Nowadays, virtual reality is more used than ever thanks to the wide variety of gadgets which can be bought in nearly every telecom and electronics shop. Even if most of the time, virtual reality equipment is bought by game passionate people, it is slowly making its way into the business world which is using it to improve their services.

The improvement of virtual reality is the augmented reality which enhances experiences and creates a whole new world for the user. Some of the richest countries in the world, among which Switzerland, have the highest number of augmented reality gear users.

E-commerce, the precursor of today’s virtual reality

The hectic life of people determined company owners to move their businesses online. From there, e-commerce exploded and now it is more common to purchase goods via the Internet and thus virtualise what not long ago was traditional shopping.

From there only one step was needed in order to create virtual showrooms and fitting rooms where people can see the potential results of their actions or purchases.

The idea of virtual reality then expanded in the gaming industry, with Ireland leading in the top 10 countries with companies producing VR equipment for this industry. The Irish idea of starting a business for the creation of VR gear has soon expanded to other European countries.

Apart from retail, gaming and even cinema, there are other global industries which now benefit from the process improvements brought by virtual and augmented reality. Healthcare, transport, education, travel, and engineering are all top sectors which already use VR equipment for testing, conferences or presenting new designs.

A big surprise could come from the investment funds industry which will soon be integrating virtual reality to show investors how the projects they invested in are executed.

The future of virtual and augmented reality

Virtual reality is currently one of the best marketing tools and when paired with augmented reality it creates another dimension for the user which is why the future of this industry is very promising.

In fact, it is so promising that by 2020 virtual and augmented reality is expected to become one of the best new industries with a market value of more than 160 billion dollars. What does that mean? It means that it will change the face of the world as we know it for good.

From remote offices which will help a company’s personnel to meet in a virtual micro-world to training completed the same way, virtual reality is expected to become indispensable to companies by 2025.

Many companies are now testing VR as a tool for recruiting new personnel, to offer a better feeling of how a work day looks like. Other enterprises use VR gear for the annual general meetings of shareholders.

For example, countries like Seychelles and Belize where these meetings can be held from any corner of the world will be great candidates for the latest VR gear, such as headsets from which people will be able to enter the desktop of their computer in a not very far future.

Virtual reality has already started to change the face of the business world, and specialists say that it won’t be long until most companies will start integrating VR equipment in the day-to-day activities. The benefits will be lower maintenance costs and better interaction between personnel.