The Philippines challenges India\\\'s call centre dominance

Employment in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines hit an all-time high in August, following a decade of phenomenal growth that has seen revenues and employment expand ten-fold since 2004. The expansion of a number of companies will continue to drive growth in the BPO sector, after employment recently hit the one million milestone, rising from 930,000 in first quarter of 2014 and from 101,000 in 2004, said the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) in August.  IBPAP’s CEO, Jose Mari Mercado, told local media that the 2014 target of 1.04 million would likely have been reached when end-September figures were published. With the country a well-established global leader in BPO, other nations are feeling the impact. India, in particular, has seen its share of BPO activity eroded in the wake of unprecedented growth in the Philippines. However, with the global BPO industry potentially shifting away from pure voice services towards a multi-channel delivery model, technological innovation has joined human resources gaps and churn rates as a challenge to the long-term growth prospects, according to theborneopost.com.