Tholons to study Cebu's niche in the BPO sector

CEBU, Philippines - Global outsourcing and investments advisory firm Tholons has started conducting a thorough study on Cebu’s potential to capture a significant market share of the $50 billion Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market in the world.

In an interview yesterday with Tholons managing director for South East Asia Jonathan Defensor De Luzuriaga, he said that there is a need for Cebu to find out its real niche in the BPO industry, thus a scientific study must be done, in cooperation with local stakeholders, private and government sectors.

“Cebu needs direction in hitting the growing BPO market. I am surprised of the jobs done here in BPO sector, not only in voice, but in more complex jobs like animation, graphic design, hardware and software development,” Luzuriaga said.

Tholons and the Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to conduct the study which started this month, and is expected to produce results by September.

CIPC managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said that the study which will be used as the blueprint of Cebu’s BPO roadmap will be a collaborative effort among industry players that are set to benefit from the robust growth of the BPO sector.

Yu said they will be getting support from the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Cebu Educational Development for IT (Cedfit), the Cebu City government, telecommunication players, and real estate sector, among others. The study is expected to incur an expense of between P2 million to P3 million.

Providing Cebu with the BPO Roadmap will help the province graduate from its position as number one emerging BPO destination in the world, to number one emerged BPO location.

According to Luzuriaga, Cebu’s potential should be complemented with scientific and study-based results on Cebu’s capability to attract BPO investors.

“The study will act as a funnel to provide real information on the industry’s potential,” Luzuriaga said.

“We need to have tangible numbers behind us. We have to see where Cebu is going. There are mixed of data available, but most are speculations. Cebu has the entire requisite [to be an emerged BPO destination]. The question is how?” he said.