BPO firms asked to offer knowledge-based services

Friday, July 29, 2011

LOCAL business process outsourcing-information technology (BPO-IT) firms are asked to provide knowledge-based services to meet their increasing demand.

“We have to move up the value chain from processes to knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) where high-value intellectual capital and creativity are involved,” said Trade Undersecretary for International Trade Adrian Cristobal Jr. in a Philexport report.

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He pointed out that one of the challenges for the industry is to move from BPO to KPO, citing companies that are providing specialized services in the legal or medical fields.

KPO includes high-value non-voice services or back office operations like finance and accounting research, market research and analysis, legal services, human resource delivery, animation and architecture, among others.

“Foremost of the new challenges to the success of the BPO-IT industry is continuing to grow and develop the human capital to meet the growth of the sector,” Cristobal stressed.

“Education is key. For the BPO-IT industry, for instance, we will need hundreds of thousands of qualified workers every year to keep up with the growth of the sector,” he added.

He also underscored the potential of tourism and transport services as sources of growth and jobs. The sector is on top of the DTI's investment priority promotions to address tourism-related infrastructure gaps.

“The services industry comprising the BPO-IT and other services has evolved quite rapidly into a key strategic driver of economic growth. Services as a percent of total exports rose from nine percent in 1999 to 21 percent in 2009,” the DTI said. (CGC)