Why More Companies Should Consider Investing in Extended Reality Technology
By Sreedhar Narayanan, Managing Director at Qualitest
Extended reality (XR) technology has experienced significant advancements in the last five years, especially related to its uses in business and overall potential of immersive technology to improve customer experience. XR is an umbrella term definition that includes AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed reality) and VR (Virtual reality). As shown by this year’s Augmented World Expo turnout, the $35B XR market is on a growth trajectory slated to hit $345 billion by 2030.
XR goes beyond the traditional idea of interactive media and offers global businesses a unique opportunity to incorporate the physical world with its standard practices and services onto the digital world. While many companies are racing to XR service providers to help harness this untapped potential, others are still asking the question “how can we use this?” and more importantly, “why would we?” Well, through the thoughtful implementation of XR, there is great potential for businesses to improve customer experience, increase overall productivity and knowledge retention, reduce risks and improve optimization.
Cut Training Expenses
XR technology is enhancing the internal training experience for many of the companies that have adopted more digital practices. Hands-on training can cost a company millions of dollars, lack the ability to accommodate all situations and be time consuming.
The use of XR technology has not only increased the speed of training by 75% but offers learners the opportunity to experience real life situations in a safe space. For example, one incorrect move during in-person heavy machinery training could result in harm to people and expensive equipment. With the lack of added pressure by not being physically behind a joystick, employees can instead practice on their own time, as often they want in a virtual environment without their mistakes holding so much weight.
A slip up in the real world could have drastic consequences that your business would be responsible for sorting out. Incorporating XR into onboarding processes to reduce the physical and financial risks of training is a great first step for businesses testing out the virtual technology waters. XR could positively impact this small area of your business, which you can build upon as a way to optimize internal practices for better delivery and service.
Enhance speed and safety
In addition to the benefits XR can bring to training, also consider what it can bring to equipment maintenance and repairs across multiple industries.
Take commercial electrical systems, for example. The risk factor involved in an electrical engineer’s job is already very high when performing a repair, but XR can increase speed of service and safety for technicians. Using augmented reality (AR) glasses to enable experts to help guide field technicians in real-time. The advice shared via these video or audio calls can greatly improve the overall service speed, making business and customers happy.
To increase safety during these types of operations, use 3D digital blueprints to identify wiring, lines, pipes and other sources of energy that technicians need to be aware of. The locating of these potential hazards will give technicians better peace of mind when performing their duties.
Showcase Products with Ease
Companies around the world are reaping the benefits of XR technology as they begin to utilize it to increase the global reach and capabilities of product showcasing. Sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the medical industry is one that has already started to extensively incorporate XR technology into product demonstrations, and for good reasons beyond the risks of physically meeting with colleagues at the hospital.
Before this fusion, heavy medical equipment was shipped for showcasing and demonstration by professionals. With XR technology, professionals can immerse themselves in a digital setting that allows them to showcase and demonstrate new medical devices in a variety of different situations, all without the physical demands of the device itself.
Save your businesses money from not having to physically transport the items, but also from being able to scale your demonstrations since presentations are not limited to one customer at a time. Let's also not forget about the headache your team members otherwise would endure from coordinating the logistics.
Boost Customer Confidence
As consumer experiences turn increasingly digital, more industries are meeting shopper demand with the use of XR technology. Retailers, for example, are expanding online shopping for consumers with virtual try-ons and product displays. With the incorporation of 360 views and the ability to “try on” clothing and shoes in a digital space, consumers can skip the brick-and-mortar experience and order directly online.
While this kind of personalization before purchasing can improve a customer’s shopping experience, what’s in it for businesses? By giving online shoppers a clearer idea of what they can expect to show up in the mail if they press purchase, the return volume and cost of returns are significantly reduced. These informed, confident decisions and order satisfaction can increase loyalty and brand engagement, which ultimately drive cross selling and lead to a higher retention rate. Top fashion brands such as Nike, Adidas, and even Gucci, have all used XR successfully through the careful use of digital try on experiences with VR and AR.
Though apparel is what first comes to mind when considering virtual try-ons, the automotive industry has taken a similar route with XR technology, incorporating it into the buying and customization experience. Gone are the days consumers would have to drive to dealerships to view luxury cars and their features. XR technology is pulling drivers into the digital world where they can review feature options, see how they would fit in the vehicles, and experience life in the driver seat without ever having to step into an actual car dealership.
If increasing customer satisfaction and ROI is on the top of your businesses’ lists of goals, take advantage of the benefits XR has to offer. However, don’t do so solely because it's trendy and you think your younger target audience will appreciate it. Try the technology out if you wish to address your customer’s problems and improve their experiences. Slow your integration and test the technologies’ capabilities thoroughly in order to not over incorporate them, which could be counterproductive and cause issues for the workforce internally.
Keep in mind though, that with any technology, comes a string of privacy risks. While internal enterprise use for XR offers very low privacy risks for corporations, it is still something to consider and stay on top of when introducing it to clients. In addition to avoiding the disclosure of any unnecessary personal information, encourage the use of a VPN, always keep your firmware up to date, and use of up-to-date antivirus software.
A Growing Global Standard
XR technologies are tapping into the digital world in a new and innovative way that is changing how businesses train, produce, and deliver products and services. Over the next decade, XR will continue to make its way into mainstream use and be a powerful tool for enterprises to reach consumers on a global scale. With growth and developments still in progress, one thing is for sure and that is XR is here to stay and businesses are doing right by themselves to consider XRs potential impact into every aspect of their business.
About the author:
Sreedhar Narayanan is the Managing Director, Americas at Qualitest, the world’s largest AI powered quality engineering company. In his previous role, Sreedhar was the Healthcare Analytics solution leader at McKinsey and Company. An innovative and result-oriented business and technology executive, Sreedhar has built and scaled $1B+ businesses, creating digital and transformational impact at Fortune 500 clients globally. He has held leadership roles and has led strategy, product development, P&L, and global delivery functions. Sreedhar holds a Master’s degree in Software engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.