CBM expects 400 delegates in the ICT/BPO Conference

CEBU, Philippines - Over 400 delegates are expected to participate on the upcoming ICT/BPO Conference in Cebu to be held on June 27 and 28 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu, that will also be attended by international experts in the industry.

This year’s ICT/BPO Conference, which is part of the flagship events of the month-long Cebu Business Month (CBM 2012) will tackle diversed issues on the promising industry, including the country’s contengency plan, if ever the US government will implement its Bill against outsourcing, said conference chairman Jun Sa-a in a press conference.

According to Sa-a, while the ICT/BPO industry is considered as one of the largest revenue contributors for Cebu, the organizers decided to make it a two-day event, as there are a lot of issues, and point of discussions that stakeholders need to tackle.

Major stakeholders in the Philippine ICT and BPO sectors will be present during the two-day event, such as the ICT Councils across the country, the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), Contact Centers Association of the Philippines (CCAP), among others.

ICT Councils will also present the emerging hubs of ICT and BPO in the Philippines, during the conference, together with the launching of the eGov Awards, recognizing Local Government Units (LGUs) that successfully used ICT in their respected operations to improve service, effeciency, effectiveness, and productivity.

Also, another award will be launched during the conference, the ASEAN ICT Award, which is a project of the Department of Science and Technology’s ICT Office and its ASEAN Counterparts, this is to recognize the different technology-based innovations within the region.

NASSCOM board member and chairman of Accenture India Avinash Vashistha will talk about “Learning from India” topic on the first day, together with other international BPO/ICT experts from Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Europe.

According to Sa-a the issue on the pending US Bill against outsourcing will also be intensively tackled by both local and international experts.

Meanwhile, he said one of the contingency plans of the Philippines, is to tap the other big outsourcing markets, such as countries within Asian region.

Sa-a, who is also the executive director of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Infromation Technology (Cedfit), said that the Philippines is ready and is even started to tap the emerging outsourcing markets, like Australia, Japan, and Singapore.

Sa-a said these markets offer additional volumes to the outsourcing industry, with or without the US market, if ever the pending Bill will be passed into law.

The ICT/BPO players now are starting to focus on these markets, and other countries in Asia. “We dont have to be perpetually attached ourselves to the big economies.”

This year’s ICT/BPO Conference expects huge delegation from the LGUs, Sa-a said as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has committed its support to the event.

Meanwhile, the conference will also showcase the capability of Cebu to attract the growing KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) market, as it is one of the pioneer destinations in the country that in terms of accommodating KPO-based services, like NCR, Lexmark, Dash Engineering, Lear Philippine Engineering Technology Center, and others.

The upcoming event is considered as one of the largest ICT/BPO Conference so far in the country, which is also set during the ICT Month of the Philippines in June.

Undersecretary Louis Casambre of the ICTO (Information Communication and Technology Office) of the DOST, is expected to give his keynote address during the first day of the conference. (FREEMAN)