A combination of low call center costs, solid telecommunications infrastructure, and an educated workforce has made Philippines an attractive option for North American companies struggling to reduce costs in a challenging economy, a new study from Info-Tech Research Group reveals.

While India maintains a small lead in call center outsourcing having attracted $US 4.7 billion in revenue in fiscal 2008, the Philippines captured $US 4 billion making it the second largest call center outsourcing player globally, a statement from Info-Tech Research Group says.

"The continuing upsurge of call centers in the Philippines is attributed to high quality service delivered by educated English-speaking agents with accents similar to their North American callers," said Howard Kiewe, senior research analyst with Info-Tech Research Group. "This lesser known call center hub is a key contender for many international corporations attempting to lower their costs through outsourcing their call centers."

Enterprises that have already opened call centers in the Philippines include Dell, Citibank, AOL, HSBC, Convergys, Sykes, and Telus. According to Kiewe's research note "Contact Center Offshoring: Philippines, the Big Destination?" published in September, most of these enterprises are continuing to expand their offshore call centers despite the economic troubles in North America.

The Info-Tech Research Group study was based on data from field research conducted in the Philippines that included site visits and interviews of contact center executives, their workers and other industry leaders.