Recently, Microsoft reported a 495% increase in users between March 2020 and June 2020 for their newest offering, Microsoft Teams. The boost was attributed mostly to the global pandemic and the massive shift to Work From Home (WFH) culture. Other video conferencing applications like Zoom, Google Meets, Skype, BlueJeans, and many more reported similar surges in their user base, as businesses across the world woke up to the realization that having a robust online communication infrastructure is necessary for keeping operations afloat.
It is tempting to brush off this trend as a contingency measure, but the truth is that people are warming up to the idea of remote working. In a 2020 PwC survey of 669 CEOs, 78% agree that remote collaboration is here to stay for the long term. The question now is not whether an online conferencing tool is worth the investment, but if the present gamut of tools at our disposal are actually meeting our many needs.
The Present | Increasing market share of video conferencing tools
According to research findings of The Business, the market share of video conferencing applications is expected to grow at 9.85% CAGR and the industry valuation of $8.67 billion in 2025. In short, every company is investing in better online infrastructure in order to establish seamless coordination when working from home (or anywhere, really). By extension, corporate events and conventions are also moving online to capture an audience larger than ever before. The benefits here are evident – no overhead costs for leased premises, eliminated costs of travel and transportation, ability to scale as per audience response and little need for crowd-control.
Yet, even the best video conferencing apps currently are too rudimentary to be able to replace offices and convention spaces entirely. Apart from the usual issues like network lags, audio difficulties and screen freezes, online communication suffers the most from the lack of immersion and engagement. Gestures, tonality and proximity with other participants all form an important auxiliary element of communication. In real-life interactions, these extra-verbal cues form a massive chunk of our communication (with some studies showing that extra verbal cues form up to 90% of interaction).
Humans are built to take in so much more input while communicating than just a 2D video grid and mono-source sounds that prolonged online meeting hours cause “Zoom Fatigue” due to working on subpar levels of data to process. The solution to this problem however is an already existing $6 billion tech industry – Immersive Virtual Reality (VR).
The Future | 3D Virtual meetings and conferencing
To tackle the lack of sensory input over remote meetings, immersive VR software can supplement human communicational needs with simulated environments, avatar-based UI, and spatial audio. At current data connectivity levels, processing power, and digital adoption rates the seeming sci-fi technology of 3D platforms is a viable reality. Case in point: NextMeet, which offers these features to the mass market, making it possible for organizations and institutions to step beyond the restrictions posed by video conferencing tools, and generate genuine engagement among its users in an immersive environment.
Technology may evolve with each passing year, but the human need to stay connected and engaged will never change. The booming VR sector is a testament to this need, proving how the right human-tech fit can provide the best of both worlds – the comfort and familiarity of physical meeting space, and the ease and flexibility of online dialogue.
