Does the Vision Pro have a home in the enterprise?

A decade ago, Google “retired” its first attempt at augmented reality — sort of. (Google Glass remained available for the enterprise sector, despite a less than flattering image in the public consciousness, until just two years ago.)

In a similar vein, Microsoft eventually aimed its ambitions for the HoloLens in the same direction, before canceling it outright. 

And then there’s Apple and its pricey Vision Pro headset. The company courted the enterprise market early with dedicated sessions for its visionOS at the very first WWDC after its introduction, and with MDM support in the first major update to the platform. 

That’s not a surprise; the enterprise market has come to be seen as crucial to the success of extended-reality devices, based both on price and how they’re used. 

To be clear, the $3,499 Apple Vision Pro isn’t for every business — or even where it makes sense, for every employee. But there are markets where it can deliver real value: product design and prototyping, data visualization, training, industrial use cases, medical treatmentand even customer engagement in some fields. 

Tapping into that value is a bit more challenging for enterprise IT than some other technologies, but it isn’t impossible. Here’s how to think about the Vision Pro as an enterprise-worthy device and what to consider ahead of deployment.

It’s not a toy 

The first big challenge is getting people to take spatial computing seriously. This involves getting users comfortable with wearing a computer prominently on their face (and normalizing seeing someone else wearing one in an office). Beyond that is ensuring it’s perceived as an enterprise device — not an expensive toy. The only way around that is for it to drive real value to the company, and for workers to understand that value.

So if you’re planning to include Vision Pro hardware in your IT toolkit, be sure to explain to users why this is the best solution for your operation.

Set clear goals and outcomes 

When it comes to visionOS apps and workflows, it’s important to have a clear strategy. And companies looking to roll out Vision Pro devices for their workers should have concrete goals and ways to measure outcomes and success.

This will vary by industry and organization — for one company, it could be creating a virtual workshop where a design team spanning regions can collaborate in real time as though they’re in a single location. Or it could be used to enable remote training on how to manage factory equipment, create a unique space to visualize and work with data, or allow a remote consultation by a medical expert. 

Whatever the specific case, companies need to be clear on the value to be gained by using spatial computing instead of more traditional computing tools. That’s especially true given the pricey hardware involved.

Talk to users 

Success will depend a lot on working directly with the employees, team leads and managers who will be using Vision Pro headsets. Whether they asked for the technology or the CIO suggested it, everyone needs to have a dialogue about what their jobs entail and how this platform can meet their needs. 

Don’t forget to schedule regular check-ins, particularly early in the deployment or pilot process. And be sure there’s an effective method for providing feedback —whether that’s via software or in-person reports — and then act on what your users are saying. 

Apps matter, but a browser might work, too

The real value in any device comes less from the hardware itself and more from the apps that run on it. Apps can either take the form of public apps or in-house enterprise apps. (You’ll most likely end up with a combination of the two.)

On one hand, custom-built apps make it easier to directly meet user needs or expected workflows. The challenge is that you’ll be putting in a lot of time and developer hours in creating those apps. For some specific use cases, this will make sense — it may be the onlyoption, depending on the need. 

But you’ll want to see if there’s an existing solution first. It’s going to be faster (and likely less expensive). As with any enterprise device, IT should be able to curate a collection of public and in-house enterprise apps using whatever MDM solution is in place. There’ll almost certainly be feedback about app alternatives; it’s important to check out each suggestion to see whether it’s a better solution. 

Don’t forget, a full-blown app might not even be necessary. Safari on visionOS can deliver immersive content and you might find something akin to a browser or widget as a viable solution.

Share and share alike 

SharePlay might deliver the most value for visionOS, particularly if you’re developing the platform as a way for product or engineering departments to work collaboratively from remote locations. The advantage comes in the ability for multiple users to engage in a common task, workflow or app in a virtual workspace where all participants can view and make changes. This opens the possibility of local or remote collaboration in real time. 

This sharing can extend to other Apple devices, offering users who aren’t working with Vision Pro access to non-immersive content. Those that need the immersive collaboration space get what they need, and colleagues who might just need something like specs, certain data points or progress, can still be involved. (This could also allow workers or managers to check on a project using a Mac, iPad or iPhone.)

It’s important to remember that visionOS includes some protections to limit the sharing of specific content in some workspaces. This could be related to privacy, local regulations, or internal company data that shouldn’t be shared with a group of employees for whatever reason. 

Rolling it out

When you’re ready to start the deployment process, begin with an orientation and training — preferably in person. visionOS is a unique platform and it could be confusing for new users to get the hang of — the idea of selecting things with you eye focus, placing content on specific real-world surfaces, and manipulating virtual content — can present real challenges for new users. 

A dedicated support team

Plan to dedicate some of your support team to visionOS users and initiatives. You should also ensure that the support team has access to the device. This may seem extravagant, but so much of the visionOS experience is, well, experiential. Being able to effectively walk users through something, or to understand exactly what issues they’re having, will require experience with a Vision Pro. Understanding and replicating an issue will be a lot faster and easier if the support person has a device (and has used it). 

A single headset should be enough for a dedicated team, if cost is an issue. 

Always subject to change 

One thing is clear in the mixed reality world we now live in: everything is subject to change. Extended reality (virtual and mixed) is second only to AI as a technical field where change is both inevitable and rapid. It’s also a dynamic market: Meta and Android XR are both looking to compete with Vision Pro. So it’s important to keep an eye on what they’re doing, too.

Even news that isn’t specific to Apple can be important because it shows where things are heading — and it might offer ideas for future visionOS projects.