The Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry is looking at the “value proposition” of each location as it continuously expands to the countryside, according to one of the top IT firms in the country.
Accenture’s Country Managing Director Manolito Tayag said at a virtual forum on Friday that from the industry perspective, “We are very much conscious, [when I say we, the direction of our industry] of our impact in terms of helping countryside development particularly those outside of Metro Manila and Cebu.”
Tayag underscored that as the IT-BPM industry further expands to the countryside, it all boils down to talent and infrastructure. The IT firm’s country managing director raised relevant questions that guide the IT-BPM industry in identifying strategic locations in the countryside.
“Do we have the talent in those locations where we can expand and do we have the right infrastructure, whether it is the right buildings or connectivity that we have?” Tayag said.
Interestingly, he noted that different cities would have different value propositions. Since the industry is diverse in terms of services, locators look at the capability to build a certain talent within a particular location.
“For example, one city probably is churning out better English speakers and so contact center is better. Another location, for example, has a great university that is churning out technologies in Engineering for example. Another location is churning out good nurses then health care is probably gonna go there,” said Tayag.
A few weeks ago, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) Executive Director for Talent Attraction and Development Frankie Antolin said at a virtual forum that currently, the IT-BPM industry has about 30 percent of the industry’s headcount sitting in the countryside. The IBPAP official added that they are still looking for different ways to expand into the countryside.
She also emphasized that the countryside expansion is not just about decongesting, but they want to be able to bring the sector to create more IT-BPM digital hubs across the country.
Antolin said this is one of the priorities of IBPAP, the flagship organization of the IT-BPM industry.
In May, TaskUs Inc., a US-based provider of outsourced digital services to fast growing tech companies, said it would put up two more offices, possibly in cities in Northern Luzon. The company earlier said that its goal is to bring jobs “as close to the people as possible.”
The US-based provider of outsourced digital services also said that there is excellent talent and excellent infrastructure in Tier 2 cities.
Image credits: Bloomberg