IN 2020, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines generated revenues of $26.7 billion. This was projected to reach $29 billion by 2022. For a country that, just 20 years ago, was in its BPO infancy, this growth had been nothing short of extraordinary. With a clientele that included some of the largest, most well-known brands in the world such as Amazon and Google, the BPO industry in the Philippines has now been firmly established as the global outsourcing leader for companies that were looking to offshore key business processes.

'In the early years, BPO providers in the Philippines focused on three key areas: cost containment, a quality labor force and scale. This allowed the country to obtain a foothold in the offshore outsourcing industry. Initially, cost savings were the key driver for going offshore,' said Ralf Ellspermann, chief executive officer of PITON-Global, a leading midsized BPO in the Philippines.