BPO sector expects revenue to increase 8% to $28.8b in 2021

The information technology-business process management industry is optimistic of an 8-percent export revenue growth to $28.8 billion this year as global demand for outsourcing services sustains the upward trend.

Employment in the sector is also projected to increase 8 percent to 1.43 million by end-2021, according to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines.

ITBPAP chairman Benedict Hernandez said while the slow growth of the sector in 2020 resulted in only 20,000 new jobs, the sector’s growing appetite for Filipino talents in the ITBPM space this year would generate an additional 130,000.

“This 2021, our forecast as a collective ITBPM industry, we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll hit high single digit growth. We expect more jobs this year, over 100,000 more compared to last year,” he said in a pre-event briefing for the 2021 International Innovation Summit.

“Towards the end of 2020, we saw an uptick in demand and growth in the Philippines for ITBPM. We still had some modest, low, single digit growth that translated to 23,000 jobs we’ve created for the economy. And our revenue increased from the prior year reaching $26.7 billion in 2020. This represented 7.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product,” he said.

A recent survey among ITBPM companies showed that the industry players were expecting to grow between 5 and 15 percent this year.

Hernandez said the group continued to be mindful of the need to navigate the future through key strategic imperatives involving digitalization, talent upskilling and the need to for the right policy framework to support the industry.

He said the industry would continue to lead the recovery of the Philippine economy as the country advances towards a post-pandemic era.

IBPAP is organizing this year’s summit together with six partner associations—Animation Council of the Philippines Inc., Contact Center Association of the Philippines, Game Developers Association of the Philippine, Global In-House Center Council Philippines, Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines and Philippine Software Industry Association.

IIS 2021 will delve into how the sector is designing new points of contact in a world driven by change and connected from multiple global locations. Themed, “New Points of Contact: Advancing in a Boundaryless World,” the summit will set the stage for driving a digital Philippines and fueling economic progress.

“At this year’s summit, we are taking the industry to where our new points of contact—platforms, people, pillars, policies and places—will see its greatest reset. We will elevate the discourse on the transformation realities that the IT-BPM ecosystem is faced with and bring out insights that will be critical to the sector’s strategy for adapting to the digital age, driving innovation and contributing to economic growth,” said IBPAP vice chairman Nora Terrado.