Culture as a Weapon: How Unisys Wins the APAC Tech Talent War
Unisys's 'Best Employer' award is more than a trophy; it's a strategic asset in Asia-Pacific's fierce battle for tech talent and innovation.
Culture as a Weapon: How Unisys Wins the APAC Tech Talent War
BLUE BELL, PA – November 25, 2025 – For the second consecutive year, global technology solutions company Unisys has secured a coveted spot on the Financial Times' list of Best Employers in Asia-Pacific. While any corporate communications department would celebrate such an accolade, its true significance lies far beyond the press release. In the hyper-competitive, rapidly expanding technology landscape of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, this recognition is not just a trophy; it's a strategic asset in a fierce, ongoing war for talent.
This isn't merely about bragging rights. The award, compiled in collaboration with data firm Statista, is the result of an exhaustive, independent survey of over 50,000 employees across 14 countries. It reflects a ground-level reality of employee sentiment on everything from career growth and work-life balance to company culture. For a legacy company like Unisys, which has been navigating technological shifts for over 150 years, proving its mettle as a top-tier modern employer in the world's fastest-growing economic region is a powerful statement about its ability to adapt and thrive.
The New Corporate Battlefield: Asia-Pacific's Talent War
The context in which Unisys operates cannot be overstated. The APAC IT services market is a juggernaut, valued at over $364 billion in 2023 and projected to surge past $760 billion by 2030, growing at a blistering compound annual rate of 11%. This explosion is fueled by an insatiable demand for digital transformation, with nearly all enterprises in the region planning multi-cloud strategies and aggressively adopting AI, big data, and advanced cybersecurity solutions.
In this gold rush, the primary constraint isn't capital or market opportunity—it's people. The battle for skilled engineers, data scientists, cloud architects, and digital strategy experts is intense. Countries like India, which commands a significant share of the market, have become global hubs for tech talent, making them ground zero for this competition. Companies are no longer just competing on salary; they are competing on culture, purpose, flexibility, and the promise of meaningful work.
This is where an independently validated employer brand becomes a critical differentiator. Accolades like the Financial Times list, alongside other recent wins for Unisys such as being named one of TIME's World's Best Companies and Newsweek's Most Loved Workplaces, serve as a powerful signal to the market. For potential recruits weighing offers from multiple tech giants, these awards can tip the scales, suggesting a workplace that values its employees as much as its bottom line. It transforms the company from just another name on a list of potential employers into a destination with a proven track record of employee satisfaction.
Deconstructing the 'Best Employer' Blueprint
Achieving 'Best Employer' status once is an accomplishment; repeating it suggests a deliberate and sustainable strategy. Unisys's approach, as articulated by its leadership, is built on a foundation of “people-centric initiatives.” This is more than HR jargon; it’s a reflection of a fundamental shift in the employer-employee contract, particularly within the tech sector.
"This recognition reflects what we hear directly from our associates in the region: Unisys empowers them to innovate and do their best work every day," said Ruchi Kulhari, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Unisys. "We are committed to fostering a culture that prioritizes innovation and collaboration."
This commitment materializes in three key areas that resonate deeply with the modern workforce: flexible work models, comprehensive well-being programs, and a robust portfolio of learning and leadership development. Research across the APAC region confirms that today’s workers, especially in technology, prioritize autonomy, opportunities for upskilling, and a healthy work-life balance. By investing in these areas, Unisys aligns its corporate culture with the explicit desires of the talent it seeks to attract and retain. It's a blueprint shared by many of its highly-ranked peers on the Financial Times list, including firms like Atos and ADP, which also emphasize employee development and flexible work environments as core to their identity.
Culture as a Catalyst for Innovation
For a company whose business is innovation—powering breakthroughs in cloud, AI, and digital workplace solutions—a thriving internal culture is not a 'nice-to-have' but a core business necessity. The intersection of employee satisfaction and business performance is where the 'Future Forward' column finds its focus, and the Unisys case provides a compelling example. An environment of psychological safety, where employees feel empowered and supported, is an environment where creativity flourishes.
When teams are not bogged down by toxic internal politics or fear of failure, they are free to experiment, collaborate across silos, and challenge the status quo—precisely what Unisys promises its clients. The company’s recent financial performance, including a reported 7% year-over-year revenue growth in one recent quarter and exceeded forecasts in another, suggests this synergy is bearing fruit. Strong growth in new business and increasing demand for its AI-driven services indicate that the innovation engine is running effectively. While correlation is not causation, it's difficult to imagine achieving such results with a disengaged or dissatisfied workforce, especially in a region that contributes 14% of the company's global revenue.
Ultimately, the solutions Unisys builds for its clients are a direct reflection of the talent it cultivates internally. A culture of curiosity, accountability, and collaboration, as cited in its press release, is what enables a 150-year-old company to remain at the forefront of technological change. The 'Best Employer' award, therefore, functions as an external audit of this internal innovation engine.
The Persistent Challenge of Perception vs. Reality
Of course, the reality for any global corporation with thousands of employees is inevitably more complex than what can be captured in an award or a press release. While large-scale, anonymous surveys like the one from Statista provide a powerful macro view of employee sentiment, the day-to-day experience can vary significantly across different departments, projects, and geographic locations.
Publicly accessible employee forums and review sites often paint a more nuanced picture, highlighting the persistent challenges that large organizations face. For a company like Unisys, with a deep history, this can manifest in concerns over legacy systems in certain divisions or inconsistencies in management style. For some employees, particularly in a fast-moving market like India, perceptions of career growth opportunities or the pace of technological adoption may not always align with the company's official messaging.
This is not a unique indictment of Unisys but rather an honest acknowledgment of the monumental task of translating a high-level corporate culture into a universally positive experience for every employee. It underscores that earning the title of 'Best Employer' is not a finish line but a continuous process of listening, adapting, and investing. The true test lies in addressing these pockets of friction and ensuring that the promise of an empowering and innovative workplace is felt not just on average, but by as many individuals as possible. In the relentless war for talent, consistency is the ultimate high ground.
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