A combination of low call center costs, a solid telecommunications infrastructure, and an educated workforce has made the 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.

"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," Kiewe said in a press release.

Some study respondents expressed concern for India's capacity to support more call centers without incurring higher costs and lower quality of service.

The Philippines makes a strong alternative with plenty of positives related to opening a corporate call center, but Kiewe cautions that corporations should not blindly sign on the dotted line without a 360(degrees) business scan to properly investigate if any offshore market is best suited to their call center needs.