Mixed reality goes mainstream

In true Microsoftspeak the company believes that ‘mixed reality (MR) is one of the most important technological trends in the modern workplace, with the power to transform work from the executive

suite to the front line. SharePoint spaces continues that momentum by:

Empowering creators to build immersive experiences with point-and-click simplicity. You can get started with smart templates that create a mixed reality environment complete with attractive surroundings, ambient sounds, rich textures and lighting.
Mainstreaming mixed reality letting anyone, on any device and any browser, create their own mixed reality experience in a matter of minutes
Ensuring SharePoint spaces is available in all Office 365 commercial plans, enabling new scenarios for information workers and frontline workers alike.

Now take a deep breath and read our Inside feature on page 51 which explores the potential for MR. All is not what it seems. There’s still a way to go before this technology takes over AV, but things are moving with amazing speed.

Microsoft overhauled its SharePoint software a couple of years ago so it would compete more effectively with Dropbox, Slack, and Box, and it’s going a step further by bringing its business-focused software to MR headsets. SharePoint is primarily used to organise documents, build intranet sites, and manage content internally.

Microsoft claims 400,000 companies use SharePoint, but it’s not the software you’d expect to use on VR headsets. Until now, it’s been prohibitively expensive and complex to develop customised mixed reality apps to address these and other business scenarios, and to make MR apps broadly accessible in the workplace, because most require costly headsets. One suspects this is an experimental environment to see how customers use the software in anger.

Still, good move by the Redmond company. Continually innovating. That’s what we like to see in AV. As SharePoint is widely used by an estimated 135 million Office 365 users, this initiative could bring down the cost of developing experiences for businesses.