Interest in remote working soared nearly 15,000%

Key tech trends identified across articles in Singapore media.

Interest in remote working and video conferencing/calling surged by 14,800% and 11,300% respectively across Singapore media since early March, according to global communications agency ClearStory International.

From a regular base of between five to10 articles per week, the average for both is now at 200+ articles per week.

The report identified seven key tech trends from 14,404 articles across Singapore media since December 2019 to the last week of March 2020.

Remote working and video conferencing ranked the highest with 14,800% and 11,300% increase, respectively followed by virtual events and conferencing with a 1,350% surge. Meanwhile, e-learning/edtech rose by 720%, whilst the gig economy grew 692%. Health/med/biotech and e-commerce are on the lower ranks with 251% and 185% increase in coverage, respectively.

Globally, on average, there was a 17,500% increase in interest in video calling and an upsurge in interest in remote working by 14,000%.

According to a recent IWG flexible working survey, over 60% of Singaporeans were working remotely on a weekly basis before COVID-19, demonstrating a shift in interest in changing work practices. Close to 5 million people in Singapore were active daily internet users, with around 3 million having used e-commerce at least once in their lives.

The report added that the data shows increase in interest in online shopping as the virus continues to spread.