Call Center Establishment Philippines

Over the last decade, the Philippines has emerged as the world’s largest and leading offshore call center outsourcing solutions provider. What started in the year 2000 with less than 10 call centers has grown to more than 800 CRM and BPO companies today. Some of the first call center service providers that established a presence in the Philippines were Sykes, C3, eTelecare (now: Stream International), Ambergris Solutions (now: Telus International) and People Support (now: Aegis).

Approximately two years after these call centers established their presence in the Philippines, the world’s larger CRM providers (e.g. Convergys) began establishing their own call centers in the country. In those early days almost all call center operations in the Philippines located in Makati and Ortigas Center but today a large number of new call centers are actually being set up outside of Metro Manila.

The main drivers behind the incredible growth of the Philippine call center industry is the country’s close cultural affinity to the US, excellent English language proficiency and the country’s outstanding IT and telco infrastructure.

The number of foreign owned call centers in the Philippines has grown by over 30% over the last five years alone and today approximately 60 % of all call centers in the country are foreign owned and/or operated.

Call Center Establishment Options for Foreign-based Companies

Foreign-based companies that are considering the possibility of establishing a call center presence in the Philippines have the following market entry options:

1) Option 1: Call Center Facility Lease

The lease of an entire call center facility or a small number of seats within an existing call center facility is an option that allows companies to almost immediately operate in the country without having to shoulder a heavy cash layout for a building and facility maintenance. This option is ideal for small- to medium-sized companies.

Option 2: Foreign Direct Investment Philippines

Medium to large sized corporations and third party outsourcers also have the option to establish their own call center facilities in the Philippines. This option, however, requires a heavy upfront investment and usually takes anywhere between three to six months to complete. The advantage of this option is that the company maintains full control and ownership of the call center facility and its operation. This option is advisable for enterprises with a high level of liquidity and/or for companies that have decided to stay in the Philippines for the long-term.

Over the last five years the process of establishing a call center presence in the Philippines has not only become much faster and easier but also cheaper. For example the cost of broadband connections have dropped by more than 40% over the last few years alone .

Over the last two years the leasing of fully furnished and equipped call center facilities has become very popular. Even some of the world’s largest providers are now using the call center facility lease model to support their growth.