Trends shaping companies' tech investment as hybrid work becomes a norm

Hybrid and remote work are here to stay. What was meant to be an interim work arrangement to navigate the limitations caused by Covid-19 is now part of business-as-usual for many employers, and in many cases turning out to be a preferred arrangement. In fact, a study by EY reported that only 15 per cent of surveyed Southeast Asia employees want to return to working from the office full time when pandemic restrictions ease. The majority instead prefers to work anywhere (32 per cent), work remotely full time (29 per cent), or in a hybrid work arrangement (23 per cent). The pervasive adoption of the productivity anywhere culture has introduced new workstyles that are relatively new to business leaders. Existing workplace design, infrastructure, operations as well as culture-related initiatives were built around the premise of employees working in offices full-time, which is no longer feasible for a distributed workforce. This new trend of working will also bring great implications on workspace design and infrastructure setup. It would compel business leaders to relook into technology and workspace investments to cater to the new workstyles. Technology will continue to be a vital consideration when business leaders map out hybrid work strategies, just like how it played a crucial in helping businesses adapt to the sudden shift to remote work when the pandemic first hit. That said, more is expected from technology to address health and safety concerns over working from the office, as well as helping the workers collaborate better and be more productive regardless of where they are working from. Here are two key trends which we foresee influencing companies' technology investments in the new year. Greater Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics in the Workplace

During the height of the pandemic, digital adoption has taken a quantum leap at both the organisational and industry level. A survey from Tata Consultancy revealed that amid the pandemic, organisations have been enhancing their capabilities in collaborative technologies (65%) and cloud-native technologies (51 per cent).

Leaders across the region will start turning to AI and data analytics to support and improve employee productivity and safety, in addition to driving business growth and operational efficiency, as part of their continued digital transformation plan.

To start, IT departments will turn to data and insights to have a more objective view on employee productivity both in the office and when they work remotely. These will help inform decisions on what technology investments are needed to help a hybrid workforce collaborate better. For instance, organisations can consider AI capabilities and features built into collaboration and communications tools, ultimately improving the overall user experience for employees regardless of where they are working from.

An example is Poly's DirectorAI technology embedded in video conferencing solutions, which offer an unrivalled video experience during teleconferences and ensure everyone is seen clearly. Another 'enemy' to audio and video calls is often noise. NoiseBlockAI technology helps ensure distracting sounds are kept out of calls, so that employees can avoid stopping the meeting or ask others to go on mute when unwelcomed noises start interrupting virtual meetings.

AI and analytics can also provide insights on employees' habits, behaviour, and movements while at work. These insights can come in handy for workspace planning, such as tracking office occupancy to allow office managers determine the most effective office layout and minimise wasted space, or tracking hotspots where employees tend to gather to better inform policies around social distancing measures.

Investing in Technology that Improve Employee Experiences

One of the downsides of hybrid work is the disparity in employee experience between those who work remotely and those in the office. To truly make hybrid work a viable long-term arrangement, business leaders need to look at ways to provide workers with more equitable work experiences. The last thing they need is to have remote workers feel more inferior or 'lesser' during meetings and group discussions. Not forgetting that video conferencing has become the norm for collaboration due to limitations around business travels and in-person meetings. This also led to new usage models such as telemedicine, hybrid events, virtual property viewing and educational courses via video. This rising trend is causing more organisations to adopt a no-compromise attitude to ensure the highest quality video solutions are used for high level productivity, resilience, and customer experience. Companies' technology investments and collaboration strategies will move beyond just deploying tech solutions, but to focus on improving employees' working experience. This will drive an increased demand in pro-grade technology and tools that are geared to offer better user experiences. In fact, ReportLinker is already forecasting that the Asia Pacific Video Conferencing Market will grow at a CAGR of 17.8 per cent within 2021-2027. This is also where platform-agnostic collaboration vendors will thrive as they enable office collaborators to use the same infrastructure in the conference room as they have grown accustomed to using from their home offices. At the end of the day, a good understanding of workplace personas is crucial to help business leaders make informed decisions for long term technology and workplace investments. This is to ensure employees have the right tools and work environments to maximize efficiency and productivity as they adapt to the new workstyles. Companies should ensure these investments allow room for them to pivot swiftly, should the pandemic situation bring yet another wave of change to work arrangements. The writer is managing director for ASEAN and Korea, Poly.