A recent survey by Kintone reveals that 41% of Kuala Lumpur office workers identify excessive manual work as the primary obstacle to productivity, despite ongoing digital transformation efforts. Conducted during Kintone’s “Stress Pressed Juice” pop-up event at KL Eco City Mall, the survey engaged 506 participants, highlighting key workplace frustrations.
The survey results underscore a significant challenge: whilst digital tools are intended to streamline work, they often add complexity. Tsubasa Nakazawa, Managing Director of Kintone Southeast Asia, noted, “The irony is hard to miss because despite years of digitalisation, many teams feel slowed down by the very tools meant to speed them up.”
Additional findings from the survey indicate that 29.8% of respondents are frustrated by overly complicated systems, 16.2% by poor visibility across work and information, and 12.8% by the proliferation of workplace tools. These issues stem from fragmented systems that fail to integrate, leading to inefficiencies.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the lack of dedicated IT resources exacerbates these challenges. Nakazawa emphasised the importance of simplifying workflows rather than expanding software stacks, suggesting that digital maturity should focus on how well tools work together rather than their quantity.
Looking forward, Kintone aims to address these issues at its upcoming Kintone Days Global 2026 event in Kuala Lumpur, where businesses can explore strategies for achieving genuine productivity gains through digital transformation.
