One thought these were reserved for gamers and other fans of immersive games. Little by little, augmented reality or virtual reality technologies are making a noticeable entrance in our day-to-day. And into the life of companies. Whether linked to the IoT [Internet of Things], predictive maintenance or real time data visualization, it won’t be long before these technologies will modify and improve the internal collaboration processes as well as relations with customers. 

It would seem that the different lockdowns have accelerated the process of digitalization in everyday life (virtual get-togethers and games among friends, live concerts on social media, series to watch simultaneously, etc.), but also within the enterprises themselves. So as to become the leader in this new universe, Facebook completely transformed the group, recently rechristened Meta. After acquiring the Oculus VR company, specialized in virtual reality headsets, the corporation launched Horizon World in 2020, a multi-player social network using the Oculus VR headset. The Meta group is now setting its sights on the work world with the Horizon Workrooms project, whose goal is to use the metaverse to allow colleagues to meet up within a same space to remotely communicate and work. Objective: to make remote meetings enchanting again by letting participants renew links, interact in a more natural way and gain a feeling of being present in the same space.

Of course, the Meta group will not be alone in the professional metaverse adventure: as Apple or Alibaba are working on similar concepts, Microsoft is also throwing its hat in the ring by officially launching Mesh for Microsoft Teams. This mixed-reality collaborative platform sets a foot into the future of remote meetings with features quite similar to those of Workrooms. These tools are as many ways “to signal that we find ourselves in the same virtual space, that we are a team, a group, and to contribute to diminish the level of formality and to increase the level of engagement“, declares Jeff Teper, Microsoft vice-president in charge of productivity tools. “We have noted that these tools have attained both objectives, that is, to help a team become more efficient and help individuals to be more engaged”. Longer term, Microsoft wishes that facial expressions be traced from those of our own faces, thanks to the webcam. Mesh for Teams will also offer real-time translation and transcription, thus facilitating exchanges between colleagues the world over.

Ready to work in a 4D office?

Companies will have as well the possibility to create their own virtual spaces in Teams. Thus, Accenture recently set up a virtual campus for its employees that quickly became very useful during the pandemic by offering an environment in which employees can meet, have a cup of coffee, do presentations, organize parties and events or welcome new colleagues.

Therefore, one can imagine that these technologies will make remote work easier by making it more engaging and efficient, both in-house as with customers. Because beyond augmented reality technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), analysis and predictive maintenance or real-time data visualization, these recent technologies will allow to address many enterprise-related issues, whether in industry, mass-market distribution or other sectors. 

Let’s imagine that we may press a button and visualize the status of the systems or that it may be possible to display on screen the products all along the value-creation chain… Let’s imagine that we may eliminate malfunctions even before they happen… Thanks to the possibility of mapping out the entirety of the product lifecycles, these scenarios have now become reality. From design to maintenance with sales in between, products can be digitally mapped out in their entirety. Thus, it becomes possible to follow the whole lifecycle. In general, this type of scenario presupposes complex, hard to use applications and relying on a large number of distinct systems. But in the digital age, it’s possible to simplify that, in particular thanks to the presence of an ERP that will be even more efficient if it interacts in a transparent manner with other software (CRM, BI tools, …).

Infinite professional applications?

The second key factor of these scenarios is predictive maintenance . There exist today a multitude of tools at the service of this type de maintenance. First of all: IoT sensors installed on the concerned equipment transmitting data continuously. Among a plethora of information, only the pertinent values are selected, formatted if needed and used to obtain actionable values on the condition of a machine or a system. These technologies allow forecasting the moment when critical thresholds may be exceeded and cause a failure, thus avoiding costly expenses linked to production stoppages and repairs downstream.

Predictive maintenance thus allows to plan maintenance works and to complete them quickly. When an issue arises – or when an imminent failure is indicated- the repairs can be easily performed with the help of the engineers who designed the equipment without them be forced to travel. Equipped with a virtual reality headset, they have available several tools for repairs right from their offices. One can imagine, for instance, that they might upload directly the manual or the plans of the equipment to be repaired, stored on the ERP. On-site, the technicians can, likewise, apply a maintenance plan, that guides them step by step in the repair. Instructions are displayed superimposed on top of the equipment concerned thanks to 3D modelling. Finally, if necessary, one can imagine that the spare part may be ordered directly by activating the process within the ERP, straight from their headset.

To work together on the same project as if everyone was in the same room, dive into 3D plans, read instructions in superimposition as they are being implemented, do repairs remotely, train collaborators by putting them in a real situation, improve know-how, redraw the way the consulting business is carried out… one can presciently feel it, the alternative-reality universes integrated into the ERP of the future are not done surprising us. 

Sources: siecledigital.fr, blogdumoderateur.com, blog-cosmo-consult-France, usinenouvelle.com