More than two-thirds of US internet households have used a VR headset, according to Parks Associates latest research. While consumer-facing VR technologies have been the most visible examples, enterprise level VR has become more popular over the past few years. Businesses are increasingly seeing value in utilizing VR technology for a variety of reasons, as they attempt to engage with consumers in creative and forward-thinking ways.
Some common use cases for businesses using VR are:
- Training: Across a variety of industries, training employees for various situations in VR can be significantly more beneficial than traditional training methods. Consumers can be transported to a virtual conference room, complete with a live virtual audience and teleprompter, where they can upload and deliver a speech.
- Virtual Shopping: Consumers are increasingly interested in shopping in VR, and many companies are taking advantage by creating virtual shopping experiences that replicate and build upon traditional brick and mortar shopping experiences.
- Meetings: With remote conferencing, telecommuting and work-from-home becoming increasingly popular for businesses, the idea of a virtual meeting is commonplace among most modern businesses. However, meetings in VR can take those meetings a step further, allowing users to hold interactive presentations, where the tracking technology in controllers and headsets makes communication more natural.
- Sales Demos: Finding innovative ways to drive revenues is paramount for most businesses, and oftentimes that involves sales demos. VR can revolutionize these demos, as they provide interactive, in-depth looks at products, where prospective clients can experience a given product for themselves, in a manner that does not feel like a one-way presentation. VR can provide the ability for prospective customers to see the product without it having to physically exist in the space.
With these use cases gaining popularity, it is possible that the first VR experience for many consumers could be at work. This is a significant departure from just a few years ago, when many in-home VR headsets launched. The development of enterprise-level VR is undoubtedly a shift in the platform but demonstrates the potential versatility of VR headsets. Some key industries innovating in VR are:
- Health: Stakeholders in the health space are increasingly seeing the value in utilizing VR for various medical procedures, pediatrics, and pain management. Adoption by health organizations can spur greater adoption in VR as more professionals see the unique value of models and simulations in VR.
- Education: Educators constantly search for innovative ways to teach children, especially when traditional teaching methods are ineffective.
- Architecture/Engineering: Building projects typically require a team of people with different expertise, and VR can help them to better collaborate and model these projects.
In addition to these industries, there are several other industries like finance, retail and tourism utilizing VR for business applications. In addition, sports-related VR is not purely limited to consumer viewing, but has also altered the way that athletes, coaches, and sports executives operate. With the below use cases, VR has changed the sports industry, both from a consumer and athlete perspective. Some common uses for VR in sports are:
- Training: Sports are utilizing VR programs to train athletes in simulations of real-life simulations.
- Scouting: Soccer leagues are using technologies to improve their scouting through VR. Solutions can track the movement of a player’s feet and shins through individual drills in VR, creating standardized, measurable, and comparable results that coaches can evaluate without having to see the player in person. Additionally, these metrics allow coaches to simulate how a player would function within the current team.
- Athlete Diagnostics: Health-related sensors and VR can help simulate stressful situations and measure how they impact players. This helps them measure the impact of stress on athletes and better manage the pressure of in-game situations. VR attempts to recreate real life stimuli with computer simulations, making it the perfect platform for recreating the stress of high-stakes college athletics.
- Recruiting: VR can be used for recruiting purposes, enticing athletes to attend the university using headsets. Coaches film workouts, locker rooms, and games throughout the year, and utilize VR to transport recruits to these locations from the comfort of their own home. This allows recruits to envision their life as a player for a particular university without ever having to visit campus.
Businesses are increasingly seeing value in utilizing VR in their day-to-day activities. Architecture, engineering, health, and education are some of the most popular industries for VR, but companies across many different industries are now using VR.
This is an excerpt from Parks Associates research. We welcome comments and feedback. Thank you for your great support!
