What is IT-BPM?
Information Technology and Business Process Management or IT-BPM is when foreign brands, multinationals, and even startups engage the services of a third-party vendor to manage certain aspects of their work operations. These are often functions that might be deemed essential but are not part of the organization’s core business. Companies often choose to outsource work as it offers a number of benefits that help them create value and transform their businesses through decreased costs, strengthened global presence, focused performance, and maximized profits.
The Philippine IT-BPM Sector
Establish a Career and Thrive in a Resilient Industry
The IT-BPM sector started in the Philippines in the 1980s with basic encoding, in-house development, and programming. More than 30 years down the road, the industry now offers more complex and varied services that go beyond traditional call center work and utilize digital platforms and solutions. It is considered as the country’s largest job generator and one of its biggest private-sector employers, creating jobs for 1.3 Million Filipinos while indirectly impacting close to 4.2 million more people across the nation.
Find a Job that Suits Your Skills and Needs
The industry is full of opportunities for people with different skill sets. It’s composed of over 1,300 companies that are classified into six subsectors: Contact Centers, IT and Software Development, Animation and Game Development, Global In-House Centers, and Healthcare Information Management.
Develop Your Expertise and Become a Global Professional
Talent has been and will continue to be the industry’s most valuable asset. As such, the sector is one of the largest investors in the training and development of its people, spending five to ten times more than other industries on continuous upskilling, global best practices, and lifelong learning. It also generally provides better compensation and more premium benefits to employees.
Key Services Offered
Contact Center and BPO
Mature services: Customer Care, Helpdesk Growth services: ESO, Data Analytics, Performance Management, Legal Process Outsourcing
Information Technology Services
Mature service: Application Development, Infrastructure, Support
Growth services: System Integration, Automation Enablement, IoT Enablement Languages, Application Development Management (ADM)
Health Information Management Services
Mature services: Payer services Growth services: Preventive Health, Remote Healthcare Management, Provider Services
Animation Services
Mature services: 2D animation
Growth services: 3D animation
Game Development Services
Mature services: Game development
Growth services: AR/VR, Gamification
Global In-House Centers
Mature services: F&A
Growth services: Industry-specific Services for Telecom, Healthcare, Insurance and Pharmaceutical
IT-BPM Subsectors
Contact Center and BPO
Contact Center is the largest of the subsectors and is what helped propel the Philippines to become a preferred investment destination for IT-BPM services. From basic call center offerings, it has since diversified into using omnichannel solutions like chat, email, and social media to interact and assist local and global customers. The growth of this industry vertical can also be attributed to the developing capability of the Filipino workforce for more complex tasks and higher value work.
Information Technology
As the Filipino talent gained more technical skills, the Philippines also became a top-of-mind location for IT-enabled services like programming, software development, and database administration. The largest customer segments for the IT and Software Development subsector are Manufacturing, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Retail, and Healthcare.
Health Information Management Service
As a nation that produces a significant number of healthcare professionals, it follows that the Philippines is also the biggest and one of the fastest growing markets for the Healthcare Information Management (HIM) subsector. Several organizations operate in the country and offer services that ensure quality care for patients no matter where they are in the world. These include clinical research, drug utilization review, claims processing, and many more.
Animation and Game Development
With the rising global demand for original content and new market opportunities found in digital platforms, the Creative industry, though relatively small compared to other service verticals, has quickly become one of the Philippine IT-BPM sector’s high-growth areas. In addition to hiring full-time talent, the animation and game development industries also employ a good number of freelancers.
Global In-House Centers
Unlike other IT-BPM services, Global In-House Centers (GICs) are managed internally by a parent organization where certain work functions are strategically consolidated in delivery locations across multiple countries. These GICs are typically utilized by large companies looking to lower operational costs while providing standardized and higher quality services and processes like finance and accounting, data analytics, human resources, and procurement.