Skills shortages together with the rising cost of IT contractors are forcing many companies to consider offshoring – or nearshoring as it applies to countries in our region – as part of their overall IT strategy.

The difficult economic climate has created a boom for companies like 3W IT Consulting & Contracting. Joint CEO Bruce Mills says 3W have positioned themselves to provide big savings without the risks nearshoring normally creates.

“By offering an Asia-pacific based solution, our clients enjoy better results and fewer complications,” said Mills. “Our pool of contractors in the Philippines is brilliant. They understand the Australian market better than their counterparts in India or Eastern Europe.”

According to Mills, it’s the cultural closeness which sets countries like the Philippines apart as nearshore partners. The uptake is quicker and long term results are measurably better.

Mills also claims that his formula has resulted in an explosive growth model within the nearshoring industry. “We’re expanding around 400% faster than our traditional onshore business. Since we use nearshoring resources ourselves, we simply scale up or down depending upon demand. Our systems are designed to handle that sort of growth,” he said.

While the Philippines has only a tenth of India’s population, it has taken 15 percent of the offshore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market, just under one third of India’s offshore BPO market.

Even as businesses reeled from the global recession, the country’s BPO sector has continued to post double digit growth every year, remarked Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) CEO and President Oscar Sanez. “We have seen the strength and resilience of this industry despite the crisis,” he said.