The Information and Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) creates a new BPO roadmap to target the industry’s sustainability and continued growth until 2022.

To be released at the IBPAP annual conference in October, the business proves to still remain at number one in terms of revenue and economic growth.

“We’re going to unveil the actual new road map that contains what’s the game plan for the Philippine IT-BPO (industry) for the next six years. How do we deliver? How do we differentiate? Which investments do we need to get in? What recommendations do we take to secure another six years or more of success,” says Benedict C. Hernandez, Chairman of the Execom of IBPAP at the sidelines of the opening of the Affinion Group’s first office in Bonifacio Global City last Thursday.

Hernandez describes the industry forecast this year at around 15-20% year-on-year growth. He adds, “So far we’ve been a little bit towards the upper end, a little bit towards 18%.”

This new BPO roadmap is the industry’s next step. IBPAP reports that the industry has hit its target revenue of $21 billion in 2015 directly employing almost 1.1 million Filipinos around the archipelago.

“As far as the road map’s 2016 goals are, which we actually already set out five and a half years ago, we’re on goal, on target, which is really about 1.3 million employed directly by IT-BPO companies. About $25-million worth of revenues,” he said.

Continuing the streak 

According to an articles by Rappler, the IT-BPM sector had about 1.2 million employees. Its largest sector, voice services, which encompasses call centers, accounted for 69% of the total IT-BPO industry, employing two-thirds or about 700,000 of the entire industry. With its original goal of hitting $22 billion on revenues by the end of 2015, it reached up to $25 billion.

Revenues in 2014 hit $18.9 billion (P404.9 million), and the expected $22 billion revenue in 2015 would represent a 16% increase.

In its two previous roadmaps, IBPAP looked at the global opportunities and the Philippines’ capabilities. The upcoming roadmap will look at specific trends, such as multi-language capabilities and opportunities arising from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration, among others.