e-Services Philippines 2007 to signal shift of Philippines from BPO to KPO

January 30, 2007 -- The e-Services Philippines (ESP) 2007 conference and exhibition, the annual flagship show of the Philippines for the IT and IT-enabled services sector is highlighting the shift of the Philippines to high value knowledge-based outsourcing.

The event will take place February 15-16, 2007, at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

"Unlike the previous events, ESP 2007 has been upgraded as a response to the industry’s more aggressive requirements. We are seeing local players moving from low-end processes to look for niches higher up in the value chain. We intend ESP 2007 to be the event that can help them move from BPO to knowledge process outsourcing (KPO)— and actually get there," Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assistant secretary Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes announced.

Agoncillo-Reyes is also the executive director of the Center for Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the DTI’s export promotions arm.

Now on its 7th year, the ESP conference and exhibition has been hailed as an important IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) outsourcing show in the region.

For the past six years, the event has served to promote the Philippines as a preferred venue for IT outsourcing by attracting foreign investors and global trade missions. Last year’s event generated at least US$23.5 million in new contracts.

ESP 2007 will feature an exhibition; a CEO Forum that will discuss such topics as "The Global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Outlook" from both the CEO and the analyst’s perspectives, "The Next Level: Knowledge Process Outsourcing" and "BPO Best Practices" by speakers who will talk about the different BPO business models.

Some of the CEO Forum speakers that have confirmed include Ralph Schonenbach, CEO of Trestle Group, who will present his insights on how focused companies can successfully move up the value chain.

David Barrett, Simmons & Simmons partner and global head of Communications, Outsourcing and Technology, on the other hand, is set to present winning strategies in privacy, security and other challenges in international business.

"There will be five sector tracks intended to identify market niches for the IT and ITES sectors. These tracks include: IT Outsourcing, Health Information Management, Business Venture and Investment, BPO-KPO, and Creative e-Services," Agoncillo-Reyes explained.

The 2007 event will also be the first edition of the conference and exhibition that CITEM is aggressively promoting in Asia. In past years, marketing communications have primarily targeted North American and EU markets. "It is our aim to sell ESP 2007 as a platform where both buyers and providers from all over Asia as well as our traditional markets can converge and explore business opportunities," said Agoncillo-Reyes."We are upping our promotional efforts at an opportune time when the local IT and ITES sectors are starting to move from straightforward BPO to knowledge process outsourcing, providing higher-value services to the global market."

According to Agoncillo-Reyes, the capabilities of the Philippines’ outsourcing services providers have greatly improved as a result of competition and collaboration. "The Philippines is already a strong contender in the global outsourcing market. This time, CITEM intends ESP 2007 to signal to the rest of the region the arrival of the Philippines on the KPO scene. "The KPO wave is already being felt in the Philippines. "

The success of the outsourced and captive contact centers, followed by the fast growth of the back-office processing and shared services industry that supports multinational companies from the Philippines had paved the way for new opportunities," said Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) president Dan Reyes.

Thus, "providers that used to offer only basic finance and accounting services like data encoding and document verification are now providing more complex and analytical processes such as financial capability assessment for mortgage companies, for example."

"The annual e-Services Philippines exhibition and conference provides a showcase for the Philippines’ KPO and BPO capabilities. The event enjoys broad industry support because it has been instrumental in the success of our promotional efforts," Reyes said. "e-Services gives potential clients a reason to come to the Philippines, and while here learn what the Philippines can offer at the exhibition and conference, and actually explore business opportunities and strategic partnerships with local providers in the investment track and through business matching."

For information on e-Services Philippines, please contact:CITEM, IT Services and Electronics Division T: (+632) 8325044 & (+632) 8312201 locals 212, 251, and 301www.e-servicesphils.com

Source:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/1/prweb501170.htm