The possibility of enhancing human connections across remote work environments and creating collaborative equity among employees will grow as virtual reality begins to take hold in the enterprise.
There’s a world of difference between employee collaboration in a traditional conferencing app and collaboration in the virtual world. In persistent digital worlds, team members can feel like they’re working together in the same room, choosing how they want to be represented as avatars, expressing themselves with diverse reactions and enjoying richer content-sharing experiences in captivating 3D environments.
At DXC, we are working with different virtual world environments, most recently as an early adopter customer for Microsoft Mesh, which brings immersive experiences to the Microsoft Teams collaboration platform. With Mesh, collaborative equity — creating a workplace where employees know their voices are being heard and giving them the right tools to effectively interact with their colleagues — can be maximized in a truly immersive experience.
Employees joining Teams calls as animated avatars can enjoy maximum interactivity and sense of presence in meetings with colleagues. But users also retain the option to join with live video or with static photos if they are reluctant to turn on their camera. (We all have bad hair days!) Having choices provides a way for users to connect with their colleagues however they feel most comfortable. (Avatars for Teams, now generally available, are rolling out in phases starting the week of May 23; Mesh experiences are currently in private preview.)
Maximize collaborative equity in an immersive experience.
Moving virtual reality to the next level
In our own company, we have used our internal expertise to build a 3D model that is an exact replica of our customer experience center in India and uploaded it to Mesh. Now, customers can virtually travel to the India center using PCs or VR headsets — they can walk around the Mesh representation of the physical office as avatars, talk to our teams there and get overviews of the capabilities of that facility, such as cloud and network center operations.
DXC sees many more opportunities to create unique and fresh experiences that keep people engaging with connections in VR communities, building value with incentives, gamification and social connections.
DXC brings UX designers, 3D artists and architects, and game engine developers to creating virtual worlds in Microsoft Mesh.
DXC innovates with Microsoft Mesh
As companies contemplate how they might take advantage of immersive solutions for employee collaboration and community-building (for example, via virtual games), they need to consider whether they have the on-staff skills to create engaging environments for planned meetings, events and chance encounters, too. For many enterprises, the answer will be no.
For DXC, being an early adopter of Mesh is another step in our 30+ year global strategic partnership with Microsoft; that includes being a Mixed Reality Gold Partner and Microsoft Cloud Solutions Partner, and supporting enhanced employee experiences as its #1 partner for Teams monthly active usage. We bring talent to the table to create customized virtual worlds from scratch, and test them. Our talent includes UX designers, 3D artists and architects, and game engine developers. We have access to professionals who design homes and interiors in real life; while most businesses don’t know it, those skills deftly translate to the virtual world.
Additionally, we bring our extensive service integration skills; experience with Microsoft 365 integrations to apply to Mesh’s integration with Whiteboard, PowerPoint and other content stored in OneDrive; and capabilities in providing global support at scale for our customer engagements. DXC also provides metaverse consulting and advisory services, helping companies develop the right use cases for Mesh technology for their organization, and delivering onboarding and training support.
The end game for companies must be to create virtual reality applications and environments that foster collaborative equity, connection and productivity. That’s no small challenge, but getting it right will make a big difference in keeping your employees connected and collaborative in the hybrid world—critical features if your business is to perform at peak.
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About the authors
Nathalie Vancluysen is head of XR and Distinguished Technologist at DXC Technology. She leads the global extended reality (XR) business in DXC that includes immersive technologies such as AR, VR and MR. She is responsible for building the strategy and portfolio while working together with key partners and customers.
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Chris Cornelius is the global offering manager for Immersive Collaboration at DXC Technology. He is responsible for working together with key clients and metaverse partners to steer the offering strategy and roadmap.