BusinessMirror
A12 Saturday, June 10, 2017
Property consultant bares future of work Photo & story by Rizal Raoul Reyes
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ELECOMMUNICATION companies and property developers will be having closer collaboration in the developing the future workplace, according to a document.
In a research paper titled “The Future of Work,” Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. head of corporate solutions research in Asia Pacific Susan Sutherland said the traditional office workplace is gradually going to be replaced by a new concept anchored on technology developments. Sutherland cited the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and robotics as examples of the latter. “We will see greater working relations between the developers and the telecom companies as clients will demand buildings that can be technology-ready for their operations,” Sutherland told the BusinessMirror. “Smart buildings are also way of the future. They also want to optimize cost.” She believes in the future, “there will be closer ties between developers and telcos to put up smart buildings”. Sutherland said Philippine business leaders must embrace the changes in the workplace
such as the use of technology in their processes and operations to become more relevant to new environment and next generation of workforce. For instance, Sutherland said a client in the business process outsourcing industry may need a facility for its automation process or robotics-driven operations. “Automation is rapidly taking place into more service jobs”. Although the Philippines is still considered an emerging market, Sutherland said the Philippines can still keep pace with the rapid changes in the workplace. As long as organizations are receptive and have an open mind, they can join the march towards that change, according to Sutherland. She said these views were based from discussion with JLL’s clients about the role of technology in their operations. “’Future of Work ’ is really about how our clients can think of the future of the workplace
SUSAN SUTHERLAND, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. head of corporate solutions research in Asia Pacific Susan Sutherland discusses the points of her research titled “The Future of Work”.
and the impact of the corporate real estate,” Sutherland said. “Technology is a big factor in the discussion”. She added the “work-fromhome” concept is one that can be adopted as one of the changes in the workplace, “especially for a place like Metro Manila where daily monstrous traffic jams is the ‘new normal’”. “We certainly see that it can be beneficial but it is really up to the company to determine what their needs are”. Sutherland also pointed out
that organizations can pursue future-proofing programs on its employees to ensure they are equipped to handle disruptions. One future-proofing program is to provide them the skills and the knowledge such as data analytics to handle new trends in the business environment, she explained. Fu r t her more, it wou ld be quite useful for an organization to also focus on the internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation and predictive capability, according to Sutherland.
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Pinoys, Malaysians top Asians in online usage
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ILIPINOS and Malaysians spend the most time online using their smartphones, a survey by Limelight Networks Inc. revealed. In its report titled “The State of the User Experience,” the Tempe, Arizona, US-headquartered firm said 47 percent of Filipinos and 42 percent of Malaysians consume an average of 16 hours per week online. “Our new research shows that nearly half of adult consumers in Southeast Asia are online 16 hours or more each week outside of work and they have high expectations for website performance, especially when it comes to e-commerce,” Jaheer Abbas, Limelight Networks regional sales director, was quoted in a statement as saying. “Nearly everyone surveyed said that they’re likely to recommend a brand to a friend if they have a positive web experience and, on the flip side, that they’ll leave and go to a competitor if it isn’t a good experience”. While there is a great deal of behavioral consistency throughout the region, Abbas noted they have identified regional differences were identified in their research. He said personalized web experiences were ranked as very important in all countries, but were slightly less so in Singapore. Meanwhile, he said a big number of respondents in the region except in the Philippines said they will ditch a website if the experience is slow. Despite these differences, Abbas said the report clearly indicates there is a significant need
for organizations to prioritize the optimization of mobile experiences, understand the expectations of consumers within each country rather than implementing a “one-size-fits-all” approach, and accelerate website performance to keep visitors engaged. Abbas said there are also different i at ions on how people spend their time online. He said Filipinos spend the most time online closely followed by those in Malaysia. People in Singapore are online the least while in Thailand, millennials are online the least, with 34 percent online 16 hours or more a week compared to 42 percent for all other age groups. The gap is even greater in the Philippines, where 39 percent of Millennials versus 56 percent of all other age groups are online this amount of time. These findings prompted Limelight Networks to encourage organizations to build a “mobile first” mindset, to optimize digital experience and create personalized offerings to online consumers in South East Asia. Social media, being the dominant activity over the internet, is also used for online shopping especially for reviewing what the people think about a certain product. The “State of the User Experience” report is based on a survey of 1,600 consumers aged 18 and over Limelight Networks said were chosen at random in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Rizal Raoul Reyes & Maria Eden T. Dino