UK group cites Philippines as top BPO site By Lawrence Casiraya, Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net Posted date: October 26, 2007 MANILA, Philippines -- A trade association based in the United Kingdom has recognized the Philippines as the best place to outsource services. At its fourth annual awards held in London, the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) picked the country as the “offshoring” destination of the year. Offshoring refers to outsourcing work to another country. The Philippines was represented by Team Europe, a group composed of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). In a statement, Team Europe Project Leader Stephanie Weber said the award would further make the Philippines a preferred destination by European firms for outsourcing some of their work. The awards ceremony, which took place at The Brewery in London, was attended by almost 500 of the “most influential people in the outsourcing world,” the NOA said in its website. “Over the last four years, the NOAAs have become a landmark in the acceptance of outsourcing as a legitimate business practice and recognize the efforts of companies or people who have shown excellence in the field of outsourcing,” the website added. Also awarded in other categories were IBM and Sitel, both of which have delivery centers located in the Philippines. Several British firms have already outsourced their operations in the Philippines, including HSBC Holdings, LogicaCMG Global Service Delivery Center, Mysis Banking System, Inc, and Shell Shared Services. Weber said one of the major plus points of the Philippines is its large manpower resource, government incentives, established telecommunications infrastructure, low cost of office space and strategic location in the Asian region. “British companies over the past few years have become increasingly aware of the potential of the country’s BPO industry. We are now looking at introducing the Philippines further to western European countries The Philippine BPO industry has grown rapidly over the past five years and we do not see that changing over the next three years,” Weber said. By 2010, the local BPO industry is expected to get a 10-percent share of the world market for outsourcing. It is expected to get revenues of over $12 billion from animation, back office, customer care, digital content, engineering design, legal and medical transcription, and software development services. ©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=96927