There’s no denying the rapid evolution of the workplace over the last couple of years. The gradual acceleration towards more flexible and remote working strategies has exploded since the arrival of the pandemic. Now hybrid work is the new normal, and companies are scrambling to find the best way of bringing their disjointed teams back together.
Virtual Reality is quickly emerging as perhaps the most immersive solution for collaboration in this new age. Going beyond the basics of instant chat and video calling, VR allows us to once again step into the same space as our colleagues. The right technology makes it easier to share ideas, connect with peers, and innovate, no matter where we are.
The question is – what kind of VR solution is right for your team? Facebook and Mozilla have both introduced their own versions of the ultimate virtual workspace. Facebook Horizon Workrooms and Mozilla Hubs both promise us a way to reconnect in a digital environment when face-to-face meetings aren’t possible. Here’s what you need to know about the two products.
Facebook Horizon Workrooms Features
Facebook Horizon Workrooms is the comprehensive VR environment built by Facebook for the Oculus Quest 2. This business ecosystem is Facebook’s solution for bringing the hybrid workers of the new world together over shared ideas. Featuring customisable environments, mixed reality desk, and keyboard tracking, and even remote desktop streaming, Facebook Horizon is packed with functionality.
Team members can jump into the VR environment with their headset or access the same shared space through smartphone and desktop apps. There’s also access to things like video conferencing integrations, so you can see streams of your colleagues who can’t attend through VR. Some of the most impressive features of Facebook Horizon Workrooms include:
- Instant chat for all attendees
- Calendar integration and meeting scheduling
- Administration settings and privacy controls
- File and link sharing
- Desktop streaming
- Video conferencing integration
- Idea pinning and exportable meeting notes
- Virtual whiteboarding
- High-quality voice streaming
- Spatial surround-sound audio
- Mixed-reality desk and keyboard tracking
- Customisable Oculus avatars
- Intelligent hand tracking
Facebook Horizons workrooms brings the virtual and physical worlds together in an all-in-one environment for teamwork. You can join the meeting in VR as an avatar, or dial in with a video call. There’s a huge whiteboard for sketching ideas, and the option to pull information from your computer into your meetings for context too.
Mozilla Hubs Features
Built by digital innovators, Mozilla, “Hubs” is an immersive collaboration platform that runs in your browser. You’ll be able to use this technology to create comprehensive 3D spaces and invite anyone to join, with no installation required. You can host conferences, classes, and exhibitions, all in the same environment. Like Workspace, if your colleagues don’t have a headset, they can still get involved via a desktop computer or smartphone.
The Hubs landscape is extremely flexible, with customisable avatars to make you stand out from other members of your team, and the Hubs Cloud for hosting. You can even use the “Spoke” ecosystem to create unique environments for your Hubs rooms. Features include:
- Pre-built templates and meeting room kits
- Integrations with existing content providers
- Hubs Cloud hosting
- Access and privacy controls
- Personalised avatar uploads
- Customisable environments
- Mute and unmute users
- Invite everyone with no need for a download
- Cross-channel and device collaboration
- Camera access for photos and video
- React emojis to respond to ideas
- Text chat
- 3D drawing and whiteboards
- Importing for 3D models, avatars, scenes, and Gifs
- Pin, rotate and resize objects
As a highly flexible and customisable environment for VR collaboration, Mozilla hubs gives developers and business leaders the power to build an environment perfect for their needs. You can embed all the content you need into your Hubs environment, share content from the web, and even set controls for who can speak at any given time.
Facebook Horizon Workrooms vs Mozilla Hubs: Which is Best?
Both Facebook Horizon Workrooms and Mozilla Hubs represent a new generation of collaborative experiences for the modern world. With each of these tools, companies will have access to versatile digital environments where people can come together to inspire, collaborate, and innovate.
Facebook Horizon Workrooms appears to be a more accessible solution for beginners in the VR environment. You can enter a room and start meeting almost immediately, with an environment capable of combining the physical and virtual worlds. Access to things like desktop and keyboard tracking within VR means you can still use crucial tools when in a virtual world.
Mozilla Hubs offers a little more freedom for people who want to get really creative with their virtual environments. You can build unique experiences using pre-built templates or designing your own Hubs from scratch with Spoke. There’s access to various cloud hosting opportunities to suit your business needs, and you can integrate your new environment with existing tools.
Mozilla Hubs will likely be more compelling for developers and companies with creative IT skills who want to design something bespoke for virtual collaboration. Alternatively, Facebook Horizon Workrooms will ensure anyone can jump into a virtual meeting space, without the need for any prior insights or coding skills
Which VR Collaboration Solution Should You Choose?
As with most things, your choice of VR collaboration environment will depend on what you need most from your technology. There’ no shortage of immersive and customisable solutions out there today for companies willing to embrace the benefits of the virtual world. Both Facebook Horizons Workrooms and Mozilla Hubs represent an excellent opportunity to reconnect your team.
Thanks to an easy-to-use environment with plenty of pre-built tools, the Facebook Workrooms environment might be slightly more attractive to companies with limited access to developer skills and knowledge. Alternatively, Hubs by Mozilla will give those with the right skills unlimited opportunities to create and innovate.
