ICT, BPO still ‘hopeful’

by: Debra Magallon-Estero

THE information and communication technology sector and the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, remain “hopeful” despite the global economic downturn.

“There are no job cuts among IT (information technology) companies, that’s the good news,” said Bonifacio Belen, executive director of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it).

He added that several companies based in the United States are now finding ways and means to outsource to save on costs.
“Hindi talaga oobra ang protectionist stand ni President Barack Obama (President Barack Obama’s protectionist stand will not work) because it is counter to globalization,” he told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.

Luxury services

However, Belen admitted that although the ICT and BPO sectors have not resorted to retrenchment, industry players still face the challenge of surviving the global financial crisis.

But, he said, “luxury services” may be the first to be affected should the global economic crisis hit the ICT and BPO industries.

Luxury services in the ICT and BPO sectors include research, customer profiling and consulting.

Today, Belen is expected to meet with the Cebu governor together with other representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to discuss job opportunities for recently displaced workers.

Belen said Cedf-it has talked to a team from DTI regarding a program for local businesses to outsource locally.

“Any business that requires processes, productivity tools and the use of ICT can outsource,” he said. Target companies include hospitals, schools and multinationals.

He added that the local industry is a big market that can outsource locally since the usage of IT in Cebu is still at five percent.

For this program to work, Belen said the government will have to offer a form of subsidy to encourage companies to outsource.

“It will be a guided approach,” Belen said. (DME)