Brazilian enterprises have begun offering their employees flexible work options in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with few companies expecting a total return to the office, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for Brazil finds that employers have learned more about the potential of a hybrid work model based on their experiences with remote work during the pandemic, and service providers are stepping up to help them achieve it.

“The latest tools from providers help to make working at home and in the office one seamless experience,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “As Brazilian companies embrace hybrid work models, they can experiment with new tools and ideas to find the best practices for them.”

Most companies in Brazil reported higher productivity under work-from-home policies, but when they allowed a partial return to the office in spring 2021, they learned that many employees prefer to work in an office, ISG says. Service providers have proposed several possible reasons for this: the familiarity of the office, the social outlet for employees who live alone, the challenges of separating work and home life and the opportunity for better teamwork in the office. No single solution provides the best experience for all employees and companies, they found.

Over the past year, service providers operating in Brazil have adopted a range of new technologies, especially tools based on artificial intelligence (AI), which has become the prime area of competition among providers, the report says. AI is enabling capabilities including self-healing and incident prediction, and providers are now training their AI on new patterns to support future ways of working.

As in other regions, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated a transition to remote work that was expected to occur over several years, ISG says. As a result, service providers in Brazil have spent this year rethinking how work gets done, measuring employee experiences, adapting service platforms to hybrid work and integrating digital workplace platforms with smart buildings to protect employee safety and health, the report says.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for Brazil evaluates the capabilities of 36 providers across five quadrants: Workplace Strategy Transformation Services – Large Accounts, Workplace Strategy Transformation Services – Midmarket, Managed Digital Workplace Services – Large Accounts, Managed Digital Workplace Services – Midmarket and Managed Employee Experience Services.

The report names Sonda, Unisys and Wipro as Leaders in three quadrants each and Capgemini, Connectis, IBM, SantoDigital and Stefanini as Leaders in two quadrants each. CTC, Dedalus, ilegra, Logicalis, Venha Pra Nuvem and Vexia are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, HOM and Logicalis are named as Rising Stars—companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition—in one quadrant each.

A customized version of the report is available from Unisys.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for Brazil is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.