APAC CIO Outlook, one of the most influential magazines in the region recently named oVice one of the top 10 remote work solutions. Created by Sae Hyung Jung, the virtual office company helps connect remote teams in a customisable digital space.

The key idea behind oVice is to remove the frustration and fatigue that both managers and employees face using other collaboration and video conferencing platforms.

There is no need to schedule calls and video conferences anymore. With oVice, it is enough to move your 2D avatar close to a teammate and start talking. Also, oVice allows teammates to quickly switch between meetings, share screens simultaneously, and work in groups.

Last but not least, the company adds gamification to remote work by turning offices into creative and playful digital spaces — an island, a garden, even outer space.

To understand how the idea of oVice was born, what challenges the development team had to consider, and what the future of the platform is like, one has to dive into the mind of its founder and the man on the cover of the latest issue of APAC CIO Outlook — Sae Hyung Jung.

Key to success: readiness to act

Sae Hyung Jung, the founder of oVice, represents what you call a “serial entrepreneur”. He was in business since he turned 18.

Sae Hyung Jung started a variety of different companies from a trade brokerage firm to deep learning and AI startups, but all of them were united by a common vision: the ability to pinpoint and solve problems faster and better than others.

The CEO of oVice sees technology as a way to drive progress and connect people who otherwise would struggle to keep in touch. His fascination with robotics and AI has led him down the engineering path and he committed to building products that make life more productive and fun.

oVice: a creative solution to a new problem

With oVice, Sae Hyung Jung was also solving a problem — this time, the one he himself was facing. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the founder of what would become one of the leading virtual office startups in the APAC region took a business trip to Tunisia.

Little did he know he would struggle to come back to Japan, as border closures and travel restrictions took over the world.

All of a sudden, Sae Hyung Jung was cut off from the rest of the team, unable to meet his colleagues and work in person. Since the entire world was going remote, oVice founder decided to try traditional collaboration and video conferencing tools.

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After a while, he and the team found themselves missing the spontaneity and fluidity of office-based interactions.

“Originally, I like working offline. Before the pandemic, I worked in an open office, and conversations would naturally reach my ears. I was able to hear how teams are working on projects and quickly spot signs of trouble. However, I was forced to do telework and felt uncomfortable that I couldn’t communicate as usual using existing online tools”.

Sae Hyung Jung realised that, while online communication tools allow teams to stay in touch, there’s no “space” where people can interact, connect, and brainstorm the way they did before.

That’s how the idea of oVice, a tool that encourages spontaneous interactions and makes “management by wondering” possible, was born.

Building a groundbreaking product in a month

Creating a virtual office tool that would be lightweight and resource-efficient but immersive and fully functional at the same time was a new challenge.

There were a few examples of products that successfully incorporated physical laws and created a seamless socialisation environment without requiring VR sets and powerful computers. Sae Hyung Jung and the team had to do a lot of research and test their theories through trial and error.

Driven by passion and vision, the CEO of oVice didn’t take much time to bring the product to life. He built the prototype in just a month and released the product with expanded functionality in 2020, after using it with the team.

Explosive response and adoption

In just a few weeks after its release, oVice was discovered by over 100 companies, among which are major market players. Managers and team leaders were excited about the product that made transitioning to remote work less painful and felt like “an office in the digital world”.

Team leaders were using oVice in different ways: while some relied on the platform to run meetings, host team building events, and industry conferences, others didn’t even talk. Instead, they used the platform to “feel charged by each other’s presence”.

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At the moment, the company is less than 2 years old but it boasts an impressive list of clients. oVice has grown into a global company represented in Japan, South Korea, the US, Vietnam, and other countries.

The company supports over 20,000 businesses with virtual spaces and has raised over $18 million in investment. It has over 150 employees who work remotely in the company’s virtual space.

Vision for oVice: hybrid work

At the time of writing, most countries are conceptualising the return to normal and closing the curtain on the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, South Korea has announced it would be lifting quarantine restrictions and the same is true in other APAC countries.

At the same time, studies show that employees like working remotely and aren’t ready to work at offices 9 to 5, five days a week. That’s why hybrid work — a model that allows teammates to choose where they work — is becoming widespread worldwide.

From the tech point of view, there are few tools that help offices and remote teams connect seamlessly.

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Traditional collaboration platforms create a divide between in-house and work-from-home employees. Teammates who work remotely are often not included in meetings and tend to struggle when it comes to connecting with office-only teammates and being part of the corporate culture.

In this landscape, oVice is the platform that will help hybrid teams stay connected and equally involved in decision-making.

The company has already joined forces with RICOH, a leading imaging and electronics company in Japan, in creating a virtual office that supports real-time 360-degree video, taking immersion and connectivity in hybrid workplaces to a new level.

Sae Hyung Jung and his team don’t see oVice as a way to replace in-person communication — rather, they view it as a link that seamlessly connects remote and in-office work. The platform allows teams to connect, brainstorm, build, and have fun no matter where they are.

Get to know oVice

Together with other tools mentioned in the latest issue of APAC CIO Outlook, oVice is focused on revolutionising, streamlining, and optimising remote work.

The platform supports a wide range of use cases from office spaces to events and classrooms. It welcomes teams with a 14-day free trial, allowing them to explore the features of a virtual space, as well as round-the-clock assistance from customer support.

Find out how oVice helps remote teams collaborate and stay connected and introduce your team to an innovative approach to remote work.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by oVice

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