Dial Manila

PeopleSupport is a big part of the Philippines' grab of outsourcing business from India. This is one interesting story that puts the Philippines on the map! (Forbes.com)

Job Fair 2007

The SOUTHERN TAGALOG 2007 Job Fair at De La Salle Lipa
February 6-7, 2007

The Southern Luzon Job Fair 2007 @ De La Salle University – Dasmariñas
March 8-9, 2007

The South of Manila Job Fair 2007 at EXPO Trade Hall, 4th Floor, Festival Supermall, Filinvest, Alabang
March 24-25, 2007

For details please call PHILTRADE Exhibits
(632) 8253482, 8264291, 09208766505
Or email at philtradevents@yahoo.com.ph

Hawaiian Airlines planning to outsource call center reservation to Philippines

Hawaiian Airlines is planning to move most of its reservation call center operations to the Philippines, and its information technology and accounting jobs to India to reduce costs. (Star Bulletin)

The union representing the airline's employees has a contract clause that no one would be laid off. (Pacific Business News)

Pierre Barberis steps down as Oberthur CEO

The card vendor late last month announced Pierre Barberis would step down after more than four years to move to Southeast Asia. He reportedly has business interests in the Philippines. Philippe Geyres shall take his place as the new CEO of Oberthur. (Card Technology)

Graphic Outsourcing in Philippines Spells Savings for Global Businesses

In the field of graphic outsourcing, companies like LazyMask are finding that the Philippines’ graphic artists are critical in helping it carve its own niche. It is one of the few companies to channel most of its resources to outsourced clipping path or image masking jobs.

A clipping path outlines any image or photo and allows LazyMask’s customers to place any background behind the actual object. Clipping paths are often needed for catalogs, posters, brochures, websites, and other forms of print or design. LazyMask’s unique selling point is its guaranteed delivery of finished images within 24 hours or less - for a certain number of images. CEO Jane Kirk founded LazyMask in Metro Cebu, Philippines. (PR Leap)

Firstsource Solutions plans to open call center in the Philippines

Firstsource has more than 9,000 employees and 17 delivery centres across India, the US, the UK and Argentina, and plans for a centre in the Philippines. (Belfast Telegraph)

Philippines is the English Voice Capital of the world

According to Francisco D'Souza, Chief Operating Officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions, "If clients were to set up a brand new call centre today, they would most likely not do it in the US, unless there are specific regulatory or other reasons to do it. They would probably go to the Philippines or somewhere else where such work is highly specialised. The Philippines as a country seems to be emerging as the English Voice Capital of the world, even rivalling India." (The Hindu Business Line)

EBags' sales escalating with back-office support in the Philippines

According to Rocky Mountain News, that's because call center workers in India replied to shopper's e-mail queries, and dozens more in the Philippines answered 80 percent of the telephone calls. (Nordmark said the Filipinos offer a cheaper alternative and pick up the American accent easily.)

How MediCall rode out Typhoon Milenyo

MediCall Inc., a Pleasanton, California-based company that supports the health care industry, has a call center in Makati City with 230 agents, primarily nurses. On September 28, during Typhoon Milenyo, areas like Makati City suffered power outages, among others. MediCall's proper preparation, made the company able to dodge all the hassles that most companies endure at that time. Operations were hardly affected and not a single call was missed. (InfoWorld Nederland)

Philippine Computer Society's (PCS) position on House Bill 5769 - the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill

This is the Philippine Computer Society's (PCS) position on House Bill 5769 otherwise known as the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill.

1. The Philippine Computer Society, composed of the country’s leading ICT professionals and practitioners from the business, academe and government sectors, believes strongly that both the government and the private sector should continue to have the freedom to choose either open source software or proprietary, commercial software. This is because the decision to choose one or the other -- or even both -- should be based on a careful assessment of the specific needs and objectives of an organization and not forced upon them by legal fiat;
   
2. Both open source and commercial software have their corresponding merits and benefits that they bring to an organization's operations in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness, mission-criticality, technical support, service level performance standards, and so on and so forth. The two kinds of software need not be mutually exclusive. In fact they can be used together in an integral and complimentary manner way, allowing a company access to the best of both worlds so to speak;
   
3. By mandating the use of open source software, the government will effectively deprive itself and the public from making full and optimal use of software, which has become essential to a company’s viability and competitiveness. Organizations in both the public and private sectors would be forced to use software that does not exactly meet their needs but that they have to make do with because that would be as far as the law would allow. That would be tantamount to handicapping private companies in doing their business, rather than giving them the freedom and flexibility to survive and progress in an increasingly-competitive global business environment. It may also handicapped government agencies in delivering services to their respective constituencies. Moreover, billions of pesos have already been invested in the acquisition, training and use of contracted software. To mandate the use of open source would be tantamount also to throwing these investments down the drain, so to speak. Incidentally, Article III, Section 10 of the Philippine Constitution states that “No law curtailing the obligation of contracts shall be passed”. Since the license and use of proprietary, commercial software are covered by contracts, mandating the use of open source may be a violation of the aforementioned constitutional provision;
   
4. The PCS is also not in favor of a certain provision in the bill declaring it unlawful for educational institutions to offer professional certification programs for proprietary software unless they also offer a similar certification program for FOSS. We believe that this is not only an encroachment on academic freedom – it adds additional burden and expense to schools that they may not be able to fulfill and may result in their closure. Longer-term, it could have the effect of reducing the number of schools offering such certification courses and limiting opportunities for Filipinos to take up certification programs that would assure them of guaranteed employment here or abroad;
   
5. Passage of the FOSS Bill will also effectively isolate the Philippine ICT industry from the rest of the world where dynamic growth continues to take place precisely because an environment of freedom and competitiveness and protection for intellectual property rights exists in most other countries. At this time when the Philippines is finally making good economic progress, with ICT as one of its main drivers, the Philippines cannot afford to be put at a great disadvantage as the FOSS bill would surely do if passed into law;
   
6. We strongly believe that Government policies should remain neutral and not show preference or bias towards certain operating and application systems over others. The government must protect freedom of choice and competition for it is through competition where innovation thrives and new, revolutionary products emerge.

In conclusion, the PCS is not against FOSS. On the contrary, the PCS is for encouraging organizations, government and private, to avail for themselves the best of both worlds. But what we cannot agree to is curtailing the freedom of organizations, including government agencies, government-owned and/or -controlled corporations, public elementary and high schools, and state colleges and universities, to decide for themselves the most appropriate and cost-effective software to utilize to address their needs. Thus, we pray that this freedom should not be taken away.

PSIA Opposes HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006

Below is PSIA's position paper on HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006.

As the representative organization of the Philippine software industry, the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) strongly opposes HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006, as sponsored by House Representative Teodoro Casino.

As an industry association, we encourage the fostering of forward-thinking, innovation and creativity – necessary characteristics of a healthy software industry and essential pillars of the FLY HIGH 2010 software industry targets. This runs counter to the promotion of one technology platform or business model over another.

The companies comprising the Philippine software industry employ a diverse range of technology platforms – using both open source and proprietary software – running the entire gamut of functionalities and price-points. We believe that both users and developers of software should have the freedom of choice as to which technology can best address their unique business needs and requirements. In this sense, technology is only a tool and not an end in itself. As anyone running a business will attest, the point is never the tool itself but the business requirement it seeks to address.

To mandate the use of one technology platform over all others, without consideration of what best serves a specific business requirement, is short-sighted, myopic and a disservice to both users and developers of software – as well as to the Filipino people, whose best interests are compromised by limiting the technology options from which to choose to serve their requirements.

If government’s aim is to optimize the use of technology in the exercise of its agencies’ obligations to the public, then this objective is best met by observing the following:

1. Government needs to spend more time defining its information system requirements and the evaluation criteria which will determine which solution and technology platform can best serve such requirements.
2. Government’s procurement processes must be examined and modified to ensure a fair, transparent and rational technology selection process. This will lead to healthy competition among providers ensuring that government is able to choose the best and most appropriate solutions to meet its requirements.
3. Government has no business or expertise mandating the use of one technology platform over the other. Government’s role is to partner with the private sector in providing the environment and business framework in which innovation, creativity and freedom of informed choice can thrive, especially in the area of technology which is characterized by dynamism and disruptive change.

Separately, the government should consider the role of the Philippine software industry as a generator of revenue and employment for the country. In 2005 alone, PSIA member firms accounted for over $200 million in earnings and 14,000 in employment. Our targets are to increase these numbers to $1 billion and 100,000 respectively by 2010. However, our achievement of these targets will be a function of our ability to offer the global market diverse, flexible and scaleable skill sets across various technology platforms. HOUSE BILL 5769 compromises this ability in several ways. Among them are:

1. As a major user of IT, government has the opportunity, some will say – the responsibility, to jump start the creation of industry skills across these various platforms . By limiting government agencies to a technology platform, government prevents a level playing field in which various technology providers can compete and establish an experience and revenue base in the domestic market.
2. As a supposed enabler of the local software industry, one of government’s roles should be to collaborate with the private sector and academe in ensuring that our educational institutions are able to prepare our graduates with the correct skill sets required by the market. In this context, imposing restrictions on what kind of training can be offered defies all logic and reason.

We urge the proponents of HOUSE BILL NO. 5769 to step back and reconsider the implications of their proposal. We should focus on common interests and not positions. Mandating a technology platform over all others is a position. Ensuring that government agencies and the Filipino people are able to optimize their technology choices in is an interest we all share.

Signed:

PHILIPPINE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

E-Services Philippines 2007

Preparations are on the way for E-Services Philippines 2007. This is an annual event to look forward to as industry players and government get to assess its performance and next steps that can be taken to bolster the country's branding and positioning further.

As the Department of Trade and Industry takes an aggressive leadership on pushing for e-commerce developments in the country, there's much to share and report at E-Services Philippines 2007.

Integreon Expands Relationship with Law Firm

Integreon Managed Solutions is setting up a 600-seat service center in Delhi to support the administrative functions of Clifford Chance, the world’s largest law firm. It has recently completed a management-led buyout, in partnership with Philippines-based Ayala Corp. The company has also announced plans to build a service facility in Manila. (Outsourcing World)

Philippines have edge in legal research services

India may lose out to Philippines in the field of legal research services to US-based organisations. Although the number of professionals in the Philippines in this field is only 750 versus 1,750 in India, the Philippines is expected to accommodate 10,000 professionals in 2010 compared to 7,000 in India. (Business Standard)

ClientLogic to buy Sitel for $450 million

Nashville-based ClientLogic Corp. will triple in size with a plan to pick up its larger rival Sitel Corp. for roughly $450 million. The company has grown in recent years both in the U.S. and abroad, adding call centers in places such as Mexico and the Philippines to meet the growing demand for outsourcing. (Tennessean.com)

Dealing with data theft

There's a recent documentary shown in India that blew the lid on data theft. The Philippines, through the Department of Trade and Industry as implementor of the E-Commerce Law, prescribed rules and regulations on the protection of personal data in an information and communication systems.

However, to properly execute, a data privacy organization that is private sector led must be formed, who will relentlessly run after abusers of data. Anyone interested?

Davao City Eyeing Saudi Investments

GOVERNMENT officials and businessmen comprising the Davao City trade mission to Saudi Arabia on November 10 to 16 are expected to woo Saudi investors to the city’s Business Process Outsourcing sector. (The Saudi Gazette)

Dell to open 2nd call center in Philippines

Dell plans to open a second call center in the Philippines early next year to provide additional tech support for its U.S. customers. It will also increase the number of staff from 700 to 1400. (NetworkWorld)

Unilever outsources HR service to Accenture

Consumer products giant Unilever will outsource its entire human resources services functions to Accenture. Unilever operations in 100 countries are covered in the 7-year contract which will see work being outsourced to several centers worldwide. (Business Standard)

Americans Increasingly Concerned About Outsourcing Personal Data, Survey Reveals

A new survey sponsored by global law firm. White & Case LLP, and developed by independent privacy think tank Ponemon Institute, found that the majority of American consumers do not want US companies sharing personal information with outsourcing companies overseas. Philippines, Mexico, Haiti and Russia received the lowest trust rankings. (GovTech)

DaveTV does video outsourcing to Philippines

Video web sites, like everyone else these days, are looking for places to offshore some business functions. For DaveTV, a start-up founded by Rex Wong, it's the Philippines. (CNET News)

Mindanao takes on outsourcing challenges

Hi everyone. Our DigitalFilipino.com Podcast Episode 4 is now online featuring DigitalFilipino.com Club Members Rodney Jao (Davao) and Stephanie Caragos (Cagayan De Oro) where they shared their insights as how their respective cities are tackling the challenges of Mindanao as an outsourcing destination.

or download it.

Aranca opens Manila office

Aranca is the first international firm so far, to begin research operations in Phillipines, branded as a low cost call centre destination. The company provides investment, business and economic research services to over 70 clients in the UK, US, Australia and Asia. (Moneycontrol India)

Real estate developments and IT

As the Philippines outsourcing sector grows and more destinations vying for investors, the real estate sector seems to be slow in catching up. I tackled this in my column today.

Check out these related postings too:

• Can Mindanao be a player in the Outsourcing Market? (by Bob Martin)
• Jason Banico's additional insight on the topic

Motif goes global, to set up facility in Philippines

According to Business Standard, Motif will be opening a 2 million dollar facility in the Philippines and shall focus on voice-based services. It is eyeing on starting with 200 employees and expect to surge up to 1500.

The politics of software

I finally got the strength to publish this article. Let market forces prevail!

Building software intellectual property value

My column piece at Sun.Star last week is about building software intellectual property value. Frank Holz and I got a good discussion about this in our podcast episode 3.

Paxys Inc buys Smart Salary for $36.7m

Philippine call center Paxys Inc. is acquiring Australia's second largest outsourced salary packaging company, Smart Salary Pty Ltd., for $A36.7 million in cash and stocks. This is equivalent to 29.8 million shares of the company. (The Age)

Promoting the Philippine software sector

Here's an article that I've re-written to adjust its applicability today. Despite the Philippine software industry's growth, effort must be continuously undertaken to ensure that the country becomes CMMI self-sufficient to meet its 2010 vision.

ICT GROUP Reports 2006 First Quarter Revenue of $113.1 Million

John J. Brennan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ICT GROUP reported the 1st quarter 2006 performance of the company with 40% increase in services revenue. The company has 1910 workstation seats in the Philippines and shall add 500 more this year to meet increased client demand. (source: BusinessWire)

Philippines' fall in global IT not a setback

The Philippines' fall from a latest worldwide IT survey is not really a concern and Filipinos should even be inspired about it, according to a high-ranking BPO (business process outsourcing) trainer. (Source: Webwereld)

ClientLogic Continues to Earn Worldwide Accolades for Customer Care Services

ClientLogic, an international business process outsourcing provider, announced that the Company has been recognized by nine global organizations and publications for excellence in customer care, outsourcing services and agent development. The Company also received four awards in the Philippines, according to CRM Today.

Philscan optimistic about Philippines as expanding outsourcing partner

(This is an update of the article we wrote a few years back - "Danish-Filipino IT company continues to expand in spite of dull market")

Danish/Filipino company Philippine and Scandinavian IT Services has been one of the steady web-development company for the past 6 years.

Its unique combination of Scandinavian design and quality coupled with Philippine IT expertise at local price levels, continues to be the backbone of it's production. The production is primarily for Denmark and other European countries, but also companies and organisations in the Philippines are increasingly appreciating the value of the design and quality offered by the company.

Philscan.com's web production is a mix of custom-made dynamic CMS solutions, CMS templates and modules, static html and flash sites, hosting and service agreements. It has also involved itself in web-based software development on project basis as well as IT-development and services based on hourly payment. Among the projects recently completed are an online telemarketing system for a Danish customer, and a genealocigal software for a Norwegian company.

President and CEO of Philscan.com, Per Stangegaard (Danish) believes that there continues to be big opportunities for Philippine produced services overseas, provided the Philippine companies partner up with foreign know-how in the individual markets, and he invites other Philippine companies to offer their services through philscan.com, especially for the Scandinavian markets.

“We welcome partners, and prefer to keep our own organization to a core of a few very experienced staff, and project coordinators. There is a natural skepticism in Europe against outsourcing to unknown companies in foreign countries, and the piles of offers received from overseas, are normally being totally ignored, unless they are presented “live” by nationals of the targeted countries and by suppliers with their own presence and control in the country of production. Philscan therefore increasingly see a role as a link/facilitator between the best Philippine suppliers/producers, and it's Scandinavian customers"

Per Stangegaard adds "In the Philippines we have teamed up with i.a. http://www.worldpartner.com whose services we thus also promote to our markets, and we welcome such partnerships with local providers of top quality products and services."

He continues: "It is not only from the Philippines that we welcome partners. There is an increasing interest among our customers to set up joint-ventures in the Philippines. We have in 2005 set up one such seperate joint-venture company, Langhoff Promotions (Phils.) Inc. which, apart from offering that company's corporate profiling products and gifts/give-aways in the Philippines, is now producing all the IT and graphic/creative design needs af Langhoff Promotion in Europe.

"I think that such partnerships will increase in the future, and I could well see Philscan.com enter into more joint-ventures with European and American companies who want the security of having ownership in their own service organization abroad. We welcome this development, and one of the main problems to solve may be the limit of 200.000 USD needed for foreign investors to own more than 40% of such joint-ventures. This holds back many small and medium sized foreign companies from investing in the Philippines."

Per Stangegaard (47) first lived in the Philippines from 1983 to 1991, and returned in 2000 to permanently set up base in this country. "Having lived in, and visited a great number of countries, I found that the Philippines for me, has the right combination of people qualities, competitiveness, and quality of life that I wanted to combine with my native Denmark's many qualities, but cold weather. It creates a good balance in my life, so that is why I have made it my purpose to introduce and build on Denmark's and the Philippines' strong points to each other," he ends.

Philscan.com is a fully owned subsidiary of Philippine and Scandinavian design, FILTRA Inc.

Call Center Outsourcing Gets Easier

James Stinson’s company Global Sky, operates a call center operations facility in Manila, which is fully setup for inbound and outbound calling to places like the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and many other countries worldwide. Stinson is an American businessman with years of offshore contracting experience, says that it takes extra care and contracting skill to outsource properly and acquire the assurances and control to ensure your project functions effectively and remains in safe hands. (PR Web)

Interview with Lance Rosenzweig, PeopleSupport

SocalTech interviewed Lance Rosenzweig of PeopleSupport as to how PeopleSupport evolved. According to Rosenzweig, its migration of operations to the Philippines is one of the three important decisions they have made, that contributed to their survival and success in business.

Ingram Micro May Offer Outsourced Backroom Ops for VARs

Following its own success in outsourcing telephone contact with VARs to the Philippines and other location, Ingram Micro is working on a program to allow VARs to outsource some of their backroom operations, according to The Channel Insider.

Lawson shifts Philippines operations into high gear

According to Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, Lawson Software Inc. is currently ramping up its staff, targeting a total of 200 employees, to do software development, customer support, and administrative tasks. Lawson CEO Harry Debes believes that the Philippines facility will efficiently extend the company's global reach.

Cigna healthcare to send work to Philippines

Cost saving is usually the reason why companies bring work to countries like the Philippines, according to this SearchCIO article interviewing a Gartner executive.

John Harris on Philippines advantage

John Harris, CEO of eTelecare, talked about deciding factors that made the company built most of its infrastructure in the Philippines and be able to offer high-quality outsourced customer care, in this TMCnet interview.

DSO signs up with AMA University

According to MENAFN, the Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) signed up with AMA University of the Philippines to groom technical graduates. The DSO is a facility developed by the Dubai Government to transform the emirate into a knowledge economy.

Philippines a silent outsourcing star

Interesting story from The Mercury News on the predicament of Filipino workers and immigrants overseas. I can relate to it. Despite that, Michael Backman still sees the Philippines as a silent outsourcing star.

Baker and McKenzie sends more work to Manila

According to ZDNet Australia, Baker and McKenzie plans to alleviate its Sydney and Melbourne offices of their workload by sending more work to Manila. The company has saved US$4 million since it opened its Manila center in the year 2000.

RR Donnelley takes controlling stake in Office Tiger

IndiaOutsourceWatch reported that Office Tiger has been acquired by RR Donnelley & Sons Co. in a US$250 million cash deal. Office Tiger provides BPO services to Fortune 100 companies through its operations in UK, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.

GenPact to set up in Philippines

According to ICE World, GenPact, formerly known as GE Capital Information Services, shall set up a global delivery services center in the Philippines and hire 1500 employees to handle voice-based transactions. A similar facility shall also be put up in Poland. GenPact also has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with NDTV to provide video editing, digitization, and graphics to news channel worldwide, according to The Financial Express. The company is facing challenges as well in preparation for its initial public offering.

Hinduja TMT rolls out Employee Stock Option Plan

According to Television Point, Hinduja TMT rolls out Employee Stock Option Plan for all its eligible managers globally that includes India, Philippines, Mauritius, Canada, and USA. This rollout is part of the company's vision to be a competitive player in outsourcing.

Citigroup ready to exit Progeon

According to the Business Standard, Citigroup is ready to exit Progeon, the business process outsourcing arm of Infosys. Citigroup holds a 23 per cent stake in Progeon. The valuation is expected to fetch Citigroup about US$140 million. This is part of InfoSys moves to make Progeon a wholly owned subsidiary and increase its service competitiveness.

Progeon has offices in India, Czech Republic, and the Philippines.

BSA Released 2005 Domestic Software Industry Development Study

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) released the results of its 2005 Domestic Software Industry Development Study highlighting the views of IT professionals in Asia on the development of the domestic software industry, together with statistics reflecting the views of IT professionals in the Philippines.

The key conclusions of survey are that IT professionals in Asia clearly believe that the government needs to play an important role in facilitating the development of the domestic software industry, particularly in terms of training and education. Industry self-regulation is preferred by the IT professionals as being more desirable than government-defined policies. IT professionals view the role of the government as fostering an environment of free competition such that all parties can compete freely in the market.

The survey reflects that there is substantial awareness among IT professionals in Asia about availability of open source options for software development, but the level and depth of understanding about open source and commercial software offering varies. There is expectation that open source solutions will bring about greater choice. It is a commonly held belief that the open source and commercial software models can and should co-exist.

This survey covered eight countries in Asia – China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam – to provide a representative cross section of the countries in Asia. 100 private sector IT professionals were surveyed in each country, totaling 800. IT professionals employed by the government were not included in the study. IT professionals surveyed are individuals who are IT executives, directors, managers, officers, whose primary job function is in a full time IT, software development, information systems or MIS department of a private organization. The survey was conducted by IPSOS Public Affairs, an independent research and survey company commissioned by BSA.

Printer firm looks forward

Lexmark CEO Paul Curlander got interviewed in this article by the Lexington Herald-Leader and was asked to confirm reports if the company is moving its color-science facility in the Philippines.

AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE PHILIPPINE IT SERVICES INDUSTRY

I got this email message from Fermin Taruc, president of the Philippine Software Industry Association.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Philippine IT Services industry consists of companies in the business of animation, call center and contact center operations, , business process outsourcing, medical transcription and software development. Collectively, these companies generated over $2 billion in export revenue in 2005. In total, the industry currently provides employment to 160,000 professionals. Our target is to reach $12 billion in annual revenue by 2010, providing employment to over 1 million Filipinos.

We are proud to say the Philippines is now mentioned as one of the preferred sources of IT services world-wide. While our entry-point into the global market has been our low costs, we are increasingly gaining attention for our quality, reliability and expertise.

It is easy to understand why. The Philippines has a pool of qualified professionals, cited frequently as among the best in the world. Local companies are investing in aligning their processes with international standards. Our telecommunications infrastructure is among the most competitive in the region. Our business incentives, grown over several administrations, are designed to attract foreign investment. Our list of high-profile international clients continues to expand.

The industry’s impact on the economy can be further multiplied if we consider the trickle-down effect on other local industries. The IT Services companies and their employees have emerged as prime consumers for other goods and services

We are confident in our industry’s abilities to reach its targets and to further increase its contribution to the economy. However, we cannot do it alone. A concerted effort among all stakeholders is required. We have to make sure that our schools produce enough graduates for us to hire. We have to make sure that government policies are in place to attract and retain investors. We have to make sure that we maintain an environment where Filipino professionals are given progressive opportunities to enhance their skills, careers & standards of living without the need to leaving our country.

We also have to make sure that our foreign customers and partners have the assurance that our ability to fulfill their requirements is not compromised or disrupted because of an unstable external environment.

We know that our business fundamentals as an industry remain strong . We have withstood all kinds of crises in the past. But, in our business, the perception of continuity and reliability is a key consideration. The global market is sensitive to isolated local incidents and can interpret these out of proportion.

We respect every party’s right to voice an opinion. Our industry has been, and will continue to be, an active participant in promoting transparency and good governance in our society. However, while there are national issues that cannot be ignored and need to be resolved, our call is for everyone to proceed with rationality, sobriety, responsibility and consideration. We have processes in place, let us use them and improve on them where necessary.

The Philippine IT Services industry provides an opportunity for the country to achieve long-term economic growth and stability. Let us not waste the opportunity. No less than 1,000,000 jobs depend on it.

Signed:

Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI)
Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P)
Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines (MTIAPI)
Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA)

Call Center Philippines 2006 Job Fair

The Call Center Philippines 2006 Job Fair, set on March 18-19, 2006 at the EXPO Trade Hall of Festival Supermall Alabang expects a multitude of applicants as it features the country’s largest business process outsourcing companies, information and communication technology institutions, call centers, local and international IT related recruitment firms, training agencies and other allied companies.

Applicants in this event have the edge to be hired on the spot as it brings on complete recruitment procedure starting from initial interviews, to testing and to the eventual on the spot job offer.

Interested applicants are suggested to bring several copies of their resume. For more information, please call PHILTRADE Exhibits at 8253482 or 8250804.

Baker & McKenzie given recognition for its offshoring work in the Philippines

Baker & McKenzie scooped two awards at this year's Legal Technology Awards with the Firm's global CIO, Sue Hall, named as IT director of the year and the Firm's offshoring work in the Philippines as best outsourcing/offshoring project for 2006.

Sue Hall was appointed CIO at Baker & McKenzie in April 2004 and leads a team of almost 400 IT professionals. Sue was rewarded for a number of key achievements including her successful management and coordination of IT across 70 offices worldwide and her leadership in delivering global initiatives such as the implementation of a standard document management system and the setting up of a global help-desk function in the Firm's offshore centre in the Philippines.

The Outsourcng/Offshoring Award was given in recognition of the Firm's success in placing its global help desk, computer programming service and network operations centre offshore in Manila. These have already delivered significant annual cost savings and improved service delivery across the Firm's 9000 staff.

Russell Lewin, partner and a member of the Firm's executive committee commented: "Technology is the essential nervous system for any legal business and, as such, its functional quality and efficiency makes an enormous difference to organisational health. Allied to her formidable energy and organisational savvy, Sue has a genuine feel for the underlying drivers of the Firm as well as a rare ability to make technology explicable. What she and the IT team in Manila have achieved is truly ground breaking. I am delighted that she, and they, have received this public recognition for their achievements."

The Legal Technology Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in the provision and implementation of technology solutions for the benefit of legal practice and recognise the success of the firms and vendors, clients and suppliers, who are at the cutting edge. The Awards are run in association with Legal Business magazine and the winners were announced on 19 January 2006.

E-Services Philippines - Regional IT Hubs Forum

Eversince E-Services Philipppines (http://www.e-servicesphils.com/) started, DigitalFilipino.com has been an active partner and helped in bringing provincial and corporate players participate in this event.

This year, we are very glad to be given the opportunity to participate once again by being the co-organizer of the IT Hubs tracks that shall take place on February 17.

Everyone is invited to register and participate in this free tracks. Details on how to register can be found below. The program as follows:

PRESENTATION OF REGIONAL IT HUBS
Showcasing the Best of the Regions
17 February 2006, Mactan 1 Room, EDSA Shangri-La Hotel Manila

8:00 Registration, Coffee and Tea

8:30 Opening Remarks
Undersecretary Carissa Cruz (invited)
Regional Operations Group, Department of Trade and Industry

9:00 Boosting Telco Infrastructure to Develop Regional ICT Hubs
Bayan Telecommunications
BayanTel supports the government’s strategic direction for the development of regional ICT hubs by providing telecommunications and connectivity solutions.

PRESENTATION BY REGIONAL HUBS
Five years ago, the Philippines, through the Department of Trade and Industry, began its "Make IT Philippines" campaign and packaged the country as "E-Services Hub of Asia." Outside Metro Manila, many cities and provinces are finding their niches as IT hubs, welcoming investors and locators for various BPO-oriented services. Following is a presentation of regional capability and each region’s stake as a premier ICT investment, software, and e-services hub not only in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia.

9:15 Zamboanga
9:30 General Santos
9:45 Cagayan de Oro
10:00 Leyte
10:15 Bacolod
10:30 Bohol
10:45 Cebu
11:00 Bataan
11:15 Bulacan
11:30 Pangasinan
11:45 Open Forum

12:00 Closing remarks
Commissioner Dondi Mapa
Commission on Information and Communications Technology

To register in this FREE affair, please email me the following at digitalfilipino@gmail.com (please cite IT Hubs registration as subject):

Name:
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