Contact Center

With a total of 37 firms operating in the Philippines, the contact center sector is one of the fastest-growing ITES sectors today. According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the total number of seats will double to 80,000 in 2005 — twice the estimated capacity of 40,000 in 2004.

Established contact centers — which generally provide services principally to Fortune 500 companies — include such global brands as Convergys, APAC, Sitel, Sykes, and Teletech; shared services facilities including AOL, Citibank, and HSBC; and, local and North American startups such as Ambergis, PeopleSupport, C-Cubed, CyberCity Teleservices, eTelecare, and Epixtar.

Many of these firms and their clients view the Philippines as the number one alternative to India for such services for important reasons. Among the most important is risk management through the provision of alternative country sites. As a result, established providers from India have become serious investors themselves in the Philippines as they seek to respond to clients' wishes to enhance security and redundancy.

Philippine contact centers presently provide the following services:

•  Customer service
•  Help desk
•  Marketing and sales
•  Delivery of customer loyalty programs
•  New product promotions
•  Research