In less than six months, the world has switched to online mode: hundreds of millions of people work from home, communicate with
Interest in technology, and at the same timeloyalty to digital products is growing, and at the same time, the stock prices of technology startups are growing. A National Research Group survey found that amid the pandemic, 88% of people have become more positive about the impact of technology on everyday life. Trust in technology companies, which has been steadily declining over the past couple of years, is gradually recovering.
Virtual goods and services are breaking recordspopularity - in just a year, interest in this topic jumped 25 times. This also applies to virtual reality, which has every chance of becoming one of the main technologies of 2020. Prior to this, VR solutions were used as an alternative, but in the new decade they can come to the fore. There are at least four areas that virtual reality will have the greatest impact on.
Corporate environment
Virtual and augmented reality have been around for a long timeremained experimental technologies that were tested mainly by large companies like BP or Burger King, and in Russia - Rostelecom or Surgutneftegaz. Many have used virtual reality technology in pilot mode for staff training. The first experiments showed that VR allows you to simultaneously train thousands of employees without restrictions on time and number of trainings.
Some companies have also used VR to familiarize staff with leadership and strengthen corporate culture. But then there was no talk of widespread adoption.
In a pandemic when offices closed andemployees switched to a remote site, the demand for VR services has increased. Corporations realized that video conferencing alone was not enough to remotely communicate with the team. And staff need to be trained even during quarantine.
Startups who work in this field are nowattract tens of millions of dollars. The American company AltspaceVR, which organizes conferences in virtual reality, has already noted increased demand. Cerevrum, a Russian-American corporate education company in VR, has also been approached more frequently. Customers are interested in not only the development of training scenarios in VR, but also the development of new safety rules introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is unknown when businesses will return tonormal operation, but it is already obvious that after the coronavirus crisis, the usual processes will change forever. This applies to hiring, training, and work organization. Moreover, enterprises will cut costs and more often use the services of self-employed employees on outsourcing. For training and communication with a distributed team, VR will become an indispensable technology.
In addition, in the coming year, due to quarantine andflight cancellations will significantly reduce the number of business trips. According to Bill Gates, who, by the way, predicted the pandemic, business trips will gradually become a thing of the past - companies will not want to take unnecessary risks by sending employees on business trips. All issues will have to be resolved at a distance. And if business negotiations can be carried out in a virtual Zoom, it is better to control work in a production facility or at an oil-producing enterprise in virtual reality.
Analysts say VR tools forremote project management will become mainstream in 2020. According to Digi-Capital forecasts, companies that provide VR services in the corporate segment will retain their positions even in times of crisis. Headset manufacturers, by contrast, are less likely to succeed, as they are affected by the closure of stores and reduced purchasing power. The same goes for augmented reality. So, AR-startup Magic Leap has recently reduced its staff and announced that it will leave the consumer market and switch to corporate clients.
Tourism and entertainment
According to some estimates, the tourism sector inEU countries alone will lose between €275 and €400 billion in 2020. Hotels, resorts, tour operators and agencies are facing their deepest crisis in 20 years and will take at least a year to fully recover. And while some are counting losses, others are rebuilding business models and experimenting with virtual tourism.
Companies already offer VR tours to Everest andGalapagos Islands, and museums spread excursions in the format of 360 degrees - views of such videos have already jumped by 4,000%. Famous Japanese onsen recreate the experience of immersion in hot springs using virtual reality headsets, and Visit Faroe Islands went even further and invited tourists to remotely control the guide using a joystick to remotely get acquainted with the Faroe Islands.
In the entertainment industry, VR technology is also experiencingboom: virtual exhibitions, concerts, performances and performances attract more and more spectators. Of course, after quarantine is lifted, interest in online entertainment will drop. However, during this time, many will have time to experience virtual reality headsets, which, in turn, will cause greater confidence in technology.
VR equipment for home use alreadygain popularity. The American company Virtual Reality for Rent has increased the number of orders since the introduction of quarantine by 7 times, and in Russia virtual reality glasses rental services began to enter not only the Moscow market, but also to the regions. Analysts at Yandex.Market in early April recorded an abnormal increase in demand for VR glasses.
Even if this trend does not continue afterpandemics, the popularization of virtual reality can become a driver of technology development. Headsets are likely to continue to improve, their price will drop, and content will become more diverse and accessible.
According to Digi-Capital, it is the entertainment industry that will generate the most revenue in the VR industry, with games and hardware primarily benefiting.
Retail
One of the first to implement virtual reality inretail brands have launched luxury brands. Demand for their products dropped significantly, so they began using experimental formats to attract an audience. For example, the French brand Lanvin partnered with the Chinese counterpart TikTok and the local e-commerce platform to organize shows in VR. The brand also launched a flagship store in virtual reality.
Electronics manufacturers also spendvirtual device presentations. So, Xiaomi introduced the Mi10 and Mi10 Pro models in VR-anboxing format: smartphones can be viewed from all sides and even taken apart. And HTC held an annual conference in VR format - 2,000 users from 55 countries took part in it.
Virtual reality technologies are also used inreal estate. For example, in China, during the period of strict quarantine, real estate companies organized more than 3 million VR tours of homes and apartments - 9 times more than in January.
Companies that help recreate tradeplatforms in virtual reality, note an increase in demand for their services. It would seem that this is a temporary effect during the quarantine period. But in Wuhan, which is gradually lifting quarantine restrictions, people are still afraid to go to restaurants and shopping centers, although they are already operating as usual.
Clearly, online shopping will continue to gainpopularity, and brands will increasingly invest in experimental technologies to attract customers. VR technologies will become a marketing tool that will help compete for buyers, whose number will definitely decrease due to the financial crisis.
Healthy lifestyle
Virtual reality in the field of medicine so farapplied not so widely and it is unlikely that the situation will change in the next five years. Most analysts rely on telemedicine services - primarily online consultations with specialists who are already available in many countries, including Russia.
A more promising area for VR application isThis is the area of mental health. The technology is already used to treat phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and combat anxiety. In times of crisis, people are increasingly experiencing stress, anxiety and burnout - and simulators can help relieve stress, restore strength and improve emotional well-being.
A recent study by Italian scientists showedthat immersive VR videos have a positive effect on people during quarantine. Visiting a virtual beach or garden is becoming a useful form of escapism during self-isolation.
Previously, VR technology has already been used fororganization of meditation, including in the corporate environment. If there are additional studies on the benefits of immersive clips, virtual therapy will be used more often. Moreover, it will be prescribed to patients who are observed by a psychotherapist or psychiatrist, in addition to traditional methods of treatment. So the coronary crisis can give an impetus to this industry.
According to Digi-Capital analysts, AR / VR marketwill continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate than previously expected. Despite the crisis, by 2024 it will reach $ 65 billion - experts did not adjust this forecast. The industry will also be affected by disruption of production cycles and supply chains - according to IDC forecasts, in the second quarter of 2020, the supply of VR headsets will be reduced by almost a quarter. However, the demand for them will increase - after quarantine experiments, many will pay attention to technology, which previously seemed expensive overkill. This applies to both business and consumers.
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