Manila, Philippines [4 January 2021] - With the BPO industry enjoying a steady stream of revenues and providing millions of jobs to Filipinos, the global health pandemic of 2020 greatly affected the status of most of the companies under the BPO industry, with the mentioned jobs also in peril.

Many of the call centers were forced to switch to a Work from Home (WFH) setup, with safety and health as top priority, as well as the challenges in transportation for workers. The transition from office to home had to be carefully considered, with as little disruption as possible for the continued service being offered by these hundreds of companies. The lockdown implemented nationwide by the government presented a unique and challenging situation for the Philippine BPO market, with companies altering plans and projections which will set to strengthen its presence despite the extreme challenges.

The IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the enabling association for the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry in the Philippines, in its latest survey showed that most companies, which had shifted its business strategy from office to home due to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, are now averaging 70% work from home setup, and that it projects that in 2021 and beyond, the country will have 50-70% WFH workers.

With this surge and continuance of WFH setups, PLDT Enterprise has committed to continue supporting the BPO Industry by offering various digital solutions that assure both BPO clients and employees that the shift to WFH does not hinder the continuous premium service that have always been offered to customers.

Since September 2020, PLDT Enterprise has started migrating its customers’ existing copper lines to fiber lines for a strengthened, faster connectivity. As it has always supported call centers and the BPO Industry for many years with its connectivity solutions, the global health crisis that saw entrepreneurs across all industries shift to digital technology saw the necessity for a more secure solution. The new normal that all industries are now adapting, and with the growing needs of the BPO sector, the WFH setup demanded a reliable, safe, and secure solutions.

Mitch Locsin, PLDT FVP & Enterprise Revenue Group Head, says that they have always been supportive of and committed to the BPO industry. “We are not just providing connectivity to the BPO sector. We are also providing the BPO industry with various solutions, keeping in mind what these companies need for an uninterrupted business while assuring workers of their jobs being done from the comforts of their homes.”

PLDT Enterprise now provides the BPO industry with solutions that cater to the needs of the BPO industry sector, with the following:

a strengthened cyber security solution through the ePLDT Cyber Security Endpoint Advanced Security, business-grade internet and digital solutions through BEYOND FIBER, a secure, simplified WFH experience through Virtual Desktop, and the PLDT ZAP (Zero-Trust Acceleration Platform solution), which complements PLDT Enterprise’s broad range of data connectivity solutions, further fortifying its thrust to foster adoption towards software defined networking

With the transition from office to home, together with the strong support of PLDT Enterprise providing various solutions for the shift to digital technology, the BPO industry is assured that enterprises and employees continue to provide top-notch service to customers, with strengthened, secure, faster and reliable solutions.