The pandemic has profoundly impacted business sentiment toward immersive XR technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, and how businesses approach it from a strategic and operational point of view.

Our baseline survey in 2019 revealed XR was emerging as an important tool for companies looking to enhance their workforce training, find new ways of engaging their customers or provide collaboration tools for remote teams.

In the 2021 follow-up survey, we’re seeing businesses deepening their commitment to XR technologies – 85% of companies surveyed have implemented or are actively exploring XR. Those actively using augmented reality (AR) are relying on the technology to advance their sales and customer engagement goals, while also supporting the parallel trend of remote collaboration. On the virtual reality (VR) front, businesses are leaning into the technology for operational, sales, marketing and product development needs.

Business leaders expect AR/VR technologies to have a significant impact on their organization as well as their industry in the near term. Eighty-four percent say their companies are accelerating spending on XR related projects over the next two years.

Published: October 2021