CEBU CITY SLIPS TO 12TH IN LIST

Tholons Services Globalization Index 2017 shows Cebu dropping in ranking from 8th to 12th

Cebu City dropped from eighth to 12th place in a list of the world’s “super cities” for outsourcing in 2017, according to a report the international advisory firm Tholons released Wednesday.

Manila also dropped from second to fourth place in the Tholons Services Globalization Index.Who emerged as serious contenders? Brazil, Canada, Chile and Israel came up. The Philippines also landed third among the Top 50 Digital Nations, after India and China, but was advised “to have a sense of urgency to reinvent itself in this age of digital disruption.”

Global advisory firm Tholons eliminated Cebu City from its Top 10 “super cities” for outsourcing this year.

Based on the Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI) 2017 released yesterday, Cebu City moved out from the eighth spot in 2016, to the 12th rank this year. The City of Pune in India was also displaced from the prestigious ranking, allowing Sao Paulo of Brazil and Buenos Aires of Argentina to replace them in the sixth and 10th spots, respectively.

Tholons, however, did not explain in its recent report the cause for Cebu City’s dismissal. It introduced this year “innovation, startup ecosystem and digital transformation” as key components to define its index. Similarly, Manila also experienced a downgrade. It had been ranked as the second “super city” in the world for outsourcing after Bangalore, India in 2016. This year, Manila placed fourth after Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.

“For the first time, we are introducing digital innovation as our prime gauge, which looks into cities and nations for number of start-ups, start-up diversity, start-up ecosystem and government incentives to promote entrepreneurship and digital transformation,” the report read.

Cebu’s largest business group, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), responded to the ranking as an opportunity for Cebu to strongly pursue better initiatives in the development of its own start-up ecosystem.

“We look at the result as an indicator that we have to strongly continue to pursue our initiatives as a Chamber to promote Innovation and Digital Technology. This way we will rise up and step up our competence along sides other economies and growth markets,” said CCCI president Melanie Ng in text message.

The official assured to foster greater collaboration with concerned government agencies, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Likewise, the efforts will be streamlined with that of the private sector including the Cebu IT/BPM. Organization (CIB.O), formerly known as Cedf-IT and the Cebu Innovation Council.

Also this year, Tholons released the Top 50 Digital Nations. The Philippines ranked third in the “digital nation” category after India and China.

“Philippines has been the undisputed leader in customer service, BPM and is home to major multinational corporations and GICs. English fluency among the youth, cultural affinity to US/ UK and the growing influence of MNC operations on the country’s economy is significant,” Tholons said.

However, it warned that the Philippine outsourcing industry is “probably the most susceptible” to the digital onslaught and “needs to have a sense of urgen- cy to re-invent itself in this age of digital disruption.” Aside from the most known players like the Philippines and India, East Europe, China, and Latin America are said to be the biggest leaders in “services globalization,” or outsourcing.

“While most of the smaller countries in the top 20 will find it easier to adapt their model and be more agile in working with clients on digital innovation, however more than half of the workforce in IT/BPO sector in leading outsourcing locations will become irrelevant in the coming few years unless significant reskilling is done. And for an industry this large, making this gigantic shift will be a challenge,” the advisory firm warned.

In the recent years, it said the industry has been knocked by digital forces including robotics, artificial intelligence, social media, mobility, big data, digital supply chain, and digital trust.

Surprisingly, Tholons pointed out that outsourcing leaders to include India, Philippines and China are being shaken by disruptors like Canada and Israel, while innovators like Brazil and Chile are going to collectively “redefine the leadership for the next decade.”

Tholons’ report considered innovation, workforce and skills, infrastructure and cost, risk and quality of life, and business catalyst as metrics for this year’s research. /

For the first time, we are introducing digital innovation as our prime gauge, which looks into cities and nations for number of startups, start-up diversity, start-up eco-system and government incentives to promote entrepreneurship and digital transformatrion. THOLONS REPORT