This blog post is the second to our blog post series: Q&A of WorkTech Academy Kitchen Table Conversation. These Q&As are transcribed from a video – 9am co-founder and COO Elaine Hunag talks smart technology with UnWork analyst Arraz Makhzani. See the first post here: https://www.us.9amtech.com/post/smart-technology-at-workplace-i

In the second post, only one question is discussed: on-demand working and the role that technology plays in collaboration.

Arraz: How do companies respond to on-demand working and use technology to enable collaboration?

Elaine: When we talk about on-demand working, we should first ask what people’s needs are, and what changes have taken place in people’s work and to their needs in the working scenario. This includes everyone from the assembly line employees to the more creative and collaborative workers. We’ve summed up 3 main types of activities at the workplace: creating individual values, then exchanging information with others, and finally co-creating more with team members. 

To complete these activities, we have found people are using the workplace not only in the physical world, but also a virtual one. We also found people’s needs not only lie in being able to increase their output, but also in having a good experience. The more fluent the workflow is, the easier it is to learn from your professional community. Just as we are having this conversation online instead of meeting in person in the real world, such virtual activities now make up almost our whole working life.

It’s not about whether or not we should integrate technology into the workplace, but how we can do that. We’ve changed from the PC era to a cell phone era, and from Internet era to mobile internet era. Technological infrastructure has been upgraded, and how this new infrastructure could bring us better conditions to improve efficiency and enhance the overall experience are things we should think about.

IoT technology enables the physical world to be presented online, and the cost for cloud storage, cloud computing and IoT hardware modules is falling. This online physical world actually memorizes our personal information and turns out to be a place that better suits our needs. When it comes to your workplace scenario, your personal preferences will be taken into account. You can figure out how your spaces have been utilized without going around the office and with an online platform, we can also see how people are interacting with others.

From where I’m standing, IoT and AI technology will drive the next generation of office revolutions. Room booking, visitor management, remote and automatic environment control, and understanding user behavior and adapting to their preferences will be the next level of office change. With IoT and AI technology, we are able to collaborate not only between people, but also between people and the workspace, even between people and the organization. 

See the full video here.