A sizable enterprise company quickly starts to run into the problem of how to collaborate more easily. Over time, entire departments within the organization may become devoted to solving that one problem. Across multiple interrelated teams, especially in a company with numerous geographically distant locations or virtual work environments, it can take a monumental effort to choose tools that encourage the simplest and most effective collaboration.
But all hope is not lost. As technology has evolved, we have gained the means for working together, though physically separate, in an instant. There are now a variety of enterprise collaboration tools that make it easier for disparate teams to call upon each other as needed and problem-solve. This is key to maximizing efficiency, which translates to happier employees and a smoother overall operation.
You may have heard the term, Augmented Reality (AR), thrown around in tech circles. This broadly refers to an interactive experience between software and the real world, such as scrolling your camera over an empty room, only to see furniture appear on your screen that you can move and change.
AR is often used in popular interactive games and is becoming a mainstay of the virtual experience. What you might not know though is how AR is leveraged in Remote Visual Assistance (RVA) for business purposes as a key enterprise collaboration tool.
Enterprise Collaboration Tools Solve Problems of Distance and Remote Expertise
RVA is designed to ensure that virtual collaboration is just as, if not more, effective than in-person collaboration. Both people need simply to have access to a portable screen like a tablet. They can each connect to a video stream showing the other person and their surroundings. The real-time stream is merged, and the collaborators can use visual cues to provide suggestions to each other.
There are few teams using cross functional collaboration that would not benefit from having access to RVA. With complex devices or manufacturing processes, the upsides are monumental. Imagine the support technicians who fix or troubleshoot equipment when it malfunctions. Those who normally interact with those devices or equipment can call up help the instant something goes wrong, regardless of whether the support person is in the area. Instead of waiting for them to show up and delaying work until finding a solution, collaboration is swift and effective with a video call.
It is also easy to imagine how augmented reality can transform international collaboration between different company locations. Flying experts around the world is expensive, not necessarily good for morale, and wastes a lot of time. Instead, the collaborators can stay where they normally work and set up a meeting virtually. There are many techniques or implementation protocols that must be explained in real-time and are difficult or near impossible to describe via written words or asynchronous communication. Remote assistance steps in and resolves these concerns. Teams will be much happier not having to uproot themselves and their schedules for long travel times. The work gets done successfully without the need to consider the expense or stress of international transportation.
Enterprise Collaboration Tools Are Easy To Implement And Cost Effective
Even those who work in the same country or state will appreciate having RVA in their toolbox. The expert who must leave the office or central workspace to go resolve a customer issue may not always think they need additional help. With RVA, they don’t have to wait for a team member to arrive in the case of unforeseen challenges or gaps in their knowledge. They can call up assistance using a tablet and show the support person the problem as if they were together.
Enterprise collaboration tools need to be cost-effective, simple to implement, and beneficial to a wide variety of employees. RVA, based on augmented reality, checks all of these boxes and more by resolving the challenges inherent to our increasingly virtual workspaces. The demands of a large organization are different than those of a small company. Collaboration is not the same when hundreds of people in different locations need to work together fluidly.
Remote assistance can always be on stand-by for enterprise teams that need to rapidly respond to arising problems. It can also become a mainstay in the general workflow, ensuring that groups of people can communicate and resolve issues ongoing without worrying about where their busy schedules take them throughout the day. Help Lightning works with companies of all sizes to implement RVA and aids in transitioning teams smoothly to augmented reality. Find out how this technology can improve collaboration in your company. Request a free demo today.
