2021 Industry Outlook
Happy New Year!
2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. The global Covid-19 pandemic has caused tremendous shifts in the way we work and had dramatic impacts on hiring throughout most industries. Luckily, the year is over and there are some bright signs for 2021.
Tokyo’s tech market is recovering and open positions are on the rise. Talent is in high demand again. We asked our industry experts to share some of their exclusive insights from the sectors they are covering.
This is what 2021 has to offer.
Consumer Tech
B2C is a broad classification for our industry coverage on the Consumer Technology team. Within this huge industry segment are companies and services as disparate as hardline manufacturers to DIY website platforms. While some of these spaces have undoubtedly suffered in light of the COVID-19 pandemic such as OTA and brick-and-mortar retail operations, others have achieved incredible results adapting to our in-house, online lifestyles and the products and services we use in daily life.
Entering 2021, we will continue to see the arrival of new players in the entertainment space: video streaming, music streaming, mobile and console gaming as well as gaming platform providers and eSports have all been tracking record years, with hiring trends to reflect this in the sales and marketing verticals.
And as the restaurant industry seeks out new business models to make up for their dropping in-store customers, what better time for food delivery businesses both Japan-based and international to step into the market and ramp up their Japan business nationwide? The speed with which these companies have grown has been exponential in 2020 and we only see this continuing into next year, along with other innovative delivery services like farm-to-table groceries and meal kit providers targeting Japan.
FinTech
2021 looks very bright for FinTech. While initial investment in and expansion of a variety of FinTech clients in 2020 was conservative, the strong shift to e-commerce driven purchasing has meant payment platform providers, AML (Anti-Money Laundering), KYC (Know Your Customer) and risk management solutions as well as payment gateway companies have started to expand their sales and tech teams going into next year.
Japan has continued to shift towards a cashless economy and both Japan-based and international e-wallet and C2C transfer solutions have capitalized on the continuation of this trend.
Finally, with the 2021 postponed Olympics looming, merchants and consumer services look to onboard cutting edge payment solutions as the eyes of the world - and their wallets - descend on Japan next year!
AdTech
In Q2 and Q3 of 2020 the whole AdTech industry needed to quickly adjust to the new reality and navigate through stormy waters due to a big revenue decrease from their OTA, Transportation and Hospitality clients. Also Apple’s IDFA (The Identifier for Advertisers) announcement for iOS devices had a big impact on the industry and is forcing companies to adapt and innovate further.
At the same time increased revenue from e-commerce clients helped AdTech providers save their businesses. Similarly hiring needs went through ups and downs. For some months there was a struggle to hire new talents and many positions have been put on hold.
However, since Q4 we are experiencing a strong demand for hiring as all major AdTech players are trying to position themselves well entering into 2021. Big things will happen.
Enterprise Tech
2020 showed us the importance of cloud, big data, security, connectivity, HR and collaboration tools for the modern world. Being hit by the pandemic and forced to go remote as a civilization, we needed to bridge the gap of physical distance.
Everybody knows the best tool to bridge that gap is the internet. While collaboration and HR software and platforms are relatively new, the pandemic was a blessing for these industries and their peak is yet to be seen.
Following the implementation of 5G, IoT and autonomous operations sectors such as cloud, IT security, big data and connectivity will experience tremendous growth and are bound to continue in such manner even after the pandemic is over.
From a recruitment point of view sales professionals were the most sought after in 2020 and will be in 2021 as well.
Engineering Trends
Engineering, development and product design will continue to thrive in 2021. We have seen that Covid-19 has slowed down hiring between April to July but the hiring needs picked up again slowly from July and accelerated in Q4. The biggest reason is that product development can’t stop. Some new services and features are becoming more crucial during the WFH era.
As more global companies are entering the Japanese market with their own local tech teams including technical support, solution architects or pre-sales, bi-lingual talent is in high demand. Client-facing technical roles will be of very high importance in 2021.
Booming Sectors
Here are the areas that will be growing in Japan in 2021:
Cloud computing will continue to lead the way. More companies in Japan will be looking to upgrade their IT infrastructure.
Mobile applications - One day we will move on from them but not anytime soon. Mobile apps stay on top of our day to day usage.
AI - Will be implemented in a larger scale by more companies across most industries.
Smart technology.
Product development remains a top priority for companies with a focus on delivering user friendly and easy to use products.
More performance management and employee engagement tools will be introduced.
Managed service providers will build deeper cybersecurity expertise.
Business conversations driven by tech pros – The need for more professional technical skills when conducting business conversations will rise.
If you like our content, join our mailing list and receive our latest startup stories, market insights and job trends for Japan’s tech market.