IT-BPM revenue hits $35.5 B

Revenues of the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry climbed by more than nine percent to hit $35.5 billion in 2023 from $32.5 billion in 2022.

In a press briefing, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) president Jack Madrid said the revenues generated last year makes the industry the largest source of foreign exchange inflow into the Philippines.

In terms of headcount, Madrid said the industry had 1.7 million employees in 2023, representing over eight percent growth from the previous year’s 1.57 million.

For this year, he said the industry is aiming to generate $40 billion worth of revenues and increase the headcount to 1.84 million employees.

“We continue to see growth in the healthcare sector. Banking and financial services continues to grow, as well as the more traditional contact center services,” he said.

He said 2024 is a pivotal year for the industry as more countries are looking to get a piece of the Philippines’ market share for IT-BPM services.

“It’s not just India anymore. Countries like South Africa, Colombia in South America, Vietnam, Poland, even Egypt are becoming known as ITBPM destinations,” he said.

To strengthen the country’s market share, he said there is a need to address the challenge of finding enough employable talent.

While the industry created 130,000 new jobs last year, he said the figure could have been much higher.

Under the IT-BPM industry’s roadmap, the goal is to achieve $59 billion worth of revenues and have 2.5 million employees by 2028.

To achieve this, the IBPAP is implementing a rebranding campaign, with the tagline “We are IT-BPM, we are with the Philippines,”which will involve attracting talent for the first phase and getting investors for the second phase.

“We need to do this rebranding because there’s still a fundamental misunderstanding of our industry. As a career, people think it’s just a call center,” Madrid said.

He said the IBPAP wants to address this inaccurate perception and image of the industry.

“It’s a long-term viable fulfilling career path and a path of way to the middle class. It’s not just money. It’s actually skills development and the ability to serve global customers,”he said.

As for the impact of artificial intelligence on the industry, he said that while the new technology may lead to some job changes or even displacement, it is overall seen to augment many of the IT-BPM jobs.

“That is also an opportunity to upskill, right-skill and cross-skill our employees. The best way to prepare for AI is to work on our skill sets,” he said.