With much of the hype around virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) having died down, enterprises are now turning towards the practical ways of benefitting from these technologies in their daily operations.

“We have all seen the examples of surgeries being performed and engineers designing more efficient engines using AR. But what do these offerings mean for a typical organisation focused on driving growth while still embracing innovative technologies? The answer could very well lie in collaboration,” says Wright Kaitano, Cisco Collaboration Architecture Lead at Comstor Southern Africa.

An example of how the customer experience can be improved can be found in a Cisco AR solution that enables technicians to launch virtual demonstrations from their devices. They can now see how to install different machine parts in an AR overlay on top of the physical device. By not having to read manuals, Cisco found that installation efficiency increased by 30% and first-time accuracy by 90%.

Additionally, research shows that VR headsets will grow from an installed base of 18 million in 2016 to 100 million by the end of next year. As more companies start conducting business use cases for AR and VR, the potential impact of integrating data analysis into these approaches to improve operational efficiency is significant.

 

Working together

One of the traditional challenges around collaboration lies in its lack of immediacy. Workers are often hampered by the conversational exchanges in asking questions and waiting for answers from colleagues. They are limited by the functionality of the software and struggle to get a consolidated view of a project.

“Because VR and AR solutions are focused on human behaviour, they enable people to connect directly to one another and receive immediate responses. Combining this with real-time data analytics mean information workers can draw on immediate insights while in a collaborative ‘reality’. Of course, there is also the potential to conduct virtual meetings with employees from all over the world. These would not even require additional hardware as standard Webcams, and high-speed internet connectivity would suffice,” adds Kaitano.

And in that lies the biggest misconception around VR and AR – that it must be as realistic as possible.

Certainly, in the operating room and engineering environments, this is essential. But when it comes to meetings and conducting training, there is no need for this. Some users might prefer more abstract representations of people they are engaging with than hyper-real ones as it might just be too ‘creepy’. Irrespective, it is looking beyond the technology for its own sake and instead focusing on what it can deliver for the organisation.

 

Being relevant

“As with any technology, a company must examine the effective use cases that VR and AR can deliver for its particular business needs. This might revolve around training people around specific client scenarios or even just interacting with branch offices more effectively. But the focus must remain in the demonstratable business returns unlocked through these innovations,” adds Kaitano.

As the more technology-savvy younger generation continues to proliferate through the workforce, AR and VR could very well be the answer to questions around telecommuting or flexi-time. It could come down to something as basic as creating a virtual work environment where people can access their workspace from anywhere in the world using a VR-headset.

“And for those managers who prefer to see people in their cubicles, this could visually do just that by ‘showing’ them employees who are online and active. It is about examining some of the traditional business challenges and identifying the out of the box ways these innovations can overcome them for a more effective digital business environment,” concludes Kaitano.