Every day the demand for new enterprise comms solutions that help businesses deliver better results and stay ahead of the competition grows bigger – and virtual reality collaboration is answering the call!
Over the last 12 months, the virtual reality marketplace underwent significant growth, not only in the consumer space but in the enterprise, too!
While the bulk of that growth to date has come from VR training platforms in the healthcare sector, as the market matures, we’re starting to see the enormous value VR can bring to many other areas within an organization – especially in the field of collaboration!
Considering this, let’s look at some key stats that better explain why VR collaboration could be the tool that transforms the world of enterprise comms in the years to come.
1. The global virtual reality market size, valued at USD 10.32 billion in 2019, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.6% from 2020 to 2027 (Source: Grand View Research)
While stats that tell us how rapidly the virtual reality marketplace will grow over the next 5-10 years are becoming more common, Grand View Research’s report offers a much more in-depth analysis.
According to them, the virtual reality market’s software segment (aka collaboration and training platforms) will likely witness the fastest growth over the forecast period (2020-2027) as more businesses begin incorporating extended reality technologies into their comms strategies.
2. 67% percent of millennials and 48% of baby boomers believe using VR production in meetings and collaborative products is important (Source: Dell)
In its recent study on the growing demand for AR/VR in the workplace, here tech-giants Dell revealed that 67% of millennials and 48% baby boomers all believed VR would play a vital role in the future of collaboration and comms.
While AR/VR technologies will transform the way organizations train, market, and socialize over the next decade, Dell states workplace collaboration is where XR will most significantly impact the enterprise over the next few years.
3. 74% of employees in the UK are concerned about the risks of returning to work, with meeting rooms (41%), communal kitchens (50%), and main offices (65%) being the greatest areas of concern (Source: HTC Vive)
According to a recent study by virtual reality developers, HTC Vive, the arrival of VR collaboration in the enterprise provides a highly valuable solution to the most significant problem businesses face in the modern age: COVID-19.
While video collaboration provides a short-term solution to the pandemic, problems like Zoom fatigue and lack of person-to-person contact can quickly lead to burnout, poor teamwork, and much lower productivity rates amongst employees.
With VR, however, organizations can accurately simulate real-life meeting rooms, communal spaces, offices, and human-to-human interactions, giving employees the best of both worlds without ever putting their mental or physical health at risk.
4. Global shipments of VR and AR headsets, estimated at 5.5 million units in 2020, are projected to reach 11 million in 2021 and 43.5 million by 2025 (Source: Statista)
According to Statista, the number of global shipments of virtual reality and augmented reality headsets is set to grow from 5.5 million in 2020 to a staggering 43.5 million by 2025, proving the adoption rates of XR tech in the mainstream market will increase significantly over the next few years.
Considering this, as more people become familiar and comfortable with virtual reality headsets in their personal lives, we can expect this trend to cross over into the enterprise realm, much like instant chat and video collaboration did in recent times.
5. The “process improvements” use cases of AR/VR technologies will add $275 billion to the global economy by 2030 (Source: PwC)
In its recent report, PwC shocked the world by claiming XR technologies would add a staggering $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030 – with 18% of that astronomical growth coming from “process improvements” use cases.
From this, we can surmise that by increasing efficiency and productivity in the digital workplace, cutting back on operational cost, and helping organizations deliver better results to clients and customers, AR/VR collaboration will play a massive role in growing the global economy in the future.
Where does VR collaboration go from here?
Throughout this month, XR Today will cover the role of virtual reality collaboration in the enterprise.
Be sure to keep checking in each day to stay updated on all the latest products, insights, and business strategies emerging from this space!
