The Strategic Purposes and Wins Behind the Purchase of Altspace VR by Microsoft
Strategically, with LinkedIn, Skype, and the VR and AR connectivity built into Windows 10 Creative: Microsoft has a solid 1–2–3 punch against enterprise communications services like Cisco’s Spark, Google’s Hangouts, and DAQRI, just to name a few. It’s now surging ahead of the pack at the moment.
Now, one can meet socially and for business meetings in a customized, branded and white-labeled 3D VR space with “unlimited” attendees (or, record the meetings for later viewing as 2D or 3D video, or even as VR data, for webinars, onboarding, policy, etc.).
Besides the ability to record and share not just documents, links and videos, now one has the ability to collaborate remotely while working on 3D content (volumetric or even 2D plans split into 3D space slices). There are suites of tools to test 3D plans of robots, IoT/IoE, all types of electronics, etc., in a virtual environment. Gee, I wonder how that would prove useful? Hmmmmm…
As one can see in the image above, Altspace VR has integrated the Leap Motion device. If snapped on to the face-place of a VR HMD, then one can dispense with any clunky remote control or custom controllers, and simply use their own hands. There is no learning curve with using your own hands to manipulate objects, click, tap, etc., for any kind of collaboration in a 3D space.
If executed properly, this could be a challenge to those enterprise competitor’s platforms. Additionally, Skype can auto-translate between most major languages in real-time. While it’s not 100% perfect, it’s good enough for those who don’t speak the same language to talk privately in real-time, and see one another with video or an avatar.
The added power of all the contacts from LinkedIn and everything one uses for business with Microsoft Office, makes this a very keen move if they make it all frictionless and seamless. With HMDs now under $300 and dropping in price while increasing in resolution, becoming tetherless, with inside-out-tracking, and the capability to do the continuum of immersive reality in just *one* headset (coming soon), this is serious enterprise competition.
I would say the only thing that comes close is Facebook’s VR Spaces, which is still in Beta. However, there is a version if using Workplace by Facebook, which is striving to be a competitor to JIVE. Let’s be honest, nearly every connected human has a Facebook account, and they know how to intuitively use Facebook to make internal, corporate communications pages and inter-departmental websites. Check out how that ecosystem works below in the diagram.
Not so with JIVE, which has its limitations and is clunky, atop a considerably smaller footprint worldwide despite its enterprise customer-base. Imagine that same Workplace by Facebook power, unlocked by using a Windows 10 Creative machine? Imagine logging in to Microsoft services with a Facebook account? Such a collaboration would be a Big Data bonanza. Unlikely, but not impossible.
I’m sure Facebook has this considered, and aim to keep their ecosystem closed, which is why they are about to deliver a relatively inexpensive, standalone VR HMDs (codename: Santa Cruz, see image of wireless prototype below). These could then bypass the necessity of either a Hololens device and/or a Windows 10 Creative PC.
I tried, back in 2016, to convince those at a few Fortune 100 companies that this was the future of enterprise communications and computation, but it fell on deaf ears. I think those ears may have pricked up now. I’m forecasting that some difficult enterprise meetings are taking place…right about now.
