Hubport Group Gears up for Swine Flu Pandemic

Jessica Madrazo, Hubport Group
July 03, 2009


A month ago, the World Health Organization has declared the H1N1 virus a pandemic. The virus first known as swine flu has been linked to over a hundred deaths worldwide. This has lead the Hubport Group management to draw up business contingency plans and have taken steps to ensure a safe working environment through promoting good hygiene and guarding the spread of the disease.

A flu immunization activity was held last July 7, 2009, and was conducted by Dr. Zenaida M. Rivera of Rivera Medical Center,Inc. Panabo. This is the initial action of keeping the flu out of the workplace and guaranteeing that the employees will be protected during a flu season of uncertainties.

Expats should learn culture, exec says

By Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:42:00 05/17/2009


MANILA, Philippines Most Filipinos will say yes even if they really mean no. And they do not mind talking about how much they earn with each other.

Executives from abroad who are working in the thriving business process outsourcing industry here should know cultural tidbits like these to bring out the best in their people.

In a presentation during a recent Asia CEO Forum conducted by Chalre Associates, Jeff Uthoff, executive vice president for solutions and strategy in Asia for ICT Group Inc., said expats here should make an effort to learn more about the Philippine culture.

Philippine BPOs of US-based firms may be taxed twice under Obama proposal
05/11/2009 | 10:03 PM


MANILA, Philippines - Philippine units of US-based companies such as Accenture and IBM should maintain the value of its high-quality outsourcing work, a move seen to neutralize “anti-outsourcing" tax measures announced by the United States.

This recommendation was issued ICT research think tank XMG Global as US President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign promise to charge higher taxes on American firms that have offshore operations.

Under Obama’s tax plan, American business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are required to pay taxes twice – once for the locality in which it operates and the other for revenues earned abroad even if these haven’t been repatriated.

Philippines Remain Optimistic Despite Crisis
By: Kathryna R. Ahorro

Economists have sounded off that the Philippine economy may outshine its East and Southeast Asian neighbors from now to a couple more years. According to them, this is due to the economic management that the government has implemented. The Philippines is one of the more resilient Asian countries that are not much affected by the worldwide economic downturn. GDP this year is expected to rise by a maximum of 3 percent, higher than neighboring countries like Vietnam and China's.

For the succeeding years, an average growth of 4.5 percent in GDP may be achieved. This steady increase in GDP is largely attributed to two factors: overseas worker remittances especially from those in healthcare and education, and business process outsourcing. Both are considered to be recession-proof sectors.

A Look into the Future of Offshore Outsourcing
By: Jessica Marie Madrazo, Hubport Group

Offshore outsourcing has established its contribution to the IT industry in the previous years, and it is very likely that this trend will push through for the coming years. Offshore outsourcing simply means delegating some, or all of a business IT related work to people or departments outside your jurisdiction for the purpose of cutting down costs. The amount of financial freedom this has introduced has spun into different kinds of opportunities for online businesses.
 

Hubport Turns Eleven

The Hubport Group was founded in 1998 by, then young , straight out of college, entrepreneurs Chito Marco Lucero and Maria Rachel Rivera. Back then, it was just a modest computers and mobile phones joint in Davao City. The business partners eventually became life partners and what was then known as Communications, the computer buy-and- sell shop became Hubport Interactive.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
By: Kathryna R. Ahorro

Internet businesses need proper search engine placement for it to prosper because most of the people who surf the net to look for data and information, products, and services use search engines to find sites that they need. Having the website listed at the top of search engine results dramatically improves the traffic count to that website and consequently, the website’s performance and profitability are increased as well.
 

OUTSOURCING: BENEFITTING THE WORLD
By: Kathryna R. Ahorro

Outsourcing is one of the trends in the field of labor brought about by the advent of technological advancement. Why outsource? There are many benefits that different companies, big and small, may enjoy by outsourcing. It is basically brought about in order to help businesses develop exponentially by allowing them to focus more on their areas of expertise or their core competencies
 

Choosing The Right SEO Provider
By Kathryna R. Ahorro, Hubport Interactive
 
Search engine optimization has been one of the key strategies to maximize internet marketing. A business that operates a website nowadays could not solely rely on traditional marketing strategies and referrals for the website to have traffic. Immediately, search engine optimization rings a bell.

11 Inescapable Realities of Outsourcing To The Philippines
By Jessica Madrazo, Hubport Group
 
There is no perfect system, and in offshore outsourcing, this cliché is highly magnified. The rising exodus of many companies outsourcing many of their functions is solid proof that this is, at present, the most practical solution to saving up hundreds and thousands of IT and business dollars. However, money should not be the only perceived factor involved in outsourcing. There are both blatant and furtive issues that are best acknowledged and addressed when and before outsourcing.

BPAP Outsourcing Directory to Strengthen Outsourcing Bloc
By Jessica Madrazo, Hubport Group
 
The Philippine BPO industry has reached unexpected heights, and with the consistent growth, it is expected to expand even more with an expectation of earnings to reach $13 Billion of earnings and a job generation of one million by the year 2010. The country’s association of BPO and their umbrella associations have been pouring projects upon projects to further nourish the prospering industry, one of which is the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and their continuous efforts to update the Philippine Outsourcing Directory.

BPO targets $13B worth of earnings by 2010
By Emmanuelle Gomez
 
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) finds the $13B worth of earnings to be an achievable target in ten years time.

The attainment of this goal would mean that a total of $6.7 billion worth of annual salaries can be distributed to the various sectors of the Philippine economic system.

Looking Ahead: The Philippine BPO Industry in 2010
By Emmanuelle Gomez
 
The Philippine BPO industry and its sub sectors are found to have been in a steady and solid growth for the past five years.

Year 2001 up to 2005 yielded 40-50% industry growth with employment increasing by more than double from 2004 (100,500) to 2006 (237,000). With this, business analysts hold that the Philippines is past the point of gearing up and is now on its way to becoming one of the major players in the global BPO industry that has a market of approximately $300 billion.
 

Hubport Selects Bless Foundation for its CSR Program
By Jessica Madrazo, Hubport Group

Outsourcing is an industry dominated by the young, those who consider themselves to eat and breathe innovation and learning. It is that, which OutsourceIT2Philippines also wish to instill in the minds of children, those who will inevitably inherit and cultivate presently owned knowledge. Through Soli Deo Glora Christian Ministry and their BLESS (Basic Literacy Education and Support System) Program, OutsourceIT2Philippines was able to extend their help to the impoverished children, ages 5-8, enjoy more nourishing meals and get well deserved education.

Callista Selects Hubport Interactive as Its Help Desk Hub for Asia
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
TThe Callista Group of New Zealand has selected Hubport Interactive of Davao City, Philippines as its Help Desk Hub for Asia-Pacific. Under the arrangement, Hubport Interactive will provide online, round-the-clock technical support to Callista’s clients in New Zealand and Australia.

From Outsourcing to Worldsourcing
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
Worldsourcing denotes understanding and taking on a diversity of cultures, widening horizons and creating new ideas that emerge from different points of thinking. Experts believe that worldsourcing would be the next leap after outsourcing. So it's about time give the world map some attention or be left behind.

Cebu to Host The First Philippine Open Source Summit
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
Open Source prime movers, supporters, votaries, and user groups the world over will come together for the very first Philippine Open Source Summit to be held in Cebu this coming June. The two- day culmination will zoom in on the effects of the Open Source movement for software developers and users.

CALLISTA – The HUBPORT Group: An Alliance of Excellence
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
Callista is a leading call management and hospitality management company. For 19 years it has successfully advanced the design and development of software that produce cost- saving and easy-to-use features. Call management software gives control to the client over the flexibility or restriction of their allowable calls, protection from phreaking, and other easy-to-use organizing tools. Hospitality management software features automation of various hospitality tasks such as check in/out, accounting, pricing, reservation confirmation, and room reselling. Callista products provide highend PMS features that is cost and time saving, making it affordable even for small scale hospitality firms. Its systems are sold to over 17 countries with an installed customer base of 6000.

Transition Management for Outsourced Services
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
A shift in management is a hypercritical factor of any business undertaking which top bills, handles, and allows people to adapt fresh procedures, functions, technologies, patterns, methods, and processes. It's the consistency of functions that aids people in adjusting from what has always been to the visualized way of doing things. The core of shift management is to prepare the people and organizational structures that will both propel or hamper the change in the entire organization. The supreme goal of any shift initiative is to guarantee that everything is set, agreeable, and empowered to effectively do their share in the envisioned setting.

The Nightmares of Outsourcing

By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
Globalization gave birth to a new industry wherein companies annex certain services from an outside source specializing in the management of such services. Often to profit by utilizing  the lower costs of labor, technology, and other resources worldwide. This has become widely- known as Outsourcing. And,while it is indeed an effective avenue for cutting costs, increasing production, and delegating resources to further company gain, it is not without it ‘s hazards. Product quality may be compromised, consequent to sub- standard production and inferior workforce. Miscommunication between internal and external operations ensuing from a language barrierand a different time zone may also prove detrimental. What could have been a dream come true solution for your business, may just turn- out to be a nightmare!   

Outsourcing, An Urbane Business Tactic
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
Essentially, “Outsourcing” is the practice wherein a function of a company’s operation is entrusted to an “outsider” whose foremost agenda is the fulfillment of that specific function. Ergo, mutual information exchange, such an alliance call upon a degree of trust and coordination between client and provider. Experience, know- how, capability, and efficiency are among the winning qualities in the Outsourcing Business sector.

Virtual Assistants: Angels of the Outsourcing World
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group

Improving the quality of your business does not necessarily mean giving up more of your precious personal time, you wo’nt have to sacrifice golf on Sundays, dinner with your family, or that diving trip with your buddies. Now, how does one work better but not harder? Work smarter, outsource it! Supposing you require intermittent or continuing support, outsourcing answers to your need. From web developers, graphic designers, content writers, customer care representatives, office assistants, researchers, to accountants, medical aids, sales agents, the list of available professional help is endless.

The SEO Shopping Check List
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
November 23, 2007
 
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services has become a burgeoning industry in the recent years, and it` s steadily growing even more every day. There are now over a million SEO Service Providers all over the world and if you `re looking, how would you know if you` re getting the real deal? It` s not going to be easy. Major considerations have to be addressed if only to ensure that your investment would not go to waste. Once the decision to engage in SEO services is made, the big and undeniably the most important question pops- up, which one should you choose from among the throng? There are as many qualified SEO companies out there as there are ambiguous ones, if not more. Deciding on a potential SEO partner is crucial. It would help to know what questions you ought to be asking the candidates. The following is a list of feelers to resolve the issue of whether or not the SEO company you` re eyeing on is worthy of your trust.  

Retailoring The Approaches To Recruitment
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group

There is an imminent need to bring- in fresh agents into the IT industry field and innovative approaches to recruitment should be adapted if this field is to beckon the skilled workmen it needs in the future, as analysts noted.
 
 

Managing an Outsourced Team
By Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group
 
In this age of neoteric technology and global marketing, distance is no longer seen as a hindrance for people from different locations to simultaneously work together for a common cause. An abounding number of corporations employ what may be called dispersed teams across continents, time zones, and even international borders. A vice president in Chicago may be communicating with a project manager in HongKong, who delegates tasks to a team in the Philippines.   

The Internet, Paradise for Ad Targeting
by Lelit Barrios, Hubport Group

For the longest time, cosmetics manufacturers placed ads in printed lifestyle magazines. Movie trailers premiere on television anticipating a weekend and not after. Then came the Internet and ad targeting became even more circumscribed.