world, the Philippines is on a roll!

tyronne

March 13th, 2005, 03:10 AM

i hope some time soon this will overshadow any negative impressions that other people in the world have of our country. it's another area where the philippines can be really famous for.

jbkayaker12

March 13th, 2005, 04:12 AM

KulasKusgan

March 13th, 2005, 10:49 AM

wow. it seems the bright light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer.

Francis20

March 13th, 2005, 03:44 PM

That's a real good news...but hey, im quite bothered by the figure on the annual salary to Flip agent. USD 2563/annum is quite low. That's only about 12000/month. If that's the basic pay, then, it's all right. But if that's the total renumeration (T-rem) , then that's too low. As for our case, T-rem is around USD 4600+++/annum. Mababa pa yun. So the increase in demand should alarm these BPO's to increase their compensation package to keep their agents from moving to a competitor.
As for India, cost is the biggest advantage. But for quality-oriented companies, Philippines should be their top choice. I believe those who don't know what our country could do, just blindly go along with the mainstream and send their back office processing and customer service works to India. But hey, i got nothing about India. I love peoples. And our Indian counterparts are nice. Biro nga ng boss ko, bka pagdating nila dun, baka pagbabatuhin sila ng kamatis, or ipatuklaw sa ahas...hahahah...as of Friday, buhay pa naman sila...Pero walang biro, ahead tayo when it comes to QUALITY, PRODUCTIVITY...INFRASTRACTURE...at marami pang iba. Cost lang talaga ang advantage nila. Kawawa naman mga Indians just in case they lose some jobs in favor of RP.

In our case ulit...medyo mas lamang sila sa SPEED. Kasi naman ang company namin, they decided to bring the back office processing work from Mumbai to Manila. Eh India is a high volume exporter sa mga clients namin. They export almost everything...name it, they export it. Ang galing nga eh. Pati mga medicines, chemicals, spare parts, mga machineries, I wonder how they do that. I'm amazed! So I personally do not think that the move is practical. Lalo na sa company na gaya ng amin na nagpapa impress sa top management. Hiring people at low salary at ang work ay sangkatutak. Ayun tuloy, na alarm sila ng halos sabay sabay nag resign 3 teammates ko. Sana wag naman akong mapasunod ng maaga. Hehe...

stephencua

March 14th, 2005, 05:18 AM

i hope that in a couple of years i could setup a company and be able to cash in on all the outsourcing craze hitting the country.. :)

Louman

March 14th, 2005, 06:47 AM

i hope that in a couple of years i could setup a company and be able to cash in on all the outsourcing craze hitting the country.. :)

Ehh.. what if by then the Peso (somehow) has risen above the dollar to the point that companies can no longer outsouce to the Philippines? You never know.. heheh

stephencua

March 14th, 2005, 06:56 AM

thats not a problem for me.. it just means that the country would be alot better than it is now.. :)

pau_p1

March 14th, 2005, 07:36 AM

Pero walang biro, ahead tayo when it comes to QUALITY, PRODUCTIVITY...INFRASTRACTURE...at marami pang iba. Cost lang talaga ang advantage nila. Kawawa naman mga Indians just in case they lose some jobs in favor of RP.

yeah... plus mas madali tayong kausap compared sa kanila.... we are more productive... dito sa amin ang partner namin ay India para sa trabaho namin... at masgusto ng Amerikano naming client ang pinoy kesa sa mga Indian... kasi sa kanila, matagal matapos ang work at puro rework pa

mhe-ann

March 14th, 2005, 07:52 AM

:lol: puro rework ba? last year pa ako asar at allergic sa term na "rework". Un Production dept kc dito sa amin, ala ng defect-free products na inilabas. :bash:
btw, impression ko sa mga Indian..sobra demanding. madalas hindi marunong tumanggap ng explanation. sabagay, ilan lan naman ang customers naming Indian. hindi naman siguro majority ganun. :D

pau_p1

March 14th, 2005, 08:18 AM

hehehe... culture nila un... na demanding at paulit ulit mong eexplainan para maintindihan... ganyan din prob namin sa mga counterpart namin... mahirap kausap! though may mga exceptions naman sa kanila... in fairness...

simply_me

March 14th, 2005, 08:20 AM

talking about Pinoys working capabilities..yep, we are very much competent and really do excel on task given. A lot of Pinoy workers abroad are often extended due to their working attitudes.. and sad to say for the Indians (nothing offensive against them) are often repatriated. this scenario is real based on our foreign principals' demand.. :)

mhe-ann

March 14th, 2005, 09:38 AM

@pau, un na nga..ang hirap kausap! :D peace po. pero two weeks ago may nag-audit sa aming isang Indian from Hitachi San Diego (sila kc end-user nun 1 product namin)...ok naman kausap. madali umintindi. sana palagi ganun. :D hehe.
pero mas gusto ko kausap ang Indian na makulit kesa Japanese na NAPAKAHINANG umintindi!!! as in. pag Japanese ka-meeting namin, umaabot kami ng ilang oras para lang mag-explain kung bakit ganito/ganyan...kahit hindi na namin problema un. minsan nag-start kami before 1pm..natapos kami ng 7:20! :cry: grabe! ok lan sana kung madami na-discussed at tipong matatagalan na sila bago humingi ng meeting ulit, e kaso hindi. paulit-ulit kc hindi cla maka-intindi. ok lang sa akin na strict talaga cla (Japanese) sa kahit anong bagay..pero un magtanong ng magtanong na wala namang relevance, lalo na sa technical...nakakaubos ng pasensya. grrrr! :goodnight: but then again, hindi ko sinasabing lahat ng Japanese e ganun. :)

bustero

March 14th, 2005, 09:52 AM

hehe welcome to the world of outsourcing!

pau_p1

March 14th, 2005, 11:05 AM

hahaha... yeah I know what you meant... I had a Japanese client nung nasa Vietnam ako... ang hirap makipag-usap kasi mahinang mag-English... malabo pa intindihin ang English din nya... anyways... ang technique is.. bigyan mo sya ng paper at ballpen para isulat nya o idrawing yung gusto nya sabihin.... mas-maeexpress nya kasi ang gusto nya... :D

mhe-ann

March 14th, 2005, 01:55 PM

ganun na nga nangyayari. :(

bustero

March 17th, 2005, 08:04 AM

banking and finance stories

MANILA, PHILIPPINES | Thursday, March 17, 2005
Deutsche Bank to pump up investments, build regional hub in Manila

German financial giant Deutsche Bank AG will substantially increase its investment in the country, a top official of the bank said Tuesday night.

Kenneth Borda, chief executive officer of Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, said the Philippines is an important and growing part of Deutsche Bank's Asia-Pacific focus not only because of good relationships and businesses here but also on the belief the bank can make a valuable contribution to the evolution of capital markets and the broader financial system.

"In many ways, our business in the Philippines is a perfect reflection of what Deutsche Bank wants to be around the region. We have a strong bond with local corporates and private clients; we're an active supporter of markets; and we have leveraged our global model effectively. Deutsche Bank Manila is also a strong example of the type of organization we wish to be in Asia Pacific -- from a broader community perspective," Mr. Borda said in his speech during the 10th anniversary celebration of the bank.

Positioning Manila as a hub for financial services is part of its commitment in the Philippine and Asian market, Deutsche Bank will open an Asia-Pacific shared services center in Manila "in the course of the next few months."

"The location will principally act as a regional hub for finance and will result in a significant number of new jobs for the local economy," Mr. Borda said.

Shared backroom financial services typically involve a common finance, human resources, procurement, and IT facility for large companies as a way of improving efficiency and cost.

One of the world's leading international financial service providers, Deutsche Bank serves customers in 74 countries worldwide with more than half of the bank's staff work outside Germany.

It ranks among top names in corporate banking and securities, transaction banking, asset management, and private wealth management. It has over 30 offices in 15 countries in Asia-Pacific.

Deutsche Bank obtained a full commercial banking license in the Philippines in 1995 after operating as an offshore banking unit in Manila since 1977.

Juergen Fitschen, group executive committee member for regions, said the Asian region will "continue to outgrow other parts of the world."

"It is very clear to us that there are two countries in the limelight all the time: China and India. But we will not ignore there are other countries in the Asian region that also deserve our attention," Mr. Fitschen said.

Taking a leading role in developing local bond markets, Deutsche Bank was named as one of the top two leading GSED by the Bureau of Treasury. Providing financial services in 74 countries throughout the world, Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people

Lightspeed

March 17th, 2005, 06:52 PM

Offshore outsourcing hits the mainstream
India and the Philippines to benefit from boom
Source: Robert Jaques, vnunet.com
17 Mar 2005

Offshore outsourcing is enjoying a period of "super growth" which is propelling it into the mainstream.

A study published today by Datamonitor indicates that major outsourcing providers are seeing their order books filling up once again, with India and the Philippines cashing in on the jump in offshore projects.

The report predicts that over 250,000 new call centre agent positions will be created in India and the Philippines by 2009.

The US represented the vast majority of overseas demand, followed by the UK. While India continues to dominate the global offshore call centre outsourcing landscape, the Philippines threatens to poach some activity as its own market grows in strength.

According to Datamonitor, both India and the Philippines will see substantial growth in call centres now that US presidential elections are out of the way allowing US and UK businesses to ramp up their offshore operations.

The analyst firm added that the increasing diversity of industries will dilute the market share of early movers like financial services and communications.

Datamonitor predicts that more firms are set to follow the likes of British Airways, Citibank, General Electric and HSBC, all of which have spun off a part or all of their operations to India.

"Outsourcing providers are competing to run entire customer processes for their clients, rather than merely the voice-based call centre part," said Ryan Powell, call centre analyst at Datamonitor and author of the study.

"The fact that they are able to win this kind of work is testament to the efforts that have been placed on assuring quality control and improving call resolution rates in order to improve customer satisfaction over the past year or so."

Francis20

March 17th, 2005, 07:33 PM

i have these articles printed out, para di masakit sa mata basahin. :D thanks for sharing @ lightspeed and bustero.

kiretoce

April 21st, 2005, 07:55 PM

The Philippines becomes strong alternative to India for American businesses

NEW YORK, April 20 PRNewswire -- The Philippines has become a new global hub for outsourcing, and to meet the increasing demand of the American business community, top Philippine government and business leaders are holding a high-level conference with American business representatives today who are seeking information on moving more of their business functions to the Philippines.

The meeting was attended by more than 50 American business executives representing finance, banking, communication and services industries who are increasingly interested in the Philippine market. The business meeting was aimed at providing practical, up-to-date information on the business and economic environment in the Philippines and the major strides the country has made in the last five years in becoming one of the prime outsourcing destinations in the world. Five years ago the outsourcing business hardly existed, but today it provides 80,000 direct employment and more than a 100,000 ancillary jobs, and supports 250 multinational companies.

"Outsourcing in the Philippines has never made more business sense than today," said Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., Albert del Rosario. "Americans love the Philippines and feel comfortable there -- more than 200,000 Americans work and live in the Philippines today -- and the government is fully committed to making it easier for American companies to conduct business there."

The meeting was organized by the Philippines and was sponsored by the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (PACC) and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company.

"The Philippines has emerged as the offshore services destination for U.S. businesses seeking to take advantage of the savings provided by outsourcing, especially in the information technology sector," said Alfred V. Madrid, President of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. "From an IT standpoint, the key differentiator is the robust and high-quality domestic communications infrastructure."

The Philippine Advantage:
-- Affordable quality human resources: a skilled English-speaking labor force of 29 million and literacy rate of 94%
-- Affinity to western culture: world-class English proficiency, similar form of government and media builds on a strong familiarity with Western culture open to others
-- Strategic Location: located in the fastest growing region of IT technology, the gateway of international shipping and airlines and the critical entry point to the ASEAN market
-- Expanding communications infrastructure: high quality, low-cost band-width
-- Strong government support: Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) formed by President Arroyo, investment incentives available

Businesses that move IT operations can depend on the Philippine's expanding domestic network of low-cost, well-developed communications infrastructure links the three major islands. In the last four years, bandwidth cost has declined by 70%. To encourage growth, the Philippine government has encouraged the development of dedicated IT parks through investment incentives.

Offshore services also gain from the strategic location of the Philippines in relation to the gateway of IT and trade in Asia. As the entry point for the 500 million market in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is accessible, central and integrated into the regional and global economy. The region provides unlimited business opportunities as the further economic integration through the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) will expand trade opportunities.

The range of business functions suitable for outsourcing depends on the long-term strategic goals of any organization. Particular sectors benefit from moving operations to the Philippines, including customer call centers, content development, data integration and analysis, distance education and engineering and design services.

For more information about the benefits of moving your business processes to the Philippines, contact the Philippine Trade and Investment Center at (212) 575-7925 or visit the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry's website at http://www.dti.gov.ph.

SOURCE The Government of the Republic of the Philippines Web Site: http://www.dti.gov.ph

rustyboi

April 22nd, 2005, 08:52 AM

Office space demand seen to outpace supply this year

The world’s largest real estate advisory services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) expects office space demand in the Philippines to outpace supply this year, mainly due to new and expanding call centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms.

The demand-supply gap is projected to be felt starting the third quarter of this year and is expected to be addressed towards the end of 2006, CBRE Philippines officials said yesterday. This has already resulted in increased office space rental rates as well as real estate prices.

As of the first quarter of 2005, there were around 40,000 call center seats, a number that is seen to grow by 50 to 70 percent towards the end of the year.

CBRE said the office property outlook is bullish, with a projected increase in the number of build-to-suit options (such as malls being converted into office spaces) and an additional 80,000 square meters of office space being planned for development in 2006-2007.

"A lot of developers are banking on the BPO market," CBRE Phils. director for global services Joey Rodovan said.

Last year, majority of the world’s top call centers have set up their operations in the Philippines to handle the Fortune 500 clients. In 2004, the local call center industry generated revenues of around $800 million, of which about 87 percent came from US clients.

CBRE Phils. associate director Trent Frankum noted that BPOs are the next growth center, as he referred to a Meta Group study which cited the Philippines as Asia’s bright spot for outsourcing. According to the same study, the Philippines’ strengths are in finance, accounting, human resource and administration.

According to CBRE, as the proliferation of BPO companies, call centers, and multinational corporations‚ back office functions surges forward, complementary forces are ensuring that the demands of these organizations are met.

CBRE Phils. president and managing director Ric Santos said demands such as qualified labor, first-class infrastructure, multiple sites, security perceptions, and fiscal incentives are proactively being addressed by English proficiency and call center courses, new investments in the power and telecommunications sectors, increase in both creative and traditional office developments, site visits by members of government including the President herself, and tax breaks and other enhancements.

He said industry experts’ forecast of 100- percent annual growth in call center seats over the next two to three years is far from speculation as this is supported by these fundamental signs.

Santos pointed out that such strong growth translates into job creation, increased occupancy in hotels, multilateral investment and cooperation, retention of skilled labor, improved foreign perception of the country, diffusion of investment, and welfare to all parts of the country, as well as other benefits.

CBRE emphasized that the Philippines is strategically positioned to enjoy a prosperous new few years as the thrust of BPOs, call centers, and MNCs continues its march from the city high rises to the provincial spreads.

It is expected that there will be slower growth of call centers in Metro Manila as the industry moves towards the provinces such as in Clark, in Baguio, Cebu and the rest in Visayas and Mindanao. "Similar to India, call centers and BPOs are moving from the central business districts in Manila outwards," Santos said.

amigo32

April 25th, 2005, 01:42 PM

Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph/INFO2005042533349.html)

Outsourcing to overtake telecoms as top moneymaker in five years

By edu h. lopez

The outsourcing business is poised to dislodge telecommunications as the Philippines’ top moneymaker over the next five years with the economic impact of call centers and data encoding expected to grow by nearly twice that of mobile phones and prepaid call and text cards.

This was based on a study by BNP Paribas Peregrine Securities Inc. which says that call centers such as Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc. (ACS), the wholly-owned call center of publicly-listed Fil Hispano Holdings Corp. (FHC), that are quick in providing quality service will have the edge in the fast-rising industry.
In its study, BNP Paribas said the outsourcing business is projected to contribute 6.5 percent of the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010 or at par with the impact of the telecommunications and transport sectors combined.
"Outsourcing in general is expected to turn into a $200-billion global industry by 2010. For the Philippines, this would translate into a 20-fold increase in revenues from around $500 million in 2004 to $10 billion, assuming the country is able to capture its target market share of 5 percent,’’ BNP Paribas said.
Competition in the global outsourcing business is understandably tightening up with India still the dominant player and China with its cheap labor advantage surfacing as a major player.
But BNP Paribas said that the Philippines would "hold its own against the competition" in view of its large pool of English-speaking college graduates preferred by American companies.
The Philippines is becoming the choice site of Americans for voice-enabled services with India cornering the non-voice demand.
‘The Philippines has already emerged as an alternative site to India, particularly in the call center segment mainly because American clients are forcing service providers to set up back-up operations elsewhere as a safety measure," said BNP Paribas.
This should explain why some Indian outsourcing firms like WiPro Spectramind and ICICI OneSource were on the hunt for opportunities in the Philippines.
With demand for call center services on the rise, BNP Paribas said the main challenge of the industry is not bringing in revenues because there are plenty to go around but providing customer service agents ahead of the competition.
"Poaching is intense particularly among mid-level officers with some degree of experience in the business," BNP Paribas said.
BNP Paribas cited ACS as one of the best among independent providers or is it entire industry in making the "quick ramp up which is crucial in securing new contracts.’’
ACS has grown more than ten times its capacity of 252 seats in 2002 to 2,700 this year making it the fourth-biggest call center in the country.
It has around 750 candidates waiting on the sidelines which allow it to deploy as many seats in just 45 days, including training and fitting of new office space.
BNP Paribas said ACS’s strategy of building long-term relationships with its agents by giving them a clear career path and make their work environment as comfortable as possible.
ACS has an average attrition rate of below 37 percent of substantially below the industry rate of 55 percent.
It has also been innovative in scouring the pool of college graduates by forging alliance by going outside the normal route.
ACS has tied up with premier schools such as the Ateneo Graduate School to help train potential agents; put up the country’s first call center institute; and tied up with the North Luzon Growth Commission in herding state-owned universities in Northern Luzon to send their students to the firm’s exclusive job fairs.
The company has shunned the "shotgun approach" favored by the industry in recruiting agents.
"We target only those who are proficient in English so that further training will involve mostly skills specific to a particular service. As a result, it accepts as much as 90 to 95 percent of all those who pass the preliminary screening,’’ BNP Paribas said.

Francis20

April 26th, 2005, 12:55 PM

i must agree with that. considering the fact that only 5% of US companies are outsourced at present. other than call centers, big companies are also having the country as the lcoation of their backoffices - servicing internal and external clients worldwide...so in the future, we might see RCBC Plaza and PB Com to be lighted up all night long!

kiretoce

April 27th, 2005, 10:56 PM

Outsourcing to the Philippines: Rewards outweigh risks
By Cristina Pastor, Apr 27, 2005

NEW YORK – Government officials made a strong pitch for outsourcing in the Philippines, amid doubts raised about Internet security, the country’s level of technology, and its capability to protect copyright and patent laws.

“Providing affordable Internet access to the rest of the country is the biggest challenge,” Virgilio Pena, chairman of the Commission for Information and Communications Technology (CICT), told a forum on outsourcing hosted by the Philippine Consulate in New York.

He said the Philippines, second to India in the call center industry, enjoys only five percent Internet penetration. Rural areas, which have an unstable supply of electricity and telephone service, have a much smaller Internet capability, he added.

However, the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, together with the private sector, is building Internet awareness, Pena said. A long term objective is to have all 35,000 barangays accessible to the Internet by the year 2015, and all 5,000 public high schools with complete ICT laboratories.

Starting with one calling center in Clark for Internet giant AOL in 1999, the Philippines currently has 70 contact centers manned by 50,000 customer service people. The centers provide telephone support for top U.S. corporations, such as Intel, MCI, Dell, and Microsoft.

The $800 million industry is expected to add 4,000 jobs this year, Armin Raquel Santos, governor of the Board of Investments, told Philippine News. He did not identify the investor but said a contract is in the works. Pena said the government “needs to overcome the image” created by the media about the Philippines in terms of Internet security.

He was referring to the ‘I-love-you virus’ that paralyzed computer systems around the world, including the British House of Commons. The bug was traced to a Filipino computer student after a probe conducted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Asked about personal security, Santos said police task forces were formed to keep an eye on areas where there is heavy concentration of call centers. This would include areas, such as Metro Manila with 60 calling centers, Cebu with four, Clark with two, and Laguna, one.

“We have formed police task forces to watch areas, especially hotels,” he said. “We have also expanded security around buildings.” Increased security is visible during odd hours of the night when call center employees change shifts.

William Tanembaum of the New York law firm Kaye Scholer LLP said “patent and trademark wars” could arise as “complications” in outsourcing, and indicated Manila has a “weak form of protection” of copyright laws.

With businesses outsourced offshore, he said there will be different interpretations of what constitutes copyright infringements as data is transferred from one country to another.

“Contracts are very important,” said Tanembaum, an expert on intellectual property, technology and outsourcing. “As outsourcing is a multi-border agreement, you will see different laws interpreted in different jurisdictions.”
Dan Shimabuku, managing director of the consulting service Hanson Advisors, said he sees more companies moving their operations to the Philippines, in spite of the “risks.”

The former Asian Development Bank executive cited “ethical practices in business” as one of them. Another is the Philippines falling behind other Asian countries in technology.

Overall, the Philippines remains an attractive outsourcing destination that delivers on cost and workforce competence, he said. “Business that could be done in India transfer to the Philippines where it could be done better,” he said.

sandrin

April 28th, 2005, 08:09 PM

i hope that in a couple of years i could setup a company and be able to cash in on all the outsourcing craze hitting the country.. :)

Go for it and expand.....

Skyblade

April 28th, 2005, 09:23 PM

Just a question, um what firms outsource to the RP?

tyronne

April 28th, 2005, 09:26 PM

the two i can think of, AOL and Dell. at least yun ang nababasa ko hehe :)

Skyblade

April 28th, 2005, 09:57 PM

the two i can think of, AOL and Dell. at least yun ang nababasa ko hehe :)
Yeah I've heard of AOL w/ it's call center...and I guess it explained why I heard a familiar accent when recovering the password for my account a while back... :hahaha:

Francis20

April 29th, 2005, 09:55 AM

they're in Clark. heheheh...that's not outsourcing in the case of AOL. that's what i think. they serve internal clients. just like Shell and Caltex. that's more of the back office unit. companies that outsourced are Dell, IBM, etc...plus a lot of other multinational corporations.
back offices i know aside from what i mentioned above are...HSBC, my company, their company, Intercon, Zuellig, Citibank, P&G etc.

Mango

April 29th, 2005, 10:58 AM

Outsourcing to overtake telecoms as top moneymaker in five years

By edu h. lopez

The outsourcing business is poised to dislodge telecommunications as the Philippines’ top moneymaker over the next five years with the economic impact of call centers and data encoding expected to grow by nearly twice that of mobile phones and prepaid call and text cards.

This was based on a study by BNP Paribas Peregrine Securities Inc. which says that call centers such as Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc. (ACS), the wholly-owned call center of publicly-listed Fil Hispano Holdings Corp. (FHC), that are quick in providing quality service will have the edge in the fast-rising industry.

In its study, BNP Paribas said the outsourcing business is projected to contribute 6.5 percent of the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010 or at par with the impact of the telecommunications and transport sectors combined.

"Outsourcing in general is expected to turn into a $200-billion global industry by 2010. For the Philippines, this would translate into a 20-fold increase in revenues from around $500 million in 2004 to $10 billion, assuming the country is able to capture its target market share of 5 percent,’’ BNP Paribas said.

Competition in the global outsourcing business is understandably tightening up with India still the dominant player and China with its cheap labor advantage surfacing as a major player.

But BNP Paribas said that the Philippines would "hold its own against the competition" in view of its large pool of English-speaking college graduates preferred by American companies.

The Philippines is becoming the choice site of Americans for voice-enabled services with India cornering the non-voice demand.

‘The Philippines has already emerged as an alternative site to India, particularly in the call center segment mainly because American clients are forcing service providers to set up back-up operations elsewhere as a safety measure," said BNP Paribas.

This should explain why some Indian outsourcing firms like WiPro Spectramind and ICICI OneSource were on the hunt for opportunities in the Philippines.

With demand for call center services on the rise, BNP Paribas said the main challenge of the industry is not bringing in revenues because there are plenty to go around but providing customer service agents ahead of the competition.

"Poaching is intense particularly among mid-level officers with some degree of experience in the business," BNP Paribas said.

BNP Paribas cited ACS as one of the best among independent providers or is it entire industry in making the "quick ramp up which is crucial in securing new contracts.’’

ACS has grown more than ten times its capacity of 252 seats in 2002 to 2,700 this year making it the fourth-biggest call center in the country.

It has around 750 candidates waiting on the sidelines which allow it to deploy as many seats in just 45 days, including training and fitting of new office space.

BNP Paribas said ACS’s strategy of building long-term relationships with its agents by giving them a clear career path and make their work environment as comfortable as possible.

ACS has an average attrition rate of below 37 percent of substantially below the industry rate of 55 percent.

It has also been innovative in scouring the pool of college graduates by forging alliance by going outside the normal route.

ACS has tied up with premier schools such as the Ateneo Graduate School to help train potential agents; put up the country’s first call center institute; and tied up with the North Luzon Growth Commission in herding state-owned universities in Northern Luzon to send their students to the firm’s exclusive job fairs.

The company has shunned the "shotgun approach" favored by the industry in recruiting agents.

"We target only those who are proficient in English so that further training will involve mostly skills specific to a particular service. As a result, it accepts as much as 90 to 95 percent of all those who pass the preliminary screening,’’ BNP Paribas said.

bustero

May 5th, 2005, 05:27 AM

Accenture beefing up RP operations
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

Management consulting, technology and outsourcing giant Accenture is beefing up its operation in the Philippines by planning to open two more business process outsourcing (BPO) sites -- one in Cubao and the second in Mandaluyong City -- employing over 2,800 workers by yearend.

The first new site, an eight-floor office building beside the newly-opened Gateway mall inside the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City can hold over 800 people upon opening in June, Accenture Manila BPO Delivery Centre lead Nonato P. Arboleda told BusinessWorld in an interview.

Mr. Arboleda described the Cubao office as the first large-scale office space inside the Araneta Center, a place known for shopping and entertainment. "Araneta Center has the strong potential to be another major business district. And we got very good lease rates," Mr. Arboleda said.

Mr. Arboleda said that a month after completion of the Cubao facility, Accenture is going to work on its next expansion project. The company has already reserved several floors in an office building that is being built in Pioneer Place in Mandaluyong. He said that the new site in Pioneer place, which is expected to start operating also within this year, will hold over 2,000 workers.

In the near term, Accenture will look at leasing another space near the Pioneer site and consider expanding to other metro areas, particulary university cities in the south, said Mr. Arboleda.

Mr. Arboleda said the decision to expand outside the Makati area is cost-efficient for the company. "Makati real estate prices are going up. We are going to locations where the costs are still low. And putting your eggs in one box is a risky management approach," he said.

Lease rates in prime office space in Makati area range anywhere between P400 to P450 per square meter, but Mr. Arboleda said they are getting lower than the average rates for most of their facilities.

The Philippine office of Accenture is part of Accenture's global network for solution services which focuses on information technology (IT) outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO). IT outsourcing includes delivery and application management work covering application software from SAP, Siebel, Oracle and PeopleSoft, as well as mainframe and legacy skills.

Without disclosing figures, Mr. Arboleda noted that Accenture's BPO segment has been growing considerably. Since 1992, when the Philippine arm started doing BPO work, the local office has been hiring over a thousand people year-on-year.

"IT as a part of organization is a limited pie, while if you talk about BPO, the range is wide because it could include critical and non-critical functions," said Mr. Arboleda, noting for instance that the health care segment contributes the highest revenue growth for the company.

The local arm does transaction processing, claims adjustment, monitoring of receivables, as well as accounting and contract drafting for global Accenture clients.

To date, Accenture has over 5,000 employees in the country. About 400 of them work in the Union Bank Plaza in Ortigas Center, while the rest are scattered across seven buildings in Makati City, namely: in the Makati Stock Exchange Building, GT Tower, 6750, Philippine Stock Exchange Tower 1, Philamlife Tower, Orient Square, and Libran House.

LOOMING MANPOWER SHORTFALL

Still, the country's multi-billion peso call center industry has asked the government adequate training to equip Filipinos with more skills needed for this industry, which is finding more and more competition beyond India, including from the former Eastern Europe.

"There is no agency that gives proper training for the call center and (business process outsourcing) industry," Philippine Exporters Confederation president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said in an interview yesterday.

He said this has resulted in a shortfall of qualified, competent workforce in the industry, with only five percent of applicants ending up being hired by BPO and call center firms.

He said the industry has proposed the creation of an agency that will provide skills training for workers to be more at ease with other languages. "It can be a private venture that can train people. What we are proposing is a government agency. The government should intervene," he said.

Aside from the lack of manpower, the Philippines is also behind in terms of software development necessary for BPOs and call center operations.

A study by global information technology consultancy firm Xicom Technologies said that compared to India, the Philippines does not have a record of high-quality software design.

"The Philippines also faces the important issues of scaling up. Issues like scaling up have stunted the growth of BPO activities being outsourced to Philippines. The largest call center in Philippines of (America Online) has only 800 people. The size of the Philippines BPO industry is only $100 million, whereas India's BPO industry is presently at $1.5 billion," the study noted.

Despite the disadvantage of the Philippines compared to other investment sites, an international BPO firm, Sutherland Global Services expressed interest in setting up a facility in the country as part of its global expansion. Sutherland helps companies design, build and manage their customer management operations for clients in the Information Technology, Communication, e-Retail and Insurance industries.

LINK2SUPPORT BOOSTS SKILLS POOL

But a report from Cagayan de Oro in Northern Mindanao said that at least one call center company, Link2Support, aims to sustain its human resources requirement as soon as its starts operations in that city by offering training modules relevant to its operations to schools in Northern Mindanao.

During the Business-Academe Forum on the Call Services Industry held last week there, Link2Support senior manager Junar Amador said the company is willing to share part of its training module to local academic institutions, specifically on technical skills such as computer networking.

Mr. Amador said that Link2Support requires its call center operators or the company's "product support representatives" to be "good in English language and good in technical skills." He said "good in English language" simply means that a person can converse and can express himself in the English language. "Good in technical skills," he said, means a person knows computer networking.

As to the English language training module, Mr. Amador said academic institutions can avail of the training module agreed upon by members of the Call Center Association in the Philippines, which was officially turned over to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, a government agency that maintains training programs and facilities in the regions..

The senior manager of Link2Support also said they are offering hands-on job training to graduating students on information technology courses in its Cagayan de Oro Call Center office. Mr. Amador said that the company is expected to officially open next month its call center business which needs as many as 1,200 employees.

Link2Support is an inbound type of call center. There are two types of call center in the country today, namely:

* inbound call centers that process incoming customer service-type calls; and
* outbound call centers that sell products or services, or conduct surveys on behalf of call center clients.

Link2Support is a 100% technical support center, providing product support to end-users of Linksys, a Division of Cisco Systems. Mr. Amador said that at its present location in Libis, Quezon City, the company's workforce of 1,200 provides product support through emails and live chat, servicing North America, Asia and the United Kingdom. He said Link2Support is sharing the work load of Linksys with two other call center companies in India. He added that Linksys is routing at least 50% of its 30,000 calls to the Philippines. -- with Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales in Manila, and Ellen P. Red in Cagayan de Oro City

amigo32

May 8th, 2005, 02:24 AM

Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2005050834227.html)
Japanese survey rates Filipino IT workers highly
By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

A Japanese customer satisfaction survey has rated Filipino information technology (IT) workers "Above Average" recent customer satisfaction.

Trade Secretary Juan B. Santos said the result of the survey, which used as benchmark the Japanese IT quality standards, is a major boost to the country’s IT sector especially for local companies looking for partnerships with Japanese firms in areas like web-enabled applications, engineering design services, telecom and enterprise solutions.

The survey, which covered April 2004-March 2005 period, showed that Filipino professionals in IT and IT-enabled services scored an average high of 83.7 percent satisfaction rating in four parameters namely professionalism, knowledge and skills, responsiveness and promptness and overall performance.

The survey was part of the report of Fujitsu Philippines Inc., (FPI) business whose subsidiary WeServ Systems International Inc. (WeServ), one of the largest software development firms based in the Philippines.

WeServ is part of the Philippine delegation to the recent Japan’s Software Development Expo & Conference (SODEC) held in Tokyo.

It is a Fujitsu company providing outsourced IT services of Fujitsu’s international operations covering the Asia Pacific region, North America, Europe and other parts of the world.

"For many years now, Japan looks at the Philippines for software development and related outsourcing requirements despite stiff challenge from other countries. Several Japanese business enterprises consider us their trusted partner for their critical IT needs," said Jun Lasco Jr., Director of Fujitsu Japan Business Division of WeServ.

Japan is the third largest IT services market in the world after North America and Western Europe. Japanese IT services spending is projected to hit the US $120 billion mark in 2008, with a steady 7.3 percent growth, analysts said. This figure surpasses the world’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7 percent and the US’s CAGR of 5.8 percent.

The Philippine participation in SODEC is being organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Board of Investments (BOI).

In 2004, 146 IT companies and a record number of 12, 807 visitors joined SODEC.

Japanese companies have historically looked inwards for their IT systems primarily due to fears of sacrificing quality, confidentiality and timeliness of programs for their businesses.

However, after Japan’s recent economic problems and global trend towards outsourcing IT services, many Japanese firms have grown more receptive to outsourcing as a way to boost their operating efficiency, improve their financial performance and upgrade IT systems.

The shortfall of skilled engineers and the rising cost of IT services in Japan have prodded more companies in engaging overseas professionals to serve their business processing and IT requirements.

"Our adaptability to international cultures as well as our combined Nihongo and English language skills give us the edge when it comes to winning IT outsourcing opportunities in Japan," Lasco noted.

The Philippines has the third largest Englishspeaking people in the world outside the United Kingdom and the United States, thus giving it a major competitive advantage in clinching partnerships with Japanese firms, specifically those who are aggressively expanding into the predominantly English-speaking international markets.

Every year, the country graduates 34, 982 students in IT and IT-related courses. To date, there are about 300 software development companies in the country performing system design/analysis, application/middleware/firmware development, testing and quality assurance to software maintenance and software project management.

Companies like WeServe have partnered with the country’s leading universities like the University of the Philippines in selecting scholars for higher IT courses equivalent to a master’s degree, thus ensuring a steady pool of highly qualified and Nihongo-skilled software developers for the Japanese market.

"Japanese firms look for overseas partners in software development that will give them the benefit of high productivity-cost ratios, access to large and ready pool of highly skilled engineers, international quality assurance and control processes and on-time delivery of high performance work products," Lasco said.

ryanr

May 8th, 2005, 11:26 AM

Awesome...and our very one Pau_p1 is prolly included in "high quality pinoy IT workers" :lol: ;)

kiretoce

May 10th, 2005, 06:48 PM

Japan software dev’t house sets up shop in Makati
By Edu H. Lopez

Nihon Software Outsourcing Vision, Inc. (NSOV) is expecting to generate at least 100 million yen in revenue over the next few years with the start of its operation in Manila.

During the formal launch of the company, NSOV president Giichi Tanaka said the company is working on several computer-aided design (CAD) projects and hopes to attract more business from Japan.

Tanaka said NSOV has sent two Filipino software engineers to undergo training in Japan and expects to hire 20 new IT graduates.

NSOV is a subsidiary of Miroku Jyoho Service (MSI) Co. Ltd., a software development company involved in the development and maintenance of computer software, operation management of computer systems, planning, creation and sale of packaged software.

Yoshinori Nishida, NSOV general manager and CAD department manager said most of the IT companies in Japan have realized the importance of offshore outsourcing to cut down their costs.

In order to maintain its competitiveness in the Japanese market, Tanaka, who is also president of MSI, decided to set up its own offshore company which leads to the expansion of its business in the Philippines.

NSOV specializes in software development and CAD drafting services with an initial capital of R3.5 million and 25 employees.

The company’s technological edge includes Cold Fusion, ASP, Microsoft .NET, Java, Delphi, VB, Microsoft SQL, My SQL, Oracle, AutoCAD and other technologies.

One of the major reasons why NSOV has chosen the Philippines as its offshore venture site is the English facility of Filipinos.

The Philippines also offers low labor cost compared to other Asian countries.

It has highly-skilled and trainable workforce that can be easily supervised.

NSOV’s initial activities include the production of architectural, civil or construction drawing, building and systems layout, drafting and detailing, 3D modeling and assembly.

Its software development involves the writing of programs and software packages ordered by Japanese clients and other system integrators as well as packaged development for business and industrial entities.

Tanaka said the company’s vision is to be the premier CAD drafting and software development company by exceeding industry standards through innovation and team member excellence, ensuring customer satisfaction.

NSOV started as a start-up company at the business support center of Japan External Trade Office (JETRO) at Philam Life Tower until March this year.

The company has moved to its new business premises at the Multinational Bancorporation Centre along Ayala Avenue in preparation for a full-blown business venture in the country.

Atty. Lilia de Lima, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), has assured NSOV of its full support.

She hopes that Japanese IT companies would invest in the Philippines and avail of the fiscal incentives by locating in economic zones.

There are 600 companies operating in the country’s economic zones and 40 percent of the total investments come from Japanese companies.

kiretoce

May 10th, 2005, 06:53 PM

Off-shoring: Pessimistic Filipinos, Optimistic Foreigners
BEYOND THE BUZZWORDS by REYLITO A.H. ELBO

The time has come again for us Filipinos to resolve this wrenching issue brought forward by pessimism by major local surveys recently conducted by the Social Weather Stations and the Pulse Asia Inc. as they appear to thrive and compete on the negative perception of our people.

In its comparative first quarter 2005 surveys, SWS talks about unemployment as disastrous to family well being while PAI shows that Filipinos are generally pessimistic as to their personal quality of life as well as the national situation.

This depressing outlook has been with us for far too long, time and again weighing on our minds, sitting heavy on our hearts, bloating our stomachs with those painful doses of people’s view coming from their own partisan mindset and self-destructive mode.

That’s why I feel ecstatic when I got hold of two foreign surveys that tell why foreign investors are optimistic about the Philippines, specifically as the best off-shoring bet in this part of the world. For the uninitiated, Wikipedia defines off-shoring "as relocation of business processes (including production/manufacturing) to a lower cost location, usually overseas."

This alone is a feel-good story for me—enough for us to move again in splendor and count our blessings. One foreign survey that came to me was Jones Lang LaSalle study on "Deciding Where to Offshore." Anyway, I’m not surprised to know that Manila is a competitive lot for the quality of its workforce and low-labor cost.

Released on the last quarter of 2004, the JLL survey focuses on three base scenarios: being cost-driven, quality-driven and market-driven. In all three counts, Manila proved to be generally on top of the list of other Asian cities.

Generally, Manila hit it big on the aggregate index. In particular, we are highly rated on the availability of IT skills and the "high ratios of tertiary educated residents" pegged at 2.8 million. Manila also posted high in the area of market liquidity that "provides an indication of the involvement of real estate investors as opposed to developers in any particular market."

The JLL survey is complemented by the March 2005 research of Japan External Trade Organization that recommends highly of the country’s major cities (Manila and Cebu) with respect to the competitive areas of monthly minimum wages, social security burden, office rent, housing rent for expatriates, cost of container transports and passenger cars.

Clearly, the local surveys vis-à-vis the foreign surveys have shown a much different slant. Then probably you’ll ask me. Why can’t these foreign surveys translate to the much-needed employment utopia that we need for our country?

Conversely, my answer to that question is another question. Why can’t the local surveys translate the country into shredded pieces contrary to what it preaches since time immemorial?

When you’ve been writing two business columns as long as I have (total of 15 years in both dailies and three broken LCD laptop computer monitors), you get used to the public making all kinds of readers’ feedback such as why the Filipinos do not believe in themselves while foreigners remain bullish about Filipinos.

One reader tries to explain it by saying that it boils down to the Filipino’s attitude to life. I lost the Power Point presentation that was e-mailed to my trigger-happy deleting fingers, but the message still rings for me.

If only we’ll place a numerical value to every letter in our alphabet (as in A=1, B=2, C=3 up to Z=26), then you’ll find out the word "attitude" is the only factor toward success that can count exactly to 100. Not even education, experience, influence, leadership, etc can come close to 100 if we are to use numerology in our approach to help influence the Filipino psyche.

I hope this helps reverse the Filipino pessimism. If not, then may be we can ignore the findings of those local surveys. After all, those who know the least obey the best.

Mango

May 11th, 2005, 03:18 AM

^Yeah, let's be optimistic! Here's another good news for the Philippines!
World’s largest call center to expand operations in RP

The Philippine Star 05/11/2005

The world’s largest call center is planning to double its capacity in the Philippines to 10,000 operators, Malacañang said yesterday.

Convergys Corp. officials met with President Arroyo and informed her of the company’s desire to expand operations here, a Palace statement said.

At the meeting with Mrs. Arroyo were Convergys senior vice-president Frank Kelly of the customer management group, vice-president and country manager Marife Zamora, and customs management group senior director for operations Terry Seaford.

They had a meeting with the President shortly before noon yesterday at the Music Room of Malacañang to convey their company’s expansion plans in the country.

Convergys is a global leader in integrated billing, customer care, employee care and transaction management software and services.

Among its long list of clients are government entities and top companies in telecommunications, Internet, cable and broadband services, technology, financial services and other industries in more than 40 countries.

The President was pleased to hear of Convergys’ expansion plans, which would help her administration attain its goal of creating 10 million jobs in six years, the Palace said.

The Florida-based company has seven call center facilities in the Philippines, six of them in Metro Manila and one in Cebu.

Apart from the current workforce of 5,300 in the Philippines, Convergys has also tapped its first Filipino expatriate to join the company in Jacksonville, Florida.

Filipina Malu Ros, who served as senior manager in the Philippine office, is now the director for global communications and culture training of Convergys.

"Convergys is committed to expansion and growth and wants to translate this to employment opportunities in the country. We are rallying with government institutions and academe to ensure that we continue to have a steady stream of highly skilled, quality people," Zamora said.

Apart from providing employment opportunities for Filipinos, Convergys and the Department of Education have also trained 330 public school teachers in English skills improvement to enable the school system to produce more fluent English speakers who could serve in call centers. — Aurea Calica

Francis20

May 14th, 2005, 05:38 PM

Wow! so Convergys also send their workers from Manila to The US?

So Accenture will have it's office at Araneta and Pioneer? It sounds cool! They must have nice offices - Union Bank, ATO, GT. I guess they give high pays. But work is only based on a 2-year contract. So you don't get regularized. Siguro walang benefits, and all those perks. that's the main disadvantage na nakikita ko sa Accenture. I'm not sure if they changed over time.

I agree with the article next to the above. Attitude is a hidden factor in ones achievement of success. We might have the expertise, education and talent. But that's only 10% of the whole iceberg that we see. Attitude is the 90% submerged underwater. Finding people with excellent ATTITUDE is very hard. So if you are an employer and you have people with good attitude, don't ever ever let them go.

By the way, there will be a BPO Job Fair on the 27/28th of May at Greenbelt 1. If anyone is interested just go. These are the likes of firms who are very willing to hire inexperienced graduates.

absent-minded

May 15th, 2005, 11:47 AM

wow... so much goiong on in the Philippine BPO/Outsourcing arena... grabe! nice to know these new "built-to-suit" call center/BPO buildings such as the one at Gateway and at Robinsons' Pioneer Mall plus the Ayala e-Services ones are quite successful and are being well received.

I just hope that the government, with the help of schools as well as local and foreign outsourcing companies, will take the initiative to invest in really, really good, top notch, world class, up-to-the-minute training programs and facilities that will go beyond training graduates for call center positions but to also expand the Philippines' outsourcing workforce capabilities to be among the world's best in high-valued software and 3D production and stuff... I know that will cost a whole lot, but it can go a long way in making the country even more competitive and attractive to lure in even bigger and better investments.

amras

May 15th, 2005, 11:12 PM

RP call centers need better market positioning—exec
Study to be conducted

Posted 03:56pm (Mla time) May 15, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

WHILE the Philippine call center industry is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the next few years, it still needs a better understanding of its position in the global market, an information technology executive said recently.

Andrew Briggs, chief executive of Dimension Data's CIS Global, said that overseas clients sill have misconceptions about the industry.

"The problem right now is that overseas people see the Philippines [as] equal with India. At the same time, American companies only see the cost proposition in the Philippines [call center industry]," he said in an interview with local reporters.

He said that each market has unique value propositions.

Brigg’s firm, an IT services firm based in South Africa, is working on a "benchmarking" study specifically for the Philippine call center industry.

Dimension Data has already conducted a “2005 Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report” that mapped out the different strengths and weaknesses of call center industries by country, including the Philippines. He said though that the study did not present a comprehensive picture of the Philippine call center industry.

Dimension Data is now conducting a more focused and comprehensive benchmarking survey for the local industry in collaboration with Datacraft Communications Systems Inc., says Sonia Magno Magpily, Datacraft president and chief executive officer.

Datacraft is now inviting local participants to the survey ending in July, its results to be presented in January 2006.

The Philippine call center industry has often been compared to India in terms of cost of operating a call center, Briggs said. The survey will help the local call center industry develop a clearer "market position," which it can use to sell the Philippines to offshore call center operators.

He added that the Philippine benchmark survey would use the same key performance indicators as the Global survey to ensure comparability.

Briggs predicted that the Philippines would be well positioned to become a "cost-effective location for offshore call center operation that provides higher performance standards."

The benchmark survey can determine staff attrition rate in the Philippine call center industry, for one, he added.

An Economist Intelligence Unit report in 2005, titled “CEO Briefing: Corporate Priorities for 2005,” showed the Philippines ranking ninth in overall offshore environment rankings, with India ranked number one.

The Economist Intelligence Unit report was also done by Dimension Data, with Oracle Corp.

innoncent_monster

May 15th, 2005, 11:14 PM

Hi !

Can you post some statistics about IT scenario in Phillipines like IT exports , Outsourcing , IT workforce etc

Louman

May 16th, 2005, 10:24 AM

sandrin

May 17th, 2005, 04:23 AM

IBM taps Philippine BPO strength

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is banking on its Philippines business, particularly on business processing outsourcing (BPO) in the country, to pitch in big to make up for a shortfall in its first quarter earnings report against projections.

IBM last month stunned Wall Street with a report of a first quarter profit of $1.41 billion, equivalent to 85 cents per share, compared with $1.36 billion, or 79 cents per share, a year earlier. This, when analysts were looking at 90 cents per share.

The shortfall had pushed the company to scale back on its business in countries that showed slower growth during the period. IBM decided to cut up to 13,000 jobs, or four percent of its total workforce, in a cost-saving move that targets largely Europe. The firm had blamed the earnings shortfall on disappointing profits and sales in Japan, Germany, France and Italy, as well as its inability to close deals near the end of the quarter.

In an interview, IBM Philippines, Inc. President Joaquin E. Quintos told BusinessWorld that the company has identified the Philippines as among its profitable business centers for its global plan to earn some $1.3 billion by the second quarter.

"We are one of the few areas that have been identified as a growth area in terms of business process outsourcing. So that's an area where the Philippines can become a network of global centers," Mr. Quintos said.

IBM last year acquired an Indian call center and BPO company, Daksh eServices Pvt., which has located in the country.

He said IBM would hire more workers for its call center business,and even add more seats, but did not give any figure.

Mr. Quintos said the Philippines would be one of the few important global delivery centers for IBM worldwide, as IBM took note of Filipinos advantage over other countries for its BPO business.

"We look at the Philippines with its skilled workforce: aside from the capability to speak English, the service culture, the service ethos is very strong advantage to making the Philippines part of that global delivery hub," he said.

Aside from the Philippines, IBM also identified China and India as other delivery centers: China for its cheap labor force, and India for its formidable reputation in the call centers business.

"The whole market is really a global market and we make business decision on the basis of where we foresee the opportunities and the growth potentials are," Mr. Quintos said. -- Paolo Joseph L. Lising

rustyboi

May 17th, 2005, 07:46 PM

My cousin who lives in Cebu works at a call center for Dell. He told me he saw some data regarding the Dell computer that was bought by my cousins who live in Las Vegas. I wonder what other call center employees do with customer data on their spare time... hehehe....

my best buddy works in a cebu call center, also for dell. the only stuff agents could do with the customers' account: update email add, shipping add, contact person and contact number. it would be nice if agents could ship new computers to their customers hahaha how i wish... :jk:

rustyboi

May 17th, 2005, 07:51 PM

Seven more call center buildings in the pipeline

Property developers are constructing seven more buildings in Metro Manila for call centers and other outsourced services to plug the gap in supply.

Upon completion, these buildings will add 355,000 square meters of office space in the next four years, according to data from property consultancy company Leechiu & Associates, Inc.

Leechiu & Associates president and general manager David Leechiu said some tenants have already booked their spaces in these buildings even though these will be ready for occupancy starting next year.

The SM Call Center Building in Bay City, Pasay City and the University of the Philippines IT Building in Diliman, Quezon City will be ready for locators next year.

Developed by SM Prime Holdings and Keppel Properties, the SM Call Center Building will offer 45,000 square meters of office space, while the UP IT Building of UP and Ayala Land, Inc. is estimated to offer between 15,000 square meters to 18,000 square meters of additional office space.

Megaworld Corporation's Cyber Two in Eastwood City in Quezon City and Robinson's Land Corporation's Pioneer Gateway in Mandaluyong City will be ready by 2007.

Cyber Two has 40,000 square meters of office space and Pioneer has 50,000 square meters of office space.

SMKS Building of SM Prime Holdings and Keppel Properties in Ortigas Center, SSS Tower of state-run Social Securities System (SSS) in East Avenue, Quezon City, and Globus Asia Tower of Globus Asia in Ortigas Center will be ready for occupancy between 2008 and 2009.

SMKS has 110,000 square meters of office space, SSS Tower has 80,000 square meters, and Globus Asia Tower has 15,000 square meters of office space.

The average office demand of call center and other outsourced services is 120,000 square meters per annum across Metro Manila.

Mr. Leechiu said the glut in office space will drive vacancy rates to drop to five percent next year from a high of 50% in 1998 after the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997.

Vacancy rates in prime office buildings in Makati City such as RCBC Plaza, Philam Life Tower, Ayala Tower and Enterprise Center, is now running at five percent to seven percent.

As of first quarter of this year, there are over 90 call center players in the country with over 40,000 seats and 60,000 employees. This sector is projected to post between 30% to 40% year-on-year growth in the next five years.

Additional demand is likewise expected from shared services and non-voice sectors of the business process outsourcing (BPO) market, particularly accounting and finance.
-- Maricel E. Estavillo

Francis20

May 19th, 2005, 07:07 AM

wow! nice to hear about that...that SMKS part intrigued me. could it be that this project will push thru finally? hope to see it rise in the near future. aside from call centers, we are expecting to see more hi-end jobs coming. for sure, the country's workforce has a bright future after all.

absent-minded

May 20th, 2005, 09:40 PM

cool...! and yeah, interesting stuff about SMKS! that's the one on or near The Podium right? I wonder how many storeys it's gonna be. maybe they're gonna build the original tower(s) with only part of it for call centers and the rest regular office space, which is why it'll take a few years.

rustyboi

May 20th, 2005, 11:27 PM

its really great to hear some call center companies donated a bunch of desktop computers for elementary public schools... nice! :)

Francis20

May 21st, 2005, 10:04 AM

yep. SMKS is that one on the podium. it will have around 50 floors.
BPOs like call centers usually donate their old PCs to elem schools. they should replace their old pcs with new ones, para excellent pa rin ang delivery ng service. our company actually donated some old pcs when it replaced all office pcs with the black IBM ones. the only white pc i could see ay yung nasa library at clinic.

rustyboi

May 22nd, 2005, 01:40 PM

Convergys eyes Araneta Center as expansion site
May 21, 2005

Ohio-based call center company Convergys Corp. is considering setting up an office in Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City, one of the emerging business districts in Metro Manila, for call center operations.

"We are still looking at the Cubao location as a possible location for future expansion. However, to date, no space has been reserved," Convergys Philippines vice-president and country manager Marife Zamora said in an interview.

A government source earlier told BusinessWorld that the company has reserved a space in one of the office buildings that is being built inside Araneta Center.

Araneta Properties Inc. is now ramping up the development of Araneta Cyber Center, one of the 13 emerging urban districts in Metro Manila that can add another 1,200 hectares of commercial lands in Metro Manila. Makati, Ortigas, and Binondo business districs have 450 hectares of commercial lands altogether.

Ms. Zamora said Convergys targets to end the year with 8,000 call center seats from present 5,300 seats. "We are pleased with the success and continued growth of our operations in the Philippines. While we cannot disclose investment figures, our commitment to the country remains significant," she said.

Convergys currently operates six call centers in the country, one of which is located in Cebu City in Central Visayas. It is also set to open another site along Ayala Avenue in Makati City by the fourth quarter of this year. It operates a total of 66 call centers worldwide.

Right now, Ms. Zamora said the company is conducting job fairs in Metro Manila and in key cities and provinces in the country, from Baguio City in northern Luzon to Zamboanga City in Western Mindanao.

Covergys is listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It provides customer care services on integrated biling, employee care and transaction management software. Among clients are government entities and top companies in telecommunications, internet, cable and broadband services, technology, and financial services in more than 40 countries.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y54/cebupics/SSC/cebu-sample02.jpg

Francis20

May 28th, 2005, 01:08 PM

nice to hear about the expansion of convergys. so di pa pala sufficient yung building nila sa Ayala at sa Alabang. wow! seems like everyone is on espansion now. Accenture, Convergys.

Our company is also on expansion. We got the trade center jobs swtiched from Paris to Manila and from Singapore and Thailand to Manila. And have the processing units from Kenya and Russia to Manila. Thus, there is now a move to expand na rin ang salary thru the so called career levelling. so kelangan mag apply for that. may self-assessment, exam, interview, etc. everyone was given of the form. i dunno. a counselor (kuno) con friend said the first two years of stay on a company should determine whether this is indeed the company where you want to establish your career. i find the company as a whole commendable. and Manila office is promising. and career chances is unlimited. i.e., lateral transfer, promotions, etc. I can also see na me future din naman ako. Tho di napapansin ng management, nkikita naman ng immediate boss ko ang commitment at talent (if any ko)...pero i said no to myself. One year na ako sa June 30. ako na naman OIC for 1 month when my boss goes to UK. He actually requested me to get myself a passport para ready just in case there's a need for assistance overseas. so pag lumipat ng company, (kung me lilipatan)...back to scratch. build ulit ng reputation, which usually takes some time. a year or two. unless very vocal ka about your talents. like one officemate of mine.

so i see a bright future for BPOs and back office processing units sa Philippines. there was a job EXPO kanina sa GB1. I went there. And checked the booths of Maersk and Accenture. I might plan to apply. Hehe...try lang. hehe...

bustero

May 30th, 2005, 06:47 AM

This is really a big opportunity for our country. A business where we have advantages and the government can not really get in the way so no controversy. See my post in New buildings for what ALI pres says about it.

mhe-ann

May 30th, 2005, 11:52 AM

One year na ako sa June 30.
2 years po ata kuya francis.

Francis20

May 30th, 2005, 01:30 PM

ahh..oo nga pala. galing naman ni ate mhe-ann. hehe...thanks for correcting. time to move on.

thomasian

June 2nd, 2005, 04:55 PM

Accenture Setting-Up Shop in Cubao
BusinessWorld - 05/05/05

Accenture will open a new site in Quezon
City in June and readies for another site
in Mandaluyong. The Cubao site, an eightfloor
office building beside the newly
opened Gateway mall inside the Araneta
Center, can house more than 800 people.
The office is the first large-scale office
space inside the Araneta Center. A
month after completion of the Cubao facility,
Accenture is going to work on its
next expansion project. The company has
already reserved several floors in an office
building that is being constructed in
Pioneeer Place in Mandaluyong. The company
is targeting to occupy the Pioneer
site within the year, which is capable of
housing over 2,000 people. In the nearterm,
Accenture will look at leasing another
space near the Pioneer site and
consider expanding to other metro areas,
particularly to other metro areas,
particularly university cities in the south
which is cost-efficient for the company.
The firm sees Makati real estate prices
are going up so they have to go to locations
where the costs are still low. Lease
rates in prime office space in Makati area
is between P400 and P450 per sq.m. but
the company is getting lower than average
rates for most of their facilities. The
Philippine office has over 5,000 employees
in the country. It has operations in
Union Bank Plaza in Ortigas Center,
housing up to 4,000 people.

Mastenbrök

June 5th, 2005, 01:36 PM

that's a real good news. seems like all companies are having their expansion this year.

sandrin

June 5th, 2005, 10:24 PM

More Outsourcing News

BPO firm to double workforce

Headstrong Philippines, the Global Delivery Center (GDC) in the Philippines of US-based global consultancy firm Headstrong, Inc., reveals plans of doubling its IT workforce in the country amid strong performance and favorable reviews of its Filipino software developers. In an interview, Headstrong President for Southeast Asia Operations Puneet Pushkarna says, "We have experienced robust growth in our GDC here in the Philippines, with our 300 workforce. And our plans are to continue to double in size in the next twelve to eighteen months. This is primarily because all metrics are tracking towards growth here. Internal planning at the head office continues to emphasize the use and growth of the Philippine center. Our customers continue to give us very strong testimonials." Pushkarna bares that the key cornerstone for the company’s success has been the value-added it provides its clients apart from cost. He explains, "Our mantra has always been ‘not cost alone’ even if the global clientele today goes out to the whole offshoring market because of "cost drivers". We believe that while clients come for cost, it is quality that makes them stay. The metrics are not just purely in terms of cost but also in terms of quality, customer satisfaction, best practices, and methodology. These are the very important factors that we employ at Headstrong to maintain very longterm relationship with our clients." Headstrong Philippines Country Manager Nora Terrado stresses that the James Martin legacy to the organizations is a very strong methodology -based practice which has time and again earned the Manila GDC "EE" or "Exceeds Expectations" ratings in customer surves. Terrado adds, "Our people have also earned from our customers tremendous respect with their strong sense of responsibility and ethos of being an extension of the client."

thomasian

June 12th, 2005, 05:52 PM

Convergys Considering Call Center in Cubao Area
BusinessWorld - 05/20/05

Convergys Corp. is seriously considering
setting up an office in Araneta Center
in Cubao, Quezon City. The company has
reserved a space in one of the office buildings
under construction inside Araneta
Center (It could be the Gateway Cyber Offices
Tower or the two-storey Gateway Call Center
formerly the Plaza Fair dept. store).
The building is already registered
with the Board of Investments. Araneta
Properties, Inc. is ramping up the development
of Araneta Cyber Center that
can add another 1,200 has. of commercial
lands. Makati, Ortigas and Binondo
business districts have 450 has. of commercial
lands together. Convergys targets
to end the year with 8,000 call center
seats from 5,300 at present.

sandrin

June 12th, 2005, 07:57 PM

Audio technology provider Behringer expanding global R&D center in RP
'The reason why we have now 70 people and still expanding is because the engineers and graphic artists here are really world-class and as good as the European, and that is why we closed down the German R&D [center to move here to the Philippines].' -- Behringer chairman Uli Behringer

Global professional audio products maker Behringer will hire 180 more engineers and graphic artists in the next two years for its newly established global research and development (R&D) in the Philippines.

With an initial capitalization of $50,000, the R&D center has been operating in the country for a year now after top management closed the company's R&D center in Germany and relocated here.

It now employs 70 people, mostly engineers and graphic artists, and occupies two floors measuring a total of 1,500 square meters in Trafalgar Plaza, Makati City. It plans to add one more floor in two years as operations expand.

The R&D center in the Philippines is being managed by no less than Behringer's 44-year-old chairman, Uli Behringer, who decided to move to the Philippines three years ago.

The center does the design for the company's full line of professional audio products for musicians and sound engineers which include mixing consoles, analog and digital signal processors, studio reference monitors, and guitar amplifiers, among others.

Behringer is headquartered in Singapore, where it plans to be listed in the Singapore Stock Exchange within the next two months. The 15-year old company has a manufacturing plant in China and offices in Germany, United States, and Hong Kong. It has invested extensively in its China plant, as well as in real-time enterprise resource planning and manufacturing resource planning systems in its subsidiaries worldwide. Mr. Behringer, who claims to have built his first synthesizer at the age of 15, founded the company in 1989.

WORLD-CLASS TALENTS

Mr. Behringer told reporters in an interview that moving its R&D center to the Philippines was not carefully planned at all.

"After living in Hong Kong for seven years, I was really tired. So, I came to the Philippines [three years ago] to retire. I am a classical pianist as well, and I enjoy jamming with the guys here . And then I saw that there were so many talents here and I met a couple of engineers and I was really impressed," Mr. Behringer said.

"The reason why we have now 70 people and still expanding is because the engineers and graphic artists here are really world-class and as good as the European and that is why we closed down the German R&D [center to move here to the Philippines]," he added.

Nevertheless, Mr. Behringer cited challenges in Filipino work culture.

"The leadership that I want to promote is 'open words' -- no beating around the bush. But Filipinos are non-confrontational, always beating around the bush. We are trying to change the culture, because how do you solve the problem if you don't speak about it?" said Mr. Behringer.

He recalled that Filipinos he worked with got intimidated at the start, but eventually learned to appreciate the changes.

"And I tell people: if you want to improve your own lives, how would you do it without speaking the issues that bother you. Because you can always walk away and run away, but how do you solve it?" he said.

As a company, Behringer is girding for a price war to take the industry's helm. "We lower the price and make it available for anyone, particularly the musicians. We are definitely focusing on high volume and low margin," said Mr. Behringer.

Its version of an electric guitar sells for P6,200, lower than the competitor's P17,000. And it is now developing a digital piano, expected to be priced at $300, one-fourth of its competitor's $12,000 digital piano.

"We are opening the door in China, in the Philippines, in countries where people do not have much money. Because when I was a student, I could not afford equipment and I want to make equipment affordable to anyone," said Mr. Behringer.

Behringer closed last fiscal year with $170 million in revenues and is projecting a 40% growth in revenues this year. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

amigo32

June 14th, 2005, 10:55 AM

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2005061436921.html

HSBC opens new call center in RP
By FIL C. SIONIL

HSBC yesterday opened another call center in the Philippines, a step that will strengthen its back room banking operations and provide impetus for the domestic activities.

"We’re here to drive the economy," commented HSBC Chief Operating Officer for Philippine operations Warner Manning.

The new 185,000 square feet facility of HSBC will house its Group service center in Manila, which would serve as its back room for its growing credit card operations.

At present, HSBC credit cards have grown to half a million in the Philippines and about 60 million worldwide.

The call center will create an additional 4,000 jobs, which hopefully will reduce the unemployment problem of the country.

David Sutton, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Phils) Inc. president, on the other hand, explained, though, that the 4,000 seats is the full capacity to be filled-up sometime middle of the coming year.

The center has been operating from a temporary site in the PBCom Tower in Makati City. The new five-storey building is in Northgate Cyberzone, Alabang.

For now, however, the center has a total capacity of 2,000 seats and offers a range of facilities for staff including state-of-the-art training rooms, Internet cafes, quiet areas and a 24-hour, 500 seat dining facility.

Commenting on the new building, Alan Jebson said: "We have been operating in the Philippines for 130 years. This new site in the Northgate Cyberzone Park is further proof of our long-term commitment to this country."

"The high quality of the English-speaking workforce as well as the country’s infrastructure make the Philippines an ideal site for international resourcing. This is a key part of the HSBC Group’s strategy and allows us to seek the greatest value for shareholders, the highest level of service for customers and a long-term future for our employees around the world."

"Since starting our Group service centre operations in the Philippines in June last year, the staff here have exceeded our expectations in delivering world-class standards of service and customer care."

HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines) Inc. handles selected global processing and call center work for HSBC offices outside the Philippines. The company was incorporated in March 2004 and is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as an IT Ecozone Enterprise. It currently has a staff complement of over 1,300 people and is expected to employ 2,000 by the end of 2005.

Including the center in Manila, HSBC has 10 Group service centers. The others are located in mainland China, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

bustero

June 15th, 2005, 10:17 AM

For those afraid of the future of the Philippines, here's some foreigners who believe in it enough to put their money where their mouth is!

US call center operator picks RP as its headquarters in Asia
By Marianne V. Go
The Philippine Star 06/15/2005

US-based call center solutions provider Five 9 has pushed through with its decision to make the Philippines its regional headquarters in Southeast Asia amid the latest political controversies hounding the Arroyo administration.

In a press briefing, Five 9 Philippines Inc. country manager Artemio "Junie" P. Pama Jr. revealed that the parent company’s American executives were initially apprehensive that such scandals could derail their plans to establish hub operations in the country.

However, Pama was able to assure the Five 9 executives and went ahead with their formal launching yesterday. "Despite the threat, the Five 9 executives were undeterred."

The Pleasanton, California-based IT firm is establishing an office in Makati City where the company will launch its sales and marketing efforts for the whole Asia Pacific region.

Five 9 is basically a service provider that serves as an incubator for small and start-up call center operators.

According to Tim Keefe, vice president of Five 9 International Business Development, it is targetting firms with 300 or less seats.

However, aside from providing technology, Five 9 will help small and start-up call center firms in terms of training and marketing and provide them assistance and access to potential markets, Keefe explained.

Five 9 can also provide small and start-up call center companies with rented contact center functionality over broadband Internet in just five days.

Keefe said the Philippines could start a cottage industry of small call centers with even just one seat. From Manila, Five 9 will also expand to the cities of Dagupan, Legaspi and Cebu.

Mango

June 15th, 2005, 10:58 AM

Keefe said the Philippines could start a cottage industry of small call centers with even just one seat. From Manila, Five 9 will also expand to the cities of Dagupan, Legaspi and Cebu.

Great news! It's time to look for the potential human resource in cities outside Manila.
I really want to see more job opportunities without the necessity of going to Manila.

Call centers as cottage industry? Interesting...hmmm...

amigo32

June 15th, 2005, 01:02 PM

Call centers as cottage industry? Interesting...hmmm...

Really? How about converting those internet cafes into call centers?

Francis20

June 15th, 2005, 07:48 PM

there's already one in Baguio - ClientLogic. you know wat guys, we often hear good news about these BPOs having their offices in the country. but i would also love to hear some insider's comments about this. maybe people who work directly with them. i know they are well-compensated, but the question is...(are):

is it worth the paycheck?
are they happy and content with what they are doing?
do they have room for growth?
does the work bring out the best out of them?
can they exercise their creativity and talents thru the tasks they perform everyday?

we know fulfillment does not always depend on the nature of work u do. some may be happy, others not. so there's a big personal factor for sure. at siyempre the company culture matters big time. management style, co-workers, immediate supervisors, etc.

bustero

June 16th, 2005, 05:24 AM

Francis20

June 17th, 2005, 09:48 AM

really is? then why still the boom for that industry?
and yeah, hopefully, we could lure more of the hi-end or value added jobs as what u said. We now have finance, HR, IT sectors of multinational companies establishing their hubs here in the country. ang advantage nun, they have a lot of people to choose from, kaya added job opportunities sa mga pinoy. mga pioneers dyan, taas magpasalary. pero later on, na master na nila ang cost-effectiveness ng company.kaya bumaba na ang pang entry level salaries na offered.anyway, di naman salary ang pnk impt sa lahat. basta masaya ka at fulfilled sa work.

bustero

June 17th, 2005, 02:20 PM

That's why the boom is limited because we'll eventually fun out of people. They hire a lot of Up,Ateneo , Lasalle grads who stay withthem for a a few years get the money and move on realizing it's a deadend job. (Which it is ) As they go down the list with lesser quality schools they encounter more and more unqualified people who don't speak English. So sooner or later it'll run out , the Epixtar people told me they think we'll max out at 100000 seats. For other areas of BPO a little bit better.

Francis20

June 17th, 2005, 08:22 PM

that's very true. pero di nila na rerealize na tong mga grads na to ang mapaghanap. they thought they hired the best people pero pag di nila inalagaan, aalis at aalis yan. that's the con of hiring UPians, Lasalistas or Atenista.

wornout

June 17th, 2005, 09:02 PM

Well they (call centers) have a 40% turnover rate if that kinda answers your question. It's a pretty shitty job in the long run, in the US the turnover rate is 80%, iyung kailangan lang talaga ng trabaho ang magtitiyaga diyan. It's better for other BPO areas specially where the value added is higher like in engineering design andthe like. Otherwise it's a job not a career.
I think you are talking more on the US side of the story. Well, if you will be talking to people working in the industry in the Philippines, you would be glad to know that this job is not really a dead-end job as what we usually think. Well to point a case, my friend works with one of the largest bpo/call center company in the world, I will not mention the name of the company. She entered as an agent last march of 2002, after just 6 months she became a supervisor. After a year working with the company she was offered a job by yet another bigger company. Right now she is already the training director for that company's operation here in the Philippines. There are also cases like this in other organizations which will prove that this is a career which can be lucrative for Filipinos.

Regarding the anticipated lack of qualified people for the industry and that we will only be able to reach 100,000 seats for this industry. I think this is far-off. Filipinos according to recent reports by industry analysts like MCKINSEY and META GROUP, are one of the most highly-trained people there is. Even Canon of JAPAN has transferred the management of the company's business in the philippines to filipinos. The industry in the PHILIPPINES is very new that the room for growth is still very big. The country is also producing graduates of more than 150,000 thousand a year and there is a high unemployment rate of 12% so these manpower should be able to address the urgent need for people. But it is also important to put safety nets like tie-ups with educational institutions, professionalized regulation, and standardized training for people as well as wide use of english in college curriculum. India is having problems on its own even though they are the first one to venture into this kind of industry.

But my ideal scenario for this industry in the future is that we will be able to focus into higher-value services like R&D, software development and design.
Some big companies are already doing that here in the Philippines though, like
1. LEXMARK RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORP.
2. CANON INFOTECH PHILS.
3. NEC TELECOM SOFTWARE
4. HEADSTRONG
5. ACCENTURE
6. BIGFOOT TECHNOLOGIES
7. EPSON PRECISION
...hope this list will number to like a hundred...hehehe.
8.

Francis20

June 20th, 2005, 07:37 PM

very well said @ wornout. there are indeed people who are really good that it takes only few months before they climb up the corporate ladder. good for them. but for every open supervisory position, i think hundreds are vying for the post. anyway...
i will agree with u. we look forward to higher-value tasks to be done here in the country.

simply_me

June 27th, 2005, 04:20 AM

i got too curious about this call centers. how does it work? i do not know if i should tackle this here in this particular thread. but i am interested of putting up a call center. any idea?

bustero

June 27th, 2005, 05:53 AM

wornout,
I agree with the shift to higher value, in the long run a cost based business will price itself out of a geographic area as the area progresses , hence when wages get higher here it'll be expensive to maintain cost based businesses here.

The 40% turnover rate is from the call center association. While there's a buzz for it now. NO industry has such high turnover rates as well.

kiretoce

July 1st, 2005, 10:33 PM

Company sees travel outsourcing jobs
By Bernie Cahiles–Magkilat

Philippine-based software development outsourcing player Pointwest Technologies has cited the Philippines’ advantage in a new field in outsourcing services in the airline and travel industry.

Ma. Cristina Coronel, president of Pointwest Technologies, said the business outlook for the airline and travel industry is looking.

"With our deep domain knowledge and wide international customer base, the Philippines is well positioned to be a leading outsourcing partner of choice in the airline industry of countries like Japan," Coronel said.

Coronel cited statistics that revenues from the outsourcing services for the global airline industry to reach $700 million over the next few years.

Travel is the biggest industry globally and the industry is under huge pressure from suppliers and customers. Thus, analysts expect large-scale offshore movement of customer service and mid-office accounting, she added.

In Japan, a global market analyst forecasts that the key functional business outsourcing market will reach ¥1,012.2 billion in 2008 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 percent between 2003 and 2008.

The key functional business outsourcing market is divided into human resource, customer care, finance and accounting, and procurement segments. User companies like airlines have high expectations for using BPO as an option of their business strategies on selection and concentration and cost reduction.

Japan’s market share in outsourced services is expected to reach $120 billion mark by 2008.

Pointwest is an accredited offshore vendor of Northwest Airlines providing outsourcing solutions to Northwest’s finance management and human resources, marketing, airport operations and website.

"Revenue management is domain knowledge intensive and involves capable IT infrastructure. Customers who have outsourced their revenue accounting function to Pointwest have derived great value," added Coronel.

Pointwest is a global company with over 100 IT professionals and two international offices in the United States.

"The business mission to Japan opens up new markets and opportunities for Philippine BPO companies. Japanese clients will benefit from our large pool of software experts, business process capabilities and global track record," said Coronel.

Pointwest joined five other software outsourcing companies namely ADTX Systems, Astra (Philippines), Inc., N-Pax Cebu Corporation, Tsukiden Software Philippines Group and WeServ Systems Intl. Inc. during the recent Software Development Expo & Conference 2005 (SODEC) in Tokyo.

To date, the Philippines is cited as top 3 outsourcing destination among 25 countries measured in terms of finance according to the A.T. Kearney 2004 Offshore Location Attractiveness Index. The Philippines was recognized as one of the top 25 most attractive outsourcing destinations for its favorable cost structure (compensation, infrastructure and tax costs) and promising human resources capability.

rustyboi

July 2nd, 2005, 11:57 AM

RP Call Centers ripe for PREMIUM SERVICES

Over the past five years, the Philippines has become known as a preferred outsourcing site for call services, primarily due to costs that are about a fourth of those in the United States.

Now, however, a local call center firm is charging clients premium prices as the jobs require skills more complicated than just answering simple inquiries.

They now offer services involving financial matters like credit card and loan processing to technical work as tedious as helping a client solve a computer hardware problem, and prices are now at par with nearshore destinations like Canada and Ireland.

For instance, call center company eTelecare Global Solutions is 25% more expensive than most of the 92 call centers located in the country, said eTelecare vice-president and general manager for Philippine operations Benedict Hernandez.

But despite the higher rates, a US client, on the average, is expected save some 40% to 70% in sending call services requirements to the Philippines rather than having the same work done by a US-based call center.

For eTelecare, the present focus of servicing high-end work is churning out more value for the company, and Mr. Hernandez said the firm is on track with its 25% revenue growth target for this year from last year's $125 million.

Operating seven call centers in the US and four in the Philippines, eTelecare is keen on hitting the $500-million revenue mark in the next three years. It also plans to expand to Latin America and India and position itself alongside two of the world's biggest call centers: Convergys Corp. and Teletech Holdings Inc.

CHALLENGES

To be sure, eTelecare faces some challenges, Mr. Hernandez said, among which is being compared with call center firms in the US, Canada and Ireland.

And with the hiring rate of the call center industry at five percent, or five persons per 100 applicants, eTelecare's is a mere two percent, since most job applicants lack communication skills, he said.

Mr. Hernandez added that his company is investing a hefty amount on communication skills training, with 21 persons hired to oversee the training process.

For the next six months, eTelecare needs to hire 1,000 call center agents to add to its present 2,500 agents, thus there is the pressure to hire simultaneously from various locations to look for quality people.

"In the Philippines, we do have the opportunity to grow significantly. We actually have been growing for 100% year-on-year for the past four years. And this particular year -- because the base is much larger -- we see growth from 50% to 70%; not anymore doubling the size, but [it] is still a significant growth," Mr. Hernandez said.

The firm has two facilities in Makati City in central Metro Manila, one in Eastwood CyberPark in Libis in eastern Metro Manila, as well as in the AsiaTown IT Park in Lahug Cebu City in Central Visayas. Mr. Hernandez said they are looking at other provincial locations aside from Cebu, although not yet in the Mindanao area.

"We are a bit cautious on moving the locations in the Mindanao area for now because its a little bit extra challenging to convince our clients to fly to Mindanao. Mindanao will still be in our radar screen, but not immediately because of our clients," he said.

He said travel advisories from US and Canada are holding the firm back from marketing potential locations in Mindanao such as Davao City and Cagayan de Oro. The move to spread out to the provinces comes as the industry fends off a price war which is seen hurting the sector.

"There used to be a more active price war in the first three years of the industry. The call centers went wild on salaries. Competition became unhealthy. But it has started [sic] to stabilize last year," said Mr. Hernandez.

Still, there are rogue call centers poaching agents by offering high salary and compensation packages. Entry level rates of call centers range from P10,000 to P15,000 a month.

Research firm BNP Paribas said in its latest report that the outsourcing sector can contribute up to 6.5% to the country's gross domestic product in 2010, equivalent to almost 20-fold increase in revenues of $10 billion.

The growth is equivalent to a dramatic increase in employment capacity to 300,000 people from present 60,000 to 70,000 people employed by the industry. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

sandrin

July 4th, 2005, 06:03 PM

I called the customer service of my credit card recently. Guess what, the operator was a Pinay who's not only fluent in English but had a good solid voice and a nuetral accent (dati ibang lahi ang mga sumasagot don). I hope everyone will speak with a neutral accent and not with a conyo accent.
To my surprise, my brother who attended a short seminar at Informatics now speak with a pretty good American accent, nope he's not working in a call center. My youngest sister can not pronounce the R properly so we sometimes tease her.

Francis20

July 4th, 2005, 06:26 PM

wow! nice to hear that. i know someone who's working with People Support. Sabi daw minsan ng caller "Taga Bulacan ka ano?" Kilala mo ba si ganitong family...hala nagkwento na. eh me KPI sila sa length ng calls. Kakatuwa.

Sandrin, bat naman ayaw mong mag Call Center ang kapatid mo?
Dapat pag-aralin mo ng French ang sis mo. Wag Spanish. Bagay siya dun sa French.

sandrin

July 6th, 2005, 01:26 PM

It's not that I don't want my brother to work in a call center. He's reviewing for the board exam and would like to pursue a technical career..

Francis20

July 6th, 2005, 07:37 PM

ahh ok. reviewing for what board? parang magiging ganun ata ako. kasi gusto ko na din magboard...kaya gusto ko part time work muna.

Mango

July 20th, 2005, 05:51 AM

QC to hold call center job fairs
By Perseus Echeminada
The Philippine Star 07/20/2005

The Quezon City government, through its "Serbisyong Hanapbuhay ni Mayor Sonny Belmonte," will hold a series of call center job fairs in the four districts of city from July 23 to Aug. 14.

The job fairs are being held in cooperation with Teletech Customer Care Management Philippines Inc., which will open the newest center on Aug. 25 at Robinson’s Place, Novaliches.

Nathan Zulueta, chairman of the Quezon City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the company is currently in need of customer service representatives, trainers, team leaders and quality assurance specialists for their technical support program.

They need people with excellent English communication skills, with work experiences at call centers, hotels and restaurants, airlines, travel and tourism industries and those formerly in sales. They must have strong interpersonal skills.

The city is encouraging residents of Quezon City, particularly fresh graduates with exceptional English communication skills, to apply.

Teletech is also looking for individuals proficient in any of the following languages: Korean, Thai, Cantonese, Mandarin or Fookien.

Organized through the offices of City Council majority floor leader Ariel Inton Jr. and the city councilors, the open house recruitment at the barangay level was endorsed and supported by Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista.

The Teletech Call Center Job Fair will kick off on July 23 and 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Teachers’ Village East (District 4) under Barangay Captain Ricardo Bautista.

For District 3, it will be held on July 30 and 31 in Barangay Socorro under Barangay Captain Bonifacio Rillon.

For District 2, it will be held on Aug. 6 and 7 in Barangay Sta. Monica near Quezon City Hall Annex in Novaliches under Barangay Captain Maricel Francisco.

For District I, it will be held on Aug. 13 and 14 in Barangay Damayan under Barangay Captain Gualberto Casaje.

Teletech began operations in the Philippines in 2001 at Fort Bonifacio. Three years later, the company opened its second 8,000-square meter customer management center (CMC) in Bay City.

Next month, Teletech will inaugurate its largest CMC in Novaliches. With a 9,200-square meter floor area, the world-class facility can accommodate 1,500 workstations and offers six lounges, coffee shops, a game room and a full service café.

Interested applicants can contact the Teletech office at Robinson’s Place Novaliches, Level 2 or call 552-9725.

bustero

July 21st, 2005, 11:14 AM

Infrastructure in place for converged services in RP -- Cisco

Telecommunication and service operators in the country have already invested in next-generation all Internet Protocol (IP) network backbone, similar to those launched in the United States, Korea and Japan.

But these firms are not yet ready to roll out new services riding on this infrastructure due to currently insufficient market demand.

Termed as IP Next-Generation Network (IP NGN), the platform enables convergence of voice, data and video. This IP-based infrastructure cuts down operating costs and increases provider's ability to deliver new IP-based services such like video telephony, multi-player gaming, movie-on-demand, television and Web integration, and video telephony, to name a few.

Churning out more value-added services on top of the standard voice service is the growing impetus among telecommunication and service operators worldwide for them to stay on top of the game, Cisco Systems global vice-president for marketing Kelly Ahuja told reporters.

Citing a 2003 report from research firm Gartner, Mr. Ahuja said yearly global revenues from retail voice calls over the seven-year period, from 2001 to 2007, are projected to reach $350 billion, involving flat year-on-year growth.

On the other hand, global revenues from data and internet-based services, are expected to breach the $350-billion mark by 2007 from $150 billion in revenues in 2001, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 95.6% from 2001 to 2007.

Some of the telecommunication companies that are offering IP NGN-based services are US-based Sprint and Comcast, Korea's KT Corp., Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd., Taiwan's Chungwa Telecom and Japan's Softbank BB Corp.

Mr. Ahuja said a combination of intensifying competition and the need to deliver value-added services is driving Asia-Pacific companies to invest in core networking infrastrucuture that would enable them to deliver converged services and related controls like call forwarding, verifying and monitoring of those logging onto the network, and video-based security needed to block some video-on-demand offers.

In the Philippines, Cisco Phils. Systems engineering Oscar O. Visaya said demand is growing, albeit slowly, for converged services. Currently insufficient demand is disuading telecommmunication companies from rolling out IP NGN-based services that thay are otherwise already capable of offering.

Out of the 82-million population, only 100,000 Filipinos have broadband subscription, Mr. Visaya estimated. Total internet penetration is estimated at 4% of the total population, according to data from the National Telecommunications Commission.

"The demand is growing. Telecoms and service providers have started to invest [sic] in IP NGN a couple of years back and they will continue to expand. We have seen some investments in the backend [covering routers and switches] and full deployment of IP NGN is starting to happen, but it will take time," said Mr. Visaya.

In fact, Mr. Visaya said two local service providers, which he did not name, may provide within this year a service similar to that of US-based broadband firm Vonage America Inc., which offers pay-per-demand broadband services. Through one such service, for instance, a client based in the United States can avail of a Philippine area code, allowing the subsciber to make "local" calls in the Philippines. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

thomasian

July 21st, 2005, 01:35 PM

Is it true that only a small percentage of the Call Center applicants get accepted to work?

tyronne

July 21st, 2005, 07:55 PM

Is it true that only a small percentage of the Call Center applicants get accepted to work?

yeah, i've read that somewhere, too (like 5%? im not sure). they must be very picky, huh.

rustyboi

July 21st, 2005, 09:17 PM

yup, one of 'em has even mere 2% hiring rate. it's 2 in a hundred applicants. :dizzy:

dancethingy

July 22nd, 2005, 07:09 AM

Bustero, that's crazy style. Can you elaborate on the term IP-NGN and how they work to cut costs.

Have any of you heard of the term INSOURCING? I watched C-SPAN and heard about it.

Is it also true that Call Centers in India are now flocking to the Philippines?

bustero

July 22nd, 2005, 12:05 PM

Eh what is crazy style :crazy: :hm:

Basically IP-NGN is a fancy way of saying they'll use the internet to transmit data, instead of using a dedicated network be it satellite or cable (copper or optic). By using the current internet highway and upgrading it (hence the Next generation eckeck), this is a much cheaper alternative to building your own network. (Most people have experienced this when they use IM to talk to other people like Yahoo or skype) It has something to do with the way information is actually broken down, processed, sent in packets, then reconstituted. Voice, Video etc is basically information presented in a certain form as well and can be broken down into bits of data which makes it transferable. With more efficient packeting, you can send more information down the same pipe, therefore making it more cost effective due to increased prodcutivity yields. Bottom line, use the internet to bring your cost down. Anyway Huwag mahilo sa sinasabi nila nagtitipid lang iyan, :angel:

Insourcing is a political term in the US used frequently by free trade types as yin to the yang of outsourcing. Basically their point is that if US companies have been outsourcing jobs to India and the Philipppines, foreign companies also put investments in the US and give americans jobs. It's not a realy management trend or economic paradigm more like a don't worry about us losing jobs to there, they put jobs here too anyway. :dizzy:

More accurately almost all large Call Center and in a general term Offshore Business Process Outsources will have operations in different countries. This is to spread the risk. So convergy's , etc all have operations in Bang and MM, and other places. In this sense it's not really correct to say the two countries compete in macroeconomic sense, specially when scale is applied, an operator of 10000 seats will not put it all in one location in a city nor one country. And yes infosys and wipro are here same as sastech svi is over there. :dunno:

Depending on the competency levels requried by the call centers, the rejection rates range from 95% to 99%. Unfortunately our facility for self expression in the English Language has devolved since our foray into using the Vernacular as the chief medium of instruction for primary and secondary levels of education. :drunk:

:bowtie: BOW

dancethingy

July 22nd, 2005, 06:24 PM

Crazy style is a term i use for something impressive, idiotic, unbelievable, amazing, unfathomable, etc....

for example,

"Regine Velasquez is the Philippine Micheal Jackson"- that's crazy style!

thomasian

July 23rd, 2005, 01:58 PM

...Depending on the competency levels requried by the call centers, the rejection rates range from 95% to 99%. Unfortunately our facility for self expression in the English Language has devolved since our foray into using the Vernacular as the chief medium of instruction for primary and secondary levels of education. :drunk:

:bowtie: BOW

That's so sad, I noticed on TV when they were interviewing some applicants on a call center job-fair that most of the applicants they're interviewing can't speak fluent english and yet they expect to land that job.

I guess another reason why we can't express ourself well in english is that most english speaking people are labeled as "maarte" unless they're really rich.

sandrin

July 23rd, 2005, 05:07 PM

If they use a neutral accent they won't be labelled "maarte". Only the conyo accent is labeled maarte and really sound irritating.
One has to think in english to be able to easily express oneself in english. Most of the time, pinoys tend to think in tagalog then translate it when speaking in english which causes stammering.
Read all the time. Schools in Canada require students to read at least 5 english novels in one month.

tyronne

July 23rd, 2005, 06:17 PM

^what's conyo accent again? i forgot. thanks.

bustero

July 23rd, 2005, 08:32 PM

Iyung nagstastamer medyo ok pa sa akin. I've interviewed a lot of people who CAN NOT speak English. Quite amazing, and they studied in Manila pa. Di na bale accent, cono or not, at least you should be able to construct a sentence in English kung college grad ka pero marami hirap or di kaya.

tyronne

July 23rd, 2005, 08:54 PM

ewan ko lang ha, pero sa tingin ko many students don't take English courses seriously. basta maipasa lang nila, ok na. sa tingin ata nila mas importante yung math or science subjects nila kaya minsan tuloy they don't give enough effort in learning English any more.

bustero

July 23rd, 2005, 09:36 PM

It's not only English grammar or literature which I'm talking about but just simple sentences in English. EVen Math or science requires this. As a country we've lost 20 years of english skills we have to claw back to be competitive.

thomasian

July 24th, 2005, 11:06 AM

^what's conyo accent again? i forgot. thanks.

Yun yung pa-cute na pa-tweetums na maarte accent (e.g. Kris Aquino) spoken mostly in a taglish manner ng mga sosy o feeling sosy people mostly from the exclusive schools and other "expensive and popular" schools na ang hang-out spots ay tipong Greenbelt, Eastwood, Powerplant, The Fort.

dancethingy

July 24th, 2005, 02:57 PM

So Conyo accent is like the beverly hills-ish girly accent of the Philippines, like "oh my god, like my like teacher told me that i was like not good enough, like whatever."
As Thomasian suggested LIKE Cory Aquino.

Speaking of reading books, ever since I got here i've been trying to get my cousins to read fiction, non-fiction, history, etc... just about anything, but they are so adamantly lazy about reading. It's frustrating. The only thing they like to read are inspirational quotes from the bible or something. While there's nothing wrong with that, it just isn't enough.

You all should have seen the looks on my cousins' faces when I gave them a copy of "East of Eden." They sure aren't gonna read that long of a book. So i suggested short stories like "Interpreter of Maladies" (a great fucking book). I think people who don't usually read would be more open to short stories. Reading is such a great avenue for people to take in order to explore and perfect the English language.

tyronne

July 24th, 2005, 08:03 PM

@aaron & dancethingy: oh ok, so that's conyo accent hehe!

Lili

July 24th, 2005, 09:36 PM

mhe-ann

July 25th, 2005, 05:38 AM

Basically IP-NGN is a fancy way of saying they'll use the internet to transmit data, instead of using a dedicated network be it satellite or cable (copper or optic). By using the current internet highway and upgrading it (hence the Next generation eckeck), this is a much cheaper alternative to building your own network. (Most people have experienced this when they use IM to talk to other people like Yahoo or skype) It has something to do with the way information is actually broken down, processed, sent in packets, then reconstituted. Voice, Video etc is basically information presented in a certain form as well and can be broken down into bits of data which makes it transferable. With more efficient packeting, you can send more information down the same pipe, therefore making it more cost effective due to increased prodcutivity yields. Bottom line, use the internet to bring your cost down. Anyway Huwag mahilo sa sinasabi nila nagtitipid lang iyan, :angel:

Insourcing is a political term in the US used frequently by free trade types as yin to the yang of outsourcing. Basically their point is that if US companies have been outsourcing jobs to India and the Philipppines, foreign companies also put investments in the US and give americans jobs. It's not a realy management trend or economic paradigm more like a don't worry about us losing jobs to there, they put jobs here too anyway. :dizzy:

More accurately almost all large Call Center and in a general term Offshore Business Process Outsources will have operations in different countries. This is to spread the risk. So convergy's , etc all have operations in Bang and MM, and other places. In this sense it's not really correct to say the two countries compete in macroeconomic sense, specially when scale is applied, an operator of 10000 seats will not put it all in one location in a city nor one country. And yes infosys and wipro are here same as sastech svi is over there. :dunno:

Depending on the competency levels requried by the call centers, the rejection rates range from 95% to 99%. Unfortunately our facility for self expression in the English Language has devolved since our foray into using the Vernacular as the chief medium of instruction for primary and secondary levels of education. :drunk:

:bowtie: BOW

bow! very well said @bustero. :) and thanks for the info. Never knew that the rejection rates in call centers range to 95% to 99%...that's sad.

bustero

July 25th, 2005, 01:25 PM

I recently saw a feature on the call center phenomenon in India on TV. They showed that the call centers also have accent reduction training so that the speakers' foreign accent becomes imperceptible. One calling from Mid-west in the US could hardly recognize that the voice on the other end of the line is coming all the way from India. So I guess facility in the English language is not only what the call centers are looking for but fluidity and neutrality or absence of foreign-sounding accents. They are willing to train for accent reduction.

This is quite true, and actually makes it sadder. Accents can be fixed , even bad grammar can be fixed. Where many people fail is in the area of comprehension ! Yes, they do not understand English, specially when spoken to. Maybe natataranta but for sure this is the number one issue.

Mango

July 25th, 2005, 01:44 PM

Don't you think SMS mania can be attributed to this problem? I mean, abbreviated, broken english is what communication is all about to most young people now.

thomasian

July 25th, 2005, 03:49 PM

I guess the SMS mania is not much of a problem today since it just started recently.

Our problem will be the kids now who will grow up with texting, since they are still in their formative years and their exposure to all of those abbreviated and grammaticaly incorrect text messages in broken english or taglish will definitely take its toll on their language skills.

rustyboi

July 25th, 2005, 05:18 PM

the way i see it... its not much on the gadgets that influence the person's language/ communication skills. its the people around 'em and of course the school where they go to. its really nice to hear a lot of kids in our neighborhood or even in public speaking english with their parents and even yayas pinagpawisan na sa kaka-english. haha.. average filipino family yun ha. :)

Lili

July 25th, 2005, 06:09 PM

^ All your comments about the deterioration of English language speaking and comprehension skills surprised me. That's deplorable. And I thought that the reverse was true, that most of the Pinoys prefer to talk in English. Especially now that US media influence is all over. Medyo naiinis pa naman ako sa nephew ko nang pa-ingles-ingles. I wanted him to talk to me in Tagalog when I speak with him Tagalog.

I guess there is truth to Aaron (Thomasian)'s statement that another reason why some can't express themselves in English is that they are thought of as "maarte". I may be guilty of this labeling (sa nephew and niece ko pa). So now I've learned that this stigma should be erased so that folks will not be self-conscious when trying to express themselves in another language.

thomasian

July 26th, 2005, 05:46 AM

@ Rusty - yeah, it's the people around you and the school...

There was once a group of students who went to our school to teach us "damath" (dama+math or math dama). And I noticed that all of them pronounced zero as "se-ro". why? because their teacher pronounces it that way.

I think it should start from the teachers. I believe most teachers in the public schools in MM have poor english communication skills, and they pass on to their students whatever mistakes in grammar of pronounciation that they commit.

sandrin

July 26th, 2005, 06:15 AM

I agree, the environment plays a major role in the way we communicate particulary in acquiring accent. My english teacher in grade school (3-6) had a British accent. She got her Masteral and Doctorate Degree in a University in London. Hence, she did not enunciate the vowels like an American and used a British accent in our speech class.
Guess what comment I got from a Canadian friend, that I have a soft accent and I don't enunciate the vowels like an American slang.

bustero

July 26th, 2005, 06:31 AM

I think it's obvious most of you went to good schools, so your circles are very different from average juan de la cruz. Certain groups in certain cities use english predominantly. And yes sometimes people look up to or down on English speakers.

BUT

This is not the problem, the above is a very small minority. Haven't you noticed that through the years Mass media (abs cbn, gma not cable ) have had very little or even no english based programming. I used to think it was a cause and not the effect,of lower use of English. But turned out I was wrong. I found out that programing execs had actually noticed that whose in filipino were rating much higher and their test showed this was because the general population had a harder time understanding English shows, so they just adjusted , little by little, first the news, then the rest of programing. Where have all the english based programs gone ... to cable , basically where the upper classes . If you can afford cable chances are your kids go to private school which still teaches in English and realize it's importance. The rest of the Masa though just watch terestrial tv. In the vernacular.

Since 86 or 87, we've had an additional 20-25 million kids, (let's not even count the people who were born prior but were still in grade school thus feeling the same effect)whose primary means of instruction is NOT IN ENglish. These are the guys who are graduating and taking in Call center jobs. English for them was not used daily in school, only in English class. Hence it's just another subject to be passed or filed not neccesarily to master so you can do the rest of the other subjects!

Well You reap what you sow.

sandrin

July 26th, 2005, 12:54 PM

Yeah, the masa channels even translated the cartoons to Tagalog.
Where are the cartoons such as Smurfs, Transformers, Scooby-doo.....

Aekia

July 27th, 2005, 12:21 AM

What's wrong with translating cartoons into Tagalog? People always translate things into there own language.

sandrin

July 27th, 2005, 03:18 AM

We are discussing why the English language has been deteriorating amongst the young generation of today particularly the masa. Apparently, the major source of English exposure aside from the Schools is the television. In the past, the cartoons and most TV shows were shown using the original english language. That helped increase the exposure of the masa youth to the English language. The more exposure you get, the more comfortable you are in using it. But since the regular TV programs translated everything into Tagalog, the masa youth have lesser exposure to it, hence they became more alienated to the language itself.

rustyboi

July 27th, 2005, 07:58 AM

i agree... the translation (tv shows) to tagalog is an indication itself that english has been deteriorating among the masa. i tuned in one time to a local tv channel (abs-cbn) and one of America's popular tv series 24 was dubbed in tagalog! can u imagine that? :bash:

sandrin

July 28th, 2005, 02:30 AM

Epixtar expanding Philippine flagship call center
Posted: 1:01 AM | Jul. 28, 2005

MIAMI-BASED Epixtar Corp. announced Wednesday it was raising about $6.5 million, about P364 million, to fund full development of its call center in the Eastwood City area of Quezon City.

Epixtar president Irving Greenman said in a statement that the company had tapped Laurus Master Fund Ltd. to spearhead the fund raising.

The Eastwood City call center, one of four Epixtar call centers in the Philippines, has about 800 agents.

Greenman said Epixtar Philippines IT-Enabled Services Corp.' Eastwood City site would employ about 2,500 agents when it becomes fully operational later this year.

The other call centers are in Manila's Alabang suburb, Makati City, and Clark Special Economic Zone, north of Manila.

The Makati site resulted from a $20-million acquisition of a Kansas-based call center firm, Innovative Marketing Strategies Inc.

That deal meant Epixtar would acquire IMS' Philippine unit, IMS Asia, plus three IMS call centers in Wheeling, West Virginia, in Duluth, Minnesota, and in Pittsburg, Kansas.

The four Philippine sites have about 3,000 call center seats. Epixtar hopes to have 5,000 seats by yearend, Greenman said.

Epixtar started operating its own facilities in the Philippines in 2002.

"We have been very encouraged by the level of interest in our services, the loyalty of our clients, and the enthusiasm of our agents," Greenman said.

Citing a recent McKinsey study, he said the number of jobs being farmed out of the United States would likely grow to 4.1 million by 2008 from 1.5 million in 2003.

sandrin

July 30th, 2005, 04:06 AM

Ford consolidating call center operations
... eyes RP as potential base
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

American car manufacturer Ford Motor Company plans to consolidate its global call center operations, and the Philippines is emerging as a potential site.

Ford information technology (IT) manager Geoff Scott is in the country this week and has already discussed the plan with key officials of the Trade department, sources privy to the visit said.

One source told BusinessWorld that Ford is looking at "either consolidating its entire call center operations to a call center company based here, or set up its own call center office similar to what other multinational companies have done."

London-headquartered HSBC Group and American International Group, Inc. have already set up their own call center or "in-house" facilities in the Philippines.

Ford is presently outsourcing call center requirements to Percepta, a joint venture with TeleTech Holdings, Inc. launched in April 2000. Percepta currently serves Ford and Lincoln Mercury customers in the United States, Canada, and Australia via telephone, fax, e-mail, and other internet options 24 hours a day.

According to an article in Ford's website, entitled: "e-Business at Ford Motor Company," Ford Motor Company has been "changing the way it does business by embracing advanced technologies and the Internet to deliver the products and services that our consumers want faster, better and more effectively."

Forming part of its IT strategy, "the company will consolidate customer contact centers around the world with an integrated central database that ultimately will enhance each customer’s relationship with Ford by enabling Ford to develop strong customer memory. Percepta will expand operations to include Europe, South America and the rest of Asia and serve all Ford Motor Company brands."

Sought for comment, however, Ford Group Philippines vice-president for corporate affairs Florina Vistal said: "The call center consolidation has no basis. We have several visitors coming into the Philippines [not only Geoff Scott] looking into several projects because we have a manufacturing plant here. Projects may include improving our information technology infrastructure, but we don't have details yet about the plan."

A Fortune 500 company, Ford carries the car brands Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Aston Martin.

In the Philippines, TeleTech:

* has a 7,000 square meter and single-floor building in Bay City in Pasay City, southern Metro Manila;
* has an exclusive partnership agreement with ePLDT Inc. on Vocativ Systems, Inc. at the Hatch Asia building in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Muntinlupa (also in southern Metro Manila); and
* opened last January an 8,000 square meter-facility inside the Gokongwei-owned Robinson’s Place in Novaliches, Quezon City in northern Metro Manila.

Craig Reines, TeleTech vice-president and general manager in the Philippines, said during an interview last January that the company is looking at growing its call center jobs to 5,000 by yearend from 2,500 call center agents as of January.

TeleTech is also looking for alternative sites outside Metro Manila, particularly in the Visayas area outside Metro Cebu to avoid competing with othe call center companies.

The value of call center investments depends on a variety of factors such as location and types of customer care services being handled. On the average, combined investment for the equipment and training per seat is pegged at $250,000 for a start-up facility and about $15,000 per seat for call centers which have existing local operations.

wornout

July 31st, 2005, 02:15 PM

I really agree that your exposure to media shapes your ability to use a certain language. I think tv show producers in the philippines should create their own shows in tagalog and just leave the english shows in english. In this way our own shows in tagalog will help us learn our culture more while at the same time we are able to gain knowledge and competence in english through the english language shows. It's really pathetic to hear though that our media is still not putting any action about this issue.

sandrin

July 31st, 2005, 02:30 PM

I hear you! Aside from enhancing the "artista"-culture vulture, the television shows are also responsible for making the Masa "bobo" in English.They would like to emulate Erap-English and Erap-thinking, I guess.

Boycott the local pinoy channels now!

thomasian

July 31st, 2005, 05:12 PM

Yeah, local TV shows especially comedy shows, put an emphasis on the "bobo-english" thinking that it makes a lot of people laugh. But it doesn't only make people laugh, it also makes us more dumb in english.

rustyboi

August 1st, 2005, 10:11 AM

Cebuana makes it big in US call center biz
By edison d. ong

Last July 14, as I sat through the morning sessions of the First Philippine Summit on Women and Technology at the grand ballroom of Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City, the image of Malu Ros kept on flashing through my mind.

The conference theme is "Empowering Women in a Technology Enhanced Environment." It was organized by the Women’s Business Council Philippines in partnership with the Information Technology Association of the Philippines in an effort "to empower women in a workplace setting that is strongly centered on the everchanging landscape of information technology.

Isabelita Palanca, WBCP chairperson, said it straight to the point, "We wanted to provide women with role models to help them achieve success in their chosen profession especially those immersed in the use of technology. A lot of women are so invaluable to the companies they work for. It’s about time we leverage our roles in the economy."

Earlier in July, I had the honor of speaking up close with Malu Ros. It is a very rare interview opportunity provided Manila Bulletin Infotech..

As the director for global communication and culture training (CCT) at Convergys Corporation, she manages a team of about 200 people across 14 sites in India and the Philippines.

Early March this year, Malu moved from her Convergys - Makati training office in her home country Philippines to the Convergys Jacksonville (Florida) campus in the United States.

Malu, originally an English teacher at a local private secondary school in Cebu province, is employee number three — one of the first people hired — of Convergys in the Philippines. Part of her responsibilities include the development of a wide-ranging program that covers everything from hiring to initial training to on-going refresher courses.

She said she choose to work for Convergys because "it was a good opportunity for me to use the competencies that I had gained throughout my career. It (call center industry) was unexplored territory for me at the time, but I knew I could rise to the challenge with my expertise in communication and training skills.

She cited the following experiences that best prepared her for the job: 1. Growth from being an English teacher to an English as a Secondary Language instructor; 2. Shift from teaching into the training field; 3. Background in leadership, management and organization development; 4. Cultural sensitivity springing out of working with different cultures at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Malu never envisioned having an executive office at the US (a dream of many Filipino professionals working for American organizations). "All I wanted was to ensure that the Convergys set up in the Philippines was successful; I applied what I knew from my training and organization development experience — which was analyzing the entire process and looking at how communications and culture training could be of help at every step of the agents’ (call center personnel) lives."

When Malu and the first generation executives and employee batch of Convergys Philippines started in 2003, they were quite happy as a 800-man strong family located in two sites. Today, they have breached the 5,500 mark and continue to expand from its present seven sites.

From April 2003 to March 2004, Malu served as senior manager for communications and culture training at the Philippine branch of Convergys Corporation.

Malu believes one of the major factors on their growth is the company does not just "hire and hire." It has a promote and or built from within approach to employee recruitment and promotion.

"We hire the best," she boasted, adding that the Filipino labor is abundant. "The supply is limitless. It (Filipino) is a trainable workforce."

Like her, many applicants and employees at Convergys do not have call center industry experience and training. This is a challenge they also faced in the beginning.

She narrated that the most challenging experience for her in the company is "learning the business — I am not a data driven person. I’m more of the creative, perceptive type."

She continued, "It takes a lot of discipline to learn to work with numbers and communicate with the Operations group (at Convergys) in the language that they know best: Real, live data."

Malu gives this tip to potential employees at Convergys: "Fluency in the English language is foremost. It is the skills set most required to be successful in the call center industry."

She adds, "Equally important, one has to gain a real understanding of the significance of the work they do in delighting the customer."

Communications, she stressed, is the very essence of the call center industry. "No matter how much process training an agent goes through, if he is not able to express his thoughts such that he can resolve customer issues, the work is not done," she stated. "Given that, communication and culture training (CCT) is imperative to a global company like Convergys."

Malu detailed the components of CCT.

"CCT is an end to end process that ensures that the agent hiring profile in terms of communications skills is adhered to. The 12 or 15-day training program is an intensive training focused on language accuracy, reasoning skills, comprehension and customer rapport. On-going support while the agents are in process training is provided, and this goes through transition.

When the agents hit production, communication coaches complete the cycle, providing continuous monitoring and coaching to the agents, and giving feedback to the training team for curriculum improvement. Agents exhibit their communication skills by completing the agent certification process."

Asked what is the difference between her life and work in the Philippines and in the US, she replied:

"The general end to end CCT process is the same, albeit expanded and reinforced with language experts’ input on the curriculum. The professional environment is as challenging, except that it is now on a larger (global) scale. I have greater access to resources and to the decision makers in Jacksonville, but being in the US has removed me from in person contact with the trainers, unless I go on my in-country visits."

kiretoce

August 2nd, 2005, 10:20 PM

European Companies Show Keen Interest in the Philippines' IT Services

The Philippine business mission to Europe was met by a dozen of companies eager to do business with the Philippines' IT and IT-enabled firms, according to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

Pasay City, Philippines (PRWEB) August 2, 2005 -- The Philippine business mission to Europe was met by a dozen of companies eager to do business with the Philippines' IT and IT-enabled firms, according to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

According to CITEM, "The response from the business community in Europe was encouraging. We have to keep them in our radar screen if we are to remain competitive in the business process outsourcing (BPO) space."

Local enterprises which visited Europe operate in various IT outsourcing areas such as contact centers (Advanced Contact Solutions (ACS), Vision X, and Teletech Holdings, Inc.); contact center solutions and technology (Alliance Technologies and Diversified Technology Systems Inc.); financial services and accounting, publishing and transcription (SPI Technologies, SENCOR); architectural and engineering requirements outsourcing (Environments Collaborative) and project management of outsourcing needs (Invent Asia).

Forrester Research estimated that the UK will account for three-quarters of all European offshore outsourcing within five years. The report also said that offshore service spending in Western Europe will grow from EUR 1.1 billion in 2004 to EUR 3.6 billion in 2009, with the UK accounting for 76 percent of that amount.

Aside from the growing outsourcing demand in Europe, other factors driving the need for technology-enhanced BPO are: increased bundling of horizontal offerings (e.g. F&A combined with HR and supply management), demand for more sophisticated services beyond mere process execution, moving up the value chain in global delivery, requirement for technology boost and expertise in application and information management, and increasing prevalence of mega deals and acquisitions.

To date, Dutch companies with outsourced processes in the Philippines are Getronics, ING Group, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and ABN AMRO. Meanwhile, British companies with outsourcing operations in the country are Standard Chartered Bank, Sykes and Ambergris Solutions.

The Philippine delegation, led by Trade Assistant Secretary and CITEM executive director Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes, met with Universal Marine BV, SOLLAND, Allied Aircraft Assistance Worldwide Association, KLM, Sommer Holding Ltd., Digital Port (Information Center) Rotterdam, Logica CMG, HSBC, Express Gifts London, National Outsourcing Association (London), INTELLECT (UK IT Association), Mitial Research International, Arcware Solutions, Ltd., MRA Marketing Solutions.

Some of the potential business leads gathered from the mission were business processing deals with Logica CMG, Express Gifts and the Emirates Group.

Logica is a major global force in IT services and wireless telecoms, with around 21, 000 people across 34 countries. In the Philippines, Globe and Sun Cellular are among Logica's clients for SMS and MMS. The company has an offshore development center in India serving different verticals like telecom, financial services and energy and utilities among others.

Express Gifts Financial Services Director Nasser Malik is also looking into opening up a 200-seat contact center in the Philippines to take order calls for home shopping and other call types.

Other business prospects for the Philippines gathered during the mission were a 500-seat contact center requirement for outbound calls; F&A such as payroll services for insurance company with office outside the UK and a networking relationship with Digital Port Rotterdam as link to ICT users with outsourcing requirements.

The McKinsey Global Institute recently noted that a new competitive dynamic is emerging. "Early movers in offshoring improve their cost position and boost their market share, creating new jobs in the process. Companies who resisted the trend saw increasingly unfavorable cost positions which eroded market share and eventually end in job destruction." Offshoring, the study also noted, is a powerful way for companies to reduce costs and improve the quality and kinds of products they offer consumers, allowing them to invest in technology and create jobs.

During the mission, the Philippines likewise participated for the first time in Outsource World London, a two-day conference and exhibition featuring 70 exhibitors from 10 countries.

"The Philippine participation in Outsource World is part of our aggressive trade and investment promotions in Europe in which the BPO market continues to grow in size," CITEM officials said.

The government's international promotions agency also added that it was worth noting how most of the European companies intended to do business with the Philippines while the rest gained insight into the local market.

In 2004, the Netherlands was the Philippines' 3rd largest trading partner while the UK is the 16th largest.

The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking nation in the world outside the United States and the UK. Filipino IT professionals are also highly trainable with a learning curve of six to eight weeks.

The Philippines has the largest pool of quality accountants in Asia, with 105,000 graduates of finance, accounting and management every year, increasing by about 3,000 yearly. During the first quarter of 2005, there were about 113, 300 licensed accountants in the country. The U.S.' Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) rank Filipino accountants as "among the best in the world."

According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, the Philippines is number 4 source of IT professionals in the world.

The Philippine business mission to Europe was organized by CITEM, the Board of Investments (BOI), in coordination with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Rotterdam and London. The project is a component of the ICT-Europe Trade and Investment Promotion Program under the Philippine ICT Business Development Team.

Mango

August 7th, 2005, 02:18 PM

Favila urges local firms to tap $25-B medical transcription business in US
By Marianne V. Go
The Philippine Star 08/07/2005

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila has urged local firms to tap the profitable $25-billion medical transcription market in the US.

Favila said hospitals and laboratories in the US find it cheaper to send some of their core and non-core medical processes overseas.

"With our huge pool of highly skilled, quality medical and technology professionals, the Philippines is the best destination for medical transcription services," he said.

Department of Trade and Industry reports show that the cost of healthcare in developed countries is spiraling. Sending offshore key business processes is seen to reduce costs by as much as 70 percent, according to estimates.

The global healthcare outsourcing market, with all services put together, is seen to reach $71 billion in 2005.

Healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) is a $200-billion business worldwide. In the United States, an estimate of the medical transcription market alone is valued at $25 billion, growing at a rate of 20 percent a year.

Nearly half of the total transcription dollars are being spent on outsourced transcription market, according to the US-based Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA).

Medical transcription is one of the five sub-sectors identified by the DTI in its campaign to sell the Philippines as a global hub for outsourced IT-enabled services.

Medical transcription deals with interpreting and electronic encoding of patient assessment and therapeutic procedures from hospitals and other medical institutions.

Philippine medical transcription companies do mostly medical reports, discharge summaries, operative reports, therapy/rehabilitation notes, chart notes, and hospital and clinic reports using state-of-the-art software and equipment from the US.

Each medical transcriber can transcribe up to 1,000 lines per day with a 98-percent accuracy rate.

Most of them offer 24/7 services and have an average turnaround time of 24 hours, with the ability to deliver output in 3 to 6 hours in emergency cases.

This year, 12 IT-enabled companies in the Philippines will join the American Health and Information Management Association (AHIMA) Conference and Exhibition from Oct. 15 to 20 in San Diego, California.

These firms are: eData Services Philippines, Inc., Global Data Processing Inc., Ibiz Outsource Technology Inc., International Center for Medical Transcription, Medscribe Asia Inc., MT Link Asia, Northern Transcriptionworks Inc., Text Switch Unlimited Inc., Total Transcription Solutions Inc., Touch Asia Contact Solutions Inc., Transkripsyo Inc. and SPI Healthcare Documentation.

AHIMA is a dynamic professional association representing more than 50,000 health information management professionals in the healthcare industry.

The AHIMA Conference and Exhibition targets industry professionals that make and influence the buying decisions in the US healthcare information management industry, making it an ideal venue to promote the Philippines as a choice destination for medical transcription outsourcing.

At the e-Services Philippines 2005 in February, the country’s major IT conference and exhibition, Peter Maquera, vice president for content development of SPI Technologies Inc., said the growing US medical transcription market is seen to benefit the Philippines as evidenced by the 2008 market sizes.

These include billing of $1.07 billion; coding worth $587 million and claims processing, $15.7 billion.

"Medical transcription is here to stay. With more companies improving their cost position and market share, plus newer technology adding value, this business is on a sound footing," Favila said.

The Philippines graduates an average of 30,000 medical professionals every year and Filipino doctors, nurses and healthcare providers are acknowledged worldwide for their keen sense for details, high degree of productivity and credibility, assuring clients of safety of any medical information.

amigo32

August 7th, 2005, 02:49 PM

amigo32

August 7th, 2005, 10:57 PM

The Manila Times (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/aug/08/yehey/business/20050808bus8.html)

Monday, August 08, 2005

Dutch firm expands call-center operations

By Niel V. Mugas, Reporter

DUTCH firm Sykes Netherlands B. V. will expand its call-center operations in the Philippines with the establishment of a new contact center in Quezon City through wholly owned subsidiary Sykes Asia Inc., according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Called the K Pointe Center project, this new investment worth P479 million involves the provision of additional phone support services. Besides having a 1,000-seating capacity, it will also employ 1,143 employees.

The new facility will use the asynchronous-transfer-mode (ATM) equipment which is designed to enhance the five current Sykes Asia facilities, three of which are in Ortigas, Makati and Cebu.

“The ATM is a cell-relay network protocol which encodes data traffic into small, fixed-sized cells instead of variable-sized packets as in packet-switched networks such as the Internet protocol or Ethernet,” the department said.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila explained that Sykes decided to locate in the Philippines because of “low labor costs, educational attainment of graduates, government incentives and excellent telecoms.”

Favila said the Dutch firm’s decision to invest in the Philippines reflects the continued confidence of investors.

As of the first quarter of this year, the call-center industry in the Philippines has established 45,000 seats, generating 72,000 new jobs. Estimated revenue of the industry in 2004 was $800 million.

“The department has identified ICT as a priority area in 1999 and since then, we have vigorously promoted the Philippines as an ICT hub in the Asian region,” Favila said.

Sykes Philippines is the second fastest-growing tech company in the country, with 36 percent growth in net revenues from 2000 to 2001 and a three-year average growth in net revenues of 167 percent, from 1998 to 2001.

Net revenues are expected to reach P315 million this year, from a low of P13 million in 1998.

rustyboi

August 10th, 2005, 11:44 AM

Dell to set up global customer contact center in RP

COMPUTER vendor Dell announced on Wednesday that it would open its global customer contact center in the Philippines early next year.
It will initially hire and train 700 technical support and customer service agents, and for 70 leadership and administrative positions by the end of August, the company said in a statement obtained by INQ7.net.

To be located in RCBC Plaza Tower in Makati City, the facility will provide technical and customer support for its global consumer customers using its PC products for home entertainment and education.

Dell has also set up a contact center in Malaysia to handle Asian customers.

The company noted that it will complete its due diligence by end of the year, and is scheduled to begin operations in February 2006.

Dell did not disclose however how much it will invest in the global contact center.

"As we grow our business, there is a continuous need to hire the best technical support expertise we can find, to give our customers the best possible computing and entertainment experience," said John Hamlin, senior vice president, U.S. Consumer.

"Our team in the Philippines will help us continue to extend our services capabilities," the executive added.

Dell has selected the Philippines for the customer contact center expansion because of its high-quality work force with strong language and communication skills.

The country has about 100 contact centers, over 200 colleges and universities, and more than 650,000 college students, the company said, citing industry information from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines.

Dell is currently the world's number one direct-sale computer vendor and competes with Hewlett-Packard for the worldwide PC market.

In addition to desktop and notebook PCs designed for consumers, Dell offers network servers, workstations, storage systems, and Ethernet switches for enterprise customers. The company also sells handheld computers, and markets third-party software and peripherals.

Dell has growing service unit that provides systems integration, support, and training

The company indicated that it has recently expanded its customer services capabilities from hardware to include software and applications services such as assistance on virus and spyware problems.

Francis20

August 14th, 2005, 06:12 AM

nice to hear those news about Sykes and Dell. And Dell has the money to occupy RCBC eh? Seems like RCBC is now getting crowded with these prestigious companies.
And hopefully we could get a share of the higher end industry soon.

bustero

August 16th, 2005, 06:32 AM

Interesting News.

news
The next wave
Internet cafés seen levelling RP’s call center business
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

Internet cafés in the country can now use their facilities to host call center operation at night, seen as a profitable way to cut downtime.

Moreover, this new call center business model is expected to enable small companies and even individuals to cash in on untapped opportunities in this particular field of business process outsourcing that big, established call centers are unable to service.

Starting August 15, all the 30 workstations of I-Mind, an internet café in Grace Park, Caloocan City, will be available for small call center operators, as well as telecommuting agents of Makati-based call centers, on a pay-per-use basis.

I-Mind is a partnership between California-based call center solution provider Five9 and Dagupan-based network provider Bitstop Inc., which owns the internet café itself.

Bitstop pays an average monthly license subscription fee of $300 per seat for Five9 call center solutions, while Five9 rents I-Mind workstations for an undisclosed amount.

Under I-Mind’s "pay-per-use" arrangement, users will pay only for the time they consume on the call center service-enabled workstation, at a rate of $4 per hour.

Hence, this arrangement provides those going into the call center business a ready supply of requirements like personal computers, headsets, broadband access, US toll free numbers, servers, as well as the required software solutions like automatic call distribution, voice mail, interactive voice response.

"We are democratizing the call center business. Call center operations in the future will no longer be confined in business districts such as Makati City. And this is a good pattern for other internet cafés to consider," Bitstop president Wilson Chua told BusinessWorld in an interview.

Right now, 15 small companies have already signed up to use I-Mind’s call center service-enabled workstations.

Mr. Chua cited, as an example, Rainiers Research & Development Institute, Inc., a home-grown manufacturer of Lauat herbal shampoo that has expressed interest to use one workstation to service calls from its 1,500 to 2,000 US-based clients.

Mr. Chua also said big call center companies like those in Makati City may find it more efficient to allow those of their agents living far away to use facilities like those of I-Mind.

He added that lower investment per seat can spur the growth of a call center "cottage industry" in the country, explaining that, theoretically, even a housewife or a retiree can operate her own call center business at home. Housewives and retirees are seen as part of the unutilized, potential labor pool for call centers.

Mr. Chua said Bitstop is committed to grow I-Mind’s capacity to 200 workstations in the near term. To date, only about a third of the 600-square meter facility of I-Mind is utilized. Bitstop plans to roll out similar "pay-per-use" facilities in Dagupan, Legaspi and Naga cities.

Five9 training director Tess Fria said other "pay-per-use" facilities are also in the pipeline. Five9 is now working with ALVA Pacific Franchise Corporation and Syntegraltech to transform their internet cafés in Citimall in the Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa) area in Diliman, Quezon City and in Makati City, respectively, into call centers at night.

bustero

August 16th, 2005, 08:43 AM

this story was taken from www.inq7money.net

URL: http://money.inq7.net/topstories/view_topstories.php?yyyy=2005&mon=08&dd=16&file=3

SPECIAL REPORT
Call-center boom lifts property sector
Posted: 2:40 AM | Aug. 16, 2005
Daxim L. Lucas
Inquirer News Service

Published on Page B1 of the August 16, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

AMANDA'S work has absolutely nothing to do with her college degree, she says.

Yet she persists at it because "it pays good money" and allows her to buy "stuff" she had always wanted, like clothes in fashion or a late model cellular phone, and go to "gimmicks" (fun activities) once -- sometimes twice -- a week.

Amanda is just one of the thousands of fresh college graduates who work for call centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms that have set up shop to exploit the country's cheap, English-speaking workforce.

"I don't get to apply anything I learned in my tourism course," she says, while munching on a burger at a fast-food outlet during her "lunch break," which in this case is midnight. "But I think I'm lucky that I have a job, especially with the situation in our country now."

She probably doesn't know it, but the industry she works for is generating not only thousands of new jobs each year, but also injecting new life into the country's long dormant property sector.

Uneven recovery

Eight years after the outbreak of the East Asian financial crisis, the local property market is on the move once more.

In recent months, property prices across most segments of the industry have been rising at a pace not seen since the mid-1990s. Some economists and market analysts now believe that this trend may signal a gradual return of the long-awaited property boom.

Nowhere is the property recovery more evident than in the demand for office space in the Makati and Ortigas business districts, driven by the boom in call centers and BPOs.

In these areas, rent and capital values for office space bottomed out in late 2003, having dropped by as much as 60 percent since the property bubble burst.

Prices have been rising steadily since.

In the April-June quarter alone, rent prices rose by an average of nine percent from the previous quarter due to the booming demand for office space and limited supply, says property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

"The emergence of the Philippines as an outsourcing destination has boosted the demand for office space," the firm observes. "This demand is mainly driven by the entry and expansion of call centers and BPO companies."

As a result, the vacancy rate in prime office buildings fell to 5.9 percent in the April-June quarter. In its latest research bulletin, Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that the vacancy rate will drop further to 5.6 percent -- a level unseen since the start of the 1990s building boom -- at the end of 2005.

The reason for this is the classic confluence of growing demand amid very limited supply.

"With no traditional office buildings completed in the past two years, tight supply, coupled with strong demand, continue to push rents and vacancy rates to pre-Asian financial crisis levels," the firm says.

So much so that first-class buildings like The Enterprise Center along Ayala Avenue in Makati have reportedly cut down their "free rent" offers to new tenants to only two months' worth from as high as nine months only a year ago.

Limited supply

Burned by over-investment in the 1990s, local property developers have turned gun-shy, choosing to exhaust local supply and wait for lower land values before breaking ground on new office buildings.

At present, there are 8.8 million square feet of office space available in Makati and 3.6 million square feet in the Ortigas area. Given the rate that call centers are cropping up, supply is running out fast.

No new office buildings were launched in the last two years, and none are being planned for at least three more years, says Colliers International Philippines research head Richard Raymundo.

He said most landowners are still quoting high prices as if the 1997-98 Asian crisis never happened.

"It's still not realistic," he says. "How can you develop the property if you don't have the land?"

On the other hand, other developers are also hesitant about putting up new buildings because rent and capital values have not appreciated beyond their threshold yet, Raymundo says.

"Construction costs are definitely higher than 1996 levels, so you'd have to hit a certain rent price level for you to be able to say 'Hey, I'll go ahead with the project'," he adds.

For developers to start thinking about putting up new buildings, rental prices should appreciate to P650-P700 a square meter a month, a level that will likely be hit in the next six months.

So what's holding the market back?

Political crisis

This early, cracks are starting to emerge in the property sector's nascent recovery. Apart from what looks like a slowly inflating property market bubble, analysts at Colliers feel that the country's "slow-burn" political crisis is gradually taking its toll on the local business scene.

"If you look at the forecasts [for price appreciation], it's steep, but we might downgrade that," Raymundo warns. "We're already seeing signs that it might slowdown in the next six months because of all this political instability."

He explains that office space for call centers and BPOs are major investments that are made in the context of the local politico-economic environment and not only on the basis of cheap labor.

"At the end of the day, it's investor confidence that matters," he says. "If you're looking at a 5,000-square-meter office space, that's a lot of money. If you see that something's unstable, you tend to defer your decision."

To be sure, other segments of the property market are also making good business especially residential developments, which are being targeted at overseas Filipino workers and other expatriate Filipinos with large disposable incomes.

"The only sector that's being left out is the market for golf shares which hasn't recovered since the Asian crisis," Raymundo says. "All the other sectors are seeing rising prices."

Already, Colliers believes that the demand for residential property developments will plateau in the next two to three years.

Jones Lang LaSalle predicted over the summer that sales of mid-income residential developments would "remain buoyant" due to "competitive pricing coupled with low interest rates," but this situation may soon change due to developments on the political front.

The crisis is threatening the normally resilient residential sector, as short- and long-term interest rates rise to help the government borrow funds and fend off speculative attacks against the local currency.

No market crash

Nonetheless, a 1997-style market crash is unlikely given the continued lack of supply on almost all segments.

"There is no over-investment, so there is no bubble to burst," Unicapital Inc. research head Enrico Claudio says in an interview. He says he is bullish on the property market, especially since its upward cycle has just started.

The main threat he sees over the horizon is if high crude oil prices force the world economy to go into a recession, which will, in turn, affect the countries that feed the local call center boom.

For now, however, Amanda can rest easy that she will continue to afford new cellular phones, new clothes, and expensive meals courtesy of her call center job.

Already, however, she's beginning to see signs of a glut in the industry and wants to explore new career paths.

"When I look around, I see there are so many of us," she says. "I want to learn to do something else soon."

The call center-dependent property market may want to take its cue from her. With INQ7.net

kiretoce

August 17th, 2005, 09:39 PM

Cebu IT training center opens
Thursday, August 18, 2005

Philippine National IT Standards (Philnits) Foundation Inc. launched its Cebu office and training room beside the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 last Tuesday.

Formerly called Japanese IT (information technology) Standards Examination of the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Jitse-Philippines), Philnits aims to establish internationally recognized and accepted standards, which will be used to determine the competence of IT engineers and professionals in the country.

Yasutomi Ota, Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) executive director, said that for IT professionals to be competitive, they have to know their level of skills and get a certification.

Jetro gave a total of P4.5 million for the Philnits training facility in Cebu that includes 21 computers, software, and other facilities.

“To put forward our IT industry, we really need to have this intervention and thrust,” said DTI 7 Regional Director Aster Caberte.

She said business process outsourcing (BPO) and software development are two major niches identified in the IT industry of Cebu.

Philnits has produced 187 certified trainees after more than three years of conducting the program, said its president, Ma. Corazon Akol.

“The number of our certified IT professionals, however, is still far from the demand of Japanese IT companies,” she admitted.

Cebu has been consistently getting a high passing percentage. However, only a few IT professionals in Cebu take the certification, she said.

Ota said while India’s competence in the IT industry is highly regarded, he hopes that the Philippines would be able to catch up and become more competitive.

“With the country’s proficiency in the English language, location, and skilled IT professionals, it has a bright future,” he said.

sandrn

August 18th, 2005, 01:36 AM

BusinessWorld Online Reports

RP, India tagged as most cost-competitive contact center sites in Asia Pacific
... Datamonitor study finds Latin America with lowest call center agent price; Canada, South Africa the most costly

LONDON -- New research by market analyst Datamonitor, benchmarking offshore contact center costs, found the Philippines and India as the most cost-competitive sites in Asia and the Pacific.

The report, "The Global Offshore Cost Assessment," provides cost comparisons in major offshore and nearshore markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore and South Africa.

Datamonitor’s report examines both agent costs and pricing, as well as competition issues like rising overhead costs, tightening labor markets and currency instability. It assesses contact center expenses, breaking them out into salary, benefits and incentives, property costs, IT/telecommunications costs, as well as taxation and foreign exchange.

Among other findings, the study showed that Latin America -- particularly: Argentina, Brazil and Chile -- provides the lowest offshore agent price, while Canada and South Africa are the most costly sites. Mexico, despite being slightly more expensive, is described as cost-effective.

The study noted that, due to a large, scalable labor force, growing multilingual capabilities and proactive domestic players, offshore investors will find good customer care prospects in each of these countries.

Conversely, Canada and South Africa are significantly more expensive on a per-agent basis.

Still, Datamonitor call center and customer relations management analyst Peter Ryan, who authored the report, said this should not spell completely bad news for these locations. "Considering the legacy of contact center offshoring in both Canada and South Africa, investors will pay a higher price per agent," a statement quoted Mr. Ryan as saying. "However, they will generally be guaranteed an excellent quality of labor as well as technology that is second to none."

But while India and the Philippines remain the most cost-competitive offshore locations for contact centers in the Asia Pacific region (APAC), the report noted that call center agent benefits in these economies are creeping upward, as local players work to reduce attrition levels.

Datamonitor also noted that Hong Kong and Singapore are slightly more expensive locations due to high living costs, while Malaysia is an "immature," but cost-competitive market.

Egypt remains the most price competitive market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) examined in this study due to its scalability and relative immaturity.

Hungarian and Polish agent costs are significant, while benefit spending tends to be lower.

South Africa remains the highest cost location, due to agent sophistication and the appreciation of the local currency.

Datamonitor’s report highlights strategic recommendations that should be followed by offshore investors should they wish to ensure prudent cost management. These include:

* analyzing what are the key competitive costs that need to be rationalized;
* taking the appropriate actions to reduce costs whenever possible; and
* seeking diversification opportunities in order to reduce investment concentration risks.

"Cost management is a huge problem for many offshore contact center investors, and in most cases this is unnecessary," Mr. Ryan said in the statement. "By being able to predict where costs will rise as a percent of total expense based on current trends, prudent financial management and healthy bottom lines should not be difficult outcomes [sic]."

Trend Micro to expand call center operations in RP

Tokyo-based Trend Micro, Inc., the world’s third-biggest anti-virus software maker, will double its technical customer support manpower in the next 18 months from present 350 agents.

Trend Micro president for North America Lane M. Bess told reporters yesterday that the planned expansion is designed to support the company’s growing consumer business in North America, Australia, and Asian countries with English-speaking populations.

Out of the $600 million in revenues recorded last year, about 22% came from the consumer business and the rest came from the enterprise segment. About 40% to 44% of the total revenues was contributed by Japan and the rest were sourced from North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Mr. Bess also added that aside from basic technical support, agents in the country would be trained to conduct out-bound sales or marketing to clients abroad.

"We already have a sales team in North America who are [sic] selling aggressively to the small- to mid-sized business. And we can tap these resources to come and train the technical support team here in Manila," said Mr. Bess.

He said Trend Micro has also considered India, but decided to invest instead in the Philippines. "We were also looking for options in India, but we saw no benefits. Manila is actually very strategic to us," added Mr. Bess.

Trend Micro’s office in the country known as TrendLabs, serves as headquarters of the company’s global network of anti-virus research and support centers.

Trend Micro considers their Philippine operation as "critical" to its global operations because analysis and solutions to threats are formulated here.

And on top of the targeted expansion, Trend Micro has closed a deal this week with call center company Sykes Asia to service about 10% of its customer care requirements. Mr. Bess declined to give more details as discussions are ongoing.

Trend Micro has already spent as much as $20 million in investments in the Philippines since it started its operation in the country three years ago. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

rustyboi

August 30th, 2005, 07:38 PM

Business outsourcing group seeks new labor pools

Industry group Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) is set to commission a five-year study that will look into the country’s information technology (IT) services workforce.

In an interview, BPA/P executive director Mitchell Locsin said the study is designed to know the country’s labor supply and demand, both in terms of availability and quality of skills set, covering all five sub-sectors of IT outsourcing.

The five sectors of IT outsourcing:
+ call center
+ business process outsourcing
+ software development
+ digital animation
+ medical transcription

Mr. Locsin said steady manpower supply is seen as the key factor in sustaining and further growing the country’s outsourcing industry.

At present, the entire industry is grappling with insufficient manpower supply vis-as-vis the increasing demand. By yearend, the call center industry alone is expected to have a 100,000-man employment capacity, compared to an existing workforce of 62,000.

Hence, a number of players are now keen on exploring areas outside Metro Manila to match the growing requirement. Metropolitan Cebu, Davao, and areas like Dumaguete, Baguio, Dagupan and Clark in Pampanga have become emerging sites for outsourced contact centers.

Mr. Locsin added that the study will also assess the labor skills set in these provinces and discover new, viable manpower pools.

At present, the group is now choosing among research firms XMG,Inc., International Data Corp., and McKinsey and Co. The group is targeting to begin the study next month. Mr. Locsin said the study will be conducted every six months. Each report is estimated to cost $30,000.

rustyboi

August 31st, 2005, 06:08 PM

Siemens to open P215-M call center in RP

German conglomerate Siemens is set to open a P215-million call center facility in the Philippines, expected to employ 519 agents upon operation, a recent report of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) showed.

Siemens’ application to put up a call center unit has already been approved by PEZA. Through PEZA, Siemens can avail of government incentives such as income tax holiday of four years and exemption from payment of duties and other taxes on imported machinery and equipment.

While the exact location of the call center has not been disclosed, its subsidiary in the country, Siemens Inc., has existing facilities in Salcedo Tower in Makati City and Carlos Perez Building in Mandaue City in Cebu province, Central Visayas.

Sources say the call center has been scheduled to open after Siemens’s fiscal year 2005, which will end this September.

In 2003, Siemens mobile unit partnered with Philippine-based Sykes Asia Inc., a provider of outsourced global cutomer relations management services. Sykes Asia has served Siemens clients from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines. Customer care services include inbound phone call and email inquiries for pre- and post sales concerns.

bustero

September 2nd, 2005, 05:46 AM

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Filipino call center employees file labor complaint

First posted 00:56am (Mla time) Sept 02, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

FILIPINO employees of Epixtar, a US-based offshore call center, have filed a complaint with the Department of Labor and Employment as the company is being restructured and staff are being asked to resign or being demoted.

Kristoffer Barba, Epixtar Philippines sales leader, said he has already filed a complaint with the DOLE, along with 30 other colleagues who are facing the axe.

“We're given until Friday to resign or face demotion. Their main reason is cost-cutting. A lot of people are being forced to resign. It is across the board. In our department alone, almost one fourth or more than 20 people are being forced to resign. There were no official papers or explanation to back up their reason so we've filed complaints at the labor department, and we're each consulting our own lawyers,” Barba told INQ7.net in a telephone interview.

Elizabeth Walse, Epixtar marketing service manager, declined to comment when called by INQ7.net. She said no officials privy with the situation
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were available for comment.

Epixtar Philippines operates call center facilities in Eastwood City, Cyberpark in Libis, Quezon City and another one in Alabang.

Barba said the Eastwood facility has about 600 call center agents, plus 700 people in operations. Sales managers and leaders like Barba fall under the operations department. Barba noted that 25 of the 700 sales managers were demoted, while only eight were retained.

Another Epixtar sales manager who requested anonymity confirmed that many employees, especially the new ones who have just moved from being an agent to a managerial position, are now being asked to resign.

"They said it is due to a restructuring of management, and cost-cutting. I'm a sales manager trainee and I just passed my three-month probation period but I haven't been told what will happen. I'm still doing the same thing, and I don't know if they're going to promote me or proceed with my evaluation. I've been here for two years," she said.

She said that a lot of employees are being offered severance packages.

"It's really chaotic here," she said.

Another sales leader who declined to be identified confirmed the management's plan to demote them to a "sales executive position," which is equal to a call center agent.

"This is a demotion which means we're being asked to operate a telephone service. A sales leader is getting 25,000 pesos and now they're offering 16,000 pesos," the sales leader.

mhe-ann

September 2nd, 2005, 09:29 AM

anlalaki talaga ng salary nila. kakainggit. :D kidding aside, kawawa naman un binibigyan ng forced resignation saka un made-demote. :no:

Dvorak

September 2nd, 2005, 09:32 AM

matagal nang may problema yang epixtar.. kahit nung nag start pa lang sila.. madami na akong nababasang problema dyan..

bustero

September 2nd, 2005, 10:19 AM

Medical Transcription
Industry Thrives in RP
Manila Bulletin 8/6/05
Hospitals and labs in the United States find
it cheaper to send some of their core and
non-core medical processes overseas. The
Philippines’ medical transcription (MT) sector
is seen to be growing by the day. Data
showed that the cost of healthcare in developed
countries is spiraling and offshoring
key business process is seen to reduce costs
by as much as 30-70%, according to estimates.
The global healthcare outsourcing
market, with all services put together, is
approximately $71-B in 2005. Healthcare
BPO is a $200-B business worldwide. In the
United States, the estimate of the MT market
alone is valued at US$25-B, growing at a
rate of 20% a year. MT deals with interpreting
and electronic encoding of patient assessment,
therapeutic procedures among
others from hospitals and other medical institutions
abroad. Philippine MT companies
do mostly medical reports, discharge summaries,
operative reports, therapy/rehabilitation
notes, chart notes, and hospital and
clinic reports using state-of-the-art software
and equipment from the US.

sandrin

September 4th, 2005, 08:31 PM

It's consoling to know that the country's call center industry has been booming and providing employment opportunities to the fresh graduates. However, we should not depend on it's growth alone as there is no exact guarantee that these call centers will stay on the long run. The question is for how long? Always keep in mind what the multi-national companies did to the Filipino workers at the end of the 90's - Many got laid off as they moved to other countries. Foreign investors are proven to invest fast and pull-out faster.
Plus, the call center employees should not guarantee that there is room for growth in that field. What they should do while they are earning well is to upgrade their technical skills and aim for higher education so they will have more options in the long run.
In the final analysis, we should focus more on the development of our IT Technology, Agro-technology, Energy and the local SMI/manufacturing sector to ensure the long term continuity.

On the side note, more hot news with regards to the call center industry (w/c I want to consider short-term growth as there will come a point of saturation on this field.)

eTelecare secures more foreign deals, eyes 2,000 seat expansion in RP

By joel d. pinaroc

eTelecare, one of the largest call center companies in the Philippines, has won "several" contracts from foreign firms wanting to source their call center needs in the country, the firm’s top executive said.

Fred Ayala, eTelecare chairman, said following this development, eTelecare will also engage in a massive recruitment push in its Philippine operations.

"We will be adding 2,000 additional call center seats in the country this year to further beef up our existing 3,500-seat operations the Philippines," Ayala, in a briefing said.

Ayala said eTelecare won several contracts, some of which belong to Fortune 500 companies in the US.

He said one contract calls for the whole range of business process outsourcing, from technical and customer support to sales.

"But we cannot name them, under our partnership with these companies," Ayala said, although he hinted that the contracts will run the millions of dollars.

The firm, which has a total of 7,000 call center seats split between its US and Philippine operations, will also establish a new call center facility to accommodate its expansion roadmap, Ayala further said.

He said the expansion is part of eTelecare’s preparation for the large contracts which will be handled by Filipino agents.

He disclosed that one of the contracts calls for the whole range of customer service operations, from technical and customer support to sales.

Ayala said eTelecare is also "working" with major US carriers, which opted to outsource customer service requirements in the Philippines.

And speaking of market segments, Ayala also said European companies have also been active in seeking out BPO requirements in the Philippines and India, the recognized leader in BPO.

In terms of revenues meanwhile, Ayala said eTelecare is looking at surpassing $150 million in revenues for this year. The firm posted revenues of $124 million last year.

Amadeus inaugurates Davao office

Amadeus, the world’s leading IT solutions provider in the travel and tourism industry today has opened it’s 3rd Philippines office at the southern region’s tourism capital, Davao City. Strategically situated at the heart of the city, Amadeus takes pride as it innagurated the new office with Susan Isabel Reta, Davao City Councilor representing City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte together with Amadeus Philippines general manager Albert Villadolid doing the the traditional ribbon cutting recently. Present at the historical event were regional manager VisMin Kit Toral, regional senior customer support engineerVismin Mark Jurado, general administration manager Del Beaniza, sales and marketing director Lilibeth Victory and technical manager Ronan Ignacio.

Recognizing the growing market in the Mindanao region, the move to opening an office in the region is inevitable. Davao and its neigboring provinces now look forward to experiencing world class services in keeping with Amadeus’ core value of global strength and local expertise. Albert Villadolid said " The establishment of our Davao office signals our intention and manifests our deep commitment to the success of the travel industry here in Mindanao. We intend not only to satisfy the needs of our fast growing travel agency subscriber base in this region. We actually intend to exceed the expectations and delight our customers and industry partners. We intend to duplicate here in Mindanao our successes in Luzon and in the Visayas. Amadeus is now the clear market leader and preferred GDS of global travel management companies operating in the Philippines," he stressed.

Amadeus is a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry. Its comprehensive data processing centre serves over 72,000 travel agency locations and some 10,000 airline sales offices, totalling around 347,000 points of sale located in over 215 markets worldwide.

Through Amadeus, travel agencies and airline offices can make bookings on 95 per cent of the world’s scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to over 54,100 hotel properties, some 43 car rental companies serving over 30,000 locations, as well as ferry, rail, cruise, tour operators and insurance companies.

Amadeus is a leading IT solutions provider to the airline industry; 150 airlines use Amadeus’ Altéa Sell as the sales and reservation system in their offices, to provide passengers with superior and seamless service at optimal cost.

rustyboi

September 5th, 2005, 03:37 PM

Projected in-house call center boom faces premium office space scarcity
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

Vacancy of top-grade office space in Metro Manila is expected to bottom out by next year to five percent of the total from present eight percent, the lowest in 15 years. This increasing scarcity comes at a time when big foreign firms operating in the country are expected to form their in-house call center units that will need precisely such office spaces by next year.

For next year, there will be a maximum of about 50,000 square meters of available office space in "prime" and "grade A" buildings in Metro Manila’s central business districts (CBDs), against an anticipated demand for 115,000 sq.m., property consultant David T. Leechiu told BusinessWorld in an interview.

"Prime" and "grade A" office spaces are typically located in key CBDs, with contiguous floor space measuring at least 2,000 sq.m.

Mr. Leechiu, president and general manager of Leechiu and Associates, Inc., said the demand for these buildings is largely driven by the growth of the information technology (IT) outsourcing sector. In fact, most of the demand for such space next year will come from in-house back-end facilities, or those set up by multinational companies to serve their own requirements.

NEED FOR SPACE

Cesar S. Tolentino, senior analyst of Canadian IT research and consulting firm XMG, Inc., said in a separate interview that the country might see some 10 to 15 big foreign firms setting up in-house back-end offices -- most of them call centers -- in the next two years.

"These in-house call centers are not going to move [to areas measuring] between 300 sq. m. and 400 sq. m. of floor space. They are going to move into floor space between 3,000 sq.m. and 5,000 sq.m. But right now, there’s nowhere to go," said Mr. Leechiu.

Yet, he said only three newly constructed top-grade buildings are entering the market next year. With total floor space of 48,000 sq.m., these three are the Alabang Northgate Cyberzone Building A in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa; the NetSquare in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig; and the MC IT Building in Ortigas Center in Pasig City -- all in Metro Manila.

And this early before targetted completion next year, most of the space in these three buildings have already been sold.

For instance, Mr. Leechiu said that almost 50% of the Net Square building, the biggest among the three buildings due for completion next year, are now under negotiation. The 22-storey Net Square is developed by 18-2 Property Holdings, Inc., owned by Jacques A. Dupasquier and Macario S. Rufino.

"It broke ground in May. And three and a half months from ground breaking, seven out of the 15 office floors are now under negotiation. No [other] building has done that; it’s the first building to be built for speculation to be pre-leased this early," said Mr. Leechiu.

Net Square owners expect the entire office floors to be leased out by January next year, ahead of its scheduled completion by July. Monthly lease rate runs between P450/sq.m. to P500/sq.m.

Without disclosing names, Mr. Leechiu said future locators in Net Square are big brands engaged in call center, software development, food, and technology for devices like televisions and cellular phones.

Seven other new buildings in the pipeline, with consolidated floor space of 516,000 sq.m., would be available only after 2006. These buildings are:

Robinsons Gateway Center 2 in Robinsons CyberPark;
1880 Eastwood Avenue in Eastwood City;
Cyber Two, also in Eastwood City;
One Corporate Center in Ortigas Center;
SM Call Center Building in Bay City,
SMKS Building in Ortigas Center; and
the SSS Corporate Tower in Quezon City.

TIGHTENING SUPPLY

Mr. Leechiu said that, unlike in the country’s property boom from 1992 to 1997, the supply now of quality office space is not catching up with the demand.

"We also had an undersupply then. But at least we had new space coming into the market. If they wait for six months, there would be new buildings and if they wait for a year, there would be two or three buildings," he said.

But immediately after the 1997 financial crisis, monthly lease prices fell by almost 70% from a peak of P800/sq.m. to P280/sq.m. in 2003.

"All the developers got burnt in the office market. And because of so much bad experience, they purposely avoided the office market and resources went to residential projects such as condominiums," Mr. Leechiu recalled.

Hence, a glut is expected to hit the condominium market between 2007 and 2008.

The dearth in readily available quality office space is feared to jack up lease rates next year.

Prime buildings like Ayala Triangle Tower One & Exchange Plaza, The Enterprise Centre, Philamlife Tower, and RCBC Plaza are expected to test the monthly P700/sq.m. lease rate towards the end of next year from present P600/sq.m..

As of just last month, occupancy rate in these four buildings hit 97% to 99%, and total vacancy is just 5,452 sq.m..

"Rents would go up. But I don’t think it will keep on going up and up every year, in terms of double-digit growth, because eventually it will plateau the moment it hits the level that would motivate other developers to start constructing buildings. You will see more buildings coming out but still very few big buildings," said Mr. Leechiu.

Moreover, "grade A" buildings are also trying to push the rates up to P500 to P600 from a low of P400 to P450. Examples of "grade A" buildings in Makati CBD are 6750 Ayala Avenue Office Tower, Philamlife Tower, and PBCom Tower. In Ortigas CBD, there are Antel Global Corporate Center, Discovery Center and Wynsum Corporate Tower, to name a few.

"They are trying to push that [rates] up. But I’m not sure how successful they are going to be," said Mr. Leechiu.

TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

Total vacant floor space in "grade A" buildings in 13 buildings inside the Makati CBD is 37,948 sq.m., and 30,0000 sq.m. from 12 buildings in Ortigas CBD.

"There is so little space and very few whole floors in the market. The ones that are available are under negotiation between three and four parties. And these would be leased out anytime from today. What’s going on is that tenants are now competing for space and the landlords are bidding for higher prices," said Mr. Leechiu.

But, he noted that there is a glut in the "grade B" market, or those buildings with contiguous space of 250 sq.m. "There’s a glut here because other sectors of the economy are not growing," he said.

With vacancy dropping and lease price increasing, companies are now forced to plan years ahead of their actual demand. "They have to plan way, way ahead. Before, they used to plan six months down the road. But now, they need to plan two years even three years ahead. Because if they don’t, by the time they need it, there is nowhere to go or they could not afford the place," said Mr. Leechiu.

Rental cost, including electricity cost to run air-conditioning, is estimated to be the third biggest expense of a company locator, after labor and telecommunication expenses. Rental cost accounts for 25% to 30% of the monthly operating cost of a company. Building owners charge anywhere between P500/hour to P1,500/hr. per floor for air-conditioning alone.

kiretoce

September 14th, 2005, 08:01 PM

Outsourcing industry faces enormous challenges: a study
Rita Villadiego, Sep 14, 2005

MARYLAND – While the Philippines has emerged as a strong player in the rapidly evolving offshoring industry, competing successfully with India and other low-wage destinations, it faces “enormous challenges.”

The assessment was made by the San Francisco-based Mckinsey Global Institute, a private economic think tank, in a report released Wednesday.

In 2003, the Philippines exported more than $1.5 billion worth of services. Call centers, offering work in areas such as shared services, medical transcription, and animation, have sprouted all over the country, and provide employment to about 100,000 people.

Overall, the Philippines aims to seize 5 percent of worldwide global business process revenues by 2010, creating an industry worth as much as $10 billion.

Despite robust growth propelled by widespread English language skills, low costs, and promising human resource capabilities, MGI research shows that Manila lags behind India and many other offshoring locations on several of the key criteria, such as: risk, infrastructure, the availability of vendors, and a lack of skilled middle managers.

The study recommends key areas for action, and they include: attracting more flagship clients, establishing an industry association, and avoiding granting incentives.

Diana Farrell, director of MGI said in a forum at the Knight Center here, that countries seeking to play a role in the emerging global labor market should concentrate on improving the quality of their talent, not just the quantity of educated workers.

Explosion of college graduates in low-wage nations is remarkable. The Philippines churns out 380,000 college graduates each year. Many of its smart workers easily find jobs abroad. It ranked third after China and India in producing suitable offshore talents. Suitable workers are classified as employees with a university degree and at least seven years experience.

"The findings have wide-reaching implications for both multinational companies seeking to tap into low-wage labor pools and for countries seeking to attract such investment and spur job creation," said Farrell.

To date, 900,000 jobs have moved from the U.S. to low-wage countries, such as the Philippines. Due to backlash, many politicians want to put an end to offshoring, discounting the economic benefits to U.S. and its companies.

The U.S. is also reaping benefits from offshoring. Global Insights group, projects that offshoring can be expected to boost total employment in the U.S. economy by 589,000 jobs between 2003 and 2008 and result in an increase in real wages of 0.44% over that time.

In the aggregate, the U.S. economy will more than make up this job loss through expansion in sectors like construction, transportation and utilities, and health and education services.

Dr. Josh Bivens, economist of Economic Policy Institute said that for years, blue-collar workers have felt the squeeze of job loss, specifically in the manufacturing sector.

Global Insights also predicts that U.S. domestic employment growth in information technology-related sectors will fall by 246,000 due to offshoring. The GI report emphasizes that more jobs are created in the IT sector globally through offshoring, but it also shows that the number created in the United States has dropped from 490,000 to 244,000.

The offshoring jobs that go mostly to the Philippines and Asia, consist mostly of call centers, IT, service and health care jobs. Offshore jobs globally are seen to go up to 2.3 million by 2008. Globally, 1.5 million jobs are being outsourced in low-wage countries, this will jump to 4.1 million jobs by 2008, according to MGI.

Farrell said companies were focusing specifically on the suitable talent supply for the job. She said many smaller countries could be attractive offshoring locations. She said that even though China’s population is 16 times the size of the Philippines, for instance its pool of suitable professional engineers is only 3 times the size of the Philippines. Farrell predicted a rising global demand for engineers and there will be a shortage in supply of engineers from low-wage countries by 2015.

"At present, India, the Philippines and China are often the top choices for locating IT and engineering-based services for companies from the United Kingdom and the U.S., the main sources of demand," Farrell said.

c0kelitr0

September 15th, 2005, 11:40 AM

well, pinoys are a talented and educated lot...the country should face this challenge positively and make efforts in improving the skills of pinoys required to produce high-quality services. the government should give emphasis on english education from primary to secondary levels. Pinoys need more jobs which may be considered low-wage by first world standards but not in countries like the Philippines.

queetz@home

September 22nd, 2005, 07:42 AM

Do you guys know anything about Telus outsourcing in the Philippines? I came across this article in Vancouver's CKNW and News 1130 news sites. I believe Telus has been on strike for quite some time now.

About Telus....

http://www.telus.com/cgi-ebs/jsp/homepage.jsp

Telus Call Centers in India and Phillipines to stop
Sep, 21 2005 - 4:00 PM

VANCOUVER /CKNW(AM980) - Telus Executives say the contracting out of jobs to call centres in the Philippines and India will stop once unionized employees return to work. Drew Mcarthur, Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for Telus, insists every job in BC and Alberta will be safe once the labour dispute is resolved.

But Union Leaders say they're afraid the contracting out of jobs will be permanent because the current offer Telus has on the bargaining table does not prevent the use of international call centres.

Telus to use call centres in Philippines and India due to labour dispute

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

September 21, 2005 - 19:24

VANCOUVER (CP) - Telus Corp. is going to start using call centres in the Philippines and India on a temporary basis to help maintain its customer service due to a two-month old labour dispute with its union.

In a letter to the Telecommunications Workers Union president Bruce Bell, Telus executive vice-president Judy Shuttleworth wrote that Telus Communications would be directing some customer care and operator services calls to Telus International's call centre in the Philippines.

"In addition, for the duration of the labour disruption, Telus Mobility will be directing some client-care calls to a call centre operated by a supplier in India," Shuttleworth wrote.

Employees at Canadian call centres are expected to continue to handle about 80 per cent of operator service and customer-care calls.

Shuttleworth wrote in her letter that the company stood by an earlier commitment to employment security that said no "regular employee will be laid off as a direct result of the company contracting out work that is normally and currently performed by bargaining unit employees."

However, Peter Massy, vice-president of the TWU, said the contract language that Telus has on the bargaining table will not prevent them from using the call centres in the same way after the labour dispute is over.

"I have no doubt that when it comes to this telephone company, when it comes to work predominantly done by women, if they can contract it out and get rid of it they will," Massy said in an interview from Victoria.

Massy accused the company of going to the Philippines and India after trying to hire replacement workers on university campuses and in Eastern Canada

"They're certainly not doing it to try and resolve the labour dispute," he said.

About 11,500 unionized Telus workers in Alberta and B.C. have been off the job since July 21, a day before the company imposed a contract on the workers after years of failed negotiations.

The company calls it a strike; the workers call it a lockout.

The union, which represents 13,500 Telus workers, has said key issues include job security and wage equity.

The dispute came to a head after the company said it would implement an April 13 offer - including raises of two per cent annually for five years - in an attempt to end the dispute.

Telus shares (TSX:T) closed down nine cents at $47.51 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

amigo32

September 26th, 2005, 07:48 AM

ABS-CBNnews (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=2355)

RP to get $960-M windfall from call-center industry

The country’s information technology-enabled services industry, led by call centers, is expected to rake in some $960 million in revenues this year, a 50-percent increase from the $640 million it generated last year, Senator Manuel Roxas III, in a statement said.

Roxas, chair of the Congressional Oversight Committee on the Electronic Commerce Law, also said that the call-center sector is projected to fully employ 96,000 Filipinos by year-end, an increase of 50 percent from 64,000 last year.

"Just to have an idea as to how fast and big the industry has grown, it is now generating foreign exchange equal to over 10 percent of the aggregate amount of dollars remitted by our overseas workers each year," Roxas said.

Call-center seats are expected to hit 60,000 by year-end, up 33 percent from the 40,000 seats at the end of 2004.

Five years ago, the call-center sector had only 1,500 seats, 2,400 employees and posted only $24 million in revenues.

Roxas, meanwhile, urged call centers to strive to innovate in order to cope with the growing global demand for their services.

"If call centers are having problems finding qualified full-time customer service representatives or agents, then they should start tapping the part-time labor market," Roxas said.

He said call centers would not have a problem getting qualified part-time employees willing to work for at least four hours daily.

"We have more than enough college graduates that are either unemployed, or partially employed and still actively looking for more work," Roxas said.

Call centers are looking to recruit some 3,000 agents and 300 supervisors every month.

However, at present, less than 5 percent of call-center job applicants get hired.

Roxas led the first IT-enabled services mission to the United States in 2001, when he was still secretary of trade and industry.

The mission paved the way for the entry into the Philippines of several US-based investors in IT-enabled services, including call centers and other business processing outsourcing (BPO) contractors.

In BPO, foreign-based firms, to reduce operating costs, turn over many back-office functions to contractors in offshore destinations such as the Philippines. Joel D. Pinaroc

sandrin

September 27th, 2005, 05:04 AM

Convergys opens new facility in Quezon City

First posted 09:47pm (Mla time) Sept 26, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

CALL center firm Convergys Corp. announced on Monday the opening of its seventh facility in Quezon City as part of its continuing expansion in the Philippines.

The new facility, which is located along Commonwealth Ave., is the first to be built outside of a business district or an economic zone, the company said.

Convergys operates five other integrated contact center facilities within Metro Manila and one in Cebu City and has about 6,000 Filipinos in its workforce.

The new "integrated contact center" will accommodate up to 1,500 agents, and will be equipped with 600 production stations, the firm said.

Convergys said that about 64 percent of its employees are from Quezon City and the new facility is immediately accessible to residential villages and subdivisions in the area. Some employees are even within walking distance from their jobs, the company said.

Commonwealth Avenue stretches to schools and universities and links the city to Rizal Province, further expanding job prospects for the area. The location is also ready accessible by public transport, the company noted.

The facility offers several amenities for its Convergys employees including free parking, a pantry area with cable television, vending machines, a food concessionaire, a cyber desk area, a staff lounge, a choice of fast food establishments and convenience stores, and a banking facility within the building.

UK-based Sophos to set up RP office

First posted 09:48pm (Mla time) Sept 26, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

UNITED Kingdom-based antivirus firm Sophos is set to open a representative office in the Philippines this year, an executive told INQ7.net last week.

The office will hire less than 10 employees to man its sales and marketing and tech support services in the Philippines.

This is the company's next move this year, as it anticipates growth in its antivirus and anti-spam technology in the Philippines this year, said Charles Cousins, Sophos Asia managing director, in an interview.

Set to soon introduce locally a new service called "zombie alert"--a service that allows companies to detect if their network of computers are being used to launch spam worldwide -- Sophos sees better prospects in the Philippines, especially in the anti-spam business.

"Security awareness is high in the Philippines, but execution is low," Cousins said.

Sophos' anti-spam product PureMessage is doing well in the Philippines, Cousins said but admitted that competition is also heating up, as new
players selling anti-spam boxes and antivirus are coming to the Philippines.

"Local customers should beware of these boxes coming out as they run on open source. Why are they charging for something that is free? I believe this is screwing up the market dynamics locally. US firms have also come in to offer best-of-breed solutions from different vendors and selling them locally. Such a solution confuses the market," he said.

The new office will still report to the regional headquarters in Singapore.

sandrin

October 7th, 2005, 01:00 PM

Japan anime firm to increase outsourcing to RP
As global demand for animation rises

First posted 12:33pm (Mla time) Oct 07, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net

Subscribe to Breaking News alerts, send ON EXTRA BREAKING to 2207 for Globe, or send EXTRA BREAKING to 386 for Smart.

TOKYO -- Japan’s Toei Animation Co., Ltd., creator of the 1990s hit cartoon series Dragonball Z, is considering increasing its offshore outsourcing to the Philippines amid growing global demand for Japanese anime.

Demand projection for Toei cartoon products, among them Digimon and Mazinger Z, is seen to increase this year.

“If we cannot do more animation work in Japan, then we would have to outsource it to the Philippines,” said Keisuke Shirasaki, Toei deputy manager for international operations.

“And if the Philippine subsidiary cannot do more of it, we will outsource it to other countries,” he added. Toei has an operating capital of 2.87 billion yen.

Of Toei’s more than 400 employees, about 150 or 38 percent are in the animation firm’s fully-owned subsidiary in the Philippines, the Toei Animation Philippines Inc.

The firm has relied heavily on local distributors in Latin America, the United States, and Europe to market its animation works, said Keisuke. “Now
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that we opened our offices in France and Los Angeles, we expect sales to pick up.”

Art directing and key animation are done in Japan, while Filipino animators work on coloring, background, and camera works, said Keisuke.

Its Hong Kong subsidiary, Toei Animation Enterprises Limited, is involved solely in selling broadcast shows and character toys to the Asian market.

Asia feeds the cartoon world. In the US alone, about 90 percent of animated shows are produced in the region.

In the Philippines, animation is one of the five outsourcing subsectors government is heavily promoting. The four others are call center service, software development, medical transcription, and business process outsourcing.

For close to two decades, Filipino animators have done subcontracted works for firms likes Cartoon Network, Hanna-Barberra, and Warner Brothers.

amigo32

October 10th, 2005, 05:45 AM

looks like best jobs for new graduates.

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02272.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02273.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02274.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02276.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02277.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/cbuilt/?action=view&current=DSC02278.jpg

sandrin

October 11th, 2005, 02:14 AM

IBM to make Manila its next global outsourcing hub

Technology giant IBM Corp. is getting down to the last leg of its three-tiered strategy to make the 68-year-old Manila office the next global hub for its business process outsourcing services.

IBM global general manager for business transformation outsourcing (BTO) Kathy Hegmann said in an interview yesterday that the local office will soon provide large-scale financial and accounting, as well as human resource services to big global accounts.

Ms. Hegmann said the country has passed the rigorous requirements of IBM Global which include check on the telecommunication infrastructure, education support, and skills set.

"This is really a big investment for us. And I know we are in the right location because whenever clients visit the center [HR BTO office in Libis, Quezon City in eastern Metro Manila], the first impression is the enthusiasm, and the energy, and the high-level quality skills," Ms. Hegmann said.

Other IBM financial and accounting sites doing work like insurance processing for IBM and other big multinational companies are located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bangalore in India, Budapest in Hungary, Poland, China and Japan.

Once completed, the local subsidiary will be able to offer Big Blue’s complete global BTO portfolio, composed of financial and accounting, human resources (HR) and custumer relationship management.

The entire BTO portfolio is now the fastest-growing segment of IBM, accounting for about half of its worldwide yearly revenues last year.

Yesterday, IBM inaugurated and for the first time made public the details of the IBM Business Services, the newest wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM Philippines. Silently operating since January last year, the center now occupies four floors in CyberOne Building in Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City.

The operation began when IBM acquired consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble’s (P&G) HR shared service center as part of the global BTO HR services contract between the two companies. Presently employing 370 people, the center provides HR services to P&G employees in 14 countries in Asia Pacific, to IBM employees in 14 countries in Asia Pacific and to a number of big global HR accounts of IBM.

It now provides HR solutions such as payroll calculation and delivery, benefits administration, expatriate and relocation services, enquiry management and call center, compensation planning, travel and expense processing, and IT application management to global clients in 65 countries and in 11 languages.

Other HR outsourcing centers of IBM are in Costa Rica, New Castle in Australia and in Budapest in Hungary.

"Among already running HR sites, I would say Manila is the one unique because we are now transferring our North American accounts to Manila," said Asia Pacific BTO lead Randy Walker.

Meanwhile, the CRM unit is being operated by the IBM Daksh Business Process Services in the PBCom Tower in Makati City. The CRM and call center operation began since IBM Global acquired Indian company Daksh in June last year.

The facility, with initial number of seats of 200, has the capacity to employ about 1,000 people. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

http://www.itmatters.com.ph/_photos/ibm.jpg
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo poses with IBM executives after inaugurating the new offices of IBM Business Services, October 10, at the Cyberzone Building, Eastwood City Cyberpark in Barangay Bagumbayan, Quezon City. Joining her are (from left) Renato Jiao, president of the IBM Business Services; Randy Walker, president of IBM Business Consulting Services; Katherine Hegmann, general manager, IBM Global Business Transformation Outsourcing; Candy Soto; Senator Manuel A. Roxas III; Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila; and Joaquin Quintos IV, president and general manager of IBM Phils. -- official Palace photo

tigidig14

October 11th, 2005, 04:51 AM

^^ cno yung nakaitim, kala ko c david bowie in his early days

Lili

October 11th, 2005, 05:28 AM

^^ Akala ko anime character yung naka-itim with platinum blonde hair, tapos yung sa kabilang side, Pokemon character.

tootsjap

October 11th, 2005, 06:45 AM

Megaworld chairman Andrew Tan is partly hidden. I know Ato Jiao and I have worked with Candy Soto. The anchor of this is the P&G business and it was P&G's decision to bring their HR services to Manila that brought IBM along when P&G outsourced that part of the business to IBM. Sandrin and I differ on whether GMA should be in the picture or not for credit (not for performing her duties as president). But we wage our battle in another thread not on this one.

tigidig14

October 11th, 2005, 06:47 AM

^ pics looks really fake, its seems like its been cut then added around david bowie look alike

mysaong03

October 12th, 2005, 12:12 AM

sandrin

October 13th, 2005, 02:03 AM

GlobeQuest expands data center with Ayala Port
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA

GlobeQuest, the corporate business group of Innove Communications Inc., has taken over Ayala Port to expand its data center business and become a stronger player in the enterprise market.

GlobeQuest will now operate a total of six data centers, adding Ayala Port’s two data centers in Pasong Tamo, Makati and Laguna to the four it currently operates. It has two existing data centers in Mandaluyong City, one in Makati City and another one in Cebu City.

GlobeQuest services global customers via a marketing alliance with Singtel Expan, a network of data centers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Thailand.

With its newly acquired facilities, GlobeQuest can further expand its data center footprint in the Philippines, with best-in-class facilities, bigger space, more diverse points of presence, and readily available IT infrastructure to accommodate more complex customer requirements.

"At the moment, the data center business in the country is picking up," according to Jesus C. Romero, GlobeQuest Head.

"The industry is expected to grow rapidly since more and more customers are becoming open to outsourcing to keep IT-related costs under control. We want to be ready for them," he elaborated.

A data center is an essential enabler to build and establish ICT capabilities, enable businesses and sustain ICT develop -ment in the Philippines, Romero explained further.

GlobeQuest’s new data center has world class support infrastructure, from large capacity generators and back-up systems to highly reliable network equipment and an extensive range of IT assets with large sellable space for ready occupancy or for built-to-suitrequirements.

The Laguna facility is an extension which is another diverse location in the GlobeQUEST data center footprint, a good alternative for those requiring multiple sites backing up each other.

At present, GlobeQUEST DataCentres are primarily being used for co-location, followed by business continuity and recovery service, dedicated server hosting, LAN based Internet and managed security.

"Aside from the existing services being offered, we are developing new complementary services to maximize our infrastructure support services business and provide end-toend solutions to our enterprise customers," according to the GlobeQuest head. "With this new development, we are more prepared and flexible in addressing customer needs."

Ayalaport was first sold to CNG and renamed Global Data Hub but was eventually closed on July 31 due to financial difficulties. To ensure continuity of services to customers, GlobeQuest is now taking over operations of the data center and its customers.

PC maker Lenovo sees faster growth
By EDU H. LOPEZ

Lenovo, a global leader in personal computer (PC) after it bought the PC business of IBM, wants to grow twice faster than the PC market in the Asean region.

Ou Shian Waei, Lenovo general manager for Asean and South Asia said: "We will try to be more efficient so that we can lower the cost of our products." The PC market has been growing at 10 to 12 percent, according to IDC.

Lenovo which bought the PC division of technology giant IBM has a five-year agreement within which to carry IBM-brand PCs and notebooks before it would have its own full identity.

Waei said that Lenovo has maintained the price of its products since its merger with IBM’s PC division.

Ma. Victoria P. Agorilla, country general manager of Lenovo Philippines declined to disclose the projected sales of Lenovo in the country.

A listed company in Hong Kong, Linovo is expected to release its financial results after Nov. 2 this year.

As part of its market strategy to keep up with competition in the PC market, Lenovo has unveiled two new products — the Think Centre E Series and the ThinkPad Z60m.

Lenovo’s go-to-market strategy is to sell these new products through its four channel partners  Lamco, MSI Digiland, Ingram Micro and TechnoPac and six corporate resellers  Ng Khai in Cebu, American Technologies, Inc.; AccentMicro, Equicom and Percom.

These new products are targeted for both the corporate and consumer markets. Priced at P28,995, the desktop ThinkCenter E50 is targeted for the small businesses with simplified combination of proven core technologies.

The Lenovo E Series desktops can help small businesses to focus on their growth by eliminating the hassle of complex configurations or cumbersome technology solutions that often require the support of IT staff.

The ThinkPad Z60 is designed for the mobile and small business users who rely on one notebook computer for both work and life demands.

Lenovo also unveiled a new centralized management hub for its PC productivity tools to consolidate and simplify ThinkVantage technologies under one view.

The Landesk Management Suite for ThinkVantage Technologies gives IT administrators a one-stopshop for improved access and management capabilities of their IT systems.

sandrin

October 15th, 2005, 05:00 AM

Dell prepares Manila contact center

Computer giant Dell Corp. is laying the final foundations for its contact center in Metro Manila which will start operations next year.

Dell plans to initially hire and train about 700 technical support and customer service agents locally. The company will begin recruiting and hiring technical support specialists next month from its new recruiting and training offices in the RCBC Plaza Tower in Makati City.

Dell is also completing due diligence on a location for its new contact center in the Phillipines, which is scheduled to begin operations in February next year.

Bert Quintana, vice-president of Dell international services, said that the Philippines has become a prized contact center location primarily for the language and communication skills of its work force and a robust telecommunications infrastructure. It has about 100 contact centers, more than 200 colleges and universities and more than 650,000 college students.

"Customer service and support -- a $6 billion market -- is an important and growing business opportunity for Dell," said Mr. Quintana, an 18-year contact center veteran, said. "We’re making unprecedented investments in our service and support capabilities, including here in the Philippines, where we are looking for the most talented professionals who want to build careers and help us strengthen our direct connection with customers." -- K. G. Bautista

----

Dell owner inviting Filipinos to join contact center

First posted 00:01am (Mla time) Oct 15, 2005
By Abigail L. Ho
Inquirer News Service

MICHAEL Dell, chair of computer maker Dell Inc., is reaching out to Filipino talents to consider a career in the 700-seat contact center the company will be opening in the Philippines in February 2006.

Through a Webcast that will run on the company’s website from Oct. 14-21, Dell will be enticing Filipino customer service representatives to join the Dell contact center here.

“We’ve come to the Philippines for the very best technical and customer service professionals that we can find. We believe that we’ve got the best career opportunities that you can find. We hope you’ll join our team,” Dell said in his webcast.

Dell International Services Philippines, a wholly owned Dell subsidiary that will be in charge of the local contact center, will be embarking on an aggressive recruitment process starting this month.

Apart from the webcast, the company will also send out test-based broadcasts, print ads and banner ads through a partnership with short messaging service community www.Chikka.com.

The company’s Philippine contact center would be an integral part of its strategy to expand beyond personal computers and enter the world of consumer electronics, said Doy Roque, designated spokesperson for Dell.

“Dell is transforming from just a PC company into a total technology company. The company sells almost everything direct, through the web or through call centers. It only has resellers in areas where it doesn’t have actual offices that can sell directly to
customers,” he said in a briefing.

Roque said that under the company’s expansion strategy, Dell would be veering away from just PCs and would also be selling products such as high-definition television sets (HDTV) and MP3 players.

Although these products would not be sold in the Philippines, he said sales and technical inquiries for these would be handled by Dell’s contact center here.

Despite having its own contact center in the Philippines, Roque said existing deals with other call centers would be maintained.

“We can even grow our partner base here. We won’t compete with other call centers,” he said.

Since its inception in 1984, Dell has capitalized on direct relationships with customers -- in person, on the phone or over the Internet -- to grow its business. It is the first company to generate $1 million in daily online sales, operating one of the world’s
highest volume Internet sites.

sandrin

October 15th, 2005, 05:01 AM

RP eyes wider niche in business process outsourcing market in US
By LOUIE ALONSO BELMONTE

MANILA (PNA) — The Philippines is eyeing a wider niche in the business process outsourcing (BPO) market in the United States as it participates in the biggest outsourcing fair in New York to further attract foreign investors.

According to Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the country’s participation in OutsourceWorld New York, slated from October 18 to 19, is one way of the nation’s campaign to promote the Filipino capability on BPO.

Analysts said the United States accounts for 60 percent of the spending in the world’s BPO market, largely driven by the prosperity to outsource, cut costs and focus on core competencies. The said demand for BPO services will likely continue until 2006.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila noted that worldwide BPO demand is mainly driven by the desire of foreign companies to focus on their core competencies, improve service levels and reduce internal costs.

Based on statistics, worldwide BPO market reaches US$131 billion in 2004 from US$122 billion in 2003. By 2007, the BPO market is expected to grow to $173 billion.

"It is part of the Philippines’ strategy to partner with countries like the United States in a bid to increase our market presence and collaborate with prospect business partners in the area of IT outsourcing," Favila said.

He likewise encouraged Philippine companies involved in a broad range of e-services activities from BPO, information technology (IT), human resources services and contact centers to enlist in the country’s participation to OutsourceWorld New York.

Last year, the same event attracted over 18,000 visitors from different countries in Asia and Europe.

The Philippine participation is also seen as a platform to attract foreign visitors and IT stakeholders to the country’s most comprehensive IT outsourcing industry.

To date, some of the American BPO companies present in the Philippines are Accenture, Amex, AIG, Barnes & Nobel Online, Caltex, Citibank, Procter & Gamble and Head Strong Corp.

Favila noted that foreign companies locate in the Philippines for its very high service standards, English-speaking workforce, technology infrastructure, and abundant affordable Class A office spaces.

In its report, CITEM cited that in the 2004 Kearney Index, the Philippines was identified as among the top 10 choice for offshore operations, scoring high in the financial structure and human resources indexes.

The Philippines is the third largest Englishspeaking nation in the world outside the United Kingdom and the US. The Philippines has over 300 software development companies, the biggest segment in the Philippine eservices industry in terms of players.

Aside from proficiency in the English language and close affinity with the West, the over 10,000 Filipino IT professionals are also highly trainable with a learning curve of six to eight weeks.

CITEM likewise said that cost savings in the Philippines are 30 to 50 percent over the US operations and labor rates the most cost-competitive among 32 countries surveyed for the same IT skills, based on data from an international human resource consultancy firm.

Its employment turnover rate is less than one percent compared to other countries like India.

The Philippines has the largest pool of quality accountants in Asia, with 105,000 graduates of finance, accounting and management every year and increasing by about 3,000 yearly.

During the first quarter of 2005, there were about 113,300 licensed accountants in the country. The US’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) rank Filipino accountants as "among the best int he world."

Last month, eleven BPO companies from the Philippines joined OutsourceWorld London and attracting over a dozen European firms to pour in several IT investments in the country.

Also, during the recent Software Development Expo & Conference (SODEC) in Japan, a business seminar highlighted the IT offerings of the Philippines.

"I am confident that the Philippines’ BPO share in the world market will increase as a result of this initiative to join OutsourceWorld New York," added Favila.

CITEM said that based on the country’s investment agencies, the Philippines’ BPO market share amounted to 600 million dollars.

Last year, the United States is the second top destination of Philippine exports amounting to US$6.7 million next to Japan, and number one as a source of imports amounting to US$8.2 million.

Major Philippine exports to the United States include semi-conductor devices, portable, digital automatic data processing machines and storage units, among others.

Top imports, however, include parts of electronic integrated circuits, dice of any material for the manufacture of semi-conductor devices and computer parts and accessories.

mhe-ann

October 15th, 2005, 06:51 AM

thanks ate sandrin for posting those articles.

Francis20

October 15th, 2005, 10:00 PM

Dell prepares Manila contact center

Dell owner inviting Filipinos to join contact center

nice to hear this. thanks for sharing. i hope Dell would make a difference sa mga existing na na contact centres. i've seen their ad last sunday. Isang buong page ng Inquirer. Galing! Innovative ang dating. I wonder how will they entice jobseekers to join Dell...other than the name itself.

sandrin

October 17th, 2005, 01:20 AM

HP expanding global outsourcing unit in RP

PALAWAN -- Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. will open a new office in Pasig City (in eastern Metropolitan Manila) next year to serve as an extension for its growing global third-party information technology (IT) outsourcing business in the country.

Set to start operation by January, the new office will occupy two floors under lease in a soon-to-be-completed office building near San Miguel Corp. corporate office in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The new facility is designed to accommodate up to 150 to 200 people upon opening.

SMKS Building, which is being developed by SM Prime Holdings and Keppel Properties, is the only office development progressing within the area.

The new set of manpower will be added to the present local workforce of 358 who are doing IT outsourcing works for HP’s Global Delivery Center in Robinson’s Summit in Makati City.

The Global Delivery Center in the country started when HP Philippines became part of the $3-billion, 10-year global outsourcing contract with Procter & Gamble (P&G) in May 2003.

The mega deal covers data center operations, desktop and end-user support, network management and applications development and maintenance for P&G’s global operations in 160 countries.

HP Philippines was tapped to handle P&G’s requirements for Asia Pacific. But since last year it began doing other work, both global and domestic, on top of the P&G jobs.

"Part of the global agreement is that for one year, we will focus only on the P&G business. But after that, we can already use our resources to do other business as well," HP Phils. managing director Nilo S. Cruz told BusinessWorld in an interview during the HP and Intel Corp. sponsored media event here.

Mr. Cruz hinted that HP Philippines also plans to set up a third support site south of Metro Manila to handle jobs from clients that have offices and manufacturing plants within the area.

Early this year, HP Philippines signed a deal with semiconductor company Amkor Technology (Philippines) Inc. to deliver Amkor’s helpdesk tasks.

Other manufacturing clients of HP for IT outsourcing are Hitachi Phils. Inc., Toshiba Information Equipment Phil. Inc., Philips Semiconductors Phils., Inc. and Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.

"We are receiving several inquiries right now. And we have six [prospective] clients that we hope to close in the next few months. But the challenge for us is we only have enough staff to support P&G. We are lacking at least five to 10 employees in a month. If ever we win more, we really have to accelerate our hiring," said Mr. Cruz.

He cited the difficulty in getting qualified IT personnel. HP is looking for engineers and IT graduates who are already adept in business applications of SAP, Microsoft and Oracle.

"Because the skill that we wanted [sic], most of them are already employed with our customers and partner. By protocol and as a show of respect, we cannot hire and poach from them. But the problem is they apply, probably they also want to move on, having been in the company for so many years," he said.

In some occasions, he said HP’s Philippine team resorts to tapping Filipino IT professionals outside the Philippines -- particularly Singapore -- to work on local requirements.

HP is now working with University of the Philippines, University of Asia and the Pacific and soon with Ateneo de Manila University to train students on specific IT applications.

Mr. Cruz said the company is open to the possibility of setting up a building exclusive to its IT outsourcing operation in the long term. "Maybe in the future, if we want to expand our outsourcing team, that is always an open possibility," he said.

HP Philippines will start fiscal year 2006 this November 1 with a new management structure as a result of the global streamlining program of newly-elected HP president and chief executive Mark Hurd.

"In the Philippines, we only have minimal casualty. Maybe a handful, but not more than 10," Mr. Cruz said. HP Phils. had 601 regular employees as of September 30.

From the previous four corporate divisions, the new structure will have only two divisons starting new fiscal year -- the combined customer and technology solution group and the combined personal systems, imaging and printing group.

"This is actually a good thing for us. [Have] Less management personnel and decision will be faster, " said Mr. Cruz, adding that his influence on profit and loss management, as the local subsidiary’s country manager, will increase to 70% from previous 30%. -- Maricel E. Estavillo

Winsource Solutions to open its call center

Winsource Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Winsource Holdings Philippines, Inc. with a British affiliate, will join the information technology (IT) outsourcing call center business and contribute its share in giving vibrancy to the country’s economy.

Armed with the most experienced and trained management team in the industry, the offshore business process outsourcing provider (BPO) that offers customers management and technical services announced its entry into the highly competitive and fast growing Philippine call center industry.

The new outsourcing enterprise is a subsidiary of Winsource Holdings Philippines, Inc., all set to explore new areas in the outsourcing business with the United States of America as its initial principal market.

Winsource Solutions will open to business at its newly completed executive and servicing offices at the 14th floor of Robinson Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, where it will start with 270 production stations even as it works on a 1,000 seats plan over a period of five years.

Winsource Solutions Deputy Chairperson Citas Lomotan says so far the business development targets for the new enterprise have been met since its establishment and registration with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to give it legal business personality in the Philippines and elsewhere.

The principal purpose of the corporation as stated in its Articles of Incorporation is to engage in the business of providing call center and other business processing facilities and service as may be required by manufacturers and sellers of goods and services and the buyers and consumers.

Winsource Solutions will service its customers through digital and electronic software applications and other services and facilities to complete commercial transactions.

Imperative in its operations, Lomotan said, is its goal to generate employment for qualified local manpower and increase revenue earnings from foreign sources and help stabilize our economy for the benefit of our country and people.

Winsource Solutions, she said, will serve as a consolidating contact center for customers around the world but initially starts with customers from the United States as training of agents versed in other foreign languages go on. She said, Winsource Solutions has embraced advanced technologies and the internet to deliver the products and services that our customers want faster, better and more effectively."

It is scheduled to receive its first call on October 21, 2005 but its inaugural is on October 24, 2005.

Lomotan noted that during the past two years, the Philippines emerged as the destination of choice for US. based call centers because of its location, the capability of Filipinos and its cultural identity.

tyronne

October 17th, 2005, 03:07 AM

thanks for those 2 articles, sandrin.

the first one mentioned something about the SMKS building being "the only office development progressing within the area." can someone confirm this? how come we never heard of any updates?

thanks.

rustyboi

October 19th, 2005, 01:29 PM

wow, first time in history! The country's Best Employer of the Year is an outsourcing company (eTelecare Global Solutions) :D glad to know outsourcing companies are taking good care of their employees, which they all deserve :okay:

rustyboi

October 19th, 2005, 02:37 PM

Dell Computers to set up large call center in RP

(UPDATE) DELL, the world's largest personal computer producer, announced Wednesday it was setting up a major customer call center in the Philippines.

The call center, to be located in a special mall in a suburb of the Philippine capital, will initially employ 100 when it opens in February, 2006 but this will eventually increase to 700 in a few months, Dell Computers Southeast Asia vice-president Rajan Anandan said.

The company also formally opened a recruitment and training center in the Makati financial district on Wednesday and will begin interviewing applicants on November 1.

Andanan said Dell chose the Philippines as the site of its newest call center because of the high English proficiency of Filipinos and the telecommunications infrastructure.

He declined to say how much Dell was investing in this country.

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

The call center, to be located in a special mall in a suburb of the Philippine capital
any idea where this could be??

tootsjap

October 19th, 2005, 05:14 PM

SM Mall of Asia

ryanr

October 19th, 2005, 06:04 PM

Could be in Araneta Center;)

tootsjap

October 19th, 2005, 06:24 PM

SM Mall of Asia - I know.

sandrin

October 19th, 2005, 06:26 PM

Dell locates first Phil. call center in SM Mall of Asia
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

Computer company Dell Inc. has tapped the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City as the site of its 145,000-square foot call center, making the earlier announced one-floor office in RCBC Plaza in Makati City its recruitment and training house.

The Pasay facility will start operation in February next year with 100 agents and has the capacity to house up to 700 agents.

"We chose Pasay because we want a location that is still within Metro Manila. And it has a tremendous opportunity in terms of entertainment. We are excited about the prospects that Pasay offers, especially with the SM Mall of Asia coming with us in the next few months," said Rajan Anandan, vice-president and general manager of Dell International Services for Southeast Asia.

Set to open in December, the 381,075-square meter SM Mall of Asia, which sits on 9.5 hectares of land, will be among the largest shopping malls in the world, consisting of four buildings linked by elevated walkways in Manila’s Bay area.

The Philippine operation will provide technical-related assistance to Dell clients in the United States for its desktop and notebook products.

"In terms of skills-set, we don’t really require our agents to have an engineering degree. We are looking for three things -- technical proficiency, which means you will be able to understand and be able to work with technology, communication skills because agents will be dealing with American customers and customer handling skills or the capability to deliver great customer experience to our customers," said Mr. Anandan.

Training for a technical call center agent at Dell can last up to three months, longer than the average one-month training process in most call center operators here.

The Philippines is Dell’s 31st call center office to date, and the seventh site announced over the last 18 months.

"Being number 31, does not mean that you cant be number one. Michael [Dell] wasn’t the first person that started a computer company, but Michael has today the world’s number one computer company. Our aspiration for the Philippines is that the Philippines could become the number one contact center. Because in Dell world and in Dell way, being number 31 in the roadmap doesnt really mean much," explained Mr. Anandan.

Other call center offices of Dell are in the United States, Canada, Panama, El Salvador, India, Malaysia, China and Japan.

ryanr

October 20th, 2005, 08:00 PM

SM Mall of Asia - I know.

Alright...just speculating.

amigo32

October 22nd, 2005, 03:19 AM

http://www.mb.com.ph/INFO2005102247261.html

IBM’s ‘BTO’ center in RP to expand finance and accounting processes

By MELVIN G. CALIMAG

The business outsourcing processing (BPO) market in the Philippines has come a long way — from technical and customer support, it has progressed to medical transcription and customer relationship management (CRM). Now, it has grown so large that the BPO market itself is now being transformed to Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO).

At the forefront of this transformation is the newly opened "global services delivery center" of IBM in Eastwood City in Quezon City which is eyeing to make the Philippines the BTO hub in Asia Pacific, particularly in the area of finance and accounting.

Top IBM officials revealed this during the formal launching of the BTO center at Cyber One mall attended by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Sen. Manuel Roxas II last October 10.

Company executives said aside from Human Resources (HR) and CRM, the Philippines is well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the delivery of outsourced finance and accounting services.

"With 100,000 accounting graduates annually, we are actually considering making the Philippines as one of the finance and accounting centers in Asia, along with India and China," said Katharine Hegman, general manager for BTO IBM Global Services.

Although she admitted that the market for finance and accounting services are not yet as huge as HR and CRM, their business potential is estimated to be of the same level if not bigger than two other areas.

This is the reason, Hegman said, why the IBM center is expanding its finance and accounting services in the near term. Finance and accounting — although closely related — are "neck-and-neck" in terms of getting potential customers, particularly in the US.

The IBM center currently houses 370 staff who provides HR BTO services in eleven languages to more than 178,000 employees of Procter & Gamble and IBM located in 65 countries.

The center is operated by IBM Business Services, a wholly- owned subsidiary of the IBM company and is one of two centers located in the Philippines. The other center is operated by IBM Daksh and delivers CRM services to a number of multinational companies.

"We do our work more effectively because we invested in technology-driven processes that are used by multiple clients. And we do it in a central location," Hegman said.

Randy Walker, Asia Pacific general manager for BTO of IBM Business Consulting Services, said the BTO center in the country is a key part in IBM’s global services delivery network and serves a good "balance" to India in the Asia Pacific region.

"The Philippines is unique in the sense that our centers abroad are adopting the processes being developed here," Walker said, adding that the country has excellent manpower needed to expand their services.

Renato Jiao, president of IBM Business Services, said the investment made by IBM in putting up the BTO center would benefit not only local talents but also local firms.

"Local companies can outsource not only their IT needs to IBM but also their HR, CRM, and finance and accounting requirements," Jiao said.

marites4

October 22nd, 2005, 03:22 AM

Because of our advanced telecoms infrastucture I hope one day all companies willmove their backroom services here.

Lightspeed

October 22nd, 2005, 06:02 AM

Because of our advanced telecoms infrastucture I hope one day all companies willmove their backroom services here.

Yes. We should have a single-minded thrust to become the world's biggest backroom services center.

Along with contact centers, this is our competitive niche in the entire Outsourcing landscape so I hope the Philippines takes full advantage of this.

sandrin

October 24th, 2005, 05:18 PM

WinSource Solutions enters the call center industry

WinSource Solutions, Inc., subsidiary of Winace Holdings Philippines with a British affiliate, became the latest entrant to the burgeoning Philippine call center industry upon its formal inauguration yesterday.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was the company's guest of honor, said the company's opening affirmed continued business confidence in the Philippines, as it produced much-needed jobs for Filipino workers.
WinSource is located in Robinson's Cybergate Tower I in Mandaluyong City and will start with 270 production workstations. It plans to increase the number of seats to 1,000 and to hire a total of 2,000 employees for its 24/7 operations in the next five years.
US CUSTOMERS
The company will initially offer call center services to customers from the United States, and but will eventually serve as consolidating contact center for customers from other parts of the world.
As part of its call center services, it will focus on customer acquisition, customer service and customer retention. It will employ digital and electronic software applications to complete commercial transactions.
The Arroyo government regards business process outsourcing, which includes call center, data encoding, and data transcription and processing services as an important job-generator.
President Arroyo has targeted the creation of six million jobs until 2010, and has encouraged the setting up of call centers in the Philippines. By yearend, the number of call center seats is expected to total 60,000 -- significantly more than the 40,000 seats recorded last year. -- Judy T. Gulane

kiretoce

October 24th, 2005, 08:11 PM

More about WinSource....

================================================================

GMA opens RP to more call centers
By FERDIE J. MAGLALANG

President Arroyo yesterday welcomed the entry of Winsource Solutions Inc. into the burgeoning call center industry in the country that has made dramatic contributions to the economy in terms of investments and job creation.

The President made the gesture as she toured WinSource Solutions facilities at the Robinsons Cybergate Tower I, in Mandaluyong City as part of her administration’s effort to promote offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

"We’re proud of our highly skilled and hardworking workforce that is proven to be among the best in the world," she said.

WinSource Solutions Inc. offers customer management and accounts receivable management services for companies in the United States. Aside from the US, its target markets also include telecommunications and information technology (IT) firms in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Philippines ranks as one of the top sites-of-choice for BPO due to the Filipinos’ work ethic, proficiency in the English language, strong government support, and low labor cost, among others.

At present, there are about 63 outsourced contact or call centers in the country that make up about 25,000 seats. The industry raked in total revenues of about US$200 million last year and is projected to increase it up to US$1 billion for 2005.

The Arroyo administration has declared offshore outsourced services, particularly call center operations, as one of the developing sectors that it is committed to support and promote to attain its targeted number of call center seats to reach 40,000.

As part of Arroyo administration’s development agenda to harness the full potentials of information and communications technology (ICT) through digital infrastructure, the government’[s priority plan includes measures designed to boost call centers located in key strategic business areas in the country, including Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.

Winsource Solution Inc. is working on 1,000-seat plan over a period of five years and plans to hire more than 2,000 contact call center workers.

rustyboi

October 25th, 2005, 08:54 AM

Outsourcing in the Philippines to balloon by 2008

American clients' demand for outsourcing in the Philippines is seen to increase to 60% by 2008, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, as it urged Philippine information technology companies to further promote the local IT industry.

Consul General Cecilia B. Rebong of the Philippine Consulate General in New York told the DFA, analysts have predicted that demand for outsourcing in the Philippines will balloon in three years, citing the growing interest of US companies in the local IT sector.

"Given this forecast, Philippine IT firms are further strengthening their sales strategies to increase their share of the world market for offshore services," she said.

At least 20 Philippine IT firms recently participated in a Business Outsourcing Forum in New York on October 20, which was sponsored by the Consulate General and the Department of Trade and Industry.

The forum has attracted more than 50 US companies that are eyeing investments in the local IT industry. These firms include Merrill-Lynch-Global Private Client, Citicorp Investment Services, Welch Capital Partners LLC, MCI, Citibank, Hfybro Group, Inc., and Altria Group, Inc., among others.

DFA said the forum is aimed at increasing awareness of the country's IT industry in the "highly lucrative" US market and eventually ink deals with American companies.

"By supporting the Philippine information and communication technology industry in terms of putting into place much needed policies and regulations, the Philippine government is helping the local industry grow and increase its competitiveness in the world market, and also the local economy in terms of job creation," Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert F. del Rosario added.

He said the country's bid to promote the industry is strengthened by the recent establishment of a Commission on Information and Communications Technology, the passage of the E-Commerce Law, and the passage of the Intellectual Property Code.

Also discussed in the forum were advantages of the Philippines as a location of e-services such as available human resources, infrastructure support, strategic location of the Philippines, cultural affinity with the West, quality of life for expatriates, and strong government support.

DFA said contracts originating from the US currently account for more than 40% of total outsourcing transactions in the Philippines, particularly in call centers and business process outsourcing, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany and other European countries.

tigidig14

October 25th, 2005, 11:37 PM

US firms to increase outsourcing
10/26/2005 3:00:00 AM
Source : Manila Standa

American firms, headed by the world’s leading financial management and advisory company Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (MLGPE), will increase outsourced operations in the Philippines by 60 percent by 2008, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario said government analysts predicted the increase after more than 50 US firms signified their intention to invest in the local information technology (IT) industry at the Business Outsourcing Forum in New York hosted by the consulate there.

“Given this forecast, Philippine IT firms are further strengthening their sales strategies to increase their share of the world market for offshore services,” Del Rosario said.

The ambassador said outsourcing in the Philippines will balloon in the next three years given the growing interest of US companies in the local IT sector.

MLGPE alone, which is the private equity arm of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., has offices in 36 countries and total client assets of approximately $1.6 trillion.

Other firms that have informed the consulate of their desire to expand their business in the Philippines include Citicorp Investment Services, Welch Capital Partners LLC, MCI, Citibank, Hfybro Group Inc., and Altria Group Inc., among others.

The Altria Group, which has a portfolio that includes Kraft Foods (Oreo, Maxwell House, and Nabisco, among others) as well as Philip Morris International, has been consistently ranked no. 1 in the US in terms of economic value added or “true” economic profit.

“By supporting the Philippine information and communication technology industry in terms of putting into place much needed policies and regulations, the Philippine government is helping the local industry grow and increase its competitiveness in the world market, and also the local economy in terms of job creation,” Del Rosario said.

The official said the country’s bid to promote the IT industry is strengthened by the recent establishment of a Commission on Information and Communications Technology, the passage of the E-Commerce Law, and the passage of the Intellectual Property Code. Joyce Pangco Pañares

kiretoce

October 30th, 2005, 06:21 PM

FIRST JOB: Putting RP on the BPO map
By Tina Arceo-Dumlao Inquirer News Service Oct. 30, 2005

ERNEST L. CU realizes today that he has been preparing for his role to put the Philippines on the business process outsourcing map his entire career.

He put on a remarkable performance as SPI Technologies, the company he has been heading since 1998, has become synonymous with quality Philippine labor in the overseas markets.

Affirmation of his efforts came in 2003 when he was named the Ernst and Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" for the Information and Communications Technology category for his achievements in the vibrant BPO sector.

Better proof is that SPI Technologies has moved away from the simplest BPO jobs, such as converting data into digital format, to the more high-value, precision work such as publishing, medical transcription, retail financial services and insurance forms processing.

BPO refers to the system adopted by large companies, mostly in the United States and Europe, of contracting out non-core operations to other countries.

These include customer service, accounting and payroll services.

Today, SPI Technologies is one of the world's largest independent content outsourcing services firms, with 6,500 employees working in 25 offices across nine countries, 4,000 of which are in the Philippines.

Cache of skills

Cu tells SundayBiz that the experiences he gained from all his previous jobs added to the cache of skills that he digs into as he navigates the company through turbulent changes in the highly competitive BPO industry.

At the Bank of America, where he worked after earning his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, he was introduced to the outsourcing industry as the bank at the time was processing the payroll of outside clients.

Cu moved after a few years to Denny's, a popular restaurant chain in the United States, as project manager of its information technology systems.

Then he put up his own desktop services company and gave entrepreneurship a try.

Cu was able to build the company up to four branches from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada. But he sold his interest when the California economy suffered a setback in the early '90s.

He then found himself back in the corporate world, joining a Japanese firm that did manuals, outsourcing and inventory control.

Cu stuck it out with the company for a while and he took on a variety of positions, eventually becoming its chief financial officer.

He was in that position when he decided to come back to the Philippines in 1997 to join SPI Technologies.

"I believe I was prepped for what I was going to do," Cu says in an interview.

He says he feels fortunate for his experience as an entrepreneur since despite the size of the company today, SPI still needs to be nimble enough to jump at opportunities that go as quickly as they come.

New thinking

That takes the thinking of an entrepreneur just starting a business whose survival rests on his ability to take risks and quickly grab opportunities.

"That entrepreneurial spirit must be there, especially in a nascent business where changes come fast," Cu says, "If you are too bureaucratic, you will not survive. "

That sprit enabled the company, for instance, to see the potential of the call center industry.

SPI put up eTelecare in 1999 with the first customer service call answered in September 2000, and the successful operations got the attention of American companies looking to cut labor costs by outsourcing non-core operations.

SPI has since spun off the call center business to concentrate on the data side and the company has hit the mother lode in the outsourcing business.

"We always start at the bottom, learn the basic work and then work our way up," he says.

From just typing manuscripts, SPI has moved on to copy editing and even reviewing some of the documents sent to the company.

SPI today is the leading provider of editorial and content production services to the scholarly, scientific, technical and medical journal and book publishing industry.

SPI went up the value chain in its other markets, such as legal, financial, retail and medical transcription businesses.

Cu says SPI evolved into a more high-value BPO company because of the competence of its workforce, especially in the Philippines where the bulk of its work is done.

He also expresses confidence that the Philippines will hold its own and fend off competition from other BPO destinations such as India, Ireland, Malaysia and Thailand because the culture of service is very much ingrained among Filipinos, especially among employees of SPI Technologies.

"We have a culture where people work beyond the paycheck," Cu says, "we have a certain passion for the work. We like it for what it is and we look at SPI as not just a place to earn a wage."

He says this set of skills and values should be nurtured among Filipinos. Cu says more job opportunities should flow the way of the Philippines as the country cements its position in the market.

"BPO is the logical business for the Philippines. It is here where we have the best chance of success," he says.

And if the Philippines takes this path, Cu will surely be there every step of the way.

kiretoce

October 30th, 2005, 06:35 PM

DTI-BOI tags Baguio as IT hub
By Art Tibaldo, DTI-CAR

Baguio City (28 October) -- Prospects for a brighter future may not be clouded with uncertainty if students choose to take up courses related to Information and Communications Technology. In fact, Filipinos enjoy a competitive advantage over some Asian neighbors and there is a growing demand for ITC experts by foreign and locally based companies.

"We should therefore waste no time and instead seize the moment because things are happening fast". This was the gist of Baguio statesman and city Councilor Edilberto Tenefrancia when he delivered the welcome remarks during the opening program of 1st Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Forum held in the University of Baguio recently.

Tenefrancia, a former University President advised the participating faculty members and Deans of about fifty colleges and universities of the Cordillera region that they should join the IT bandwagon and stressed.. "be online, or be left behind".

DTI-CAR Regional Caretaker Marites F. Damian gave an overview on the state of IT business in the region and expressed high hopes that Baguio will soon be at par with other developed cities once the required fiber-optic-based communication facilities will be made available through PLDT by December this year.

Baguio as ICT center

Director Domingo Bagaporo of DTI's Board of Investment's Electronic and ICT Department reported that there is a high demand of ICT experts in the global market. Bagaporo stressed to the academe based participants that schools should now review its curriculums and offer more IT based courses. The BOI Director added that more and more companies are having jobs caravan in the regions however he said it is sad to note that there is a low take up rate due to lack of ICT skilled applicants. Bagaporo told the educators that the country today has abundant accountants and lawyers but the human resources that companies require are those in customer service, contact centers, medical transcription, software development, computer graphics design, engineering design and animation. In relation to this, the DTI-BOI, according to Bagaporo has continually assisted key areas outside of Manila be become IT hubs and Baguio is already one.

"Let us animate!"

Grace Dimaranan, the Vice President of the Animation Council of the Philippines told the forum participants that Filipino talents are among the most sought after creative human resource by foreign producers. Every year, Filipino animation artists provide the major content of popular cartoons and visual effects of foreign films and television series and this is done here in the country through out-sourcing. Her 16 years in the animation industry has led Ms. Maranan and her husband to put up their own company that enters into contract with foreign firms. Maranan, who finished Fine Arts added that aside from cartoons, there are other areas of specializations such as online gaming, 2D and 3D animation, movie digital effects, visual presentations, web development, mobile phone animation, animated gifs and other contents used in edu-tainment.

The animation industry is a multi-million dollar earner and it has become an income provider to thousands of Filipinos here and abroad. Maranan said that animation is also used in other fields such as virtual reality, aircraft simulation and navigation, medical-biological work, crime investigation, architectural and engineering designs.

The Animation Council of the Philippines aims to promote the animation industry globally with the intention of creating an identity for the Philippines to be considered amongst the preferred countries that service the animation industry.

Maranan said that the guild is committed to bridge the academe and the industry in terms of training and co-production. Maranan's company has already established a production site outside of Manila.

Call center agents are not telephone operators

When Clientlogic Human Resource Site Manager Irene Roa discussed the successes and potentials of the call center industry, many concerns was raised by the participants particularly on the stringent hiring system and rigid exams conducted by operators.

Roa, however was quick to reply saying that because of the very nature of the work wherein call center agents has to deal with irate and angry callers, they must be able to resolve the issue and provide good customer service. And when the job demands issue resolution, Roa opined that this requires an efficient communication skills, very good comprehension and thought flow process to be able to resolve a problem.

Filipinas Data Chief Executive Officer Ludwig Pascual narrated how their company grew from a small nine-man medical transcription firm to a peak of forty nine transcriptionists last year. He also discussed the importance of competent editors and a good working relation with medical doctors.

Dean Carmelita Flores of the University of the East (UE) College of Arts and Sciences discussed her school's initiative in identifying appropriate skills businesses require. The dean said that after many meetings with call center operators, UE came up with a syllabus and an elective subject named Communication 400 that later included E-Business. The subject according to the dean is a fifty two hours three unit CHED accredited course offered to senior students who may opt to have a special added skills apart from their main course.

Department of Labor-CAR Director Jalilo Dela Torre was said to have admitted that at first he thought that call center agents were just like telephone operators but he later proved he was wrong when he realized that the contact centers and the ITC industry can very well lift the country's economy by providing employment to even non-college graduates.

Dela Torre later gave a situationer on the role of the national as well as local government units in beating the odds, an acronym of the current administration's thrust in creating job opportunities and generating million jobs.

The DOLE Director acknowledged the important role that private sector play in employing a great number of human resources and he wished that Clientlogic can reach out to the mountain provinces.

At the end of the forum, the participants were faced with an obliging challenge and some school representatives even offered their facilities and host the next ICT Forum.

Since Baguio is now considered an IT hub like Cebu, it must therefore stand to be a key player in the technology based industry. (DTI-CAR)

sandrin

October 30th, 2005, 07:55 PM

US firm sets up $2-M back office operations

An American company has set up a $2-million, 190-seat back office facility here to service the information needs of mobile subscribers based in the US.

Called AskMeNow, the service allows American mobile users to access information on the internet from their cellphones and personal digital assistants using the company’s patent-pending technology.

AskMeNow, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocean West Holding Corp., has hired 100 Filipino agents and is looking to hire 300 more for its 24/7 operation, due to start next month.

Mark Cohen, managing director of AskMeNow, Inc., the Philippine subsidiary, said there is an exceptional pool of Filipino knowledge workers who can measure up to the core functions required by their business model. "There are many Americanized Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who have the intelligence and education necessary to perform the internet research, transcription and customer service functions required," he told BusinessWorld.

Based in Irvine, California, AskMeNow claims to be "the first mobile lifestyle network" and allows American subscribers to simply call or send any question via text message from a mobile phone to receive the information requested in minutes.

AskMeNow answers basic questions for free through an automated system, while subscribers may receive answers to virtually any question through its AskAnything feature for 49›.

The data center is now ready to deliver more than one million responses daily, and the facility is scalable to provide more than 10,000,000 responses daily. AskMeNow uses patent-pending technology to facilitate high-speed and low-cost searches from mobile subscribers.

AskMeNow had outsourced its data center throughout its beta test of more than 10,000 users.

The Philippines facility is expected to give AskMeNow an even more cost-efficient and effective solution.

"The Philippines possesses tremendous talent, and we remain thrilled with the reception that we have received," said AskMeNow chief executive officer, Darryl Cohen.

He said that this year, the company is investing $2 million for its facilities and operations in the Philippines. "We encourage more countries to utilize the Philippines for high-level back-office applications."

He said many people, especially those who have tried and seen the power of the AskMeNow service, would use this regularly as their personal digital assistant.

He said that instead of wading through links, the service delivers answers to any question, any time. Whether people are traveling, shopping or meeting friends, it lets people access information they need to know and when they want to know it.

"Let’s say, you woke up one night and had a bright idea but wanted to know something right away, you could phone in your query instead of opening your computer and searching for the answer yourself. You could go back to sleep and wake up with an answer waiting for you on your phone," Mr. Cohen said.

The company generates revenue through one-to-one advertising and sponsorship on its service, as well as per usage charges for its AskAnything feature. It also offers other services like chat, a portal for content providers, ring tones and games.

Its agents search the internet on partner sites like Accuweather, Maps.Com, Flights.Com and Shopping.Com, and send the customer the information that they ask for.

More than 180 million Americans now own cellphones and nearly four out of five households have one. But navigating the Web on today’s cellphones is frustrating and time consuming.

AskMeNow, Mr. Cohen said, is a solution for majority of users who want access to information from their cellphones and wireless handhelds easily and conveniently. "This group of people who want information from the internet using their phone is our target market."

But doesn’t it teach people, students particularly, to be lazy when it comes to research?

"Not really. AskMeNow facilitates the flow of information to those who need them even if they are not in front of a desktop. For many people who are having difficulty getting information they need from the internet, AskMeNow opens up this new world to them," Mr. Cohen said. "That’s why we ask them, ’What do you want to know today?’"

kiretoce

November 2nd, 2005, 08:02 PM

Filipinos challenge India; BPO offshoring may be threatened by Philippines

The Philippines is taking aggressive strides to catch up with India as the desired destination in BPO offshoring. According to a study by neoIT, an offshore advisory and management firm, Philippines is preparing eight other Filipino cities besides Manila to foster this growth in the country.

This country is developing Cebu, Davao, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, Illoilo, Bacalod, Baguio and Dumaguete and is making these destinations ‘outsource ready’ with a diverse portfolio of specialisations.

In India, centres like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune have been developed and now firms are being urged to branch out into second tier cities like Mysore, Mangalore and Coimbatore. The Phillipines seems to be adopting the same route.

According to the study, Metro Manila has long dominated the country’s other cities as an outsourcing destination. Driven by a need for broad-based growth, the Philippines government has assumed the task of developing alternative, smaller cities in the Philippines and is putting a slew of catalysts like infrastructure, finance and people.

The report adds that though Manila is the most suitable city for offshoring, increasing costs of operation and competitive pressures on labour supply will continue to reduce the city’s attractiveness.

“Cebu, Davao and Clark are emerging as attractive outsourcing locations, with competent labour pools, lower costs, strong government support and fast-improving technical infrastructure,” the report highlighted.

The increasingly competitive environment in Manila has also led to some outsourcing organisations to consider alternative locations that still have room to grow.

“Having caught wind of that trend, other local governments have begun promoting their cities along with the national government to establish new economic and technology centres in multiple cities throughout the country as an additional incentive for ITO and BPO suppliers,” the report noted.

kiretoce

November 3rd, 2005, 04:18 PM

TeleTech Expands to Support Client Growth
Wednesday, November 02 2005

TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTEC), a global provider of customer management and transaction-based business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, today announced the construction of two new customer management centers (CMCs) in the Philippines to support new business growth.

The completion of these two facilities expands TeleTech's presence to five locations in the Philippines and represents the largest amount of space occupied in the country by any single customer management provider.

"TeleTech is very optimistic that the Philippines will continue to provide high quality solutions and value for our clients," said Ken Tuchman, chairman and chief executive officer. "Its highly educated workforce and advanced telecom infrastructure make it a very attractive location for TeleTech to expand its English language capabilities."

TeleTech's fourth CMC in the Philippines will be its final location in Metro Manila. The company has selected a site for its fifth CMC in Dumaguete City, Oriental Negros, to leverage skilled labor in the provinces.

"To sustain a strong labor pool, our business planning team believes that additional expansion in the Philippines will be best supported in the provinces," said Craig Reines, vice president and general manager of Philippine operations. "We are currently working with local governments to expand into targeted regions outside of Metro Manila."

With the addition of its new capacity, TeleTech expects to employ more than 7,000 professionals in the Philippines by the second half of 2006, positioning the company as one of the largest employers of outsourced services in the country. Looking ahead, TeleTech expects new business will support additional growth, and plans to continue to significantly increase employment in the Philippines through 2007.

"We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with one of the world's largest customer management providers," said Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director-General Lilia De Lima. "We welcome the job creation and career development opportunities TeleTech presents to our citizens."

TeleTech is currently sourcing 1,500 jobs in the Manila area. Individuals interested in employment with TeleTech may contact the local recruiting manager by phone at (02) 552-9799.

Local governments interested in partnering with TeleTech may contact Veneeth Iyengar, business development manager, through e-mail at veneethiyengar@teletech.com.

amigo32

November 4th, 2005, 03:49 AM

http://us.rediff.com/money/2005/nov/01bpo.htm?q=bp&file=.htm

BPO: Philippines a threat to India

BS Bureau in Bangalore | November 01, 2005 18:27 IST

Philippines is taking aggressive strides to catch up with India as the desired destination in BPO offshoring.

According to a study by neoIT, an offshore advisory and management firm, Philippines is preparing eight other Filipino cities besides Manila to foster this growth in the country.

This country is developing Cebu, Davao, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, Illoilo, Bacalod, Baguio and Dumaguete and is making these destinations 'outsource ready' with a diverse portfolio of specialisations.

In India, centres like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune have been developed and now firms are being urged to branch out into second tier cities like Mysore, Mangalore and Coimbatore. Philippines seems to be adopting the same route.

According to the study, Metro Manila has long dominated the country's other cities as an outsourcing destination.

Driven by a need for broad-based growth, the Philippines government has assumed the task of developing alternative, smaller cities in the Philippines and is putting a slew of catalysts like infrastructure, finance and people.

The report adds that though Manila is the most suitable city for offshoring, increasing costs of operation and competitive pressures on labour supply will continue to reduce the city's attractiveness.

"Cebu, Davao and Clark are emerging as attractive outsourcing locations, with competent labour pools, lower costs, strong government support and fast-improving technical infrastructure," the report highlighted.

The increasingly competitive environment in Manila has also led to some outsourcing organisations to consider alternative locations that still have room to grow.

"Having caught wind of that trend, other local governments have begun promoting their cities along with the national government to establish new economic and technology centres in multiple cities throughout the country as an additional incentive for ITO and BPO suppliers," the report noted.

kiretoce

November 11th, 2005, 07:21 PM

Call center opportunities beckon to young graduates
Friday, November 11, 2005

The sweet Ilonggo temperament and his mellifluous accent are working wonders for Iloilo's young graduates who have found doors of opportunity opening wide for them in the call center industry.

Neil Laas was a budding journalist with a local publication in 2003 when he was encouraged to try becoming a call center "agent" (roughly, one who makes or receives calls for a call center client). He passed the training with flying colors and joined a batch of several other Ilonggos from Iloilo and Roxas City who were brought to the call center in Clark, Pampanga.

Within a few months, he became a supervisor.

A political science graduate from the University of San Agustin, Neil is back in Iloilo to gear himself up in the pursuit of a law degree but also to share the knowledge and experience he has gained. Neil is now with St. Roberts International School, which offers language training programs as well as courses in HRM and Caregiving with guaranteed employment.

The experience is incredible, said Neil who speaks English with a twang that could easily be mistaken for American. "Once you have undergone the process, you can be ready for anything," said Neil.

Joining Neil in preaching the call center gospel here is another Ilongga, Colleen Marie Reyes who's program director for Cyber City, a major call center operator based in Clark, and two other related firms. Colleen, an education graduate from West Visayas University, is only in her mid-20s. Same as Neil. Colleen said she's here in Iloilo to help young people like her and Neil enjoy the call center experience. "We're looking for at least 300 fresh graduates who will be trained and eventually employed as call center agents."

On behalf of Cyber City, Colleen and Neil are accepting applications for bachelor's degree graduates for training and employment as call center agents. They will be interviewing applicants on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the 2nd Floor of Robins Place Iloilo.

The call center industry is a product of advances in the telecommunications industry. Many US-based companies are "outsourcing" their services to call centers to conduct marketing activities. Asia, particularly India and the Philippines, are the main beneficiaries of this trend largely because wages can be as much as 80 per cent lower than those of their American counterparts. In the Philippines, the rates are about $6 to $10 per hour per seat as opposed to $50 - $80 in America. India can offer as low as $4, but many prefer the Philippines because "Filipinos are far more familiar with the nuances of American English. When clients dial a 1-800 number, they think they are still talking to an American when, in fact, it is a Filipino on the other side."

The board of Investments said the Philippine call center industry is growing at an average of 100 percent over the past four years and expects call center seat to grow to 20,000 seats over the next 12 months.

The Department of Trade and Industry is more bullish. The DTI said it expects call center seats to reach 80,000 seats next year "as a result of the government's efforts to transform the Philippines into a global "e-services" hub."

There may be enough reason for the optimism. Only recently, Dell, the world's largest personal computer producer, said it was setting up a major call center in the Philippines by February 2006. In support of this move, Dell opened a recruitment and training center in Makati early this month.

Also, in late October, Five9, also a major call center industry player, briefed President Gloria Arroyo and senior cabinet members, on their plan to expand operations in the Philippines "by creating hundreds of small and medium sized call centers that are expected to generate more than 90,000 jobs over the next twelve months. Small-to-medium sized hosted call centers are project to become a 45 billion industry by 2008. With the Philippines setting itself up to become the global leader in customer care, Iloilo is not far behind. City first lady Rosalie Trenas disclosed recently that at least a couple of major players in the Philippine Call Center industry are poised to set up shop here.

This provides another opportunity to generate jobs for our graduates, she said.

chymera00

November 14th, 2005, 06:14 PM

ClientLogic to set up 3rd site in the Visayas
By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter
Call center firm ClientLogic Philippines is choosing among the cities of Cebu and Dumaguete and other university towns in the Visayas for its third site in the Philippines.

This will be a facility with at least 300 seats to cater to new clients engaged in technology, telecommunication and travel, country manager, Danilo Sebastian L. Reyes, said in a recent interview.

Some of the firm's clients include Sony Corp., DIRECTV, TiVo, National Geographic Television and United Online, to name a few.

Using the maximum industry thumbrule of $10,000 in investments per seat, the new facility will cost about $300,000. In its five years of operation in the country, the company has already spent a total of P1.2 billion in investments.

"Our principals in the United States are very happy because we are meeting their expectations. As proof, we have now new clients. But the actual rollout of the next facility will really depend on the demand from our clients," he said.

The company is initially looking at starting the rollout in the Visayas by next year.

In choosing the next location, Mr. Reyes said the company is looking at factors such as big pool of qualified manpower, quality real estate and telecommunication infrastructure, amenities and peace and order.

ClientLogic is even willing to set up a facility in areas in the Visayas that don't have call center locators, as of yet.

As of end-2004, there were 11 call center locators in Cebu City in Central Visayas and three in Iloilo City in Western Visayas. This year, TeleTech Customer Care Management Phils. is presently developing a facility in Dumaguete City in Central Visayas, due for completion in the next 18 months.

Mr. Reyes said ClientLogic has already tried setting up in a new location when it decided to operate the first and only 850-seat call center facility at the Baguio Export Processing Zone along Loakan Road in Baguio City.

This area is best known for manufacturing companies in the semiconductor and electronics business such as Texas Instruments, Inc. Aside from Baguio City, ClientLogic also operates the 1,700-seat facility in Ortigas Center in Pasig City.

Started operation in December 2000, ClientLogic Philippines first carried the name ContactWorld before North America-based ClientLogic acquired the company in December this year.

It is the call center subsidiary of Canadian diversified company Onex Corporation and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates in 52 locations in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia, servicing around 14 languages. Its other office in the region is in Bangalore, India.

stephencua

November 16th, 2005, 05:43 AM

taken from mb.com.ph...

Outsourcing as economic tonic
By RENE MARTEL

If the Philippine economy was looking for a tonic to energize it then it has come in the form of outsourcing, with the Philippines at the leading edge of this rapidly growing industry which -- via the wonders of the IT highway -- provides key backroom operations for leading corporations in the United States and the European Union.

If the Philippine economy was looking for a tonic to energize it then it has come in the form of outsourcing, with the Philippines at the leading edge of this rapidly growing industry which -- via the wonders of the IT highway -- provides key backroom operations for leading corporations in the United States and the European Union.

Much to the envy of its other Asian rivals vying for a piece of the outsourcing cake, the Philippines currently hosts 120 business process outsourcing (to give its full, and rather unwieldy name) providers, including 70 call centers. And together they fully employ over 130,000 workers.

The industry is expected to rake in almost $2 billion in revenues this year, and engage at least 50,000 new workers next year.

In addition, the BPO industry has helped boost the office rental business by taking up lots of space in high-rise office buildings in the Makati Business District and Ortigas Center (the main locations for BPO operations in Metro Manila) that have stayed largely empty for some time.

An additional boost has come in the form of business for fast food outlets that now run 24-hour operations in the vicinity of call centers to meet the need of the nocturnal appetites of the call boys and call girls -- as employees of call centers are quaintly referred to!

Recognizing the growing role of the business process outsourcing industry in national economic expansion and job growth, Rep. Joseph Santiago of Catanduanes has sought the creation of a top-level, 24-hour one-stop government help desk that would assist all existing as well as prospective investors promptly deal with all their needs.

Santiago, the former chief of the National Telecommunications Commission, also proposed that BPO providers be granted preferential, fast-track accommodation in their transactions with national as well as local government offices.

He said the special treatment should include express lanes in the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor and Employment.

Under Santiago’s proposal, the "green" lanes would help BPO providers expedite their importation of computers and other telecommunications equipment, the working papers of their foreign consultants, the travel documents of executives and certain exemptions -- such as the ban on night work for female employees.

"We should roll out the red carpet for the industry," said Santiago, vice chairman of the House committee on transportation and communications.

He went on: "The industry’s rapid growth has had a tremendous multiplier effect on the economy. Thousands of new jobs and new income are being created, thus spurring personal consumption in a big way.

"The industry’s brisk demand for telecommunications services and office space is also lifting other sectors. Even the advertising industry is being buoyed by the aggressive labor recruitment of call centers."

Rep. Santiago also stressed that the government should spare no effort in helping this single most important sunrise industry.

He said: "Don’t get me wrong. To its credit, the industry has grown by leaps and bounds with little or no government help. What I am merely proposing is a help desk that they can run to, if and when they need any assistance."

A recent Price water house Coopers survey ranked the Philippines among the world’s top five most popular outsourcing destinations, along with India, China, Ireland and Romania.

rowell_sk

November 23rd, 2005, 02:04 PM

RP ranks 4th in offshore I.T. cost index in the world ahead of U.S. who is at number 11.

here's the link.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-...22112005-1.html

stephencua

November 25th, 2005, 03:07 AM

taken from philstar.com..

US firms prefer RP for business process outsourcing
By Marianne V. Go
The Philippine Star 11/25/2005

American companies looking for outsourcing partners in OutsourceWorld New York cited the Philippines’ strong affinity with the Western culture as the country’s distinct advantage in business process outsourcing.

"The Philippines‚ unique selling proposition is it is the closest to American in Asia. Americans in general find the Filipinos easy to work with compared to other countries in Asia," according to American outsourcing expert Richard Mills, chairman of Chaire Associates Executive Search.

As a previous US colony, much of the Philippines’ social, political, and educational system was patterned after the US. American English was taught to young Filipino students and even the basic form of government was patterned after the American model.

The Philippines’ track record and roster of major international companies with operations in the country likewise left a positive impression to American firms participating in OutsourceWorld New York.

According to Senior Trade Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino, head of delegation of the US trade mission, "many American companies were surprised to know that a number of Fortune 500 companies are already using the Philippines as outsourcing destination of their non-core functions such as financial and accounting services, human resources, logistics, content management and publisher services."

Some of the well-known American brands with outsourcing projects in the Philippines are American Express, FedEx, Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Kodak, General Motors, MCI, Procter & Gamble, and Verizon among others.

Firms outsource in the Philippines because of the English language capability and competitive IT skills of its people, government support to IT services, and reliable telecom infrastructure.

As more and more US firms focus on core competencies, opportunities abound for niche back office services.

"We saw opportunities in outsourcing application support and maintenance, technical support, business analysis, accounting, HR, insurance processing, bank processing, medical transcription, legal services, animation and other non-core back office processes," added Aquino.

Programa Technologias Informacion of the Fundacion Chile said that the solid English speaking contact center industry presents partnership opportunities with Chile for the Spanish-speaking requirements of Philippine US clients.

The Philippines was represented by 17 BPO companies in OutsourceWorld New York, namely ADEC Solutions, Inc., Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc., Ambergris Solutions, Inc., Berthaphil Business Park, Business Process Outsourcing International, Inc. (BPOi), Comfac Global Group, Diversified Technology Solutions International, Inc. (DTSI), Eximius BPO Services Inc., Exist Software, Pointwest Technologies Corporation, Quisumbing Torres, SENCOR, Teledata Philippines, Inc., Transprocure Corporation and Virtual Assistants. Telco giants Innove Communications and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) are supporting the project as sponsors.

qt_bi

November 25th, 2005, 11:11 AM

those who frustratingly did not make it are the ones BOBO, in fact its very competitive now, its either u make it or not

sandrin

November 30th, 2005, 06:11 PM

Call centers to gain from clients’ shift
Business World Philippines

Call center firms in the Philippines may reap a windfall given expectations that foreign firms will shift from Indian outsourcing partners.

For one, Philippine-based call center firm Ambergris Solutions is looking forward to "very aggressive" growth next year given new clients from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Most of its prospective clients for next year have existing outsourcing partners in India but want to transfer to other locations such as the Philippines, Ambergris director for business development Raymond K. Hernandez claimed.

"There are tons and tons of clients [in India] right now who are not extremely satisfied in the way their requirements are being handled. This is a huge market that we would like to tap. This market alone is equivalent to revenues close to $200 million," Mr. Hernandez declared.

Local call center agents, he said, are attuned to the US culture and language. The educational system in the Philippines is modeled after the US, while India has the United Kingdom as the model.

"Our accent is more friendly to American ears," Mr. Hernandez claimed.

Richard W. Knudson, chairman and chief executive of Global Systems Technology (GST), made the same observation in a previous interview. GST is a global appraiser for processes of IT companies, with clients such as Indian industry giants Infosys and Wipro.

"It is not just the fact that Filipinos can speak English and Indians can speak English. It’s getting what I mean when I say the words that I say," Mr. Knudson said.

Mr. Knudson said Philippines and India offer the same cost but the former has a higher quality of service.

"The reality of the world is that a number of companies are unhappy even with the performance of a highly-rated companies in India. We are looking for alternatives, and that is why we think Philippines has an opportunity." -- Maricel E. Estavillo

stephencua

December 1st, 2005, 02:37 AM

great great news.. it looks like the BPOs and the call centers will really help propel our country back on its feet!

bulakenyo

December 1st, 2005, 04:20 PM

Great news! And what's really exciting about BPOs is the fact that they create a ripple effect in the economy. Ang daming nabibiyayaan. Go Philippines!

Francis20

December 1st, 2005, 04:30 PM

hmm...hopefully it really could. the challenge BPO poses is on how to keep it's employees. what most BPOs do are very much similar to the other. so it's very easy to pirate people whom you invested training on. so they should find ways to keep their employees and be cost efficient at the same time. kaya naman mga BPOs na maraming competitor, maraming perks, comprehensive benefit package at maraming programs just to motivate their employees.

bulakenyo

December 1st, 2005, 05:15 PM

Ay parang OA ata yung sinabi ko that it creates a ripple effect sa economy. What I was actually trying to get at is that callcenter agents have a strong purchasing power which benefits other industries (telecoms, bars/entertainment, malls, etc) As far as the callcenter itself is concerned, I think other industries also benefit from them. There's a huge demand for office spaces these days. Callcenters also pay for their huge power consumption. They benefit the telecoms/VOIP provider. Even those involved in the catering business benefit from callcenters. Siguro pag lalo pang lumaki BPO industry dito sa Pinas, dun natin mararamdaman ang immediate and strong impact nito sa economy natin.

stephencua

December 2nd, 2005, 02:50 AM

yup i got your point bulakenyo.. :)

sandrin

December 7th, 2005, 05:10 PM

HP allots $2.5M for Pasig outsourcing site

Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has poured in some $2.5 million in investments for its new facility in Pasig City, its second global third-party outsourcing site in the country to date.

The two-floor facility at the San Miguel Properties Centre Building at the Ortigas Center can accommodate up to 200 seats.

Set for inauguration this Friday, the facility will serve as an extension of the firm’s Global Delivery Center at the Robinsons Summit in Makati City, which is now full at 465 seats from 270 seats at the start of the year.

"We specifically looked for location outside the business district of Makati City so that we will have more redundancy and disaster recovery capability. And we find Ortigas a good location," Larry D. Andrews, Philippines Delivery Center Manager, said.

The set up of the Delivery Center came after HP signed a $3-billion and 10-year global outsourcing deal with Procter & Gamble in 2003.

Under this deal, HP will handle the data center operations, desktop and end-user support, network management and applications development and maintenance for Procter & Gamble’s global operations in 160 countries.

Initially, Hewlett-Packard Philippines had been tapped to handle Procter & Gamble’s application development, integration and management requirements in the areas of supply chain management, accounting, financial reporting, business information and data warehousing for Asia Pacific.

But since last year, it started to get Procter & Gamble application requirements outside Asia Pacific and extended operations to other company clients, both global and domestic.

HP, "has found the Philippines to be a significant place to invest in. If you look at our headcount growth over the last year, this gives an idea on how HP look at the Philippines," Mr. Andrews said.

Now, he said the Philippine Delivery Center is doing approximately 60% of Procter & Gamble’s global requirements for applications, servicing some 18,000 customers. "A lot of the new business now came through repeat business, or more business that we get from our [existing] customers. Some were moved internally from HP operation, while some were transferred from other locations to the Philippines," Mr. Andrews said.

kiretoce

December 8th, 2005, 08:34 PM

US Airways looking to bring call center back to US
By JEFF SONIER Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Fed up with US Airways customer service? The new boss at US Airways has responded to an investigation about overseas operators, who sometimes give out wrong information to customers on the airline's 1-800 number.

US Airways CEO Doug Parker talked to 6NEWS just as new government numbers show his airline is worst for customer service.

US Airways tops the list of all airlines in customer complaints this year. It is not exactly something to brag about for Parker.

"We won't accept unacceptable service," Parker said.

6NEWS caught up with Parker at the airport after flyers and workers complained to 6NEWS about who is answering the phone on the US Airways 1-800 line.

Union leaders said the airline laid off hundreds of experienced phone agents at the Winston Salem call center and replaced them with overseas operators who don't have a clue.

6NEWS also received a lot of e-mails after our story last month. One US Airways customer called the Philippine operators "a nightmare" and another wrote, “So long US Airways" after she was left on hold for an hour and 20 minutes.

"We've heard some complaints from customers as well, so we're working to get those individuals ramped up and trained," Parker said.

But the agents in Winston Salem told 6NEWS even after a year of training, the overseas operators hired to save money, still don't get it.

“You can't put a dollar amount on your passengers. Because without them, you don't have anything else," said union leader Becky Gerald.

And even the airlines new CEO now seems to suggest that US Airways' experiment with overseas call centers simply isn't working.

“We're doing our best to provide a level of service that our customers desire. If we can't get that done...we have to have people who will communicate with our customers and we'll make sure that happens,” Parker said.

Parker said US Airways is now looking at bringing those call center jobs back to the US and that the airline has no plans for more outsourcing in the future.

Jefferyi

December 9th, 2005, 06:53 AM

^that is such a bad news

tigidig14

December 9th, 2005, 06:58 AM

^its a propaganda, they wont take out those phone center call in the philippines. the customer is not paying for those service, and if she was on hold for more than an hour n a half. i wouldve just hang up and try to call back again and who calls them anyway, there is this thing now we call internet. :ohno:

kyle@1008

December 9th, 2005, 07:06 AM

mostly stupid people , I have a friend who works in a call center in cebu,.. he likes making away to his clients

marites4

December 9th, 2005, 07:12 AM

there are alot of people fr those companies" countries who are againts call centers outsourcing as they feel they are losing jobs that should belong to them.

kyle@1008

December 9th, 2005, 07:17 AM

I saw them sa TV rallying all the time

bulakenyo

December 9th, 2005, 08:08 PM

Nung nasa callcenter pa ako I received a call from an American who lost his job because they're call center lost a client and transferred its account in a Philippine callcenter. Minumura talaga ako. Naawa ako sa kanya.

kiretoce

December 9th, 2005, 08:14 PM

Some companies here in the US are relocating their call center jobs to rural communities instead of transferring operations to foreign lands. They say that it'll stem the flow of American jobs to foreigners and will benefit the rural areas economically. Of course the pay will be far less than what an urbanite gets, at least the job stays on American soil and goes to an American.

sandrin

December 9th, 2005, 08:39 PM

But American companies control the global trade and throw junks to third world countries that now benefit the call center boom. In terms of global trade, third world countries are at a disadvantage from the absurd product restriction imposed by the US, take for example the coconut byproducts. In fact it's the third world countries that remain at the losing end.

dancethingy

December 9th, 2005, 09:00 PM

Third world countries are always at the losing end and i just absolutely do not have the patience with developed nations saying that "they went through what we went through, so we have to tought it out," the only BIG difference is, we have first world countries holding us down. That's why the west is sometimes so scared of China, China is a giant peasant, third world rebellion.

bulakenyo

December 9th, 2005, 09:04 PM

^^^ and our very enthusiastic cooperation and friendship with China might get us in trouble, with regard to our relationship with the US. Haaayyy!!

Francis20

December 10th, 2005, 01:38 AM

US Airways looking to bring call center back to US
By JEFF SONIER Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Sad to hear this story. We probably are getting positive feedbacks about most of our call centres here in manila, but the American cons will be all arms against bringing their jobs overseas. Chances are...news like this can be exagerrated focusing more on the negative aspect. This can be one isolated case for US Airways. They have to see the whole picture and investigate all aspect of the operation. If the negative feedback is frequent, then they should invest more on training people. They must have expected too much in outsourcing the job here...that they put very little capital for it. And take note, there's the union leader on the scene.

stephencua

December 13th, 2005, 02:43 AM

taken from abs-cbnnews.com..

Philippine ranking as BPO site improves

By DARWIN G. AMOJELAR
The Manila Times Reporter

The Philippines’ ranking as location for business process outsourcing and call-center operations improved from a year ago, according to a survey of multinational companies by a foreign consulting firm.

In its Global Services Location Index 2005, AT Kearney said the Philippines ranked fourth out of 40 countries considered as attractive locations for offshoring service activities. In last year’s survey, the Philippines ranked sixth.

The report said the Philippines continues to benefit from incoming investments for offshore service activities because of the English language skills of the country’s workforce despite political instability and infrastructure weakness.

The country plays host to the facilities of big-name call centers such as Convergys, eTeletech, among others. It also is home to the outsourced service operations of multinationals like FedEx, Citibank, HSBC, UPS, among others.

Meanwhile, the AT Kearney report said that among other member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand posted the biggest improvement in ranking this year owing to improvements in its educational output, infrastructure quality and overall business environment.

"While still challenged by weak English-language capabilities, Thailand has the potential to emerge as a key low-cost challenger to the Philippines in Southeast Asia," the report said.

Thailand ranked sixth this year from 13th last year.

In the survey, India, China, and Malaysia held the top three positions as the most favored site for offshoring activities.

Singapore ranked fifth, Indonesia, 13th, and Vietnam, 26th place.

The report noted that in Malaysia and Singapore, government promotion policies continue to pay off despite high-wage levels.

"Singapore has deliberately positioned itself as a safe location for sensitive high-end activities, with a particular emphasis on business continuity, IP (intellectual property) protection and data privacy," AT Kearney said.

As for Malaysia, the report cited that country’s continued investment in world-class infrastructure, particularly at its Multimedia Super-Corridor, with further incentives for corporations choosing to locate in Malaysia and additional policies to open up the labor pool and deepen English language and technical skills throughout the population.

"While Vietnam ranks low in the index compared to the other ASEAN participants [due largely to its weak infrastructure and business environment ratings], it is still attracting attention both as an IT-development location for US-based firms and as a low-cost alternate to China for Asian language back-office and call-center operations," the report said.

The report also said China remains the best choice for serving companies’ growing operations throughout the East Asia region, which is not only the logical location for IT and back-office support and call centers for China itself, but also a low-cost option for servicing established markets in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

AT Kearney is one of the world’s largest management consulting firms. The firm provides strategic, operational, organizational and technology consulting and executive search services to the world’s leading companies.

stephencua

December 21st, 2005, 09:52 AM

taken from inq7.net..

CPI eyes animation industry growth a la contact centers

First posted 11:30pm (Mla time) Dec 20, 2005
By Alexander Villafania
INQ7.net

The Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) expects a major turnaround for the animation industry in the Philippines next year as it plans to grow the business like the contact centers did a few years ago.

The 22-member association is coming up with plans to increase its membership and promote the animation business in schools and animation start-ups. The organization’s members account for a third of the total local animation houses in the Philippines.

ACPI executive director Joy Bacon said in a statement that the organization is in the process of refining its membership policies and guidelines, “after which, we will go full blast in recruiting more members.”

Bacon said the organization’s goal is to build greater local awareness of the untapped potential of the industry for generating attractive employment opportunities.

Bacon added that the organization will be holding an industry conference at the upcoming e-Services Philippines (ESP) 2006 to be held at the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

ACPI will be showcasing foreign clients of Philippine animation houses who will speak about local talent and capabilities, as well as audiovisual animation presentations from Japan, France, and the United States.

Bacon cited ACPI’s partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which has developed courseware to be used by schools offering animation.

The ACPI and TESDA partnership is part of a plan to train 25,000 animators by 2010.

CITEM’s ESP 2006 will be held on February 16 to 17 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel

Francis20

December 21st, 2005, 06:17 PM

^ the ranking above imo does not tell the whole story. RP can rank 4th but it ranks first in many aspects. sa infrastracture at political stability lang talaga tayo lagging behind...let's say Thailand and SG. Most companies have COST EFFICIENCY in mind that's why they are deciding to outsource some of their businesses or maybe to relocate into backoffice processing offices.

i talked with someone from SG, not a direct client tho, and she said that the company decided to move their operations to Dubai from Singapore. SG and Korea are the two countries with the highest labor cost in the region. Malaysia is somewhere in the top 4. Philippines follows in a wide gap from SG. Mataas na rin pala ang wages natin kumpara sa thais and indons. China is of course at the bottom. Vietnam is competing in the BPO market with their very low wages. So we have to cope up by delivering top notch service. Kasi when the office is not performing well, the top management can just withdraw and move somewhere else.

marites4

December 21st, 2005, 08:47 PM

oonga kaya pagnaayos na sana infrastructure naten at huminahon mga opposition sa panggugulo at ma konsensiya ang administration sa pagnanakaw nakaw eh no. one na sana tayo.
Madale namang gawen kung gusto diba.
Singapore backwater non ,2decades lang tignan ang result.

moncho_g

December 22nd, 2005, 01:38 PM

That's all just propaganda by vested interests who want to stop these jobs going out of the US. If you were in their position you wouldn't go down without a fight, would you? Nothing personal, that's just how Business operates... and that's exactly how we Filipinos need to act. The industrial nations didnt get that way by being sentimental.

Anyway I wouldn't worry too much about this bad publicity. Business (at least the good ones) will always seek to streamline and make their operations more efficient and cheaper. Fact of the matter is, you've got the same skillset in Manila as you would in the US for these jobs and for cheaper, so jobs are going here. Expect the same thing to happen to us when the Chinese improve their English skills.

Let me just go off on a tangent: I really hate how our TV stations are 'dumbing down' our populace with all their Taglish dubbing for the popular shows. When I grew up, robot cartoons were all dubbed in straight English and we still had Sesame Street.
They should be shot for harming the national interest.

Francis20

December 23rd, 2005, 10:56 AM

hehe...good point there!
and such an insight on your 2nd paragraph.

sandrin

December 24th, 2005, 02:04 AM

Siemens to put up P200-M call center
By Marianne V. Go
The Philippine Star 12/24/2005

Siemens Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of German firm Siemens AG, signed an agreement with Siemens Business Services (SBS) Global to establish a P200-million call center in the country.

The new business unit will deliver IT help desk and customer care services mainly for English-speaking global customers.

With an initial capacity of 500 agent seats, the soon-to-open IT outsourcing division of Siemens Inc. will be based in Eastwood City CyberPark, Quezon City.

With the establishment of the Siemens Inc. call center, the Philippines becomes the latest addition to the existing satellite call center offices of SBS in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Turkey and Singapore.

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila thanked Siemens for locating its call center in the country.

"I am glad that Siemens has seen the competitive advantage of the country in hosting their outsourcing services and I am sure that they will be happy with the infrastructure, quality of work and the human resources that the country will be able to provide to them," Favila said.

Favila added that the Siemens’ investment was a fruit of the outbound mission launched by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), spearheaded by the Board of Investments (BOI).

"The IT-enabled services sector is one of the country’s bright spots in attracting capital to the country and we are intensifying our efforts to promote this sector in Europe and the United States. Our target clients are multinationals companies that are in need of outsourcing services such as help desks, financial services and medical transcriptions," Favila said.

The call center is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 17, 2006.

Siemens Business Services is among the top 10 IT service providers in the world which offers from a single source – consulting to systems integration up to management of IT infrastructure.

Sales in fiscal year 2004 (ending September 2004) amounted to EUR 4.7 billion, 76 percent of which was achieved outside the Siemens organization.

The company currently has approximately 36,100 employees worldwide.

rowell_sk

December 25th, 2005, 09:26 PM

Investments in IT projects hit P49.9B
Posted: 11:35 PM | Dec. 25, 2005

Published on Page B3 of the December 26, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-RELATED projects continued to drive growth for investments committed to the country's economic zones, reaching P49.9 billion in the 11 months to November, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority reported.

Peza Director General Lilia B. de Lima said the amount meant an increase of 21.6 percent from P41 billion posted in the same period last year.

De Lima said investments registered from January to November accounted for P45.06 billion of local capital and about P4.8 billion of foreign direct investment.

Also, the 355 projects committed by ecozone developers and project operators as of end-November were expected to provide 65,376 new jobs, or 30 percent higher than the 50,240 promised in the same period in 2004.

For November alone, De Lima said approved projects reached P3.2 billion, or 9.4 percent higher than the P2.3 billion registered in the same month last year.

Investments committed last month accounted for P3.18 billion of local capital and P20 million of foreign capital.

The Peza chief said 38 projects approved in November were expected to generate export revenues of $622.3 million a year and 3,570 new jobs.

Peza data showed that of the total number of approved projects, five IT investments accounted for about P77 million.

In November 2004, no projects related to IT-enabled services were approved for Peza registration.

From January to November, 64 approved IT-related investments reached about P6.9 billion in capital outlay, or 12.8 percent higher than the P6.1 billion posted last year.

These projects were expected to create a total of 28,745 jobs directly, which topped last year's promised job creation by 78 percent from about 16,000.

Also, Peza reported that the ecozones earned a total of $26.3 billion in exports in the 10 months to October, or 3 percent higher than the $25.5 billion posted in the same period in 2004.

JAMAICUS

December 26th, 2005, 05:11 AM

^^ Good,good,good,good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bulakenyo

December 28th, 2005, 01:15 AM

Great news! I have friends from different callcenters and they are inviting me to join their companies. All of them are startup callcenters. That's like three callcenter companies starting to do mass-hiring all at the same time! My colleague here is also convincing me to join the callcenter she and her friend is about to put up here in Bulacan. I think I'm gonna join the Bulacan callcenter.
It'll be much more convenient and cost-effective for me. :)

rustyboi

December 28th, 2005, 01:38 AM

Call centers in Bulacan? Wow! Call centers are starting to spread the good news nationwide! :D

marites4

December 28th, 2005, 01:43 AM

Lots of call centers opening. It will be a problem when they start running out of qualified English speakers to man the callcenters.

stephencua

December 28th, 2005, 02:33 AM

taken from mb.com.ph.. .

Performance metrics show RP call centers way ahead of American counterparts
spacer

A Philippine-based systems integrator, whose main business involves putting up foreign-owned call centers on local soil, is looking towards growing its business in the country this coming new year after performance metrics showed offshore call centers based here perform better than those located in the US.

Although it enumerated some challenges that the Philippines still has to hurdle, executives of DTSI (Diversified Technology Solutions International) said in a recent press briefing that is it far more economical for American companies to outsource their call center operations to the Philippines.

DTSI, citing a study, said a comparative loaded seat per agent shows a ,241 difference between the ,716 in the US and the ,475 in the Philippines – or a 63-percent savings per seat.

The company did not say if the study was conducted in-house or was culled from industry figures. DTSI said about 80 percent of call centers in the country are its customers.

In the survey, Philippine call centers scored high in key performance indicators, which included a 9 percent abandonment rate, 68 percent first call resolution, and a 17-second average speed of answer.

These decent results, along with "the strong Filipino service culture, a sizeable and college-educated workforce with a strong fluency in English," are key advantages of the country against other offshore locations, DTSI said.

But according to DTSI general manager Gerry Topacio, despite the availability of college graduates, tapping qualified manpower remains to be a challenge for multinational call centers that have set up shops here.

"Also, the peace and order situation in the country is something that is always asked on us by American call center operators. It’s a lingering problem," Topacio said.

Ironically, DTSI uses these challenges to convince would-be clients to turn over to them the dirty work of putting up a call center here in the Philippines since the company is more familiar with the local terrain.

The company, in fact, has just rolled out a technology solution which it simply calls "Turnkey" that aims to capitalize on the "uncertainties in the Philippine market." It said the lack of local market knowledge can make or break a call center’s entry in the country.

The Turnkey solution, it said, can provide a customer with a minimum client overhead with DTSI as a single point-of-contact. This means DTSI will take care of site selection, architectural build-out, technology infrastructure, staff recruitment and training, and legal and accounting regulations.

DTSI, which recently bagged the 2005 Business Partner of the Year award from networking equipment vendor Avaya Inc., said it revenues grew by 18 percent this year. Seventy percent of profits was contributed by call centers and the remaining 30 percent came from local enterprises which opted to put their own in-house call centers.

Miguel Garcia, president and managing director of DTSI, said the company has set a -billion revenue target for 2006. "We are also eyeing to grow our US presence by 100 percent."

Its US subsidiary, based in Phoenix, Arizona, was established in March 2005 and has since catered to the enterprise market in the mainland. It also serves as a DTSI’s marketing arm in the US for American wanting to set up offshore call centers in the Philippines.

Garcia said his company is also planning to go public although he can’t say when this would happen.