IT-BPM industry remains bullish on growth prospects

MANILA, Philippines — The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) is optimistic of the industry’s growth in the coming years, creating more demand for office spaces despite the shift to hybrid work models.

IBPAP president and CEO Jack Madrid said that the IT and business process management (IT-BPM) sector continues to drive strong demand for office spaces in the country.

“There is no denying the resilience of Philippine IT-BPM, its driving power on the demand for office real estate across the country, and its role as an indispensable economic pillar. Through every challenge, the sector demonstrated uninterrupted growth and made extensive contributions in terms of jobs and revenues while creating a multiplier effect across other industries,” Madrid said.

Latest figures from Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) showed that the sector remained the largest demand driver for office space in the country in the second quarter of the year, accounting for 43 percent of total office transactions during the period worth 107,000 square meters.

“We will sustain this growth in the years ahead while leading the charge on hybrid work models, as global demands from clients and service providers dictate,” Madrid said.

In 2021, the Philippine IT-BPM sector added 120,000 full-time employees and reached a total headcount of 1.44 million. The industry also recorded $29.5 billion in revenues, and contributed 7.5 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Amid ongoing debates around the long-term or permanent implementation of hybrid work models, IBPAP and LPC recently held a roundtable discussion on the matter.

The event was attended by representatives from Aboitiz InfraCapital, Ayala Land, DM Wenceslao & Associates, Double Dragon Properties, Eco Group, Federal Land, Filinvest Land, Frabelle Group, Megaworld, Panorama Development, Robinsons Land, SM Prime Holdings, Telstra Converge, Vista Land, W Group and the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

The meeting provided a platform for stakeholders to speak about the impact of hybrid work models on the Philippine IT-BPM sector’s sustained growth, as well as its ability to drive real estate take-up, in the coming years.

Also present were Accenture operations client experience lead for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa Benedict Hernandez, Legato Health Technologies country head Noya Terrado and Concentrix vice president for finance Aldrin Dulig.

During the event, LPC founder and CEO David Leechiu expressed commitment to helping the IT-BPM sector advance further in the Philippines as a Roadmap 2028 Champion.

Leechiu said that LPC has been an integral part of Roadmap 2022, which saw IT-BPM move up the value chain, expand to more countryside locations, and thrive despite a global pandemic.

“We want to continue on this journey with the industry and IBPAP in the next six years, and we look forward to the milestones we will achieve together,” Leechiu added.

IBPAP is set to publish the Philippine IT-BPM Industry Roadmap 2028 this year, which will serve as the blueprint for the sector’s priorities in digitization, talent, policy shaping, infrastructure, and country branding over the next six years.

According to IBPAP and LPC, the roundtable discussion with the country’s leading developers and biggest landlords needed to happen ahead of Roadmap 2028 because the future of the IT-BPM and real estate sectors will continue to be intertwined, even with the changing workways.

“Our synergy with the industry has made for a more agile and adaptable ecosystem with the national and local governments. By supporting the initiatives under the new roadmap, we will be able to take our collaboration to another level and reinforce the role of IT-BPM and real estate as pillars of the economy,” LPC executive director for commercial leasing Lylah Ledonio said.