The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) is now looking at crafting industry Roadmap 2028 to consider new policy interventions and strategies amid developments that forced the industry to adapt new business model to continue to grow and thrive during and post-COVID.
IBPAP President and CEO Rey Untal said in a recent podcast that they are already thinking of Roadmap 2028. The current 6-year Roadmap 2022 is also coming to an end, along with the closure of President Duterte’s administration.
Last year, the industry generated $26.7 billion in revenues, a very modest 1.4 percent growth versus 2019 figure. The industry also hired 23,000 new full time employees in 2020, merely 1.8 percent higher than 2019, bringing the total industry employment to 1.32 million.
“This is us really looking at, you know what is the next big thing for our industry,” Untal said.
Untal noted there are a few other things that will be more strategic in nature and will require a lot more heavy lifting for many of the industry players from a tactical standpoint.
Given an early start, Untal said the industry needs to account for, what it needs to execute against and what kind of interventions needed. They need also the craft the agenda and the necessary legwork to find the right answers, he said.
As the industry is looking into the next phase, Untal cited the current pandemic situation that has forced the industry to operate mostly on work from home (WFH) arrangement. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has allowed them to work as much as 90 percent of their capacity on WFH mode, but this concession will end mid September this year.
Untal said this needs a policy intervention from the government towards a longer term work arrangement, emphasizing that the current and future situation will no longer need BPO firms to locate in one physical site.
“We are looking at a longer term cure, so that we can have a policy that is truly reflective of the needs. And we have evolved significantly from what used to be the model that was accepted,” said Untal.
He said it is high time from a policy standpoint to craft longer term policies because competitor countries are already moving faster than the Philippines. He said the industry is working closely with government to jointly figure out an arrangement that will allow them “to sustain this model that we are espousing currently and we anticipate will continue to be the norm.”
As the industry has already established a new work arrangement, Untal stressed of no turning back to the old model. “We need to bring it forward, and the need to bring forward is not something that we can just take for granted. It is a must. It is important for us to be able to survive, but really thrive,” he stressed.
The new business model on work arrangement is expected to impact on the viability of a BPO firm’s operation as Untal stressed that “boundaries and physical geographies are no longer there.”
“Previously, we had to physically set up offices in remote locations, that need is no longer needed. And what we need to establish are, perhaps, a lot of these community based districts where we're able to work with our friends, this time from the real estate sector and jointly figure out, you know, what kind of reimagined setup will be from a workplace and geographic strategy standpoint that we can have to allow us to get better access to talent from the family side as an example, and even outside the country more strategically,” he said.
Based on the current 6-year roadmap “Accelerate PH Future Ready Roadmap 2022”, IBPAP targets revenue generation of $38.9 billion in 2022 from $22.9 billion in 2016 or 9.2 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR). In terms of employment, the industry expects to generate 1.8 million full time employment by 2022 from 1.15 million workforce in 2016 or 7.8 percent CAGR.