Innovative Ways Businesses Are Using VR Technology Today
2021 is the year that businesses are looking to VR to find new ways to streamline processes, create safer and more productive workplaces, capture the attention of customers and connect with them. VR has the power to transform the way businesses work and communicate.
If VR is adopted successfully it can revolutionise a business. We take a look at the five most popular ways in which businesses are using virtual reality.
1. Design and development of products
Creating ways to design and develop products faster and in a more cost-effective way is a driving force for business innovations across a broad range of sectors. VR can accelerate the product development process and get products to market in less time.
Advances in VR mean that research and development (R&D) teams can fail fast and learn quickly. This is made possible by innovative platforms that provide collaborative virtual spaces to test concepts and develop prototypes without the need for physical models. After perfecting a product in virtual environments, businesses can utilize machines like Thunder Laser for the production phase, ensuring high-quality materials and precise customization for product launches.
Traditional workflows are thrown out the virtual window as interdependent tasks can be carried out simultaneously, significantly speeding up the development process. With expensive and time-intensive physical design processes no longer required, R&D teams working with virtual reality are given more freedom to think differently, test new ideas and innovate.
2. VR Training for businesses
VR training is an immersive learning experience that recreates real life environments in a digital space and simulates work challenges. Employees gain on-the-job training in a risk-free, multi-user environment where they can learn by doing.
VR training is proven to be an efficient and effective way to learn and retain information, so new skills can be rapidly applied in the workplace.
Replicating dangerous work environments makes VR training an attractive proposition, as it provides a safe space to learn high-risk skills so employees can learn in a safe environment. Learning experiences can be repeated and specific tasks practiced numerous times to hone skills to the highest standards without the need to have access to real-world equipment.
Moreover, performance can be monitored, evaluated and reviewed through the collection of key data, from tracking eye and body movement through to measuring the time taken to complete tasks and log any errors that may have been made.
VR provides a responsive environment for learning soft skills and stimulating behavioural change, from management & leadership to speech delivery and customer service.
The recent advances in VR offers a perfect solution to keep your employees highly skilled, motivated and productive. In a recent study by PWC, learners were 275% more confident to act on what they learnt after training.
Virtual reality training can support an employees’ professional development and boost motivation levels. This, coupled with increased efficiency, a reduction in downtime and potential cost savings means that virtual reality training is an effective and value generating tool to support businesses dedicated to long term success.
3. Connecting to customers
Consumer habits are changing, from how and where we access media, through to how brands perceive and associate with their customers. The marketing world is responding to consumer change and VR is being used in advertising to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Brands using VR can connect with customers in new and dynamic ways.
Experiential marketing is a key way for businesses to build strong relationships with customers. Virtual Reality has the power to make customers connect with businesses, maximizing brand engagement and evoking an emotional response.
VR can demonstrate to customers how a product or service can benefit them before making a purchasing decision. VR can offer a quick and simple way to give customers the chance to ‘try before they buy’.
4. Working more efficiently
VR can also be embedded into daily work routines to improve productivity and make workplaces safer, and is increasingly being adopted across manufacturing, distribution and engineering sectors.
5. Recruitment and Remote working
VR helps businesses to attract and retain the brightest and best talent. It means that geographical location is increasingly becoming less significant, as ensuring teams have the right people with the right skills becomes a key driving force behind wherever they might be based in the world. VR offers a shift towards remote working, by providing team members with the tools and spaces to meet and work together effectively.
VR has the potential to streamline business operations, as well as engage with employees and customers in new and innovative ways.
