Contact centers seen to grow 9% to $32.2 billion
THE countryâs contact center sector is expected to grow by 9 percent to around $32.16 billion in 2024, according to the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).
In a statement on Monday, CCAP said this âconservativeâ projection is based on a yearly average sectoral revenue growth of about 9 percent as indicated in an analysis by global industry research firm Everest Group.
CCAP, a subsector of the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, has over 140 member-companies nationwide.
In 2023, the contact center and business process sector posted an annual revenue of $29.50 billion, up by 9 percent compared to the annual revenue of $27 billion in 2022.
CCAP noted that the sectorâs yearly revenue accounted for 83 percent of the overall revenue posted by the countryâs entire IT-BPM industry of $35.5 billion in 2023.
The IT-BPM industry is targeting to hit around $40 billion in revenues for 2024.
CCAP President Mickey Ocampo remained optimistic about the performance of the countryâs contact center sector this year despite global headwinds and the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).
âThe figures prove how resilient the sector has become, successfully overcoming the significant challenges that came its way, including stringent data privacy laws worldwide, the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic recessions, and now, the rise of generative artificial intelligence [AI],â he added.
The CCAP president also expressed confidence that the contact center sector could post an annual revenue of $49 billion by 2028. âThis is aligned with the IT-BPM roadmap 2028 that sets an industry yearly revenue target of $59 billion,â said CCAP.
On the adoption of AI, Ocampo is banking on the use of such tool in helping the sector perform better.
In fact, he said, the countryâs contact centers have been âactively upskilling our people to equip them in handling their tasks more effectively.â
âWhat does not kill us only makes us better and we have proven many times how constantly upgrading skills can help call center firms and our industry as a whole, not just overcome the challenges of the times but also perform better in what we do,â Ocampo also noted.
He emphasized that industry figures were not negatively affected by the use of Generative AI amid debates and concerns over the use of the tool, which includes the fear of it resulting in job losses in the future.
âGenerative AI, which was among the issues discussed in last yearâs Contact Islands conference, did not affect the industry figures negatively. We have even generated more jobs,â Ocampo said, adding that the contact center sectorâs 9.4-percent growth in employment for 2023 even outpaced the 8.6-percent employment growth posted by the IT-BPM industry.
Meanwhile, CCAP also noted that the industry continues to provide jobs to more individuals outside Metro Manila.
A research by CCAP with its member-companies as respondents in May 2023 showed that 28 percent of call center firms indicated plans to establish sites in Cavite, while 23 percent said they will put up centers in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Other areas being eyed by CCAP members include Rizal (21 percent), Batangas City (21 percent), Puerto Princesa in Palawan (21 percent), Laguna (18 percent), Iloilo (18 percent), Tarlac (15 percent), Cebu (15 percent), Davao (15 percent), General Santos City (15 percent), and Bacolod City (10 percent).
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/05/06/contact-centers-seen-to-grow-9-to-32-2-billion/