COMN — Our future work is here
… and it’s in virtual reality
Just a few days back, we introduced our service COMN officially for the first time. While we are still in development, we are keen to hear the user’s opinion regarding its usability and convenience.
Continue reading for the first experience report!
Your office can be on a mountain cliff, in a luxury penthouse. Or on a tropical island.
Recently, I got the chance to play around a couple of times with the HTC Vive. Just like the internet leads you to believe, it’s an amazing device that does a great job at showing the enormous potential of virtual reality.
The most impressive VR experiences are games, which transport you to incredibly realistic virtual worlds. But while their stunning graphics and immersive controls are hard to ignore, they might not be the most innovative use of VR.
Interestingly enough, the app that impressed me most doesn’t do anything crazy — it just puts you in a room with a computer and VR headsets. And yet, it feels like the future.
Welcome to your dream office
Thanks to VR, you can be anywhere you want. So, when you go to work, why settle for a stress-inducing rush-hour commute, a noisy open-plan office, or a creativity-killing cubicle?
Instead, why not work on a tropical island, or try a luxurious penthouse? The moment you launch our pilot product COMN, you will transported to a beautiful apartment with stunning views. And this is your office now.
With a few clicks you open a couple of floating desktop windows, find the apps you need, and get to work. Here, there is nothing to distract you from what you are trying to get done.
One of the best things about working in VR is that it’s easy to create the perfect working space. Need a bigger screen? Simply resize it until it’s just right. Want to write something on a whiteboard? Just pick your favorite color marker and you can start writing or drawing. Want a darker environment? Just turn off some lights. No more sunlight reflecting on your screen, no more noisy colleagues — just you and your work.
This is the next level
You’ve probably collaborated on a Google document before, and, true, it’s still one of the best ways to work together online.
But thanks to VR, online collaboration is taken to the next level. It’s easy to invite participants into your VR Office, open up some screens and get to work. Whether you’re working on some meetings or doing a full presentation, VR makes it feel like you’re in the same room with people who could be on the other side of the world.
Every user is represented by an avatar — a floating head and two disembodied hands that accurately depict his or her body movements. This doesn’t only add a sense of realism, it also makes body language an integral part of online collaboration. For example, you’re now able to see where the other person is looking and point out something on their screen — two things that used to only be possible in real life.
It feels like a hyper-productive way to get things done, and it’s an incredibly powerful replacement for a traditional IRL workspace.
So… why are offices still a thing?
All of this sounds nice, right? But VR isn’t exactly a cheap option. First, you need to purchase the equipment including headsets, controllers and tracking devices. Then you need a powerful computer to run VR software which, depending on your needs and expectations, could set you back due to high costs.
VR is indeed a good thing, however, it’s still to break through to the mainstream. But while it was believed that games were going to be a main selling point, I wouldn’t be surprised to first see VR totally transforming the way we shop, travel and the way we work. Can you imagine having your own world inside VR? You read it right, and that’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?!
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Would you like to experience working in COMN, too?
Stay tuned and keep your eyes out for news on opportunities to test our VR working space!

