A global pandemic and subsequent lockdown have presented testing times for individuals and organizations from all walks of life. One factor that has been conveniently surpassing the threats of the pandemic and uniting the working class irrespective of borders, distances, and circumstances is working remotely / ‘work from home’.
What you perhaps imagined to be a relaxed work environment that can stimulate your inner potential in your pyjamas and on your comfy sofa may have ended up being a difficult time with you struggling to connect, coordinate with and understand fellow employees on call. The potentially revolutionalizing technological intervention that has been saving the day for small and large companies across the world during the ‘working remotely crisis’ is virtual reality.
Virtual Reality And The Scope Of Corporate Applications
We have all associated virtual reality with the gaming industry, and rightly so considering that it was the pioneering application and continues to be the highest revenue-generating industry for VR. However, the all-encompassing scope of corporate applications of Virtual Reality is gaining eyeballs, and at an accelerated rate owing to the pandemic and working remotely situation.
The lockdown has overturned the consumption trend of VR apps and headsets with companies shooting up to contribute to twice the sales of personal consumers. Forbes recently listed companies in various sectors ranging from Real Estate, Cars and Automobiles, Health and Wellness to Home Furnishings that have been using innovative ways to survive and flourish during the Covid-19 pandemic using VR.
Not only the private corporate sector is floored with the scope of VR’s applications but also the public sector. Countries like China are turning towards VR to revolutionalize the way healthcare, commerce, and even cultural sectors work.
Top 4 Ways VR Can Boost Work From Home Productivity
This commonly used advanced technology is gaining momentum worldwide as the rescuer of unregulated working remotely. To gain a greater understanding of hows and whys, let’s break its primary applications up and assess the industry leaders in the segment.
Communication and Collaboration
If you have ever attended a group call or a video conference discussion, you most probably know the pain of interruptions, delay in expressions, incoherent words, and much more that hinders reaching a productive conclusion to your discussion. VR creates a bridge between you and your teammates that helps you see what and how they are speaking, their hesitations and expressions, and most importantly, work with them in real-time in a virtual space. These aspects give the feel and convenience of working face to face. With enhanced spatial audio and spatial touch, communication becomes much more engaging and collaboration convenient.
Segment Leaders:
Meetings and Presentations
Meetings and presentations play an integral role in finalizing strategies and organize the levelled progress of any organization. The underlying reason lies with the active contribution of several stakeholders that eliminates most potential threats or risks with solutions. On the feet thinking based on reactions is very important and a set up to stimulate the same is pivotal. When conference calling or video conferencing, it becomes impossible to be as articulate as during a standard cubicle meeting or widescreen presentation.
Virtual Reality shifts this uncomfortable experience into a virtually structured room of your choice. In the form of avatars, all of your teammates react, contribute, collaborate with your presentation in the workroom as such tools are available. What’s more? You can choose from an array of options that most inspire you, simulations of some of the best workspaces in the world, libraries, cafes, and even parks if you miss the open-air spontaneous meetings a little too much.
Segment Leaders:
Designing and Simulating
If you’re working in design-oriented industries like architecture, engineering, interiors, or any product that requires designing, you surely lack the feel of collaborative designs and ideas during VCs. VR offers you the possibility of reviewing your designs with individual team members, getting collective inputs and discussing spontaneous modifications, and a lot more than you can even begin to imagine. Simulation and prototyping through VR software not only eliminates the chances of human errors but also saves an enormous amount of budget that would have otherwise been spent in tools, materials, transportation, and utilities. The best part? Designers can do away with zero to little knowledge of coding and hassles of sketching. The experience becomes so close to reality that once you’re done, it feels unreal. Multinational giants like IBM have been relying on this technology to keep being cutting-edge in its field.
Segment Leaders:
Education And Training
One of the greatest concerns during the pandemic initiated lockdown for governments and citizens alike, all over the world, has been the loss of precious time and quality of education. The necessity and importance are perhaps the underlying reasons why VR in education and training ranks higher.
Intuitive tools and immersive virtual experience make VR based training extremely engaging, captivating, and impactful. In fact, according to research, VR helps increase attention span during cognitive training, thereby not only improving focus during the time being but developing overall concentration and attention capacities. Additionally, it constructs a highly contriving medium for providing advanced training to current employees and basic training to new hires; a fundamental requirement for any company to avoid skill stagnancy.
Segment Leaders:
Limitations And Growth Resistance
With virtual reality, customer satisfaction or efficiency in getting the job done is never a barrier. The only factor that is inhibiting the sales and therefore, major growth in the consumer sector is the cost factor. For those using it as a medium of entertainment and leisure, the investment in hardware seems to be heavy on wallets and this discourages application developers to create more engaging content; thereby forming an unproductive loop.
However, companies are adapting to consumer requirements in order to embed the VR technology in commoner lives. While on one hand, companies like Nintendo are stretching out to produce low-tech headsets, on the other, consumers are learning to shell out a few bills more to gain a surreal experience.
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