Does VR have a place in UC&C?

Virtual environments lend themselves to collaboration, but the tools are complex to use

Unified communications is usually thought about in terms of existing systems: telephony, instant messenger and video. It is easy to forget that the entire point of UC is to enhance collaboration, removing barriers between employees who are physically separated. Virtual reality could be the perfect solution - at least according to Microsoft and Cisco.

Just over a week ago, Cisco announced its team-up with Oculus, bringing its Spark application to VR, which Oculus Rift owners can download now for free. Users can meet and interact with other professionals in their own VR environment, using the headset and controllers. CIsco can also natively integrate with the Spark platform endpoints.

Cisco Spark for VR is, simply, another way to access Spark content. It runs on the Spark platform, using the same APIs as existing apps; and all of the current files, whiteboards and conversations are available in virtual reality. The major difference is the ability to interact with these in 3D; for example, opening up a car engine, or walking around a building design.

Cisco's VR concept is pure virtual reality, completely closed off from the real world. On the other hand, Microsoft is focusing on its mixed reality platform, which aims to blend the real and virtual worlds.

During his keynote at Microsoft Ignite this week, CEO Satya Nadella showed off new soft- and hardware for MR aimed at improving teamwork.

Back in 2015, Microsoft promoted Volvo's use of its Hololens, specifically showing off cars in a virtual showroom at the Microsoft HQ in Redmond. Fast forward two years and Ford is using the headset to work on concept car designs - replacing the life-size clay models with virtual replicas.

Hololens is expensive, however. The demo also included a designer in a remote location, connecting to the car design session using one of the much cheaper MR headsets that we saw at IFA this year.

Nadella discussed security, which is crucial for many businesses. He described how Ford can use Hololens to ban unauthorised users from accessing certain files.

Microsoft's mixed reality services will also be able to be integrated with its Teams software (set to replace Skype for Business). For example, notes made in the MR environment will be viewable in Teams, and calls launched in Teams will be accessible by MR users.

These are interesting and compelling, but specific and niche, use cases. Realistically, how ready are enterprises for such technology?

Aaron Lepofsky, analyst at Constellation Research, thinks that we are some way from these tools being used in organisations. He told Tech Target, "People still struggle with standard web conferencing, so imagine virtual reality."