OptionsSwing Founder's Top Stock Picks: Jason Lee Reveals Key Tech Companies To Watch In The Remote Work Era

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With the rise of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, technology companies have become more important than ever. As a result, the stock prices of tech giants such as Microsoft MSFT, Apple AAPL and Amazon AMZN have surged, and investors are eagerly watching for any signs of continued growth.

Jason Lee, founder and CEO of OptionsSwing believes smart investing in this opportunistic economic era is going to center on forward-looking technology companies that have their hand on the pulse of the post-pandemic work world.

Looking for which tech companies are likely to provide the most impressive returns in the coming fiscal year? Lee suggests keeping an eye on cloud-based corporations as a leading point, companies like DigitalOcean DOCN, which has positioned its cloud infrastructure services to be specifically applicable to the needs of smaller companies. “Most big companies made the migration to the cloud some time ago, so look for technology entities that are built to serve smaller businesses,” Lee advises. “Covid showed companies that employees don’t have to be in office to be productive and that, in fact, productivity measurably increases with remote work so everyone who owns a business is going to be looking for new and more expansive ways to promote that. Look for the tech companies that are building what those companies need to scale by leveraging remote work.”

Lee’s own career trajectory tells much about what is likely to have worth in the tech space of today’s market. He built both of his companies using technology that arose out of a demonstrated need in his day-to-day life. “I realized that I was building a significant business with OptionsSwing, but the entire technology that is running it and allowing us to grow like that could be used for tens of thousands of other businesses that are also using similar platforms,” he reflects.

Lee believes a conservative stance toward newer tech assets is always prudent. Giving companies time to grow and show their worth before putting too many eggs in that basket also gives investors time to dig further into their potential. “Essentially, successful tech investment right now is about engaging with tomorrow’s tools,” he says, “and to do that effectively investors to do their homework on how businesses are growing and what they might need in the future to keep up with the evolving remote space.”

A few examples of tech-based areas to explore include companies that specialize in observability software, user experience monitoring, developer testing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. On the material side of the equation, “Don’t forget the companies that actually make the hardware,” Lee reminds. For solid, long-term investments, which Lee always advises for first-time investors, go with companies that have a proven history to stand on. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft are not likely to go bust or become irrelevant in the tech sphere anytime soon. Likewise, in the cell phone space, as we move forward in capability with handheld devices, companies like Samsung SSNLF and Apple can be relied upon to continue to lead the fields of innovation and thus represent solid short and long-term investments.

By the same token, Lee’s own brainchild, Ternary Developments, embodies the aspect of tech that may well boom biggest in the global transition to remote work: streamlining.

“Businesses don’t want to work with five different vendors in order to run their business,” he says. “They would rather work with one vendor who has a single platform with all the tools they need, including a single customer database.” It is likely that investing in companies that smooth out data translation B2B or B2C while offering those end-to-end platform tools will continue to be a responsible move.

“The best thing any hesitant investor can do is get into a quality conversation with other investors through a dedicated community,” Lee concludes. “There is so much opportunity for everyone and these investment communities are great for offering real insights and support to all types of traders.”

This article is from an external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's opinions and has not been edited for content.