Local IT, BPO firms eye Western Europe’s $148-B market

Philippine information technology and business process outsourcing firms are eyeing Western Europe’s $148.4-billion IT/BPO market.

According to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the Philippines will adopt a country-by-country strategy that would fit the service requirements of each region.

Trade Assistant Secretary and CITEM executive director Fe Agoncillo-Reyes said the CITEM would spearhead activities such as a business forum on the Philippine ICT advantage, pre-arranged business meetings, and high-level networking reception to assist interested IT and BPO firms.

The global outsourcing market is projected to reach $310 billion in 2008, 22 percent of which will come from Europe, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s largest international professional services firms.

The United Kingdom is Europe’s dominant market, but outsourcing has gained ground in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and France.

"The continuing pressure on time to market and cost bases are driving European companies to look at offshore outsourcing as a strategic alternative," Agoncillo-Reyes said.

The financial services sector is the largest consumer of BPO-ITES services in Europe, followed by utilities and telecommunications.

Human resources, finance and accounting are also showing notable growth.

Western Europe’s spending on core BPO services will grow from $20.9 billion from 2005 to $39.8 billion on 2010, based on a research conducted by research group IDC.

The largest was customer care ($8 billion) and industry-specific BPO ($7.6 billion).

Procurement BPO is seen to be the fastest growing segment, from $245 million in 2005 to $716 million by 2010.

Another independent technology and market research company, Forrester Research, estimates that the UK will account for three-quarters of all European offshore outsourcing in five years’ time, with software development as the main service provided.

It was also predicted that large Dutch companies would outsource more projects, while SMEs would follow-suit.

According to Bernd Taselaar of Dutch brand organization ICT-office, on a macro-level, global outsourcing may indeed even improve their market position and give new economic impulses to the ICT sector.

In 2005, a DTI-organized trade mission yielded business leads with Logica CMG, Express Gifts, KLM, Emirates and HSBC.

Logica CMG is a leading wireless telecom based in the UK that decided to set up an offshore development center and in-house call center in the Philippines.

Express Gifts, likewise, outsourced its call center activities here.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines invested in a shared-facility and contact center operations, while Emirates Airlines chose the Philippines for BPO and software development services.

HSBC has indicated its intention to continue its expansion for its Philippine-based shared services.

A CITEM organized business mission aims to strengthen ties with the Philippines’ counterpart organizations such as the London Chamber of Commerce, National Outsourcing Association (NOA), International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) in the UK; FENIT, The Agency for International Business and Cooperation (EVD), and CBI in Netherlands.

The Philippines consistently ranks among the top attractive offshore location by various research firms, such as the A.T. Kearney, Gartner, and META.

The Philippines is now the outsourcing location of some Dutch companies like Getronics, ING Group, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and ABN-AMRO.

British companies like Standard Chartered Bank, Sykes, and Ambergis Solutions have established outsourcing operations in the Philippines.