BPO growth potential in IT, finance, HR – Wheatley
MINISTER OF Science, Energy and Technology Dr Andrew Wheatley says that the local business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which is valued at more than US$400 million, continues to grow exponentially and could reach US$750 million by 2020.
“Over the years, we have seen tremendous growth in the local sector, boasting a compound annual growth rate of 20 per cent per annum,” he said.
“Employment figures have more than doubled when compared to 2007. The BPO sector is now employing over 26,000 persons islandwide. Within the sector, we have approximately 60 firms operating, including several industry heavyweights, such as Xerox, Teleperformance, Sutherland Global Services, Alorica, HGS and Startek,” he further noted.
Minister Wheatley was delivering the keynote address on the final day of the Outsource2 Jamaica Symposium and Expo at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St James, on April 13.
He noted, however, that there were still too many persons in the dark about the opportunities that the sector presents, pointing out that BPO was more than callcentre operations.
“BPO is much more than that, and its value, both locally and internationally, exceeds what most persons know or expect from the sector,” he said.
The technology minister pointed out that locally, the sector provides a wide range of services spanning medicine, law, finance, information communication technology (ICT), human resources (HR), among others.
Wheatley said that he was pleased that Jamaica has become an integral part of “a global movement” in outsourcing, an area that has steadily been becoming the preferred choice for many firms.
“At a global level, the sector is projected to reach US$262.2 billion by 2022, driven by cost benefits achieved by outsourcing back-office administration, the development of new-generation technologies such as process automation, big data analytics, business process as a service, and embedded analytics-based BPO.
“Growing competitiveness of global markets and the ensuing pressure on businesses to run efficiently and ensure costeffectiveness are providing opportunities for accelerated growth in BPO services,” he stated.
Minister Wheatley said that he was also heartened by a recent study conducted with companies involved in outsourcing revealed that the sector was expected to see growth across all functions surveyed, particularly information technology, finance, and HR.
Jamaica, he contended, was in a good position to benefit from expansion in these services.