40 million SMEs to seek outsourced services in the next 20 years

At least 40 million small and medium enterprises from all over the world will be seeking outsourced services from 2022-2042. 

Outsource Accelerator’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Derek Gallimore projects that in the next 20 years small and medium enterprises across the globe will be turning to outsourcing. And the Philippines, according to Gallimore, is set to be a major provider of outsourced services. 

“The [support] of DICT and the government, [digital] infrastructure development, and the private sector’s assistance is the pathway for the country to connect to the global economy and the superpowers of the international economy,” Gallimore told reporters at the sidelines of the Philippine Online Freelancing Conference held in Iligan City, Mindanao on Nov. 8.

Speaking at the said event, Gallimore also said that staffing and the way business is done have been permanently reshaped by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a way, it opened the path for the emergence and widespread adoption of non-traditional employment including outsourcing, freelancing, and distributed workforce. 

Remote-work-enabling technology like Slack, Zoom, and GMail Workspace have torn down geographical barriers and have made remote work easily accessible to companies that are big and small. 

Gallimore also noted that the global workforce phenomenon called The Great Resignation also worked to the outsourcing industry’s advantage. Similarly, the global recession also encourages companies to look for ways to cut back on staffing costs. And outsourcing offers a ready solution to this. 

He said this offers Filipino professionals a vast opportunity pool.

“What is important now is that people can upskill and develop the skills to be competitive in the global economy,” Gallimore stated.