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Outsourcing IT Services in the Philippines
October 27 2006


Philippine IT Industry in the Global Market

Without a doubt, cheap overseas labor is one of the hottest commodities around; hence, the proliferation of outsourcing IT services in the Philippines. There is stiff competition especially within the Asia Pacific region to export labor and increase foreign currency revenues. In many cases, overseas migrant workers are boosting government coffers past the billion dollar mark. That's certainly the case in the Philippines, where the wages of the overseas workers are still the largest source of foreign exchange.

International companies have made the Philippines their home not only because of its cost-competitive business milieu but also due to the Filipino’s superior work ethic and loyalty to clients. The Philippines has a large pool of talented software developers and engineers who are experts in system design/analysis, application/middleware/firmware development, testing and quality assurance, software maintenance and software project management to meet the huge demand for outsourcing IT services in the Philippines. Filipinos are flexible and highly trainable. The Philippines is one of the most Western countries in Asia yet the Filipinos possess the multi-cultural, multi-lingual adaptability attuned with international business practices. The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking people in the world outside the UK and United States, thus making it the best link in reaching out to English-speaking markets. The Philippines also offers a friendly and hospitable business environment.

Tech companies send their critical software development work in the Philippines because of the readily available knowledge workers regarded as “among the best in the world” by international consultancy groups like the Meta Group, Gartner, Swiss Management Institute, AT Kearney and neoIT.

Training centers in the Philippines refine the skills of Filipino IT engineers and promote the Philippine IT industry for several years to date. Every year, the Philippines produces seven times more IT graduates than other South East Asian countries. Every year there are 400,000 Filipino college graduates and about 32,000 of them are specializing in IT. The Philippines has about 500 software developers including operations by top international companies such as Accenture, Hewlett Packard, IBM Solutions, Sun Microsystems, Headstrong and Trend Micro and big Japanese IT companies such as Canon, Epson and Fujitsu have strong presence in the country as well. There are now about 25 Filipino IT engineers working at the IBM Laboratory in Tokyo. In 2006, export revenues of these developers amounted to US $ 200 million growing by 36 % from the previous year.

The Philippine software industry is composed of 300 software development companies, majority of which were represented by the Philippine Software Industry Association. Philippine IT associations aim to align 50 software development companies with international quality standards; locate the operations of 50 foreign-based software companies in the country; hire 100,000 software workers and support recruitment and retention in the industry; increase intellectual property compliance for software by 3% annually; increase government software investment by 10% annually; and establish social and physical infrastructure that will support the industry. The Philippines is no longer just a software development house for technology services and business consulting, it is also an innovation hub in such diverse fields like financial applications and embedded technology and mobile applications.

The Philippines best asset is its people. The country has one of the world’s richest pools of skilled manpower. Schooled in a system patterned after the American standard of formal education, Filipinos boast of 93.8% literacy rate – one of the highest in the world. Filipinos have assimilated the collective strengths of their rich cultural heritage – a distinct advantage when it comes to working in a multicultural setting. Completely at home with international work practices, Filipinos have earned a strong reputation as one of the best workforces worldwide – delivering quality service to some of the biggest global companies, and effectively meeting the most stringent standards and ensuring unhampered operations.

Offshoring, Inc, an American owned and operated staff leasing company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and based in the Philippines, provides businesses and employers with a simple, no-hassle solution to offshoring business processes, in response to the influx of demand for outsourced products and/or services.

Offshoring, Inc is the foremost offshore staff leasing company that offers the best professionals in the labor pool, such as advanced degree holders and competently trained writers, graphic designers, programmers, media managers, quality assurance representatives, data entry clerks and contact center agents all who have practical experience in the workforce. The company helps international employers significantly reduce searching, training, and operating costs while maintaining complete control over the process. Offshoring, Inc’s edge among other staff leasing companies is the highly qualified skilled professionals that occupy their seats.

Providing US-based confidentiality and non-compete agreements, Offshoring, Inc values the client’s intellectual property and trade secrets in top priority. The company assures clients that the staff they hire are their exclusive employees until the contract expires. All potential staff are extensively reviewed with background checks and constant stern supervision. Offshoring, Inc dutifully protects their clients’ security. Offshoring, Inc’s value proposition of providing the best people, best processes, and best technology at a lower over-all cost applies to any business who gives importance to quality and efficiency.

Very progressive government economic policies, generous tax incentives, and simplified investment procedures have attracted foreign investors from around the globe to locate in the Philippines. Modern and cost-competitive business infrastructures backed by redundant international connectivity ensure the speedy delivery of services and ease in offshore transactions. With the Philippines’ strategic location, high quality yet cost-effective workers, world-class business and ICT infrastructures, and multicultural, expatriate-friendly milieu, it is easy to see why the world’s leading companies have become the Filipinos’ satisfied partners. Outsourcing IT services in the Philippines has clearly provided economic prosperity to both the local government and international businesses.

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