BPO group to join gov't e-services confab in ‘06

By Alexander Villafania, INQ7.net

THE BUSINESS Process Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) is set to join next year’s e-Services Philippines conference. This will be the first time this organization of business process outsourcers (BPO) will join a major local conference.

The e-Services Philippines is an annual IT event featuring service providers in the IT-enabled services (ITES) space. It is organized by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

BPA/P executive director Mitchell Locsin said in a statement that their participation marks a first for the organization since its inception 18 months ago. “BPA/P was not yet fully organized during last year’s conference,” he said.

Locsin said that BPA/P and CITEM have partnered with the Board of Investments, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and Globe Telecom for the event to be held from February 16 to 17, 2006.

“BPA/P believes that this is one partnership where everyone is going to help one another achieve a single vision: to promote the Philippines as a premiere outsourcing venue,” Locsin said.

Locsin added that BPA/P would assist CITEM in designing concurrent sessions for the six ITES sectors highlighted in the event -- contact centers, animation, back office operations, engineering design, software development, and medical and legal transcription.

He expects next year’s conference to generate more deals and partnerships between local providers and foreign companies as more niche market services become more available. “If CITEM and BPA/P succeed in doing this at ESP 2006 again this year, this will definitely lead to new investments and more jobs.”

BPA/P is an umbrella organization of several ITES groups such as the Contact Centers Association of the Philippines, Animation Council of the Philippines, Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine Software Industry Association