It’s no surprise that video gaming is surging worldwide, especially in Asia that has over 1.48 billion players. Today, gaming is no longer just a hobby. Immersive gaming is now a profession for competitive e-sports organisations and players of all backgrounds. Here are seven trends shaping up the next generation of immersive gaming.

Unreal Engine 5.1

Epic Games released Unreal Engine 5.1—an upgrade to the game engine used by half of all upcoming next-generation video games. It offers hyper-realistic visuals, including templates that allow for the creation of entire cities.

Moreover, Unreal Engine 5 eases the game development process by allowing builders to focus more on fine-tuning the graphics, instead of spending costly hours designing the core infrastructure. Developers can also build with cross-platform compatibility in mind. “Unreal Engine 5 allows developers with faster and easier development with interoperability of assets – it’s possible to make a cross-cooperation of games developed in Unreal Engine 5,” says Rastislav Bakala, CEO of QORPO Game Studio.

Unreal Engine 5’s enhanced tools makes it possible to develop large-scale metaverses. For example, the Matrix Awakens simulation demo packed more than 35,000 realistic walking people in an entire city, demonstrating “a vision for what the future of interactive content could be.” NVIDIA Ominverse is another industry-grade platform supporting digital twins for AI Avatars, which one day aims to become a standard for immersive games.

Also Read: How e-sports is evolving with blockchain gaming

NFT ownership

Today, Web3 game studios are taking the user experience up a notch through redefined player ownership. Essentially, players can create, collect and trade in-game assets as NFTs to truly own them. They are secured by blockchain technology that ensures the transparency of asset ownership and traceability. Players have full control of their ID profiles and in-game items. This is in stark contrast to the existing gaming landscape where game studios can suddenly restrict users from accessing their accounts.

A gamer who spent 5,907 hours on Google Stadia, a now shut down online game service platform, begged Rockstar for a character to be transferred before it became worthless. With NFT ownership in play, gamers can avoid these types of situations by truly owning their assets secured on non-custodial accounts, as opposed to virtual items controlled by the game developer.

While gaming behemoths Ubisoft and Square Enix have embraced NFT technology, others such as Steam have outright banned games that have NFTs. Still, NFT ownership stands to democratise what it means for players to truly own their game assets.

Cross-platform portability

Siloed platforms often place heavy limitations on what players can do within the game. To fix this, a cross-platform open ecosystem allows players to use the same NFTs across multiple games. A player can obtain a weapon in one game, and use the same gun across another shooter game. The concept also applies to achievement badges or player rankings.

Such portability is essential for a fluid cross-platform gaming experience, wherein players can utilise their valuable assets in many games and metaverses. NFTs use smart contracts to make asset portability possible at scale with greater transparency.

Also Read: A Founder’s journey from sewing machines to blockchain gaming

Titles supporting cross-platform NFT interoperability include games ranked in the People’s Choice Award, notably Illuvium, Star Atlas and Citizen Conflict. Cross-platform games seek to enhance the usability of NFTs by reducing friction and unlocking new modes of player interaction.

Asset monetisation

NFT monetisation and game sales peaked at US$5.17 billion in 2021. The motivations behind this stem from the problems in traditional gaming, as Bakala summarises: “There is no way for users to sell these assets for real money, in fact, users are basically funding a black hole. That’s an abuse of the free-to-play system by the developer. This should be the main standpoint of every game studio that wants to sell something – provide ownership of these assets to their holders.”

Ownership and monetisation of game items are not limited to weapons. QORPO Game Studio, the team behind the free-to-play metaverse shooter game Citizen Conflict, allows players to own and even monetise large-scale maps.

QORPO’s team experience working on titles at Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Ubisoft and Riot Games inspired the concept of empowering players to own, customise and monetise items in a transparent environment. Users now contribute directly to the game’s evolution, while capturing monetisation opportunities in a fair system.

NFT marketplaces

Roblox has 59.9 million daily active users, with 25 per cent of the game’s estimated revenue coming from the Roblox Marketplace. For Web3, the use of NFTs creates an ocean of opportunities for players to directly buy, sell and trade in-game items. This drives more liquidity of available game content, a heightened sense of scarcity and player-driven initiatives that enriches the game’s overall ecosystem.

Players can easily monetise their assets and even profiles on secondary NFT marketplaces. This means that users are no longer restricted to the game’s primary marketplace, which can have unattractive user policies. Content creators and publishers can launch their own digital collections and set royalty fees that generate revenue streams for the seller.

Also Read: What does blockchain gaming need to succeed in the long haul?

NFT marketplaces like QORPO Market also serve as a discovery platform for collectors to find rare digital game items. Avid collectors who don’t necessarily play games can still participate by trading NFTs, to support fellow users seeking to buy or sell game items.

The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, has generated more than US$530 million in NFT trading volume, a strong signal on how NFT marketplaces can benefit gaming ecosystems.

Community DAOs

Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) are one of the most intriguing innovations in Web3. Any ecosystem, whether centralised or decentralised, requires a governing body if it’s going to be less chaotic.

DAO members have voting rights on important game decisions – from modifying the player rules to deciding on the project’s future roadmap. “DAO puts a vote on whether members want this update added to the game, and members vote. Once the guild voting ends, there is a verdict. Whether the vote passes or not, the decision was made by anonymous users, fully transparent, written on the blockchain, and managed by a smart contract,” says Bakala.

Play and Earn games with crypto and NFT rewards such as Decentraland have adopted the DAO contribution system as its decision-making system. In Citizen Conflict, users participate in the Citadel DAO to vote on the game’s aesthetics, marketing possibilities, or the future direction of the game.

Social metaverse

Gaming communities are bringing their experiences to the SocialFi Metaverse. Here, players can form common rooms to share moments, just like they would in real life events, but now in meta-virtual environments that blend digital gaming with real people.

It is laying out new possibilities on how gamers engage with vibrant communities, and explore what it means to be part of a borderless network of players. An example is a hybrid e-sports experience that rewards fans who attend the tournament both in real life, and through the online e-sports metaverse streaming platform.

Also Read: Why the Web3-enabled gaming world still has hope

Web3 profiles ensure that players have a digital identity in the metaverse. The player’s reputation and achievements for instance are tracked autonomously via smart contracts. Thus, Web3 identities such as Citizen ID in Citizen Conflict improves the quality of players by weeding out cheaters, and promotes transparency for the entire community.

Immersive gaming is poised to take an alternative trajectory in the years to come, in tandem with Web3 enhancements. These are just a handful of gaming trends driving fundamental change – with more coming to fruition.

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The content was first published by The Human & Machine.

Image Credit: The Human & Machine

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HD, a Bangkok-headquartered startup operating the healthcare and surgery marketplace HDmall in Thailand and Indonesia, has received US$6 million in new funding

Partech Partners, M Venture Partners, AC Ventures, iSeed, and Orvel Ventures invested in the round.

The company plans to use the funding to expand its team and develop its technology, enabling over 5,000 healthcare providers, 300 operating rooms, and thousands of surgeries by 2024.

HD is an online marketplace that powers over 1,500 healthcare providers, including hospitals. It connects patients to hospitals, clinics, operating rooms, and surgeons while offering healthcare financing solutions to increase access to affordable care and surgeries. Over 250,000 patients have used the platform.

In November 2022, the startup launched HDcare, an elective surgery product for healthcare providers to increase the utilisation of the operating room capacities of hospitals and clinics. Dubbed the ‘Airbnb for Surgeries’ solution, HDcare enables HD to help healthcare providers and patients.

Also Read: Big Data is like teenage sex! Here’s how not to be so bad at it

A portion of the newly raised funds will be used to accelerate HDcare.

On average, the company claims, patients getting surgeries such as thyroid, haemorrhoid, and orthopaedic surgery can enjoy 15-20 per cent better pricing versus market rates in addition to getting healthcare financing options.

For those with insurance or employer coverage, the HDcare team often helps patients navigate complex and stressful reimbursement processes.

Sheji Ho, CEO and Co-Founder of HD, said: “As we put the pandemic behind us, our investors and us see a once-in-a-lifetime supply-driven opportunity in HDcare that is very similar to how companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Groupon leveraged supply and emerged from the 2008 Financial Crisis.”

HD is also one of ten startups recently accepted into the Google for Startups Accelerator: Southeast Asia programme.

According to a recent article by The Lancet, as much as 28-32 per cent of the global disease burden can be attributed to surgically treatable conditions, with the most significant bottleneck being unable to access surgeries without catastrophic expenditure.

Unfortunately, as of today, 91 per cent of people in Southeast Asia aren’t able to access or afford surgeries compared to 52 per cent for high-income Asia Pacific.

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In the weeks leading up to the current funding winter, the startup ecosystem was troubled by many issues, such as layoffs, lengthier funding rounds and risk aversion among investors.

Thus far, criticism has largely focussed on startup founders and their unsustainable business models, prioritising rapid growth over profitability, and incurring high cash burn.

While there is merit in that argument, we all agree that the current climate for venture-backed fundraising seems muted. Many VC firms around the region are adopting a wait-and-see mentality as exit via the public markets becomes less viable.

The result? Startups are facing challenges in getting fresh funding; many are close to the end of the runway. This means that we can expect a pick up of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities as startup founders will look to exit when there is a lack of cash flow.

Who do you go to in such a scenario?

Usually, people will opt for investment banks, but have you ever wondered why? These organisations are usually hired as financial advisors to large corporates or institutions to execute M&A.

After all, they bring a set of highly specialised skill sets ranging from deal negotiation to investor relations to corporate finance expertise to get the deal done. Therefore, they are valuable advisors as M&A transactions are major events in any corporation and issues close to the startup founder’s mind.

On the other hand, we recommend CFO consultants as they position themselves as in-house corporate development functions within an organisation. These consultants either provide functional support to the CFO or act as the interim CFO to the organisation if there is a lack of one. In the context of an M&A transaction, they share the same objective, have similar expertise, and are equally vested in the firm’s success.

Also Read: The secret sauce of de-risking early-stage venture capital

With similar profiles, the next question would be: what should a CEO think about before engaging with these advisors?

Fee structure incentives

First, a CEO must understand that a large portion of an investment bank’s fee structure is contingent-based. This means that these fees are only earned upon successful deal completion.

As a result, an investment bank is motivated to do all it can to close the transaction. This structure tends to encourage the investment bank’s full commitment to seal the deal.

However, on the downside, an investment bank might be biased toward providing advice leading to deal closure and hesitate to call out points that would stall the deal. This translates to the relationship tending to be transactional, as they will immediately move from one deal to the next.

Conversely, a CFO consultant is compensated on a retainer basis. This could be a fixed fee that is decided upfront or based on the amount of time spent on the project. Without the need for the deal to be completed, a CFO consultant can provide a more objective view of things and is unafraid of pulling the brakes on a potentially sour transaction.

Furthermore, this allows the CFO consultant to be brought in at a much earlier stage of the process (i.e. two-three years prior) to properly plan for the exit ahead.

Depth of relationship with the client

To a large degree, an investment bank is akin to a special forces team. Whenever an emergency happens, they are called upon to solve the problem before moving on to the next one. Thus, the investment bank only appears whenever a major corporate event happens and leaves once the deal is done.

On the other hand, a CFO consultant partners with the client along the journey. They are constantly in contact with the client, whether in the midst of a crisis or on a day-to-day basis, providing advice along the way. This allows the CFO consultant to build an appreciation of the business and a deeper relationship with the key stakeholders in the organisation.

Level of understanding of the business

The strength of an investment bank lies in its expertise in running the M&A transaction process. Oftentimes, they require a high-level, strategic understanding of the business and financials before executing the deal. Therefore, they might not fully appreciate the business and only prioritise the items that directly lead to deal completion.

Also Read: Why venture capital is going big with cloud mining

For CFO consultants working with the client in the long haul, they have a complete context of the development of the business over time and have closer contact with the staff on the ground. This translates to a more comprehensive view of the business and the intricacies underlying them.

A suite of services

The range of services an investment bank provides will depend on the size of the firm. A full-suite bank can provide a wider range of services, such as corporate banking, treasury, or structured finance services. A boutique investment bank, however, can only provide financial advisory services. All these are targeted towards serving the financing needs of an organisation and supplementary advice on it.

CFO consultants’ value proposition lies in their skill set in the finance function. They are well-versed in any expertise that a typical finance team requires, such as accounting, due diligence and automation technology. Therefore, CFO consultants are more positioned towards getting the finance function to a standard rather than simply serving an organisation’s financing needs.

Ultimately, an investment bank and a CFO consultant are not mutually exclusive. Each serves different purposes, and the CEO should consider their options by comparing the organisation’s needs with the intended strategic objective.

It is often overlooked that CFO consultants provide personalised services and strategies to organisations compared to investment banks. Hence, it is important for startup founders to understand that CFO consultants are more suited as long-term partners to the management. At the same time, an investment bank is better called upon whenever the need arises.

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Vietnamese tech major VNG’s valuation slashed to US$364M
VNG was the country’s first tech unicorn and was once reportedly valued at US$2.2B; VNG shares will be traded on the Unlisted Public Company Market, which is the board for firms not yet listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

GIC was the world’s most active state investor in 2022
The US$690B fund of Singapore spent over US$39B in 72 deals; Over half of that was piled into real estate with a clear bias towards logistics properties.

Indonesia’s multi-brand kitchen operator Legit Group raises US$9M+
The investors are MDI Ventures, SMDV, and East Ventures; The recent filings indicate that the company could raise an additional amount of up to US$4.65M in the round.

Major US-listed Chinese tech firms drop HK listing plans
Pinduoduo has delayed discussions about a potential listing in Hong Kong; While Full Truck Alliance, a Chinese truck-hailing platform, has also dropped its original plan to list shares in Hong Kong in January.

GIC, Saudi wealth fund to invest US$785M in Kakao Entertainment
The subsidiary of South Korean internet company Kakao plans to use the money to accelerate its growth as the company prepares for its upcoming IPO this year.

Bahamas takes temporary control of US$3.5B FTX assets
FTX’s assets were transferred to digital wallets under the Commission’s control for safekeeping until the Supreme Court of the Bahamas directs the Commission to return the assets to FTX customers and creditors.

Alternative plastic startup Alterpacks raises US$1M pre-seed money
The investors are Plug and Play APAC, SEEDS Capital, and Earth Venture Capital; Alterpacks upcycles food loss in manufacturing to create a biodegradable and home-compostable material to replace plastic food containers.

From ‘crypto winter’ to ‘ice age’? What does 2023 hold for digital assets
According to Alex Au, founder of HK’s Alphalex Capital, most investors will wait out the downturn, storing their digital assets in a ‘cold wallet’, a digital wallet that is not connected to the internet, to prevent hacking.

What startup founders don’t know about exit strategies
Startups are facing challenges in getting fresh funding; many of them are close to the runway; This means that we can expect a pick up of M&A activities as founders will look to exit when there is a lack of cash flow.

How to put CX at the heart of digital acceleration journey
Simply automating backend processes is no longer enough for companies to truly fulfil their digital potential; Customers are becoming more tech-savvy, and with a better understanding of technology comes less tolerance for poor CX or UX.

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Alterpacks, a Singapore-based provider of biodegradable food containers, has closed its US$1 million pre-seed funding round.

Plug and Play APAC led the round with participation from SEEDS Capital and Earth Venture Capital. Angel investor Alice Foo also joined.

The money will ramp up AlterPacks’s food container production and supply across key markets in Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Alterpacks was founded in 2019 to combat the problem of single-use plastics.

The company provides new economic value to spent grains, a by-product of the food manufacturing process, after producing malted drinks, such as milo or beer. The grains are currently used as animal feed, turned into fertilizer, or disposed of in landfills.

Alterpacks converts food grains into containers that can be moulded into any shape. This way, it upcycles food loss in manufacturing to create a biodegradable and home-compostable material to replace plastic food containers.

Also Read: How all-electric, self-driving Clearbot helps tackle ocean plastic pollution in Asia

The firm is working with different F&B businesses, converters, and manufacturers to create tailor-made, sustainable packaging solutions at scale.

Alterpacks containers are 100 per cent organic and go from freezer to microwave. The startup is also creating bio-pellets to replace petroleum-based resins used in standard manufacturing machines today and changing the raw material with other forms of agricultural waste.

In 2022, the company piloted its food containers at the Motor GP Event in Mandalika, Indonesia. It has collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme to combat plastic pollution in Indonesia.

In Vietnam, the firm piloted the product with Pizza 4P’s, a famous F&B brand with over 26 restaurants.

The startup is supported by the Temasek Foundation and was incubated under Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Business Innovation Generator.

CEO Karen Cheah said: “The genesis of AlterPacks lies in the garbage. As countries look at producing more food, we turn our attention to what is being left behind and thrown out with the food waste and loss, and use that as a raw material to replace plastic packaging.”

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Last month, a child born in the Dominican Republic was credited with being the eighth billionth person on Earth. This major population milestone was reached only 11 years after the planet’s population ticked past seven billion, and the 10 billionth person is expected to be born sometime around 2050.

That’s a lot of mouths to feed. The United Nations has forecasted that farmers will have to produce 70 per cent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world’s growing population.

While planet Earth has been a great provider to human beings, there are limits as to how much it can give. Large-scale food production is already responsible for nearly a third of carbon emissions, and 90 per cent of deforestation as natural ecosystems are converted into farmland.

The environment isn’t the only issue confronting food security for future generations. As the war in Ukraine – which disrupted supplies of feedstock and grains to Asia, Europe, and Africa – has shown, food supplies and production are highly vulnerable to geopolitical events.

Food tech takes centre stage

Technology has revolutionised our understanding of how genomic sequencing can produce more resistant and higher-yield crops and has driven huge advances in alternative foods, such as plant-based analogues and cultivated protein.

Also Read: The opportunities and challenges Singapore’s agritech sector faces

Singapore, the city-state which I call home, has positioned itself to be at the centre of research and commercialisation of these novel foods. As a country with little arable land and which imports as much as 90 per cent of the food its population consumes, it has set an ambitious goal of sustainably producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.

At Nurasa, we are similarly focused on accelerating the commercialisation and adoption of sustainable foods across Asia. We work closely with industry partners and promising food tech startups to ensure that the taste, texture, nutritional value, and price of these sustainable options match consumer demands. Simply put, we all want to eat food that excites us.

But while creating amazing, tasty, and affordable products is a necessary first step to enticing consumers and establishing and growing market share, it is not enough. As some of our most innovative food producers are discovering, there are significant barriers to bringing sustainable food products to market.

Barriers to scaling and commercialising new foods exist

Emerging players need to scale up to place these products in the hands of consumers to disrupt the status quo. Alternative food producers are still first-movers in the use of equipment such as precision fermentation and high-moisture extrusion (HME) to create food analogues. However, in most cases,  the infrastructure for such innovative technologies is prohibitively expensive in order for these emerging food producers to scale up to commercial volumes.

Alternative food producers also face limited access to capital to commercialise their products. Although the sector was estimated to be worth US$1 trillion by 2050, consumer adoption has not been as robust as predicted.

Consequently, investor confidence has fallen, despite growing eagerness to direct capital towards opportunities that contribute to a more sustainable world. Until the alternative protein sector is able to drive mainstream adoption, the challenge of fundraising will remain.

To overcome the core obstacle hampering growth, we need to win consumers over on flavour, texture and nutritional quality and encourage them to appreciate alternative proteins as real food options.

Subsequently, as producers make further improvements and create more food applications and opportunities for consumers to integrate these products into their daily diets, we anticipate a significant shift in habits. Making this a reality will require innovations in product development and formulations,  and emerging startups lacking the relevant technical expertise and capacity will need to rely on support from the broader ecosystem to fill existing gaps and capture demand.

Offering tailored support to scale startups

It’s a critical time for sustainable foods, especially following the conclusion of COP27 negotiations, where food security featured prominently. Without question, the global event has put building a more robust food system on the radar of leaders – but there is still significant work to be done to identify more ethical and environmental ways of production.

New ideas and innovations, such as alternative foods, offer us the opportunity to improve resilience and tackle the effects of climate change. However, as with any nascent industry, challenges remain. Overcoming those will require concerted action through partnerships at every step of the commercialisation journey.

This is why Nurasa, A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and Trendlines Agrifood Innovation Centre (AFIC) have launched the inaugural Food Tech Startup Challenge with the support of Enterprise Singapore.

Also Read: 4 ways you can capitalise on the food tech gold rush in Asia

Currently open for submissions, the challenge calls on entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world, specialising in either the optimisation of alternative proteins – especially through precision fermentation and HME – or the creation of next-generation healthy and tasty functional foods and novel product formats, to participate.

Of particular interest will be how alternative protein startups overcome the key issues of existing plant-based meat: taste, texture, nutrition, and price.

The winners of the challenge will be awarded, among other prizes and incentives, early access to cutting-edge technologies and tools at Nurasa’s Food Tech Innovation Centre as well as the opportunity to work closely with industry leaders to scale up the development of their novel, animal-free food products to the pre-commercialisation stage.

For entrepreneurs keen to crack the Asian market, this challenge is the ideal platform from which they can gain a foothold in the fastest-growing and largest food markets in the world.

At Nurasa, we’re looking forward to helping food innovators explore creative solutions that can lift the barriers to the adoption of alternative foods in this region. From the groundbreaking solutions we’ve seen so far, the future is healthy and delicious – and, more importantly, sustainable.

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Technology underpins almost every facet of 21st-century life: from work to management of personal finances and shopping to connecting with loved ones and setting doctor appointments.

With the emergence of AI, Web3 and 5G, technology will become even more deeply integrated into our personal and professional lives and make digitalisation a non-negotiable for companies in the region. 

A recent study found that around 70 per cent of enterprise businesses in Singapore have plans to increase their adoption of new technologies to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer experience. While this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, firms should be mindful that customer expectations around the products and services they interact with now change more rapidly than ever. 

Customers are becoming more tech-savvy, and with a better understanding of technology comes less tolerance for poor customer or user experience. While most businesses have implemented one-off digital transformations, many have realised that this method does not optimise current infrastructure to harness new technology and reap its benefits fully. To do so requires an interactive approach instead, and companies must implement digital acceleration as an ongoing process.  

Here are three ways organisations can ensure that the kind of service modern customers seek is delivered: 

Outside-in thinking

Customers are increasingly demanding seamless digital experiences, and technology players in the region are taking note. At present, 59 per cent of APAC businesses are stepping up investment in customer experience management to meet emerging expectations. In this new digital battleground, businesses that are able to create new experiences that satisfy customer needs while fueling loyalty and advocacy will come out on top. 

Also Read: How to adopt the right engagement model to delight your customers

Companies must consider customer expectations at every stage of their business processes, from initial ideation to final delivery.  An effective way of doing this is by taking an “outside-in” approach where a business is looked at from the customer’s perspective. Subsequently, digital processes, tools, products and major decisions are based on what’s best for the customer’s overall experience.

Leverage data to deliver personalised experiences

Data is the fuel of the digital future, and organisations are increasingly using it to drive better business insights and deliver more hyper-personalised customer experiences. In a rapidly evolving digital environment, having easy access to user data allows tech players to keep up with real-time consumer trends for better decision-making. In fact, 94 per cent of businesses in Singapore have increased their utilisation of business analytics to better leverage the data available and improve decision-making. 

According to Meta and Bain & Company’s annual SYNC Southeast Asia (SEA) report, the region is way ahead of its peers when it comes to the adoption of fintech and web3, including metaverse-related tools.

Customer acquisition and retention are essential to growing market share not only locally but in the region. With Southeast Asia leading in the adoption of such future technologies, companies should leverage various technology solutions, including martech ones.

These can be integrated into existing digital infrastructure and systems can support marketing teams in reaching various customer segments as organisations look to expand. Essentially, the more businesses understand their customers, the more accurately they can predict what they want, innovate products, and work towards an omnichannel experience that better engages customers accordingly.

Create an agile environment to keep pace with change

To survive and thrive in today’s fast-moving market, organisations must be flexible, adaptable and proactive. The rapid development of the digital environment has further demanded quicker and more effective deliveries of high-quality and innovative products. This means that agility and adaptability are essential for technology companies to continue delivering value to their customers, whose demands and priorities now change more quickly than ever. 

But despite the current wave of technological disruptions, new global research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services found that only 30 per cent of APAC businesses are prepared for unexpected changes. 

Customer experience should be central to every technology company’s digital acceleration strategy, with agile processes and systems implemented that can quickly adapt to the ever-changing demands of the modern customer.

Organisations should also consider working with the right partners to accelerate the deployment of new digital technologies. Engaging expertise to set up a digital acceleration strategy can also help companies free up resources that can be put to more efficient use.

At the end of the day, it is crucial that businesses can sustain and adapt quickly to evolving industry landscapes. Building bespoke solutions to offer customers the best possible experience can make all the difference for a successful digital strategy. 

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As the older generations start to age out of the market, whole new sets of workers are starting to enter. These new, younger workers have different expectations, different wants, and different desires for a job.

Today, workers 18-24 change jobs an average of 5.7 times. This is a dramatic difference from the two to three changes those of the older generations would make.

When it comes to differences, that’s just one of many. Another very large change is the growing popularity of remote work. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed brought remote work into popularity out of necessity. Although years later, people still show a massive preference for it. 32 per cent of knowledge workers have gone as far as to quit their job because it wasn’t remote. 

61 per cent would go as far as to switch jobs if they were offered a remote alternative. Overwhelmingly workers today prefer flexible, digital work. It’s not surprising either, and remote work leads to more family time, more savings, and less hassle. In response, jobs are moving in this direction. Although that is just one way in which employers are changing to adapt to the new workforce.

Changes in culture

Many of the other most prominent changes involve changes in culture. While older generations enjoy strong competition and moving up the chain, that is no longer the case. Modern workers tend to have a much stronger preference for cooperation and affirmation. A workplace with strongly bonded teams and a lack of hierarchy are becoming more popular.

Also Read: How OppTy aims to save time and change the recruitment game forever

Another cultural shift is the move towards the wellness of employees. Sitting down and grinding away for ten hours in gruelling conditions isn’t as accepted as it used to be. Instead, workplaces designed for comfort, with realistic breaks and even perks, are much more popular. 

Remote work at its peak

Moving away from culture, small businesses are gaining popularity after their downfall. This comes as a side effect of the growth in remote work. Removing the costs of big business while operating digitally gives smaller businesses a chance to really specialise and flourish. 

Remote work at large promotes more original and diverse ideas. The possibility of hiring people across different states, regions, or even countries brings new perspectives. People are now valued for their originality instead of being punished for it. These are all just a few of the trends that are taking place in higher-wage knowledge-based industries.

Job-market roundup

This is important to mention. While these changes can be really positive and prominent, they’re not happening on every level. In fact, they’re not even happening in the fastest-growing job markets. Out of the 10 fastest-growing job markets, six make less than US$32,000 a year. These are jobs like waiters, fast food employees, packagers, and menial lower-skilled labour. 

Jobs like these are not really seeing many of these cultural changes. The industry is too brutal and unforgiving to allow it. Even when looking at the four jobs that do make more than $32,000, not all would see these changes. Nurses, for example, are in a similarly high-stress, unforgiving industry.

Luckily the other three jobs, software developers, general and operations managers, and market research analysts, do benefit from these changes. This is generally positive, but the question arises, if most people aren’t benefiting, what can be done? Luckily there are some universals. 

Also Read: How Recruitery plans to help people who affected by tech layoff

Universally more creative, well-rounded, emotionally competent employees are desired. The job market is moving towards a more wellness-based, cooperative place, just more slowly for some. Technology is looking to be the great unifier in this respect, slowly creating more opportunities for creative work. Although inevitably, some people will be left behind.

This puts those looking to enter the job market today in an interesting place. The set of skills required and expectations can vary wildly depending on what field one enters.

Final thoughts

What should new workers be trained for? More soft skills to be well-rounded, or more direct skills to be able to simply get a job?

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to the question. What is clear is that things are changing and that regardless of what industry one occupies, one should be prepared. This doesn’t mean completely changing one’s expectations. It doesn’t mean fundamentally trying to revamp one’s resume and skillset. It just means keeping an eye on what changes are occurring and making sure not to swim against the flow.

There are countless ways in which the world is changing today, but few are as important as the job market.  Unemployment globally fluctuates, it never tends to get too high or too low. What does dramatically shift in work culture and having a job mean? The factory workers of the 1800s had an experience incomparable to workers today. Workers in the year 2080 may be able to say the same thing.

 The difference is there is the power to know about the shifts and to adapt. Knowledge is power, and everyone has the chance to be knowledgeable. This is the number one power of the job market today. 

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Thai VC Krungsri Finnovate lines up US$43M for startup funding in 2023
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The future of job market: Dramatic changes and cultural shifts
Knowledge is power, and everyone has the chance to be knowledgeable; this is the number one power of the job market today.

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