When a new technology emerges, it can sometimes take years before the real “killer application” appears, transforming a technology from something interesting into something with a real future. Augmented Reality is not one of those technologies, because it was immediately clear that AR has a profound impact on any organization focused on service-related tasks, knowledge transfer, sales & marketing, and production.
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Research**
In just a few years, forward-thinking companies began mapping out ways to apply this new technology within their organizations. By 2017, this burgeoning industry had already led to business spending of more than $3.6 billion on AR software, hardware, and services, according to IDC’s research ‘Worldwide Augmented and Virtual Reality Guide’ (April 2018).
That number will grow to more than $8 billion in 2018 and will more than double in 2019 to $19.2 billion.
Practice
Impressive figures, but how does this compare to an average company that is more focused on serving its customers and staying ahead of the competition than on IT developments and expenditures? Here are more practical figures: in a recent US survey of IT and business leaders, no less than 77% of respondents indicated that their company was already working with AR. Approximately 36% of these indicated that they were in an early stage of testing, 15% were in the pilot phase, 17% transitioned from pilot to early deployment, and approximately 9% were in a late stage and already implemented.
In other words, if your company operates within an industry where competitive statistics depend on service, knowledge transfer & training, sales & marketing, or production, and you are not yet looking at the possibilities of AR, you are effectively already falling behind!
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How to achieve this?**
One of the main reasons why AR has taken off in so many organizations is that many already had some of the key hardware and software components at hand. Many of the companies used existing hardware for AR, such as smartphones and tablets. Many companies have also used their existing 3D files for AR experiences. For example, by processing existing CAD-based product drawings and digital instructions and manuals into AR software.
This way, you can quickly realize a positive AR experience relatively quickly and with already available resources!