TL;DW: key insights from SimplyVideo's Virtual Partner Day
In July 2023, SimplyVideo held a virtual conference covering exciting developments from our team and partners. Catch up on all the action here.
Back in July, SimplyVideo held its inaugural Virtual Partner Day.
This half-day conference was partly an excuse to connect with you, our audience. It served as a forum for you to ask questions, check in with our team and learn about the exciting things we're planning for our products and the wider world of extended reality (XR).
But that's not the only reason we held the event. We called it a "Partner Day" because it was as much about our industry collaborators as it was about us. Apart from an opening talk with our CEO and a quick Q&A session, the day focused exclusively on presentations from key strategic partners.
This gets to the heart of our philosophy and our mission. At SimplyVideo, we believe that XR innovation depends on free and open collaboration.
In this burgeoning industry, no organisation is an island. We're standing at a technological frontier, where new discoveries are made every day and ideas are shared like rations around a campfire.
That's why technologies like
OpenXR exist. Broadly speaking, the focus is on interoperability and mutual support between vendors. A world of closely guarded trade secrets and proprietary ecosystems this is not.
So, we platformed our partners because they're key to our success and the success of our industry. But also because we want to make things simple for you, the user.
Despite its spirit of cooperation, the XR industry is still somewhat fragmented. For a CTO, this can mean untangling a messy web of contracts and compatibilities.
Nobody wants that. To pinch a maxim from Steve Jobs, users want solutions that "just work".
That's what we set out to do – deliver a whole XR ecosystem that "just works" for our customers. As our CEO Alex Deighton puts it:
"What we're trying to do here at SimplyVideo is widen the net. [We want] to be able to speak to customers about XR and literally [deliver] the whole ecosystem that we think is required in the solution. Not only the device but also the software that works with it, integrations for workflow on the device and then device management."
This was a key focus of the Virtual Partner Day, which saw the announcement of a cost-effective software bundle with WorkfloPlus and a new APK for 3D collaboration within Microsoft Teams, among other things.
But you can catch up on all of that below. Here's the full content of our Virtual Partner Day, along with some quick TL;DWs (too long; didn't watch) in case you're in a hurry.
Session one: SimplyVideo
Opening session with SimplyVideo CEO Alex Deighton
TL;DW: Our CEO, Alex Deighton, gets the ball rolling by outlining SimplyVideo's vision: to provide a ready-to-go XR ecosystem for any customer application. He shares his thoughts on the industry's direction of travel and covers some of SimplyVideo's recent successes, including the delivery of a Magic Leap APK that enables 3D collaboration within Microsoft Teams. Finally, he looks to the future, giving us a sneak peek of upcoming projects with various strategic partners.
Key quote: "We're looking to deliver a variety of devices and software that work across the park, so we have a full solution for the customer who wants to adopt XR."
Session two: WorkfloPlus
The connected frontline operative: truly hands-free remote support made possible with SimplyVideo and WorkfloPlus
TL;DW: WorkfloPlus is an XR-enhanced workflow management application that's designed to make processes easy to follow on any device. In this session, WorkfloPlus business development specialist Nick Hope talks us through the application's core functionality before introducing a new feature, developed in tandem by SimplyVideo and WorkfloPlus. Phonebook integration allows WorkfloPlus users to access hands-free remote support through SimplyVideo – all with a few simple voice commands.
Key quote: "We've designed [our Phonebook functionality] to be easily adoptable and simple by its very nature. Anybody from even the most transient of workforces can pick up their RealWear device – or any assisted reality wearable, for that matter – put it on their heads and get in touch with experts with little or no stress."
Session three: VISR Dynamics
Elevating collaboration and learning using augmented reality
TL;DW: VISR Dynamics is the company behind Stage, a virtual learning platform available through the SimplyVideo ecosystem. In this session, VISR Dynamics' Adam Tunnicliffe and SimplyVideo's James Bolger discuss the enormous potential of XR for education and collaboration. Next, they explore several potential use cases and show Stage's augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) learning spaces in action.
Key quote: "Immersive technology is really getting to the point where it can be used intuitively – not by computer scientists, not by specialists, but by an everyday person. We're in the perfect moment right now to start using some of this XR, which goes interchangeably with immersive technology, for things that are really necessary and useful – like education."
Session four: Vuzix
Cutting through the noise, the "innovation stage" and delivery utility through XR adoption in enterprise
TL;DW: Vuzix is one of the forefathers of XR and a recognised innovator in the hardware space. Here, Vuzix sales manager Jonathan Nelson provides an end-to-end overview of the company's history, strategy, products and partners. He also explores some of the challenges that come with choosing XR-optimised software, while noting that SimplyVideo is fully optimised for Vuzix smart glasses.
Key quote: "While AR, and XR generally, are quite new to a lot of people – there are a lot of companies only really discovering this as a technology now – Vuzix has actually been playing in this space for the last 25 years, in various different forms. So we have a lot of expertise in this particular area."
Session five: Net4
The importance of delivering an effective connectivity solution for remote collaboration
TL;DW: This session focuses on an often-overlooked piece of the XR jigsaw: connectivity. Alex Taylor, founder and CEO of Net4, kicks off by talking about his passion for XR and the Internet of Things, before outlining some of his company's smart connectivity solutions. With portable and semi-permanent options available, Net4 can address a wide variety of XR use cases – from frontline medical care to remote drilling rigs.
Key quote: "There's an XR revolution going on… These devices and the applications they're running on really are cutting-edge, bleeding-edge technologies… My view is that this is the next space, which is why I'm in the XR space working with SimplyVideo. We just see massive benefits – the technology works… Now it's about getting the customer proposition right."
Session six: ArborXR
A guide to bringing XR to enterprise
TL;DW: AborXR's Roberto Garza shares some of the impressive results his clients have enjoyed after deploying XR. That includes UPS, which reduced driver training time by 75%, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, whose VR therapy experiences resulted in an average 30% decrease in patient pain intensity. Next, he introduces the ArborXR platform – a mobile device management (MDM) solution built for XR devices – and argues that traditional MDMs are ill-equipped for XR deployment.
Key quote: "Using your traditional UEM system or traditional MDM system is not going to make your deployment successful. That's where we come in here today. We're talking to thousands of customers that have deployments in the thousands of devices. We want to be that guy for you to connect you to those partners like SimplyVideo and connect you to the right devices that are going to be useful for your deployment."
We hope to see you at our next Virtual Partner Day! In the meantime, why not
get in touch with our experts to discuss how our XR-enhanced
video collaboration platform can benefit your enterprise?
