Immersive Collaboration: XR Today Expert Roundtable

Immersive collaboration: The big one. The extensive use case, which has and still does, drive the XR industry and many other enterprise technology sectors. Increasingly, improvements and innovations allow business owners to harness the power of emerging remote collaboration tools to increase ROI in various stages of collaboration – if implemented correctly.

Due, in part, to the COVID pandemic of years past. The remote and hybrid working boom truly transformed many offices, and while some firms are returning their employees to physical workplaces, on the other hand, some businesses have fully embraced remote working.

Moreover, thanks to famed video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, companies remained robust and productive amidst a remote workforce culture shift. Since the remote boom, many XR solution providers are highlighting how the immersive technology space can provide a new avenue for collaboration.

Immersive collaboration tools come in various forms. Services may be fully or partially immersive, but whether the immersive solution falls under the AR, VR, or MR category, every solution appears to find feasible use cases.

While the immersive collaboration space is young and still finding its footing, it is not without success. For example, frontline workers and healthcare professionals leverage immersive collaboration opportunities for remote guidance.

To explore the current state of immersive collaboration, XR Today gathered a group of immersive collaboration experts to provide rich industry insight into the growing space.

Joining today is:

• Roberto Hernandez, Global Metaverse Leader and Chief Innovation Officer at PwC
• Alex Howland, President and Co-Founder at Virbela
• Lakshman Teja Lattipally, Business Development Consultant at Arthur VR 

Roberto Hernandez:

Yes, they are, and they will. The technology is poised to enhance every single aspect, from recruiting and onboarding to benefits selection and training. It is important to understand that immersive collaboration can happen through different mediums.

Sometimes people only think of VR when they hear the word ‘immersive’. However, immersive workplace experiences can leverage VR, AR, XR, and immersive 2D. At PwC, we have, for example, been leveraging VR for training and collaboration, immersive 2D for recruiting, onboarding, and training, and AR for some of our collaboration activities.

As immersive collaboration tools become more pervasive, they will require the development of new skills and experiences, as well as the adoption and development of new roles and responsibilities. Immersive technology is beginning to impact the workplace in numerous areas.

Specific to the workplace, intelligent automation is changing the way organizations recruit, onboard, and train employees, as well as maintain workforce collaboration across geographies. These tools will also improve the customer experience, especially by collecting data in a privacy-safe manner that enhances products and services.

Alex Howland:

Without a doubt. Being more connected and productive, regardless of where you are in the world, is revolutionizing how people approach work in both internal and external work environments across a broad spectrum of industries.

A key difference is how it levels the playing field – giving a platform and a voice to those that were previously disadvantaged in a physical setting. Diversity, inclusion, and equity are being rebuilt from the ground up, erasing much of the backlash it once faced.

It’s flattening traditional work hierarchies, giving greater access across teams and titles than was previously achievable in hybrid or even in-person setups.

Also, greater engagement and a larger cross-section of talent have a direct impact on the scope of ideas coming out of any company.

As well as just work, the way we approach events is also changing – physical events may be back, but budgets are under increased scrutiny. Virtual environments offer another alternative for companies to include a global audience without the travel cost and global footprint.

For example, alongside PwC, Virbela has created a custom French Riviera immersive environment to bring the highlights of this year’s Cannes Lions event to a network of customers and partners who are not able to attend the high-profile and invite-only event in person.

In the future, we definitely see this trend increasing – with virtual spaces either replacing or complementing in-person event presence.

Lakshman Teja Lattipally:

Absolutely. For those who have already been exposed to immersive collaboration tools, the way they work is starting to change. Once they experience the incredible feeling of presence and collaboration potential that this new medium of computing unlocks, the way they think about work and organize it is changing.

The early movers are embracing the new opportunities that the immersive collaboration tools present for people to communicate, collaborate, and learn together.

Once one experiences the increased level of collaboration, productivity, and creativity enabled by immersive collaboration while improving cost effectiveness, workplace flexibility, and sustainability credentials, it is difficult not to think about work differently.

The fact that many of our long-term clients, like PwC, are extending and expanding their usage of the Arthur virtual office is a case in point.

Let us take one step back. It is well known that the demand for remote work has skyrocketed. Workers loved the freedom from unnecessary travel, the flexibility to work from anywhere, and most importantly, the ability to organize their work around their life rather than the other way around.

However, there remained concerns from an employer perspective.

Their concerns, including organizational culture, quality of work, and collaboration, resulted in a bias towards the old ways of working. With the arrival of immersive collaboration tools, employers have the opportunity to lay those concerns to rest.

They are able to leverage a new category of tools which create a sense of presence and enable the best level of collaboration through a unique use of space without any of the limitations of the physical workspaces or video conferencing tools.

This snug fit between the needs of companies and the proposition of immersive collaboration solutions is starting to change the way people think about their work and get it done.

Roberto Hernandez:

Interoperability – the seamless transition of data among multiple experiences on different platforms – is a central challenge in bringing immersive collaboration tools to the forefront. The improvement of industry standards is likely to help solve some of these challenges. However, ensuring organizations address cybersecurity and privacy concerns as the technology evolves needs to move in parallel with the development of immersive collaboration technology.  

It is also important to understand what is the right immersive technology for each activity. As an example, training in virtual reality does not need to be offered for every single training model. There are some modules that will continue to be best suited for traditional web-based training and for in-person training. But organizations won’t have the answers until they start testing what works and what doesn’t.

Despite these challenges, there are elements of immersive collaboration already delivering value. 

For example, immersive experience tools have been proven to improve employee training and engagement. In fact, PwC found that when leveraging virtual and augmented reality for training, the time it took for employees to become proficient in a skill improved by 275 percent, which in turn increased confidence, focus and emotional connection.

These results are applicable not only to hard skills like equipment maintenance but also for soft skills like leadership. New tactics for employee upskilling are especially important in light of the post-pandemic work environment that demands new skills and capabilities from employees. 

Alex Howland:

As mentioned in a previous roundtable discussion with XR Today, a key challenge with any new innovative tech is always accessibility. Making a new experience intuitive, cost-effective, immediately useful, scalable, and existing on a platform people already know and use is key to driving adoption.

As with most of the industry, we’re excited by the recently launched Apple Vision Pro – but even the very best technology has a hard time being adopted if people are not ready for it.

Many companies can be stuck in their ways and resistant to learning new ways of doing things. Being desktop first definitely helps us here. Concerns around privacy and security still get thrown around when the metaverse is mentioned. On the one hand, we talk about an open and decentralized internet, but the reality for the enterprise is that we focus heavily on privacy and security. Protecting the data of our customers has to be our top priority.

In terms of opportunities – opening up your talent to a global pool overnight, huge cost savings on travel and real estate, not to mention becoming a fully sustainable business. It’s also a great chance to rewrite issues that were hard to solve in the physical office since you can start again from the ground up – diversity and inclusion being obvious ones.

Lakshman Teja Lattipally:

Immersive collaboration tools come with a number of opportunities and potential benefits, but as with any emerging technology, there are also some challenges.

Key Opportunities:

• Decoupling of talent and location: Immersive collaboration tools have the ability to create a feeling of presence and connection irrespective of the user’s physical location. When that presence is combined with the right array of productivity features, we have seen that the tool also enables a high level of communication, productivity, and collaboration. Employers can use this to their advantage and cast their talent recruitment net far and wide to attract the best talent.
• First mover advantage: Big technology companies are investing heavily in three-dimensional computing. Immersive collaboration tools form a new frontier of technology tools which are opening up new ways of working and value generation. By being an early mover, companies are gaining hands-on know-how of the best ways to use these tools to solve their business challenges and positioning themselves for better success over the competition, who are slow to react to these technological developments.
• New value generation: The level of presence and collaboration delivered by these tools is a strong enabler for distributed work. The reduced need for travel, increased efficiency, and expanded scope for value generation present a significant opportunity to improve bottom-line employee satisfaction and client services.

Challenges:

• Hardware: We are still in the early stages of hardware development. Issues like battery life and the weight of the headset can still be challenging.
• Acceptance: Although the awareness about these tools is growing, it still pales in comparison with 2D tools. It will take time to get the awareness and buy-in of employees who may be reluctant to adopt these tools.
• Training: Since these are emerging tools, it will take time to learn how to use these tools effectively to suit one’s business needs.

Roberto Hernandez:

Successful implementation and use of immersive collaboration tools require organizations to address and solve the inevitable culture change that comes with new technology adoption, as well as to focus on developing strategies centred around ROI rather than upfront costs.

It’s crucial that business leaders take steps to help employees and stakeholders understand – and equip them for – the anticipated changes introduced by immersive technology and to ensure they are supported in areas where there are still unknowns in order to avoid employees and stakeholders favouring familiarity over uncertainty and risk stagnation.

Organizations should develop a business plan that begins with small test use cases and is centred on ROI goals. An iterative approach will allow leaders to implement purposeful adjustments and additional investments that make the most sense based on the initial results.

Alex Howland:

Early adopters are already exploring the potential benefits of the metaverse in areas such as recruiting, onboarding, training and development, immersive events, and product demonstrations. But with this new technology also comes risk, and enterprises should carefully consider the benefits and costs of adopting it.

Here are several key factors to consider to ensure any business can maximize the potential benefits of the metaverse while minimizing the risks:

Start with Clear Objectives

The metaverse is a means to an end, not a goal in itself. First, define what problems you are trying to solve, identify what success would look like, and then determine whether a metaverse solution can add value over your existing solutions. For example, to differentiate your enterprise from competitors and attract and retain employees.

Understand the Available Tools

There are many metaverse products available – enterprises should research and understand which ones best fit their needs. Consider platforms with relevant experience and success indicators that support your business goals. Ensure the platform can get you a return on investment that is above current options, understand the hardware requirements, assess the platform’s trajectory and how it aligns with your goals, and evaluate the short and long-term costs.

Learn from Others’ Experiences

By examining the successes and failures of others, you can gain valuable insights, identifying the key factors that contribute to a successful metaverse strategy.

Design a Pilot

Consider designing a pilot with clear objectives and measurable outcomes to test the effectiveness of a metaverse solution. Conduct a gap analysis, identifying where your company has unmet needs or opportunities. Choose teams that show a strong understanding of risk assessment and management principles.

Keep a Close Eye on Performance.

Track KPIs like productivity scores or operational efficiency ratios.

Iterate

Continuing to test and refine your metaverse effectiveness over time will be key. Avoid pivoting or folding too early. Rather, explore lessons through experience and practice.

Lakshman Teja Lattipally:

Based on what we have observed with our clients, here are some best practices for implementing and using immersive collaboration tools:

Awareness of the benefits: Before you even look for a tool, gain an understanding of the benefits of these next-generation tools for your business.

Choose the right tool: There are a number of different immersive collaboration tools available, so it’s important to choose the right one for your needs. For example, if you are an enterprise, aspects such as security, customer support, and a focus on enabling productivity would likely play a key role.

Demo the tool and map out your goals: Start by getting a demo of your shortlisted solutions. Discuss your needs with the representatives, understand the capabilities of the tool, and get an alignment on what you hope to achieve by using these tools.

Start small: Start with a pilot use case that is in alignment with your goals.

Be patient: Immersive collaboration tools are still a relatively new technology, so it’s important to be patient as you and your team understand them. With time and practice, you’ll be able to see the benefits of these tools.

Get buy-in from stakeholders: Observe the results and get buy-in from stakeholders for further scaling or rollout. This includes relevant employees, managers, and IT staff. Enable the champions from the pilot to help the stakeholders understand the benefits of using these tools and get buy-in.

Provide training: During the scaling or rollout process, make sure your users have significant training on how to use the immersive collaboration tool effectively. This will help them to get the most out of the tool and to avoid any negativity.

Roberto Hernandez:

Immersive collaboration has the potential to provide organizations with improvements across many business operations. For example, using virtual reality for training on specialized equipment can be made more efficient and effective than traditional video training or in-person training.

This is a result of being able to create digital twins of the equipment that those operators will need to manipulate, simulate some scenarios for emergencies training that might be overly risky to recreate in real life, and the ability to offer those operators the opportunity to practice multiple times on their own or to get quick refreshes.  

In regards to upskilling, PwC found that those using VR headsets completed training three times faster than those learning in a classroom setting. Despite the upfront technology cost, this translates into a 52 percent increase in cost-effectiveness.

From healthcare services to training and process improvement to customer engagement, immersive collaboration will boost efficiency, reduce costs and complexity, and ultimately deliver significant ROI to organizations. 

Alex Howland:

The savings are huge.

I’ve used this example before, but it’s a great one – eXp went fully virtual in 2009 and since that time has grown its business from 1,000 to 87,000 agents, expanded to 20+ international markets, conducted over 50 hours of in-world training, and been voted Glassdoor “Best Places to Work” five years in a row.

Additionally, DXC is saving over $900K using Virbela’s virtual campus.

Lakshman Teja Lattipally:

Yes, the savings are significant. For example, consider the PI planning workshop, which is a large planning meeting conducted frequently in scaled agile projects. Replacing a single PI planning workshop at a big multinational firm can bring savings in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of executive travel time loss, and thousands of kilograms of carbon emissions.

In our test case, we observed an ROI of 596,52 percent, even with a conservative approach to cost.

Here are some specific ways that businesses can benefit by using immersive collaboration tools:

Reduced travel and event costs: Immersive collaboration tools can enable people to meet and collaborate remotely and effectively. This can save costs like airfare, accommodation, and event location expenses.

Reduced productivity loss: The reduced need for travel also reduces the productive work hours, flow, and output that would otherwise be lost due to the travel, including pre and post-travel schedule adjustment losses.

Improved communication: Immersive collaboration improve basic communication due to a feeling of presence and connection. The ability to creatively and visually express without the material constraints of the physical offices leads to great communication overall.

Increased collaboration: Immersive collaboration tools also increase productivity and collaboration by bringing diverse groups of people together in a conducive setting and enabling them to seamlessly share ideas and get work done.

Improved sustainability: Reduced business travel and physical events also improve the sustainability of the businesses due to carbon emissions savings.

There are a number of ways that businesses can measure the ROI of immersive collaboration tools.

One way is to track the savings from reduced travel costs. Another way is to track the improvements in communication and productivity.

Businesses can also survey employees to get their feedback on the engagement, satisfaction, and productivity of their teams.

Roberto Hernandez:

Immersive collaboration is still in the early stages of development, and it will continue to evolve, but there’s no denying it will impact how businesses and consumers interact with products, services and each other.

Today, it offers opportunities for workforce transformation, customer engagement, operational efficiency, and identifying and creating new revenue streams. However, it is far from being a fully mature market, and as such, we will see more use cases and implementations that will change how organizations operate.

Trust is an important element of ensuring immersive collaboration is successful, and part of building this trust will be in creating comprehensive and transparent risk and change management plans in place that address key concerns and challenges, as well as emerging regulations. 

Additionally, we will see immersive collaboration technology converge with other emerging technologies like generative AI to unlock even more capabilities. Generative AI is gaining strong momentum in just months. Its impact on the workplace should not be underestimated, especially when it comes to immersive experiences.

For example, these tools are making it possible for those who don’t have technical skills or experience to build immersive experiences in the metaverse, creating new opportunities within the workforce regardless of industry. The metaverse and other immersive experiences will likely touch nearly every corner of business operations and will require non-tech executives and employees to collaborate on new responsibilities.

Alex Howland:

We truly stand by and live by our vision that virtual environments like Virbela will become your office headquarters in the future.

That’s not to say other platforms won’t play a role, but as a scalable platform to engage your workforce and build community and happiness at an individual, team and company level, all from the comfort of your computer. It’s very hard to argue with its potential.

Lakshman Teja Lattipally:

The use of an intuitive user interface:

The range of headset providers and headsets is evolving. With the gaming-based origins of the hardware, it evolved with unnatural input mechanisms like joysticks. However, as we encourage an increased adoption for business use cases, comfort and convenience gain more importance.

As the latest entrant by Apple, the Vision Pro, exhibits, we will move towards a more intuitive interaction system using our hands, eyes, and voice. Such an intuitive interface will enable increased and faster adoption along with a more seamless productivity and collaboration experience.

Life-work balance:

A range of employee and employer preferences around the nature and cadence of remote work gave rise to distributed work models.

The rise of immersive collaboration tools will bring more flexibility to employees and enable them to organize their work around where they want to be located, who they choose to be around, and what experiences they want to have. An increasing number of people will have the opportunity to start designing their work around their life rather than constructing their life around their work.

New experiences:

Immersive collaboration solutions will lead to a demand for more engaging and immersive learning and working experiences.

This will be beneficial for both businesses and individuals, as it can help to improve training outcomes and create a more enjoyable and productive working experience.

Overall, the future of immersive collaboration is very promising. We already see our clients using the technology for agile meetings, employee onboarding, soft skill training, visual presentations, and a range of meeting types.

As immersive collaboration technology continues to develop, we can expect to see more and more businesses adopt immersive collaboration solutions. This will lead to a more efficient, productive, and engaging way of working for teams around the world.