How BPOs operate low-cost inbound call centres in Asia-Pacific

As customer expectations rise and service models evolve, many call centre operators are expanding their virtual agent teams across Southeast Asia. The region offers access to skilled talent, as well as cost advantages.  

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Connecting local customers to virtual agents

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Enterprise clients are increasingly open to remote-first service delivery, often to reduce their customer service overheads. This in turn, has freed Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers to expand into lower‑cost markets.  

In recent years we have noted significant demand for call centres in Southeast Asia, especially with agents based in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.  

These regions have strong English proficiency and cultural understanding. This is critical for serving customers in English-speaking regions of Asia-Pacific, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

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Why Local DIDs matter for customer service

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For inbound call centres, it is critical that local customers can make contact via a local or toll-free number. Usually this is a virtual phone or mobile number, hosted in the cloud, which can be routed to any device or location.  

For example, a customer in Australia calls an IT support line advertised by their European whitegoods brand. Their call reaches an agent based in Malaysia, who can help them out with a warranty question.

BPOs may need to call outbound too. For example, that earlier customer may have left a voicemail or requested a callback. The virtual agent, based in Malaysia, can dial out and present a familiar Local DID number to the customer.

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How SIP trunks reduce call centre costs

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When clients are cost-sensitive, BPOs need to adapt. Many are choosing to build their own telecom stack rather than pass through the high costs of CX software.

Building a localised VoIP stack is straightforward. BPOs can use virtual numbers for the regions where customers are calling from, and SIP trunks in the regions where calls are being routed to.

Many of the BPO clients we work with choose us because we can support their DIY telecom stack with both numbers and SIP trunks. Moreover, we offer a simple channel-based charging model that keeps costs low.

Channel-based pricing is a simpler way to deliver inbound and outbound call centre services. It is a fixed monthly charge based on call concurrency (SIP channels), rather than the number of call minutes or extensions in use. The charge can be shared across the BPOs entire Asia-Pacific client base, fractionalising the operational costs.

The shift away from expensive CX licenses, and toward DIY telecom stacks, is enabling new levels of flexibility. We see this as a major opportunity for BPOs. But only for those who get their carrier relationships right.

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Next steps: Choosing the right carrier partner

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As BPOs evolve to meet the cost-efficiency demands of their clients, Southeast Asia is emerging as a critical hub for inbound service delivery.  

This is where Symbio comes in.

As a wholesale telecom carrier, Symbio provides the local and toll-free numbers, SIP trunks, and regulatory clarity BPOs need to scale across Asia-Pacific.  

We can provide critical telecom connectivity in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Plus, global voice and messaging termination for inbound and outbound traffic.

Whether you’re deploying 50 agents in Malaysia or serving 50,000 clients in Melbourne, Symbio can provide the resilient, cost-effective voice infrastructure to match.

Contact us to discuss virtual numbers and SIP channels for your inbound service line.