Research company Forrester, along with Facebook parent company Meta, has released a recent study titled ‘A Strategic Framework For Enterprise VR Deployment‘ in which it acknowledges that extended reality (XR) technologies have, “Overpromised and underdelivered.”
However, the report goes on to say that XR is successfully driving employee implementations with augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR). The Forrester research team spoke with leaders at 20 companies, including both end-user organisations and vendors to understand how XR and metaverse technologies can help build the future of work.
Forrester’s report shows the percentage of global services decision-makers who are using different digital transformation technologies in their organisations. The most popular technologies are IoT (47%), AI/ML (45%), and 5G (40%). Other popular technologies include AR/VR (31%), edge computing (31%), 3D printing (28%), serverless computing (28%), blockchain (27%), the metaverse (24%), and containers (20%).
Three actionable strategies
The research team uncovered three key principles/strategies that companies can use to drive employee implementations with AR and VR including:
Be pragmatic: The research firm urges companies not to get started in VR for the sake of it, but there should be a business case based on tangible and measurable benefits. Also, companies shouldn’t wait for the ‘perfect device’ either.
JJ Lechleiter, general manager for PTC Vuforia, commented in the report, “Everyone waiting for the [perfect] device is going to be disappointed. But there are devices today that deliver value already. Focus on the use cases and the devices which are available now, and increase ROI with maturing technology.”
Be specific: Since Generalised XR, ‘tend to fail’, companies should pick the right features and hardware for the task at hand. They should also identify operational problems that XR can help scale as well as focus on moments that matter, rather than visuals.
“XR is just one of many tools that can be applied to the real problem: helping employees during the moments that matter. Librestream argues that augmented reality should be thought of as more than visual, extending into what employees hear, think, and sense. To this end, the company delivers workforce augmentation across multiple senses,” the research firm wrote.
Be humanised: Forrester reports that, “Placing people at the centre of your XR strategy is a prerequisite to your success.” Adding that employee experience should be a crucial component of any deployment strategy.
According to Ram Reshef, VP of solution engineering Americas at field service management provider OverIT, “The solution has to fit employees whose experience with technology varies. It has to work in their real-world context. Sometimes, ‘working hands’ (covered with dirt, oil, etc.) with the devices can be an issue. So, we have to place employee and user experience at the centre of everything.”
The report concludes by urging companies to use XR to connect employees with each other as well as allow them to find their own uses for the technology; because XR can drive culture building and collaboration.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
