The BPO sector expects a recovery with revenues of $ 29 billion by 2022

The Philippine information technology and business process management industry expects to rebound from flat growth this year, with both employment and revenue likely to see moderate expansion over the next two years. The Philippines IT and Business Process Association set revised targets for 2022, projecting workforce growth of 2.7% to 5%, or about 1.37 million to 1.43 million full-time employees. , and industry revenue of $ 29.09 billion with compound annual growth. rate from 3.2 percent to 5.5 percent in the next two years. IBPAP President and CEO Rey Untal said on Friday that while the Philippines expected flat growth in 2020, “the industry is still in a better position than other industries considering the detrimental impact of the pandemic on almost all sectors and industries “. “While these new figures are the goal of the Philippine IT-BPM industry for 2022, it is equally important to know how we will achieve them. The recalibration study also provided us with imperatives that we and our stakeholders must assume, not only to meet these objectives, but to strengthen our sector locally and globally, ”he said in a virtual briefing. The briefing and announcement of the revised growth guide was the culmination of the 12th International Innovation Summit, a five-day global IT-BPM conference that incorporated the review of the 2020 Industry Roadmap. The international consultancy Everest outlined six imperatives that the industry should be able to meet to enable growth. These include strengthening the telecommunications infrastructure to better support long-term remote work; accelerating investment in talent development programs, especially for next-generation skills; and a stronger shift towards digitally complemented services by rapidly accelerating investments in digital and cybersecurity initiatives. These also include constantly harnessing the potential of the field by accelerating the development of talent and infrastructure outside of Metro Manila; enhancing the local industry’s position in the global marketplace by enhancing the focus on resilience, increased stakeholder and government engagement, and the ability to deliver complex services; and improving the ease of doing business by enhancing and strengthening government support to provide a business-friendly environment. “By sharing our renewed vision for 2022, we want to highlight the importance of strengthening collaborations between our stakeholders in the private sector, government and academia. This is to help the sector pivot and continually prosper so that we can all unleash opportunities and open new avenues to strengthen our position as one of the world’s leading investment destinations, ”said Untal. IT-BPM is a fundamental pillar of the Philippine economy, especially when it comes to job creation for millions of Filipinos. In 2019, the sector recorded a total full-time employment of 1.3 million, 5.8 percent more than in 2018, while revenue amounted to $ 26.3 billion, representing an increase of 7, 1 percent over the previous year. As in other industries, IT-BPM was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but was able to take advantage of the immediate government assessment of the industry as an essential sector. Since then, the industry has demonstrated its resilience, starting with just 50 percent productivity in March to more than 95 percent in November through a blended service delivery model. The industry continued to grapple with the challenges that emerged with the pandemic, including global pressure on cost structures, geopolitical shifts, an increased focus on business continuity plans, and the urgency of automation and digital transformation. While the global economy is bracing for a 4.5 percent recession, the global IT-BPM industry is expected to outperform the global economy while keeping its growth forecast flat. However, ITBPM’s global revenues are estimated to record 3.5 to 4 percent growth in revenues over the next two years.