Explore the challenges of outdated screen technology and the importance of remote device management. Discover how modern solutions can enhance digital displays and reduce operational costs.

Transforming Digital Screens: From Disappointment to Delight

So why have screens been digitally disappointing in the past? Well, firstly, I think that they haven't been sufficiently updated. The firmware is very rarely updated on the screen, and normally to update it, you have to buy a new one. The embedded browsers installed on screens are also out of date and rarely get updates. So modern web technology just does not work on the screens. In addition to that, there's many different points of failure. Often the screen may be on and connected to the internet and think it's working fine, but not displaying the content that it should be, but it doesn't know. And finally, we haven't had sufficiently strong remote device management or RDM tools to enable IT teams to control these screens and fix them over the air, through the cloud, and not have to go out for expensive site visits, sometimes at $800 per visit. That mounts up pretty quickly. So there's multiple factors at play here, but ultimately we need to switch digital disappointment to digital delight.

Exploring the potential effects of AI on workforce requirements, especially in developing countries. Discusses how AI could reduce the need for large teams, but also highlights the opportunities for upskilling and innovation.

AI's Impact on Workforce and Outsourcing

I think with AI, it means that the negative part of AI is you're not going to need as many people, right? So that's probably quite bad for developing countries. I mean, I think it's super interesting, say, in Nigeria, it's having a population explosion, there's a lot of talent there, time zone is quite good. This could be its time. But then it might be that actually you don't need 100 people, you just need 10 who really understand how to use AI very, very well. And so that might be a bit of a negative to people trying to get into the industry. So we'll see. Yeah, I suppose to a degree, AI might become your outsource. You know, if you know what you're doing, you have the skills to do it. But I think in technology, we forget that we are still the minority, right? You know, out in the real world, there are not that many people who really know how to code, there are not that many people really confident with building web products. And so even if they had AI to do it for them, they wouldn't even know where to begin. So I think there's many, many, many problems that need to be solved. And some of the problems are really small problems that don't warrant a whole SaaS product. But if someone was available to kind of just use AI to spin up and build a product, we've actually done it recently in ScreenCloud. We had one of our customer success team build an app on top of ScreenCloud for an events company in two weeks. And one of our front end developers helped a bit. But the majority of the code was developed through AI and prompting. He's a technical minded guy, but he's not a developer. I think that's pretty cool. Where that affects outsourcing, you're definitely going to need less people. So possibly that's a problem. But then I also think that people who are coming from kind of up and coming countries, they're pretty resourceful, and they're not dumb, like they're going to see that this AI is happening. So right now, maybe they're upskilling themselves on how to use AI and

This video explores the potential of global tech talent, particularly in Eastern Europe and South America. It highlights the benefits of embracing diverse skills and the educational systems that foster technical expertise.

Embracing Global Tech Talent in Outsourcing

I haven't really, like, obviously, I can't talk about every region in the world because I don't have experience. Like, obviously, there's a vast amount of tech talent in India, for example, and we actually have very, quite a large number of Indian nationals working in our Bangkok team, but I've never had a team in India. So I don't know. I mean, I know it's pretty big and stuff like that. I've obviously had experience in Ukraine through personal relationships. I've also experienced teams in Bulgaria. I think there's a very interesting kind of Eastern European skill, like, range there. And I think a lot of that comes from a much more sort of rigorous academic upbringing, especially in maths and science, which we don't have so much in the UK and America, I think. So I think that there's just people are naturally kind of, like, more technically minded because of the way that they're educated. I think the education system in the East, from what I can tell, and I think I can talk to that relatively, you know, as an outsider, I'm very impressed, like, and I wish we had more of that here. I wish we had more emphasis on science and key skills like maths, which we let go way too easily. I think there's just obvious talent there. And then, you know, I think you've also got to be honest. It's like, it's coming from countries where, like, you know, this is a very good route towards making more money, right? That is useful and powerful. And I think IT outsourcing is quite possible. There's other skills that wouldn't be so easy to outsource, such as sales, right, for example. So yeah, I guess Eastern Europe lends itself to that. I'm hearing a lot of US companies having great success in South America, Latin America, but like, I mean, I can only really talk from my own experiences, but I think the world is full of much more talent than maybe a lot of the West realizes. And I think being able to kind of embrace that, I think it's good for everyone if we really embrace the talent tha

Explore the challenges and strategies of managing a global team at ScreenCloud, with insights into communication, cultural diversity, and the importance of annual meetups. Learn how to turn time zone differences into an advantage and foster a common organisational culture.

Navigating Global Team Dynamics at ScreenCloud

With difficulty, to be honest, I mean, I think we've always been in multiple countries. So we were in Thailand and the UK from the very beginning. So in that regard, you know, that wasn't difficult because we had existing teams. We always had really good ways of working. And when we were smaller, it was easier because even with time difference, like you can pick up pretty good ways of doing asynchronous communication and you get into workflows quite fast. Like you can use the time zones to your advantage or there can be a massive disadvantage, but quickly you figure out how to use it to your advantage. And it just means you need to be more clear in your communication because you might be communicating to someone who's only going to see that communication when they wake up. So you need to be thorough, right? You need to be very clear, especially when people don't have English as a first language, such as in Thailand. That's just something you just learn to do. But obviously culture, I actually would even argue you don't have a single culture. Like you have this overarching culture of like, what is the culture of what we do and don't accept at ScreenCloud? But a Thai interpretation of that is going to be very different to like a West Coast LA interpretation of that. And I think if you try and make everyone homogenized, then you're going to fail because like the very cultures that those people are from are so radically different themselves. But what you can have is this common thread, right? This common humanity, which I think is something you've got to hire against. You've got to really like maintain and be disciplined about maintaining that runs across all of that. But then I think you've got to also celebrate a bit of local diversity as well. But it's difficult and it gets much harder at scale. And it got even harder during COVID where we couldn't do these annual meetups. We do this thing called ScreenCloud Together where everyone gets together in one location once 

A candid reflection on the experiences of attending a conference amidst the challenges of travel fatigue. The speaker shares insights on maintaining enthusiasm and the importance of networking. Join us as we delve into the realities of professional events.

Reflections on Conference and Travel Experiences

I'm getting ready for my talks and good gut health. So it's actually quite harming that there's only 14% there. And hungry. I'm so tired and hungry. I'm a bit tired, I thought the conference was excellent. Hi. Hi. Waiting for a picture. We are in Seattle and it's raining. Oh, that's incredibly kind of you. And by the way, we also have been admiring your handiwork. Very tired, but good. Ready to go home. Last flight. Yeah, last flight. Yay. It's a short one.  Thank you. 

In this video, explore ScreenCloud's unique approach to combining office-based and remote work. Learn how their hub-based strategy fosters collaboration and growth while maintaining flexibility. Discover insights on the challenges and benefits of remote work within a team-oriented culture.

Balancing Office and Remote Work for Optimal Team Success

So, ScreenCloud has been around for almost 10 years now, but the business that it evolved out from has been around for 20 years. We've always taken a hub-based approach to our work, and we've always been international, so we've been in London and Bangkok from day one. I believe in a hub, basically an office where people can come to and collaborate and work, because the best work is done that way, especially when it's cross-functional between design, development, strategy, project management, marketing, whatever it might be. You need those teams to have trust, you need them to know each other, and to learn from each other, and that's what the office environment is for. I also believe that a lot of work can be done from home, so with the hubs we have a flexible approach, which is you do not have to be here all the time, and this was how our philosophy was from pre-COVID, especially once the technology had been set up to allow for that. So around the mid-2010s, this is when we began to really embrace it because we could, and not because we were hindered by previous technology, which forced us in the office. But I don't really believe in fully remote work. That doesn't mean I don't think it can't work. I think it needs to be intentional from the outset, and in the company's DNA from day one, which it just isn't in our DNA, and I don't think it ever will be. So I'm not against remote work completely, but I think that people who have previously had a culture based on the office, and then based on some flexibility, which I think is right, I don't think they can go fully remote. I don't think that's going to work. I've also noticed that the people who don't come in as often as the people that do are definitely hindered by that. I think that their growth, especially in early career, is limited. I don't think there is well-known in other teams, and cross-collaboration I think is something that's more of a struggle for them. And ultimately, I do think they don't get the greate

If you've started your career in the last five years working remotely, I'd urge you to get out at least once or twice a week to mix with colleagues. More importantly, you need to meet your customers face-to-face. Video conferences don't build the same trust and understanding. I still get nervous visiting customers globally, but those in-person experiences deliver insights you simply can't get virtually.

Why In-Person Interaction Matters for Career Growth

So if you started your career in the last five years remote working or working mostly from home, maybe all that you know, and at risk of just sounding like a old middle-aged guy, I don't think this is wise for your career development. Personally, I would emphasize at least once, twice a week being out and mixing amongst your colleagues, but also wider colleagues from other teams in an office environment. You need to build your network and I don't think you do that going on Zoom and Teams calls. In addition, and really most importantly, you need to get out into the world and meet your customers. Meeting your customer just on a video conference is not getting to know them. There is only one way to do that and that is to go out there physically and it can be a bit scary. I still get butterflies when I turn up to a location on the other side of the world in an industry I know nothing about and I'm going to spend the whole day with those customers. I feel that tension and that anxiety, but at the end of it I know that customer, their business and then probably other members of the team I would never have got to meet during that day way better than I could ever have done virtually. So I think at the moment the world is leaning too much on the tools of communication saying, oh everything can be done from home. In theory it can, but that's not the way the world works and I don't think that's ever going to change. We're not going to undo millennia of the ways humans interact and build trust with each other just because technology improved and we had a pandemic.

I examine communication challenges for deskless workers, where only 5-10% have IT logins. Companies email managers hoping messages get printed or passed on, creating inconsistent delivery with 4-hour update delays. Digital signage provides a reliable, centrally-controlled alternative.

Enhancing Communication with Digital Signage Solutions

We know that companies with a lot of deskless and frontline workers overwhelmingly rely on email, word-of-mouth, and printed notice boards as their primary forms of communication. Now, the problem here is that most of those workers don't have an IT login, only 5% to 10%, which means they don't have an email address, and they don't have access to those company information tools. So we're emailing people who don't have an email address, but what we're actually doing is emailing their line manager and hoping that that message is passed on through word-of-mouth or is printed out and stuck on the notice board. The issue here is that that is extremely inconsistent in how it's delivered. Sometimes it's delivered brilliantly, sometimes maybe not at all. And if you want to update that message, it can be up to four hours for a printed piece of material to be switched over, again, if it's even switched over at all. Now, when information is out of date, it's not trusted, so it's no longer a source of truth. With digital signage, we have an opportunity to have a natural digital communication channel in the work environment in front of those deskless and frontline workers, which we know we can control centrally, but also give a little bit of local power as well. So this is just a more natural way of communicating in these environments and something that we should be embracing more. Thank you.