Over 600 BPO execs to meet at contacts confab

CEBU, Philippines — Over 600 Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) executives from local and international sites, government agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs) will converge today for the 8th Contact Islands 2024 at Fili Hotel in Nustar Cebu.

Organized by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the three-day conference aims at resolving challenges that the industry is facing, such as cybersecurity, infrastructure development, upskilling of workers, uncertainties of taxation in both national and local government, artificial intelligence (AI), and macro-economic condition.

“Various challenges and opportunities are emerging that further make this year’s Contact Islands conference timelier and more interesting than ever,” said Mitch Locsin, Chairman of CCAP an umbrella organization of the Contact Center and Business Process Outsource sector with 154 member-firms within the Philippine IT-BPM industry.

“The customer experience that our industry provides embodies our collective vision and concerted actions. Through the years, the Philippines, being the primary provider of excellent contact centers and outsourced business processes to the world, has served as the heart of CX. We have already weathered numerous storms, but we have to continuously and relentlessly face many more inevitable and unexpected challenges,” he added.

According to Haidee Enriquez CCAP board of directors, the Philippines is now moving towards niche jobs under Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), like finance and accounting, healthcare, medical coder and cybersecurity, among others.

However, she said the industry stakeholders should work with the government to maximize the potential of the Philippines.

Contact Islands 2024 once again gathers key leaders and representatives from Contact Center and Business Process Management companies, national and local government heads, members of the academe, thought leaders, CXOs (Customer Experience Officers), and technology providers for an alignment of plans, policies, and strategies to address key CX issues locally and globally.

With the theme ‘Where Vision Meets Action: CX Philippines,’ Contact Islands 2024 — set from July 24 to 26, 2024 — has tapped an outstanding lineup of speakers, visionaries, and experts to further delve into the most pressing issues that are shaping the future of the sector.

The three-day event continues to invigorate new and existing partnerships, foster dialogues, and serve as a platform for knowledge sharing, benchmarking, mentoring, and networking.

An industry report by CCAP and a keynote speech by Sec. Frederick Go (Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs) are among the highlights of the conference’s Day 1. Moreover, assessments and analyses of the global economy and geopolitical trends are expected to heat discussions, while the latest on AI-driven CX is summing up the day.

Day 2 is set for simultaneous breakout and workshop sessions for Human Resources, small and medium-sized BPOs, marketing, operations, business continuity planning, and security. Among the key issues to be tackled are the Philippines Skills Framework, AI talent development, smart financing for business expansion, business continuity, content creation, cybersecurity, data privacy, digital marketing, and changes in the workplace.

The conference’s Day 3 is focusing on best practices and strategies for privacy and

data protection, sectoral marketing, and CX management. There will also be a session aimed at guiding CXOs in attaining sustainable growth.

Significant sector

The Contact Center and IT Business Process Management sector account for about 83 percent of the entire IT-BPM industry revenue annually.

Based on data from global research company Everest Group, the Contact Center and the IT-BPM sector posted US$29.5 billion revenue in 2023, equivalent to almost 83 percent of the US$35.5 billion revenue of the entire IT-BPM industry. It employed 1.51 million FTEs in the same year, accounting for 89 percent of the 1.70 million FTEs of the whole IT industry.

By the year 2028 (based on the IT Industry Roadmap), the sector is projected to account for about US$49 billion of a target US$59 billion IT industry revenue and projected to be manned by about 2.5 million FTEs.

Pressing global issues like the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), volatility in international economic tides, and the political upheavals in the U.S., and other developed countries are undoubtedly bearing an impact on important industries, including the Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, which is one of the active revenue generators of the Philippine economy.

New and interesting developments—locally and internationally—are keeping the country’s IT-BPM industry on its toes.

On track towards achieving the Philippine IT-BPM Roadmap 2028 objectives, the Contact Center and Business Process Management sector remain steadfast in upholding its commitment to making Philippine BPO firms more adaptable, resilient, and proactive in their approach towards bringing excellent customer experience (CX) to the world. — (FREEMAN)