DATA DEEP DIVE s ene perc x ei e mv mi I ser · The three Rs – virtual reality (VR), augmented...

IOT / BLOCKCHAIN / EDGE COMPUTING / COGNITIVE COMPUTING / IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES / QUANTUM COMPUTING

DATA DEEP DI V E

Immersive experiencesThese findings are based on an independent study of 1200 IT influencers from a mix of large and small companies across Europe.

What are immersive experiences and how are they really being used at the moment?


“If cognitive computing can analyse and present conclusions from data, immersive

experiences can present them to us in ways that allow us faster grok speed.“

– survey respondent

COMPUTING

The three Rs – virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) – have been around for some time now and have generally been considered consumer technologies. Yet, some of the most powerful and interesting applications have, to date, been in business and industry. How we visualise and interact with data will become increasingly important as humans continue to work more closely with digital tools. The data will demand it.

Some industries are already striding ahead, recognising the unique capabilities that a technology like MR can provide assembly line workers. For example, manufacturers such as Airbus have been using MR to enhance shop floor capabilities, providing technical information guides for operators building aeroplane wings. Using CAD data, the company is building digital twins of aircraft and aircraft parts for design and maintenance purposes and is also using immersive tools to improve training1 . Renault Trucks is another company, using immersive tools to help improve vehicle designs and ensure quality control2 .

What this illustrates, is that immersive experiences are becoming fundamental to the visualising and manipulation of data in industry, to drive accuracy and efficiencies in manufacture and maintenance. In that sense, they will work in tandem with artificial intelligence, providing users with interactive insights into everything connected to a network. As Tuong Nguyen, principal research analyst at Gartner says: businesses need to consider both immersive technologies and AI to be mutually beneficial. As AI improves, so do immersive technologies, and vice versa3.

What impact will this technology have on the workplace in five years’ time?

INTERNET OF THINGS

EDGE COMPUTING

BLOCKCHAIN QUANTUM COMPUTING


Which technology trends will have the most impact on the workplace over the next five years?*.

COGNITIVE COMPUTING

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

49%39%

35%29%

25%23%

*Based on the percentage of professionals who rated the impact of each of these technologies as 5 or 6 out of 6

Well over a third of respondents felt immersive technologies would have a major impact over the next five years. However, overall, respondents felt it would have the least impact of all the emerging technologies surveyed.

Much of this is probably down to a perception problem. Immersive technologies have been around for a long time and have never really taken off, at least in the mainstream. It’s almost as if they have always been ahead of their time or seen as searching too hard for problems to solve, but this is changing. While the doubters are understandably justified, in five years the scene could be very different given the acceleration of IoT, cognitive learning, and the resulting data. There will be a greater need for humans to interact more directly with digital technologies and immersive tools can deliver increasingly accurate UIs for improved visualisation.

As Gartner suggests in its predictions for 2019, there could be a shift from thinking about individual devices and fragmented UI technologies to a multichannel and multimodal experience. The multimodal experience will connect people with the digital world via hundreds of edge devices that constantly surround them, including traditional computing devices, wearables, automobiles, environmental sensors and consumer appliances. The environment is the computer4.

“Immersive experience will free the user from their fixed location and

allow them to explore places they couldn’t reach otherwise.”


Will immersive experiences make us more productive?

I don’t knowLess productive More productive Stay the same

“Users as a rule are more visually based, and with the added benefit of

AR/VR they will be able to understand more and do more.”



What impact will immersive experiences have on workplace productivity?

Overall, 36% of respondents felt it would make us more productive. However, this jumps to 41% for 500+ companies. This is interesting because if you believe it will increase productivity, why is it not considered a technology that will have a major impact sooner? Clearly, the larger companies that have had the resources to invest and explore immersive tools have already seen the benefits. This is where immersive experiences will initially gain the greatest traction, in large industrial organisations that can utilise the technology to train staff and increase quality control of maintenance and service with economies of scale.

While Nordics is the most positive region with 44% believing it will make us more productive, the most confident group are the VP IT/CIOs across all sectors, over half of whom expect it to cause a rise in productivity. Perhaps this is a case of the tech-savvy understanding the true potential of immersive tools and not being swayed by general, often consumer-led, perceptions.

While immersive tools should improve worker knowledge and provide a UI for visualising and handling data, will it really make people more productive? If anything, immersive tools will make workers more relevant to a world increasingly driven by data by enabling them to work more accurately in the digital environment.

20%

15%36%

29%

What is holding the technology back?

“The customer will take time getting to grips with the inclusion of VR or AR

into our design workflow. This may of course change over the coming years; however, I believe that the

generation that are currently comfortable with this technology will not enter the purchasing chain for at

least the next five years.” – survey respondent

Lack of understanding about the technology

Don’t knowEmployee behaviourstowards the technology

Internal business processes

Actions of senior management regarding implementation


Which factor is most likely to prevent Immersive experiences from being incorporated in the workplace?

Overall, the actions of senior management towards implementation were viewed as holding back the technology (27%) – except in France where a lack of understanding and employee behaviour were identified as the main hurdles (24% and 30%), and the Nordic region where a majority believed that it was a lack of understanding (32%). Immersive technologies certainly do have a perception issue. Analysts often refer to the technologies as lacking killer applications and while in the consumer space this may be true, in industry and probably business, it is less relevant. Immersive technologies change the way in which individuals operate with technology and products. It demands investment, training and

application across a network that is already built to provide suitable data. This is difficult to implement in practice, especially if companies are reticent5.

So in many respects it is understandable that management is nervous to commit but it’s also something to do with the fact that few people have actually experienced immersive technologies. Perhaps the proof of the pudding is in the eating in this case? Or as Jeremy Dalton, VR/AR Lead at PwC UK says; “step into the virtual world and experience it for yourself. Only then will you truly be able to understand the benefits, and potential return on investment, for your business6.”

14%17%22% 19%28%

What conclusions can we draw?


“Immersive technologies have a perception that is driven by experiences in entertainment,” says Howard Roberts, Technologist at HP. “It’s perhaps undermining the true value of the technology to certain applications within the enterprise.”

While most people’s first immersive experience may be through a cardboard headset with a smartphone strapped to it, the reality is that this is not a great introduction to the possibilities of immersive technologies. There is no surround audio, no haptics and therefore not a true immersive and interactive experience.

“It’s moved beyond gaming and 360-degree videos,” adds Roberts. “VR technology, for example, is already being used in industry. HP has a VR backpack that is a high-speed mobile VR device with a headset – a wearable VR computer I guess – that is being deployed in creative industries for architects and designers to visualise and edit their work in an immersive way. By combining visual, with audio and tactile sensors, you get a truly immersive feel for created spaces and data visuals. This will be a huge technology for industry.”

Appendix


This research was conducted by Spiceworks on behalf of HP. The 1200 respondents came from job titles ranging from helpdesk to CEO, in companies ranging from under 50 employees to over 5000 employees, from UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Nordics, Benelux. The full breakdown can be found below.

1. https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/news/en/2017/09/virtual-reality-with-benefits.html

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXVj2nf1YHw

3. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/immersive-technologies-are-moving-closer-to-the-edge-of-artificial-intelligence/

4. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018-10-15-gartner-identifies-the-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2019

Links:

Breakdown of respondents by company size Breakdown of respondents by country Breakdown of respondents by job title

Company size

<500

500+

Dataset

588

612

Country

UK

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

Nordics

Benelux

Dataset

200

200

200

200

200

100

100

Job Title

Owner/CEO/President

VP IT/CIO

IT Director

IT Manager

Network Architect

Network Admin

Help Desk

Tech Consultant

Other

Dataset

120 (10%)

108 (9%)

204 (17%)

300 (25%)

24 (2%)

192 (16%)

72 (6%)

108 (9%)

72 (6%)

5. http://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/businesses-too-hesitant-over-immersive-tech

6. https://www.pwc.co.uk/issues/innovation-and-technology/the-rise-and-rise-of-immersive-technologies.html

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DATA DEEP DIVE s ene perc x ei e mv mi I ser · The three Rs – virtual reality (VR), augmented...

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