Best Virtual Reality (VR) Collaboration Platforms

What are VR Social Platforms?

Why Use VR Social Platforms?

Who Uses VR Social Platforms?

Kinds of VR Social Platforms

VR social platforms don’t differ too much in functionality type, as all platforms in this category are focused on creating virtual meeting spaces for their users. However, some platforms are more targeted toward certain types of meetups.

Social — Certain VR social platforms are more intended for social use cases. These particular solutions are ideal for people looking to video chat with friends who live far away. These types of social VR platforms enable uses to participate in social events like playing a game or even watching a show or sporting event together.

Corporate — Social VR platforms with more corporate functionality are intended to replace video conference meetings, or even face-to-face meetings in physical locations. Those using these particular types of VR social platforms tend to use them to collaborate with a colleague for professional purposes.

VR Social Platforms Features

The following features are not guaranteed in VR social platforms, but can typically be found in them.

Avatar creation — VR social solutions typically require users to create an avatar to represent their likeness. Sometimes these avatars look slightly cartoonish, while others are more realistic. Avatar quality varies from platform to platform.

Space customization — These software platforms should enable users to customize their meeting spaces to fit their business’ particular needs. This feature isn’t just for decorative needs, it can help users reflect the intention of their meetup. For example, the space in question can be developed to look like a conference room or a sports venue.

Recording — A VR social platform allows its users to record all of the virtual meetings that take place within the solution. Users can keep track of meetings without needing to purchase a separate integrating software solution for that purpose.

Various types of communication — A VR social platform lets users visualize being in the same room as all the participants logged on, no matter their actual location. That means that users have the ability to communicate with the other meeting participants through voice or text. Users can even write on a virtual whiteboard, as all participants would have the ability to see it.

Trends Related to VR Social Platforms

Users can expect the following trends to arise as VR social platforms become more mainstream.

VR in training — VR is becoming more and more common for training purposes. VR social platforms can be used for training purposes within corporate environments. However, as opposed to the niche functionality of a VR training simulator, VR social platforms can train employees for office jobs, no matter their location.

Evolving remote workforce — Telecommuting is becoming common for many workplaces. More and more businesses will likely need to offer this perk to keep up with the competition. Studies predict that this will prompt more workers to telecommute. This means that businesses will need to offer the tools to accommodate these workers, such as VR social platforms.

Potential Issues with VR Social Platforms

Cost — VR software solutions overall have yet to see a mass user adoption rate. Part of the reason that VR solutions are not easily accessed by the general population is the cost. VR software requires an integrating piece of hardware to operate, which tend to be very pricey. VR software, as opposed to the hardware devices, is also very technical to create, causing the price to go up as well. This creates a bit of a vicious cycle because, unless the industry sees higher demand by the general population, prices likely will not go down any time soon.

High learning curve — Due to its high price, VR social platforms have not been widely received by the general public. This means that users do not have a ton of experience with VR in any sense. Without this prior experience, it may take users longer to learn how to operate the platform. VR is a complicated technology, meaning the learning curve might be steeper than some other types of software.

Software and Services Related to VR Social Platforms

VR social platforms are a very niche software category, meaning that they do not integrate with many other solutions. They should, however, integrate with VR SDK software solutions.

VR SDK — Virtual reality software development kits, or VR SDKs, provide the tools to design, build, and test VR experiences. These SDKs are what can help users customize their meetup in a VR social platform. Additionally, these tools offer flexibility for non-developers, with many systems providing drag-and-drop functionality to customize experiences. While SDKs are typically intended for specific frameworks and hardware, some can be supported on multiple systems.