The traditional notion of work is now changing even within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines, according to Microsoft’s New World of Work (NWoW) study which involved 5,000 respondents who are working in SMEs in 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific. The Philippines is represented in the study by 400 employees.
Cian O’Neill, Chief Operating Officer at Microsoft Philippines.
The study, which unveils the NWoW index, compares how workers perceive their ability to succeed in today’s digital fast-paced and modern work place.
Cian O’Neill, Chief Operating Officer at Microsoft Philippines, said the study seeks to find out how work and life have changed for employees and how their employers are supporting them to succeed.
The study observed that Filipino workers feel they are better supported for the modern workplace and are open to harness productivity tools to be more productive and competitive. Local workers are also urging enterprises to meet the study’s outcomes – the need for a productive, collaborative, and innovative workforce; and well-being.
Fifty one percent of Filipino respondents are using their personal devices in the worksite to get their work done. Likewise, online tools that go beyond just email – document and file sharing, storage, virtual meetings and social – are being utilized by 75%, which is higher than APAC level of 71%.
The study claims that work doesn’t end at 5pm as 85% said they are still required to be contactable outside of work in order to complete their work effectively.
Those who said they are required to respond to internal stakeholders within four hours comprised 69.5% while those needed to respond to external customers within four hours represented 72.5%.
There is a limited mobile productivity in a highly mobile workforce with three-fourths of respondents are more productive in the office as their work requires access to special equipment or tools that are only available in the office.
Work life balance is a very important aspect of their job, according to 91% of respondents, with 71% felt that they had adequate balance today.
Local enterprises are adopting sustainable practices with 82% said their companies are increasingly moving towards becoming paperless, above the regional average of 78%.
The study ranked the Philippines third among 12 markets with a productivity index of 59 out of 100, which means that 59 out of 100 employees rated themselves highly in embracing new People, Place and Technology principles. The Philippine score is higher than the region’s score of 44. Countries involved include India, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea.
Office 2016
In relation to benefits derived from NWoW, Microsoft is reinventing productivity for the modern workplace with its new Office 2016 productivity suite that empowers users to do more anywhere at any time across iOS, Android and Windows-based devices.
Now available, Office 2016 offers new features like Co-Authoring which enables users to collaborate through real-time typing in Word that lets you see others’ edits as they make them.
The suite boasts a Skype in-app integration where users can IM (instant messaging), screen share, talk or video chat right in your docs.
Its Outlook 2016 is designed for fast search, remove low priority mail, and make sure everyone has the access with modern attachments. The Excel 2016 provides one click forecasting, integrated power pivot, integrated get and transform and 3D maps, new chart types and publish to power BI.
Users can be taken directly to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Visio, Project, and Access by just typing the word “Tell Me”, while the Smart Lookup feature brings insights from the Web right into Office docs (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook).
Office 2016 is built for Windows 10 and has Internet-friendly MAPI-HTTP protocol which enhances Exchange/Outlook connectivity. The suite also features enterprise security and protection, including Built-in Data Loss Protection, Multifactor Authentication and Enterprise Data Protection.
Subscription plans
Office 2016 comes with a subscription of Office 365, which means that for every device that is subscribed to Office 365, Office 2016 is automatically included.
An Office 365 Home subscriber can download and install Office 2016 to up to five PCs/Macs, five tablets (Windows/Android/iOS), and five smartphones (Windows/Android/iOS). For Office 365 Personal, one PC or Mac, one tablet and one phone. For Office 365 University (plan exclusive for students), you can install up to two PCs, Macs or tablets, and two phones.
Microsoft has Office 365 plans designed for SMBs and Office 365 plans designed for enterprises. The plans for enterprises have additional advanced capabilities such as Rights Management and Data Loss Prevention, Self-Service Business Intelligence, among others, catering to advanced requirements of large enterprises.
The subscription cost for Office 350 is P350 a month. There are several subscription plans for Office 365 based on the particular need of the subscriber. Prices for these plans are not subject to change in the near future.
Microsoft offers migration support and services to support customers moving from traditional on premise solutions to Office 365.
