Mindanao as IT hub: Focus on contact center services - II

this story was taken from www.inq7money.net
MINDANAWORLD
Mindanao as IT hub: Focus on contact center services - II
Posted: 3:34 AM Mar. 09, 2006
Joji Ilagan-Bian
Inquirer

(Published on Page B7 of the March 9, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

CYBERSERVICES is a new term that describes services delivered via cyberspace. These are information technology-driven services such as call centers, medical transcription, back office operations and animation.

Call center services are the largest sector in the local IT industry, accounting for 63 percent of the sector's total workforce. The Philippines has expanded its offerings -- which used to focus on inbound customer support and outbound telemarketing -- to include more technical support service such as computer hardware troubleshooting. We are currently at par with global standards, closely competing with India and China.

As the sector grows to greater heights, large call center companies are expanding its reach across the nation, seeking more competitive labor costs, and cheaper infrastructure and operational expenses. Southern Philippines is targeted as the next destination of growth.

Is Mindanao ready?

In its recent report, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) projected that the call center sector would have to employ 388,000 agents to meet client needs in 2010. In order to deliver this, call centers should not limit their Mindanao activities on recruitment for relocation purposes alone. Setting base is inevitable considering the many perks offered by Mindanao cities -- the availability of cheaper and reliable power and communication infrastructure, less expensive cost of living, good incentives for IT firms and numerous vendor support.

Mindanao is also opening itself to advancement as it targets cyberservices to be the industry that will not only boost the economy, but will also secure its people from leaving home. The redistribution of wealth, the return of talents, increased commercial activity and more investments from other sectors are positive effects of call center presence in the provinces.

Local communities and its leaders recognize Mindanao's potentials in providing call center needs in the near future. This sparked interests from various groups and business organizations to cooperate and unify in order to make Mindanao cities an attractive and suitable locations for the industry's growth.

Next IT hub

The widespread investment promotion campaign staged by various Mindanao stakeholders captured the interest of some of the well-known call centers and prompted them to visit major Mindanao cities for possible expansion. So far, Cagayan de Oro City and Davao City have attracted four call center companies. My own Joji Ilagan Foundation Inc. will be operating a state-of-the-art training academy for call center agents and personnel in partnership with John F. Kennedy Foundation, and a call center. The academy will open in April and the call center, in June. It will help ensure the availability of skilled manpower to serve the needs of IT investors and BPOs that intend to locate their businesses in Davao and nearby cities like General Santos.

Mindanao recognizes its capacity to deliver investor requirements in setting up call center operations. We produce competent professionals with excellent reasoning skills, English communication and computer skills, and workers flexible in various work environments. And of course, Mindanaoans are famous for being friendly, courteous and industrious individuals—a plus point in this line of work.

Mindanao, however, has its own challenges and limitations. For one, not all cities have IT parks and zones, and this discourages IT investors who seek additional incentives that an IT park/zone could offer and flexible requirements. Most of the cities are yet to follow Cagayan de Oro's Pueblo de Oro IT Park, the first of its kind that houses an international call center.

There is no reason why Davao and Cagayan and the rest of Mindanao cannot become the IT hub for the Southern part of the country and of the East Asean region.

After all, everything else is in place -- competent manpower and adequate communications and transportation infrastructures.

Joji Ilagan Bian is an advocate for Mindanao, chairman of the Mindanao TVET, and Mindanao representative to Export Development Council. E-mail comments to jojibian2@yahoo.com.