The Philippines’ business process outsourcing (BPO) industry continues to thrive, even amidst a global pandemic. In 2021, the sector grew to $29 billion with 100,000 new jobs. Indeed, the BPO industry plays a key role in the country’s road to economic recovery.
However, the BPO industry in the Philippines continues to face drastic changes in how businesses work today. Many had to accelerate their digital transformation, while others had to implement measures to ensure business continuity.
HP continues to empower its BPO partners toward a seamless and secure digital transformation through its combined PC and Print services platform as well as meaningful new software-enabled services. Its eco-conscious product designs and HP Amplify Impact Program provides partners with training and access to HP’s wide resource of sustainability tools and assets, empowering them to shift to more sustainable business practices. All these allow companies to address the main challenges of pursuing business growth today and into the future:
Adapting to the new age of hybrid work
At the start of the pandemic, BPOs implemented work-from-home arrangements to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and keep employees safe. But with the increasing vaccination rate of Filipinos nationwide, more and more companies are gradually shifting into a hybrid scheme, where some days are scheduled for on-site work while the rest of the week remains remote.
Remote work has proven to be beneficial in the BPO sector. Employees can save more because they have fewer expenses and have less travel time and more hours to spend with their families. In a hybrid setup, workers still get to enjoy these while at the same time being able to reconnect physically with colleagues and utilize time in the office for meetings, team-building exercises, and more collaborative work.
Whether it’s fully remote or hybrid, HP’s products are designed to maximize collaboration, allowing people to work from anywhere. For example, the Elite Family of devices, are uniquely designed to enable collaboration experiences for new hybrid work styles. HP has new conferencing monitors with an advanced webcam and audio system to make employees feel like they’re in the same room as everyone else, wherever they are.
HP also developed more automated and advanced printing solutions. The tech company optimizes hybrid work by allowing employees to print and digitize information from virtually anywhere on any device, without compromising the company’s security. Moreover, HP launched a new suite of print services and solutions that enable new ways of working.
Addressing cybersecurity threats
Working outside the secured office network has raised concerns about cybersecurity threats. The global HP Threat Insights Report released quarterly provides an analysis of real-world cybersecurity attacks and vulnerabilities. One key finding reveals a significant increase in the frequency and sophistication of cybercrime activity, including a 65% rise in the use of hacking tools downloaded from underground forums and file-sharing websites during a time when the majority are working remotely.
In the Philippines, a report by the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN), states the country is fourth on the list of most targeted by web threats. With Filipinos continuing to spend more time surfing the web, studying, working, and doing banking transactions at home, it’s important to address these threats and protect users online.
HP’s Security Lab continues to drive research for the future - from traditional IT systems, like PCs and printers, to emerging computing architectures at the edge, digital manufacturing systems, and 3D printers. HP pursues cybersecurity research that aims to ensure peace of mind in the face of cyber threats. HP Wolf Security also unifies all of HP’s endpoint security innovations for the first time under one security platform.
Creating a more sustainable BPO Industry
Climate action such as implementing green practices to minimize environmental impact is not just a good-to-have but a business imperative. For an industry as big as the BPO, everyone has a part in lessening carbon footprint in various ways: from optimizing the use of natural light, eliminating single-use products, to making sure devices and tools at work are sustainable, and finally, actively advocating for a more circular economy.
Sustainability has been ingrained in HP’s DNA since its founding in 1939 and is committed to helping companies do the same through its HP Amplify™ Impact program. It is the first of its kind assessment, resource, and training program that provides more than 10,000 partners around the globe with the opportunity to join HP in its efforts to generate meaningful impact on Climate Action, Human Rights, and Digital Equity.
HP is also guided by sustainability when designing its products. Its “closed-loop” process has kept 962 million Original HP Cartridges and an estimated 143 million apparel hangers and 5.5 billion postconsumer plastic bottles out of landfills, instead upcycling these materials for continued use. Many of its products are also made with ocean-bound plastic.
“The shift to remote work has accelerated many companies’ efforts to digitize workflows. This encourages us to keep reinventing our technologies so we can continue empowering our BPO partners by working closely with the government and our industry peers like the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), towards a seamless, secure, and sustainable digital transformation,” says Kris Seville, Enterprise Head for Personal Systems.
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