BPO sector booming in Albay, especially in Legazpi City

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=820964
• Thursday, October 29, 2015

(PNA), FPV/FGS/MSA/CBD

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 29 (PNA) -- Albay, particularly this premier city, now boasts of about 20 major players in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, making it a fast-growing business in the province.

Giving much impetus to the industry are the business process outsourcing (BPO), software developers, Internet service providers, telecommunication companies and educational institutions, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Albay provincial office.

Dindo Nabol, DTI-ICT chief, said the five major players mentioned that bravely invested and put up their companies in Albay contributed to the bright prospects of the industry.

Aside from the big-time BPOs, there are a number of “home-based” freelance players engaged in various ICT services.

The BPO industry is categorized into: the voice center, engaged in call centers, and the non-voice, involved in data gathering services.

The BPOs offer services that include call centers, health care, animation, game development and software development.

In Albay, the first BPO to be established was the Matsuoka Projects-Phil. Inc., which was put up in 1993 as Architectural CAD, followed by Content Online Services Inc., (COSI) in 1999 as data processing.

Other major BPO players include: Sutherland Global Services -- call center, data processing; Nolin BPO Services Co., Ltd – call center, data processing, accounting; One Half Phil., Inc -- call center, accounting.

There are also the All Nation e-Language Conversion Inc., (AneLC) -- data processing; SLTCFI BPO Incubation Center – call center, SEO; Dataquest Inc. – Medical Transcription; RAB Out Sourcing Solutions – call center; MTC Academy – medical transcription; and M3 Medical Management Service Group Inc. - medical transcription.

Others are the BDPO Solutions Inc. -- call center, web development; Mayon Outsourcing Solutions Inc. – call center, data processing; Equinox Virtual Solutions – call center, SEO; and Times Telecom Phil. Inc. – call center.

Software development (CORE IT) service companies are those engaged in analysis and design, programming and testing, customization, reengineering and conversion, installation and maintenance, education and training of systems software, middleware and application software.

Companies engaged in software development are: BDPO Solutions Inc; Mayon Outsourcing Solutions Inc.; and Equinox Virtual Solutions.

The BPOs are located in the this city and neighboring town of Daraga and Tabaco City.

Providing support to the ICTs are seven telecommunications companies that provide regular voice/call and GSM/SMS services, namely: PLDT, Bayantel, Digtel, Smart, Globe, Southern Telecommunications Co. (Sotelco), Bicol Telephone & Telegraph (BTTI) and DCTV Cable Network.

For Internet service providers, there are the Globalink; Bicol Web, Inc.; Digitelone; Bayantel DSL and DCTV Cable Network.

Three of the five fixed line telecommunications service providers are all based in Legazpi City, while the other two companies, BTTI and Sotelco, operate in the towns of Guinobatan, Oas and Polangui.

Educational institutions that provide BPOs with manpower requirements are 50 private and one public (Bicol University with 6 campuses within and outside of the province) tertiary schools in Albay.

Five of these institutions -- namely,BU, Aquinas Univiversity, Divine Word College of Legazpi, AMEC-BCCM and Bicol College -- are fully accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) while the rest are mostly schools offering short-term technical courses and are either full-time TESDA accredited or with degree course offerings accredited with the CHED.

CHED and TESDA statistics showed that in 2008, 22,754 graduates finished various degree programs under CHED- accredited schools and universities, while 25,863 TESDA graduates.

Of this number, only 7,268 graduated from ICT-related subjects.

Rosemarie Q. Rey, president of the Albay ICT Association Inc., (AICTA)and concurrent president of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, said the province has a “goldmine” of talents which can bridge the ICT gap.

Rey, who also owns the Southern Luzon Technology (SLT) school, claimed that there is a need to further improve school curricula and make these attuned to the needs of the industry; this way, the schools can supply the industry with skilled and professional ICT graudates.

She said the ICT industry in Albay is moving forward and having bright future despite the challenges brought by natural calamities that have befallen the province.

Rey said in an interview that previously, investors and ICT locators were discouraged to put up their businesses in the province because of a bad perception that the place is a calamity -prone area frequented by typhoons, floods and volcanic eruptions.

Another concerns that need to be addressed, she said, are the readiness, adequacy and reliability of infrastructure support facilities, especially power.

She, however, said that this perception has changed after the province has been tagged as Gawad Kalasag Hall of Fame awardee for Disaster Risk Reduction Management and constantly attaining its “zero casualty” goal during disaster operations.

Meanwhile, the city has proven to local and foreign investors that it is indeed a “liveable” city, Rey said.

“The outlook of the industry is getting better as Albay, especially Legazpi, is almost there and would soon be included in the Ten Next Wave Cities in the country,” Rey said.

She said the ICT industry is a job-generation powerhouse, claiming that 5,000 to 8,000 are employed in various BPO companies, including the home-based online servers.

She said call center agents' monthly salary ranges from Php10,000 to Php30,000.

“This will bring tremendous benefits in terms of employment, improvement of purchasing power and people spending -- making the economy grow,” Rey said.

She claimed that the cost of doing business in Albay is very feasible, citing Albay as a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-accredited area; and that it offers economical rentals in offices and buildings, wage lower than Manila rates and local government's guaranteed support by giving tax incentives.

The ICT industry leader said that as tax incentives, the province and the city grant investors tax holidays for 3-4 years and tax free entry of importation.

Rey said that with the support of local government units by way of incentives, she expects three to five new players to come in every year.