The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, August 28, 2019

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

With the government’s recent freeze on new economic zones in Metro Manila, the BPO industry has responded by cutting back on expansion, rather than moving into the provinces, according to a report by Nearshore Americas. As a consequence, property developers in Metro Manila have seen a 45% decline in office space demand in the first half of this year, the report claims. New space, however, is still coming onto the National Capital Region’s market. Ayala Land Premier, for example, is starting construction of its 43-story premium-grade office tower, One Vertis Plaza, located in Quezon City.

Notwithstanding, Philippines property developers remain confident about future occupancy. Despite fears that the Chinese authorities may step in to throttle the lucrative business coming from Philippines offshore gaming operators (POGOs) that has absorbed the drop in BPO office space demand, developers are still optimistic that the BPO market will continue to hold. And outside the capital, business is brisk. The nearby Clark Freeport saw 54 new businesses sign up to the Clark Freeport Zone in the first seven months of this year, generating nearly 5,300 new jobs.

Demand for Philippines-based outsourcing services also remains robust. According to a report from Global Market Insights, the country can expect to enjoy considerable gains from the fast growing legal process outsourcing sector, due to its low legal costs and strong infrastructure. Moreover, news that US-based outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer will close its call center in Ohio, and will outsource the jobs to the Philippines, shows the country is still pulling in business in its more traditional service sectors. Young people in ASEAN still value the human touch. According to research conducted by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN tech firm Sea Group, people aged 15 to 35 from ASEAN give more value to soft skills over hard skills even in this age of new technologies. Creativity and innovation, language skills and the ability to use technology, such as social media and e-commerce, are the skills they consider to be the most important; while data analytics, math and science are the least valued. In practice, both will be needed in the workplace of the future. Indeed, 80% of the first 50 first graduates that completed the Contact Center Services and English Language Proficiency Course (CCS-ELP) and the Software Development Training Program (STDP) Level 1 course at the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) in Bacolod City were already snapped up as employees by local BPOs prior to their graduation.

The digitization juggernaut reshaping the industry, however, continues to move inexorably onwards. Already, about 60% of American firms are projected to adopt artificial intelligence by 2022 to improve efficiency in operations, staffing, budgeting and performance, according to a survey by contact center solutions provider Genesys. Technology services firm Wipro aims to make US$50 million in automation-only deals in its bid for rapid growth through digital-led revenue. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cisco have partnered to offer a software-defined approach that will aid businesses adopt the cloud via an easy transformation path by integrating the capability of Cisco ACI. TCS is also working with Infosys and Wipro to offer AI platforms to boost the delivery of solutions and promote faster growth for clients. BPM services provider WNS has been honored as a “Leader” in NelsonHall’s Vendor Evaluation & Assessment Tool (NEAT) for Advanced Analytics Business Process Services (BPS) in the overall market segment.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s issues with the treatment of its outsourced moderators continue to rumble on. Managers at Accenture, contracted by Facebook to employ and manage its 1,500 content moderators in Austin, Texas, have allegedly requested therapists to reveal details of their on-site counseling sessions with the moderators, a report from online news site The Intercept has claimed. Accenture have vigorously denied the allegations.

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NEWS THIS WEEK

26 August 2019

WNS Given Advanced Analytics BPS Leader Status By NelsonHall - read article…

Legal Process Outsourcing Sector To Grow In Coming Years - read article…

Clark Freeport Welcomes 54 New Occupants In First Seven Months - read article…

23 August 2019

Office Space Demand In Manila Falls As BPOs Delay Expansion Plans- read article…

Wipro Targets US$50 Million From Automation-Only Deals -read article…

ASEAN Youth See Soft Skills As More Valuable Than Hard Skills- read article…

22 August 2019

First Graduates of Contact Center, Software Development Courses- read article…

US Employers See Rise In AI Adoption In Workplace- read article…

Personalized Engagements Could Boost Customer Experience- read article…

21 August 2019

Ayala Land Premier Launches Office Tower One Vertis Plaza- read article…

TCS, Wipro, Infosys To Offer AI Solution Platforms- read article…

Retailer Eddie Bauer To Move US Call Center Jobs To Philippines- read article…

20 August 2019

Property Developers Still See Office Demand Amid POGO Crackdown- read article…

TCS, Cisco Team Up To Offer Hybrid Cloud Platforms- read article…

Accenture Allegedly Asks Therapists To Reveal Counseling Details- read aticle…