MANILA, Philippines — The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) expects to attain its $42-billion revenue target this year, driven by growing interest among companies in establishing global capability centers (GCCs) in the country.
“I’m confident that we will meet our $42 billion target this year,” IBPAP president and CEO Jack Madrid told reporters.
Last year, the country’s information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry generated $40.3 billion in revenue.
Madrid said that revenue growth for this year would be driven by GCCs. “Every week, every month, we get inquiries and expressions of interest from GCCs,” he said.
GCCs are units set up by multinational companies in another country to provide business services including finance, human resources and information technology support. Unlike traditional outsourcing, where a company hires an outside vendor to do tasks, a GCC is under the ownership and control of the parent company.
At present, Madrid said the Philippines has over 200 GCCs, placing it a distant second to India, which has around 2,200.
“We’re number two…but we should accelerate our growth rate,” he said.
To achieve growth, he said the country’s IT-BPM industry needs to focus on developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled workforce.
“I think the growth will come when that happens because there’s no shortage of demand. It will be the availability of employable talent. That will be very important,” he said.
Apart from AI fluency, he said the workforce should have deep domain knowledge, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and leadership skills.
As the industry prepares for the holiday season, he said that firms are expected to ramp up hiring in the fourth quarter for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas when demand for outsourced services typically picks up. This is expected to benefit business process outsourcing firms.
IBPAP also expects the lifting of the moratorium on IT ecozone applications in Metro Manila to support the industry.
Last July, the Office of the President lifted the ban on applications for IT centers and IT parks in Metro Manila to strengthen the area’s position as a hub for information and communications technology investments.
Philippine Economic Zone Authority director general Tereso Panga said that the agency has received about three to five IT park applications in Metro Manila.
Madrid said that the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) initiative is also expected to benefit the industry.
The LEC aims to accelerate infrastructure investments and strengthen connectivity and supply chains across Luzon’s growth centers such as Subic, Clark, Manila and Batangas.
“Anything that improves the infrastructure of the country, whether it’s digital infrastructure or physical infrastructure, is very important. And I include human capital. I think Luzon’s economic health is very important for the industry because if it improves the quality of available talent and makes specific regions hubs, then that is good for IT-BPM,” Madrid said.