The local outsourcing sector is predicted to grow 20 percent this year, to reach a value of RM1.3bn, according to Outsourcing Malaysia.Last year, the sector recorded a 17 percent growth.

David Wong, chairman of Outsourcing Malaysia, said the continued double-digit growth would be due to worldwide demand for the service.

“There is demand for business process outsourcing from an airline and telecommunications company in Singapore, an Australian retail chain, and others,” he said.

He would not reveal the names of the companies and said there were other companies looking to outsource systems-integration and computer-aided design work.

Wong said there was also some demand within the country — from insurance companies and banks which are beginning to outsource sales and promotions programmes for credit cards and loans.

Outsourcing Malaysia believes that local outsourcing companies need to scale-up from just providing contact-centre services.

It also believes that the standard of English in the country must be raised for such companies to be better able to compete with rivals in other parts of the world.

Wong said that if our youth do not have a sufficiently high command of the language, this could derail the growth of the local outsourcing industry.

He said Outsourcing Malaysia is constantly having dialogues with the Education Ministry on the importance of emphasising English lessons in schools here.

Outsourcing Malaysia has just released a report, prepared with the help of industry researcher IDC, titled Strategic Planning and Tactical Road Maps for Malaysian Organisations To Become Leading Global Outsourcing Providers.

It is available to members of the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) for RM800 a copy.

Outsourcing Malaysia is a chapter of Pikom.

Source: The Star