Oculus Monetizes VR With Enterprise Subscriptions

Oculus has announced the impending launch of the new Oculus for Business, designed to streamline and expand virtual reality (VR) in the workplace.

Oculus for Business, rolling out this fall, will add Oculus Quest to the hardware lineup, as well as provide a suite of tools designed to help companies utilize VR.

“We originally launched Oculus for Business at OC4. Since then, our customers have pioneered VR in different ways, creating custom applications to onboard employees, collaborate remotely and visualize data,” the company wrote in a blog post. “For some, VR in the workplace has gone from novelty to necessity, but getting started can still feel daunting – especially without ongoing support.

“Oculus for Business will simplify enterprise VR through a holistic approach designed especially for large-scale deployments,” the post continued. “This includes a dedicated software suite offering device setup and management tools, enterprise-grade service and support, and a new user experience customized for business use cases. We’re also working closely with leaders in enterprise IT and services to develop ways to integrate VR right alongside the workflows and services businesses already use.”

The new hardware bundles will be available for bulk purchase. Oculus Go ($599, 64GB) is a lightweight and affordable option best suited for immersive video, while Oculus Quest ($999, 128GB) is the company’s first all-in-one 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) headset. After the first year, software access is available for an annual fee of $180 per headset.

The company added that after testing Osso VR, surgeons reported a 230 percent boost in performance, which has led to Osso VR working with 15,000 partners, including UCLA, Vanderbilt, Harvard Medical School and more. And Walmart found that VR training for its associates led to a 10-15 percent improvement in performance, so the company deployed 17,000 Oculus Go headsets and developed a curriculum of more than 50 training modules with Strivr.