As the Philippines maintains its position as the leading provider of voice services in the world, it also continues to post rapid growth as a non-voice service provider, according to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). 

BPAP figures show that in 2011, the country’s non-voice services – a sub-sector of the business process outsourcing industry – posted 30 percent growth as the entire IT-BPO sector achieved 24 percent growth. 

Growth in non-voice services is due to the strengthening of service delivery in software, financial services, legal services, insurance, logistics, media, engineering, IT, healthcare, and human resources, according to BPAP senior executive director Gillian Virata.

The BPAP official added that the demand for new outsourced services is increasing and there is enormous potential for non-voice and other emerging services. 

Virata explained that the IT-BPO industry has evolved into what she described as an “industry of industries,” which offers a number of opportunities to deliver non-voice services to a wide variety of industry sectors.

Consultancy and research firm Everest Group recently forecast that non-voice will contribute 90 percent of the total 2012 global revenues of outsourced services, which is expected to reach $220-280 billion. 

In 2011, non-voice services produced 33 percent of the $11 billion total revenue of the Philippines’ IT-BPO industry.