Industry insiders say the outlook depends on whether the incoming government of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte can help develop enough of the tailored education programs needed to produce skilled for a more sophisticated range of tasks.

Climbing the value ladder won’t be easy. TaskUs, a U.S.-based outsourcing with operations here, is among those that are trying. Innovation is the key to survival, said Bryce Maddock, chief executive of the company, which provides a range of back-office functions for tech startups, including the mobile dating site Tinder and the message service Whisper.

“We’re trying to ‘un-call center’ the call center,” said Mr. Maddock, who tries to battle the endemic turnover in industry hotspots like Manila by offering a modern workspace modeled on the casual vibe of Silicon Valley.

He says just a tenth of the company’s 5,000 employees are actually answering phones. Most are managing content on websites or handling customer relations via online chat.

The shift reflects an industrywide trend. TaskUS reflects an industrywide trend. A decade ago, nearly all Philippine outsourcing work was phone-based. Now, it’s just 60%, a figure that’s bound to keep declining, outsourcing executives say, even as the industry as a whole continues to expand.

Eoin Treacy's view

It takes a village to run a successful ecommerce site so while automated systems are increasingly taking over the phone lines we still need humans to conduct search engine optimisation (SEO) and manage website content. These tasks are still heavily labour dependent so demand for call centre operatives is likely to remain on an upward trajectory but the sophistication of the work is likely to increase. 

Salesforce is a heavyweight in the customer relationship management (CRM) sector with a number of products in the market for different types of businesses. The share rebounded impressively from the January low to post new all-time highs. Consolidation of that move is underway but a sustained move below the trend mean, currently near $75, would be required to question medium-term potential for continued higher to lateral ranging. 

NICE Systems recently acquired InContact to bolster its CRM business. The share has been consolidating mostly below $65 since breaking out of a lengthy range in 2014. A sustained move below $55 would be required to question medium-term scope for additional upside. 

Interactive Intelligence rallied from the January low to break a two-year downtrend. Some consolidation of the short-term overbought condition is underway but a sustained move below the trend mean would be required to question medium-term scope for additional upside. 

Blackbaud concentrates on providing services to non-profits. The share has been confined to a volatile range since late last year and has returned to test the peak. Some consolidation of the short-term overbought condition is looking more likely than not. 

Ebix develops software for the insurance sector. The share is also consolidating its earlier advance but the benefit of the doubt can continue to be given to the upside provided it finds support in the region of the trend mean following pullbacks. 

Guidewire offers products to the property and casualty insurance sector. The share has been ranging mostly below $60 since 2014 but may now be in the process of breaking out. 

Bazaarvoice focuses on optimising reviews and managing customer engagement through social media sites. The share collapsed from its post IPO peak but has at least steadied over the last few months. It is now testing the region of the trend mean and will need to sustain a move above it to confirm a return to demand dominance beyond the short term.