Global IT firm plans add'l investments in RP

The Manila Global Delivery Center (MGDC), the local subsidiary of global consulting and IT services firm Headstrong, is planning to expand its presence in the country.

“We believe that the Philippine center has significant expansion potential, and plan to continue investing in its development,” Arjun Malhotra, CEO and chairman of the board of Headstrong said.

For her part, Nora Terrado, Headstrong Philippines general manager said that the company’s year-end revenue is expected to reach $15 million or 7.5 percent of the global revenue target.

MGDC is expected to provide 10 percent of the company’s global revenue and 2,000 of the target 10,000 global work force by 2010.

MGDC plans to expand its service offerings to tap opportunities in industries that it currently does not serve. Terrado said the company is targeting clients outside the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors, where its client base has grown rapidly in recent years.

To support expansion of its workforce to 2,000, MGDC is conducting boot camps for new graduates and professionals planning career shifts with the support of a government-funded train-for-work program.

Terrado said the company is seeking employees with strong technical skills as well as professionals with financial domain knowledge and experience to staff its financial services practice.

“Headstrong Philippines can fill global capability gaps for customers in areas like quality assurance and testing as well as more traditional BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and IT services,” Terrado said

Both BPO and IT services have benefitted from the financial fallout associated with the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US.

The subsequent economic downturn has increased pressure on businesses to lower costs and shed non-core processes.