Tholons International, a leading full-service Strategic Advisory firm for Global Outsourcing and Investments, released their 2018 list of Super Cities, which showed cities that showed exceptional performance in digital services and outsourcing investments. Five leading cities in the Philippines, Manila, Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, and Santa Rosa City, showed a rebound from last year's temporary downturn in business process outsourcing (BPO) service rankings, while Iloilo City returns to the list.

Manila moved up from 4th place to 2nd, while Cebu move a notch from 12th to 11th, Davao from 85th to 75th, Bacolod from 97th to 89th, with Santa Rosa City, Laguna performing best from 100th to 87th, with Iloilo City returning at the 92nd spot. The said cities, according to Tholons, are the ones most ready for the shift towards a more digitally-inclined workforce. 

The Tholons top 100 Super Cities hail from US, UK, Canada, Europe, India, Philippines, Eastern Europe and Latin America. This year, the award-giving body included "cybersecurity, digital skills, scale and global competitiveness to gauge the wider aspects and impact of the digital ecosystem." Aside from BPO services, the company also looks at the city's readiness for "Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Social Media, Mobility, Big Data, Block Chain, Digital Supply Chain, and Digital Trust".

Overall, the Philippines rose to the top 2 spot, outpacing Brazil and the United States. Locally, the Tholons list is used to map out investments in both technology and real estate, especially those that support the BPO industry such as office spaces, local commerce, and the transient residential sector.*