With an overall industry growth rate of 35 percent, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is benchmarking global process standards and skills mapping to further enhance the Philippines' targeted marketing and promotional efforts in the U.S., EU, and Asia, according to Jeanette Carillo, Department of Trade and Industry brand manager for IT services.

Pioneering Landmark ICT Collaboration in Asia

"We're developing an inventory of skills in various locations nationwide which will enable us to confidently point investors to places that can deliver," Carillo said. "Right now, we're seeing growth in back office services and Cebu can play a major role in supplying the requirements of this sector."

Back office services include such things as claims processing, HR management, and accounting functions. Cebu is also considered an ideal site for such value-added services as market research and analysis, legal research and related services, and equities brokering. Cebu also offers an attractive lifestyle alternative for expatriates and knowledge workers alike, providing the benefits of living in a low-cost, tropical location without the crowding typical of larger urban areas.

The DTI attributes the industry's high growth to the continuous expansion of early locators, the entry of new global players and their immediate ramp up, as well as greater interest in investing in the Philippines in general. It has identified seven priority ICT and BPO target sectors: contact center, back office business process outsourcing, health information management, animation, software development, engineering design and more recently, game development.

"Our strategy is to let investors see and experience the country for themselves," said Domingo Bagaporo, director of the ICT and electronics department of the Board of Investments. "We regularly conduct outbound missions to facilitate networking and business matching, and organize the annual e-Services Conference and Exhibition. The Cebu ICT 2007 conference and exhibition is definitely a great complement to all these efforts."

Carrying the theme "Pioneering Landmark ICT Collaboration in Asia," the Cebu ICT 2007 Conference and Exhibition (www.cebuict2007.com) takes place June 26-27. It features more than 75 experts and top executives from global and Asian ICT and BPO firms, industry suppliers and associations in plenary sessions at Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort and Spa June 26, and in breakout sessions at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) June 27. It will also host a three-day exhibition showcasing the best of the regional BPO space June 26-28 at CICC.

Cebu ICT 2007 is organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) as part of its annual Cebu Business Month (CBM) festival. CBM aims to celebrate the achievements of the Cebu business sector, and promote the province to investors.

"We will continue to implement focused target marketing," Carillo said. "That's how we got the attention of the leading contact centers in the world. And in terms of country promotion and assisting investors, we have a 100 percent success rate getting prospects to decide in our favor."

Carillo observed, "Cebu's promotion is very tactical and strategic, and it makes an impact on the country as a whole. We welcome the efforts of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and believe in the capability of Cebu to deliver on its promise."

CCCI retained strategic marketing communications firm TeamAsia (www.teamasia.com) to organize and manage Cebu ICT 2007. TeamAsia is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and is one of Asia's most successful professional conference organizers.