Case for i2VW
The Case for Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplaces™ (i2VW™)
In these days of constrained budgets and limited resources, there is the ever-growing demand for an agile workforce that is equipped to communicate, collaborate, and interact with effectiveness, efficiency, and in many cases, immediacy. Developed as a delivery framework for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Serious Games, our i2VW™ solutions provide the latest in training and learning technologies and strategies that fully leverage the concept of experiential learning—learning by doing, to facilitate collaboration and to streamline the learning curve, and the novice to mastery continuum!
The Challenges
Companies, organizations and agencies the world over are confronted with the rising costs and unavailability of physical space, the rising costs and environmental impacts of travel to and from those locations, the unreliability of acts of nature as in extreme weather and climate change, the unprecedented costs and risks posed by global health crises such as COVID-19, Zika, Ebola, MERS, SARS, etc., the costs and physical risks associated with maintaining mission critical equipment in dangerous locations; the increasing requirements for employee flexibility and work/life balance, and the general shift to question why does one physically need to 'be' there.
Companies and agencies alike are challenged by the opposing forces of professional and vocational training and development requirements and their diminished budgets. With the expectation of doing more with less, organizations like yours are looking for ways to provide effective training for their geographically dispersed teams, a means to foster personal growth and professional development, as well as ways in which they can continue to contribute to their respective evolving bodies of knowledge, all the while managing their own corporate knowledge base of intellectual property (IP) in a sustainable, flexible, mobile, accessible yet secure manner.
These challenges will continue, with ever increasing requirements for creative and innovative solutions for change. There will continue to be economic changes and technology changes, both of which require a change in culture and mindset.
At KG2 Consulting, our priority has been to address the economic challenges with advancements in technology and a focused attention on managing said change, supporting its adoption and measuring the resulting adaptation. With a clear understanding of existing gaps, we can help you to achieve an efficient continuity of operations, especially regarding professional and vocational training, specific work-related collaboration scenarios, or day-to-day tactical performance and outcome driven activities. Specifically, our Immersive, Virtual Workplaces solution suite can help to bridge the existing gaps and to address the challenges posed by shrinking budgets with increased needs for training and development as well as requirements for greater collaboration.
What are Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplaces?
Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplaces™ (i2VW™) are digital recreations of physical ‘brick and mortar’ locations. These immediately recognizable environments are combined with work or training scenarios tailored specifically to mirror the experience one has in a physical space, only these are available all the time—any time day or night—and are accessible to anyone anywhere authorized to participate.
Participants are represented by an avatar, a digital recreation of their likeness (either identical or imagined) and engage in these on-line virtual workplaces in real-time. As these virtual workplaces require full participation and as their graphical, visual representation, their avatar, must be controlled as if they were physically there, their experience is much more engaging and memorable. This in turn, ultimately closes the chasm of detachment and distance inherent in not actually physically being there—with all its benefits but none of the risk.
‘Showing up’ in a place, ready to do work is far more engaging that beeping into a call where you have no awareness of any visual cues to determine how the other participants are reacting or joining a video conference that only allows for a structured interaction requiring preparation i.e. an appropriate ‘backdrop’, proper attire, etc. With that level of detachment, both scenarios support ‘zoning out’, physically leaving the room or simply checking off a box indicating that you had been present at some point during the event. Likewise, beginning one’s formal introduction to a new, extremely expensive, and physically dangerous piece of equipment in an immersive, interactive virtual workplace will be less expensive, less risky, more benign and more accommodating to making mistakes than starting off in a physical simulator or worse yet, on the actual piece of equipment.
As you are just as ‘present’ with your avatar, directly controlling its behavior and actions in real-time, it will provide all the interactivity and participation you would get had you physically been there face to face. In summary, i2VW’s reflect the latest in training and learning strategies that fully leverages the concept of experiential learning—learning by doing, and provides a cost effective, low risk, and completely integrated product solution for most training requirements.
What This Means
As with most ‘new’ and innovative solutions, Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplace requires a culture and mindset change, and KG2 Consulting can help your organization craft a new strategy for addressing training and development objectives, conducting operational business in a ‘green’ and sustainable manner, cutting costs, managing risk, and enhancing interest and engagement—all of which may lead to increased productivity and customer satisfaction. Leveraging the ethos of an integrated team, and guided by a structured and phased implementation approach, we begin by developing an Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplace strategy that includes an end-to-end solution in a one-stop shop fashion.
Your specific requirements will help to craft a customized, economical solution that meets the needs of all your staff—from Traditionalists to Baby Boomers to Gen Xers to Millennials and now, Gen Zers. We culminate the engagement with full transition support in a manner such that your team is prepared and ready to assume complete responsibility for on-going operations.
Conclusion
Let us help you expand your business toolkit by including a solution that provides more effective training options, greater collaboration, the ability to mitigate risk, and most importantly, to save money. Let us help you identify your Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplace—you can rent or own or share your workplace. KG2 Consulting can assist you navigate the ‘virtual landscape’, and with our technology and platform agnostic stance, we have developed strategic partnerships across the industry to get you the best end-to-end solution that meets your needs at the very best prices.