New tech can save substantial investments in OPEX

Justine Louw, General Manager: Microsoft

Mixed reality (MR), an immersive technology that overlays 3D visualisations, instructions, and simulations on real-world environments to empower employees, while providing them with full movement and autonomy, is delivering critical value to businesses across many sectors.

Every business owner – no matter how big or small their company, wants to lower operating costs. It’s one of the most effective ways to save money and boost your business’s profits.

To reduce operating expenses (OpEx) in business, it’s wise to bring the latest technology into the mix. New tools, apps, and software can help with cost reduction measures that you might not have considered before, without sacrificing your processes or the quality of your products and services.

From healthcare to education and manufacturing, companies worldwide are experiencing the multiple benefits of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), immersive technologies that overlay the real world with digital content.

Covered in this article

Advantages of the HoloLens 2
Work together from anywhere
On-the-job guidance

Advantages of the HoloLens 2

"Microsoft HoloLens 2 is leading the way when it comes to being business ready. Bringing 3D Visualisations into the real world through MR technology, the untethered, self-contained holographic headset allows workers to use MR applications while working “heads-up” and “hands-free.” Justine Louw, General Manager: Microsoft

As one example, the HoloLens 2 can be worn by clinicians as they interact with patients, while the rest of the healthcare team see a first -person view from the HoloLens 2 wearer on a computer, allowing two-way communication with the clinician from a remote location. The possibilities for improving the provision of superior healthcare for patients living in remote rural areas around South Africa are immense.

A Forrester Consulting study, The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft HoloLens 2, commissioned by Microsoft, identified several key benefits of investing in HoloLens 2 including:

• Enhanced training efficiency
• Increased task efficiency for field workers and onsite workers
• Improved productivity for project leaders
• Improved productivity and less travel for experts
• Reduced operational costs
• Revenue growth

The study also found that HoloLens 2 offered a 177% return on investment (ROI) over three years, as well as improvements to employee health and safety, business continuity, customer experience, and customer outcomes.

Work together from anywhere

Along with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, HoloLens 2 enables specialists to connect with remote workers to perform key tasks, including:

• Solving problems in real time
  Users can share their real-time view with experts remotely to get the help they need, while staying hands-free.
• Walking a site without being on location
  Experts can avoid unnecessary travel and reduce costs and delays to the business by conducting remote inspections combining video, screenshots, and annotations on their devices.
• Bringing critical information into view
  Users can take advantage of information from Dynamics 365 Field Service or capture asset information and integrate it with Microsoft Power Platform or other enterprise applications.

Using Microsoft Teams, call participants can collaborate, share expert knowledge, and solve problems faster by sharing first-person views, drawing directly in the HoloLens user's field of view, and bringing critical information into view while working. For example, a worker can call an expert if something goes wrong and get advice on how to move instead of waiting for support. A first-line worker can call a remote expert at a specific step and do a remote inspection as a product is being built, saving time while ensuring quality.

On-the-job guidance

Businesses that invest in HoloLens 2 with Dynamic 365 Guides can not only enhance remote collaboration, but also equip employees with step-by-step holographic instructions to use where the work happens:

• Improved productivity with advanced guidance
  Businesses can accelerate learning, standardise processes, and reduce errors to increase yield with step-by-step instructions to help keep workers safe on the job.

• Problems can be solved in real time with expertise and ease
  Workers can collaborate seamlessly, share knowledge, and solve problems with a remote expert using Microsoft Teams to easily bring critical data into the workflow.

• Adapt at speed
  Guides for training or day-to-day processes can be created and quickly distributed across the organisation when needed, with no programming or 3D skills necessary.

• Maximise operational efficiency using data
  By incorporating guides into existing workflows to view and save data, data-driven insights can be used to maximise operational efficiency over time.

• Create immersive learning experiences
  Immersive learning is a highly effective way for organisations to deliver formal training while reducing costs using Microsoft Holo Lens technology.

MR can unlock immense value for South African businesses by creating efficiencies that save costs, optimise employee capabilities, and drive business growth through greater innovation and competitiveness.

Let Tarsus Distribution provide you with a demonstration on how integrating HoloLens 2 with business applications, ISV solutions, and Azure services turns it into a powerful device for your business and employees alike.

To gain an estimate of Microsoft HoloLens 2’s economic impact on your business, visit https://tools.totaleconomicimpact.com/Go/microsoft/mixed-reality/index.html

For more information, visit https://connect.tarsusdistribution.co.za/tarsus-technology-partner/microsoft

References:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/forrester-total-economic-impact-isv