AI, global competition is forcing the Philippine IT-BPM industry to narrow its targets
By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Journalist
PHILIPPINE INFORMATION technology-business process management industry (IT-BPM) has lowered its revenue and employment targets for 2028, citing the rapid adoption of artificial in.the phoneligence (AI) and reinforcement world competition.
In its updated line, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) indicated that under the worst case scenario, the IT-BPM industry could post a revenue of 43.3 billion dollars and 1.85 million. to an AI-enabled workforce by 2028.
Under the best-case scenario, the industry is expected to generate $50.5 billion in revenue and increase its value to $2.14 billion by 2028.
These revised targets are significantly lower than IBPAP’s original projection of $59 billion in revenue and 2.5 million full-time employees by 2028 under its previous roadmap.
IBPAP President and CEO Jack Madrid said the revised forecast has created disruptions caused by the rapid adoption of AI, changes in consumer behavior, and heightened competition in the global IT-BPM industry.
“We reviewed some of the strategic plans that we need to initiate to ensure that our industry continues to grow and face any changes in the plans that are necessary given all the events that have happened in the last few years. It’s not just technology and agent AI but we also face the uncertainty caused by geopolitics and our domestic opportunities and challenges,” he said on Tuesday.
Mr. Madrid noted that the industrial road, which was first started in 2022, has been “renewed” as many conditions have changed.
Mr. Madrid noted that international buyers took a long time before Making a decision to invest in an offshore opciting the growth of other IT-BPM hubs in South Africa, Egypt, Poland, Vietnam, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
“We are number two in global IT-BPM [industry,]” he said, noting that India remains a top BPO player.
According to the worst case scenario in 2028, Mr. Madrid said the IBPAP focused on issues related to policy that could discourage investors, the depth of talent, the quality of infrastructure, and challenges to the ease of doing business.
This year, industry revenue is expected to reach $42.3 billion from $40 billion in 2025. The total number is expected to increase to 1.96 million full-time workers from 1.9 million last year.
By 2027, IBPAP expects the industry to grow to $45.3 billion in revenue and 1.99 million full-time employees.
“Success will depend on how quickly we invest in talent, embrace AI responsibly, and deepen collaboration between industry, government, and academia,” said Mr.
IBPAP said developing an AI-enabled IT-BPM workforce will require strong AI knowledge, deep domain knowledge, and a strong emphasis on human skills such as judgment, critical thinking, empathy, and leadership.
Mr. Madrid also emphasized the need to position the Philippines as a hub for global talent centers (GCC). Currently, the country hosts about 200 GCCs.
“In terms of the GCC, I think the growth sectors come from banking, financial services, and healthcare,” he said.
In AI, Mr. Madrid said the IT-BPM industry has yet to see its widespread impact.
“I think AI is a real advance, but I think we haven’t really seen it take off yet,” he said. “AI has affected other jobs…
Meanwhile, IBPAP Chief Operating Officer Celeste B. Ilagan said there is a need for policies to promote ease of doing business and deal with domestic cybercrime.
“What we see as a challenge is that the existing investors in the country, who might have expanded a lot but were hindered by other policy and regulatory challenges, now have the opposite mindset about the expansion they had previously planned in the Philippines,” he said the same.
“There is always a question from the customer headquarters about the growth of the diffability to work with our local government units. That is one of the major issues raised by our members,” said Ms. Ilagan.
