Virtual Reality for Business: Unlocking Advantages and Innovation

How VR Is Transforming The Way We Work

Virtual reality and immersive technology as a whole have come a long way since their inception in the 1960s. What started as an attempt to make games more interactive and immersive has exploded into a full-on industry that’s steadily becoming more and more mainstream.

Of course, for users and avid VR supporters, this means more mind-immersive, focus-consuming, almost real gaming experiences. But what about the business sector?

How does VR becoming mainstream benefit businesses and enhance their productivity?

Also, why are leading brands like Microsoft, Sony, and Intel deploying VR to enhance their digital marketing efforts?

Advantages of VR in Business

There are several VR technological advancements (some novel, some not so much) taking the business sector by storm and steadily transforming the way we work.

Here’s a look at some of the ways VR is changing how we work.

Interviewing Candidates

One sector that’s seen a lot of improvement via VR is recruiting employees. Thanks to VR, HR recruiters can now take it a step further from phone and video call interviews to “face to face”  interactions through VR.

Through VR conferencing, recruiters can study applicants’ facial expressions and body language.

Today, several companies worldwide are incorporating VR conference calls into their recruitment process because it saves time and makes the recruitment process more effective.

Staff Training

Trainers can now employ VR in educating employees and enhancing their skill set. With VR, work processes can be effectively demonstrated, and employees or trainees can experience going through and reacting to these motions before ever experiencing them in reality.

Effective Communication Across Borders

The advent of virtual reality has made remote business meetings and conferences more feasible. With virtual reality business meetings, business leaders can communicate with associates in different parts of the world as though they were in one place without leaving their office. This innovation reduces travel costs and boosts the company’s overall productivity.

Enhancing Customer Experience

Besides boosting workplace productivity, VR also enhances the customer experience by helping firms form better and deeper connections with their customers. If video calling is more interesting than traditional calling, imagine how exciting and effective communicating via virtual reality would be?

Employing VR technology will definitely enhance communication between businesses and their customers.

Prototyping and Designing Of Products

Virtual reality makes prototyping and design of products faster and cheaper. With VR, stakeholders can test run a prototype and effect the necessary changes before excessive resources are sunk into it.

Thanks to this, businesses can save money and time they would have otherwise used in the back and forth involved in designing and testing the product.

Virtual Tours

Primarily applicable in real estate and architecture, one of the most significant advantages of employing VR technology in business is the ability to give immersive virtual tours of different locations. With this advancement in technology, customers can view and experience locations and home designs in VR.

Presenting Products To Novel Audiences /Potential Buyers

VR takes product presentation to a whole other level. With VR, you can expose your potential customers to every vital aspect of your product and service. Not only that, you’re offering them an immersive experience, one that would, without doubt, leave an indelible impression.

Revolutionize The “Try Before You Buy” Concept

VR has taken the “try before you buy” concept to a whole new level. VR/AR technologies have gone beyond this concept so that we now have “look before you book” and “ try before you fly” options. These concepts take customers through the unique product experience so that they’re able to make informed buying decisions.

Examples Of Industries Benefiting From Applying Virtual Reality

Several industries can benefit from the application of VR. Some of them include:

1)     Entertainment And Gaming

man playing with virtual reality gun

It’s safe to say that the entertainment and gaming industry have been pioneers of VR from day one.

Virtual reality technology allows individuals to immerse themselves in a 3D virtual environment where they can interact with elements of the game and each other.

Asides from VR games, VR entertainment also includes virtual theatres, galleries, museums, cinemas, and theme parks.

2)     Retail

woman holding phone and credit card surrounded by shopping

VR and AR technology have significant benefits in the retail industry, both online and in-store. For in-store shopping, applications, apps like In-Store AR Navigation helps users find their way around the store. At the same time, AR-overlayed can provide you with detailed information on whatever product you point your camera to.

VR technology can also help businesses create a more engaging experience by simulating physical retail stores online.

3)     Architecture and Real Estate

3D living room design

Thanks to VR, real estate agents can provide potential buyers with a unique 3D home tour experience where they can walk into the virtual home, look around and interact with the different features.

In the same sense, VR allows architects to convey their designs and ideas in a manner that blueprints and building layouts may be unable to so that customers have a more comprehensive idea of the design plan.

4)     Healthcare  And Well-Being

woman talking to a doctor during online consultation

VR/AR offers many opportunities and innovations in the health industry. For starters, augmented-reality surgical navigation systems give surgeons ‘X-ray’ vision while conducting complex spine surgery operations.

Also, VR has proven effective in treating phobia and anxiety. By guiding patients through simulations that cause them to face their fears, medical specialists have been able to help patients successfully overcome their phobias and live more peaceful lives. Asides from anxiety and phobias, these digital tools can also be applied in physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Another noteworthy application of VR in the medical field is immersive education for medical students. Whereas the norm is to use cadavers to sharpen their surgical skills, medical students can now opt for render operation rooms and virtual modeling of organs and human anatomy.

5)     Education and Training Programs

man in yellow t-shirt using vr headset in online class

One of the most significant benefits of VR in education is the ability to create the environmental materialization of the knowledge being passed. Imagine simulated language classes or geography lessons with trips worldwide. This teaching method will leave students supercharged and bursting with curiosity and motivation.

VR technology comes in handy, especially when training individuals for risky situations. Thanks to simulations, learners can be taught how to handle extreme or dangerous scenarios under safe training conditions.

6)     Automotive Industries

red car parked in garage

Implementing VR in the design, manufacturing, assembly, training, or workstation optimization of the automotive industry helps reduce cost and save time.

VR is also necessary for remote assistance and industrial automation as well. It allows for remote supervision, object manipulation, real-time troubleshooting, and production line automation.

7)     Tourism

man wears white vr headgear outdoors

Businesses in the tourism industry recognize that traveling is all about first impressions and so have developed VR projects which allow individuals to walk around the desired area and experience—virtually—recreational activities synonymous with that destination. With this development, individuals can experience how they feel in that destination before arriving there.

Virtual Reality and Its Place in Business in 2022 and Beyond

Virtual reality is quickly becoming mainstream, going beyond gaming and entertainment. As is necessary with every business, staying ahead of the competition means jumping on the latest trends and taking advantage of technology advancements. To this end, it’s in any businesses’ best interest to take advantage of these benefits of VR in talking their business to the next level.

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