The name of the game in modern-day communications is proximity. How close can users easily get to what they want to experience? First there was the TV screen across the room. Then there was the computer screen less than a foot away, followed by the smartphone that moved content even closer. And now, thanks to virtual reality, there is no distance. Users are completely immersed in their own virtual environment, interacting in a 360-degree space with objects in a fully digitized world.

The rise of reality-changing technologies — virtual, augmented or mixed — is what Accenture PLC is calling “extended reality” in its recently released report, “Technology Vision 2018.” It is one of five major trends identified by the business management consultant firm as impacting the future tech world, along with artificial intelligence, data veracity, the “internet of thinking” and “frictionless business.”

The important shift being tracked by Accenture is that business is starting to push the VR and AR agenda as more companies begin to adopt the technology for training employees or reaching consumers. “A year or two ago, all of this stuff was being done in the innovation lab,” said Jason Welsh (pictured), managing director of Accenture Extended Reality. “We’ve moved from the proof of concept to the pilot to some major deployments.”

Welsh spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at the Accenture Technology Vision event in San Francisco to discuss use cases where VR is being used in the enterprise, the rise of new tools and content created by studios, and a need for data to validate the technology’s effectiveness.

This week theCUBE features Jason Welsh as our Guest of the Week.

New uses for real estate, retail and auto

It seems that barely two years ago, VR and AR were limited to gaming enthusiasts and a select number of content creators seeking to find a market for an immersive experience that occasionally gave users motion sickness. How exactly is the enterprise adopting this emerging technology?

In its report, Accenture cited the real estate company Redfin Corp. as using VR to sell homes. Customers strap on the viewing headgear and “tour” properties without ever setting one foot across the actual thresholds. In another example, retail giant Wal-mart Stores Inc. employed VR technology last year to prepare store personnel for the day after Thanksgiving, more commonly known as “Black Friday.” And Komatsu Ltd., a heavy machine manufacturer, is now offering virtual training for its operators, which can be facilitated in any location regardless of weather.

Accenture has noticed an increase in requests for proposals issued by companies seeking to create VR content in the enterprise, and a significant number of those are focused on training. “Immersive training is definitely the hottest of the segments that we’re seeing client interest in,” Welsh said. “It’s another key signpost that this is moving beyond that ‘test and learn’ phase to actual real implementation.”

VR and AR use cases are beginning to appear within the automotive industry as well. Audi AG uses VR to give potential buyers an opportunity for designing and experiencing their own customized car, while BMW AG provides a similar experience using AR technology. And the intersection of visual technology and automotive design entered a whole new realm in January when Byton showed off its all-electric concept car during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Byton’s car includes a 49-inch dashboard screen (basically the width of the vehicle), that is controlled by touch, voice or gesture commands.

This is the kind of extended reality that companies are promoting as enticement to tech-savvy consumers. “We’ve had digital marketing for years,” Welsh said. “We’ve had the Web. We’ve had mobile. Now we’re going to have AR and VR.”

Fueling this adoption of extended reality are studios that are emerging as major players in the VR or AR arena. Baobab Studios Inc. is applying storytelling expertise to VR animation and creating an experience in which users not only observe a situation, they become active participants too.

At Penrose Studios Inc., employees work to create compelling interactive content. But in a significant departure from the norm, they work collaboratively inside the VR world while doing it. The company has created a new platform called Maestro that serves as a VR version of Slack, where participants in the form of avatars edit the content while moving about inside of it.

New industries spawn innovative technologies, and observers of what is happening in the VR space expect to see tools such as Penrose’s Maestro emerge for use in other sectors, including the enterprise. “They are pushing the envelope, just like the movie industry did, on the tools to create VR,” Welsh said. “Those innovations will find their way into the mainstream.”

Limited data to measure success

Despite the advances in technology and growing signs of adoption by enterprise companies, there is a distinct lack of evidence to conclusively document the effectiveness of VR and AR as training or marketing tools. Yet, some pieces of the puzzle can be placed in the frame to form an initial first impression.

A 2016 study from China found that the passing rate among groups engaged in learning a particular subject using VR was 90 percent, while the rate among non-VR users exposed to the same learning material reached only 40 percent. A study released last year by STRIVR Labs Inc. showed that participants using VR to study football plays had a 20 percent better reaction time than those learning in the 2D world. VR users also correctly read defenses at a higher rate than those learning from non-VR sources.

Data from two studies measuring VR’s effectiveness in marketing was also encouraging. VirtualSKY found that brand recall was eight times more effective in 360-degree ads versus promotions viewed in traditional video. And researchers from Milano-Bicocca University documented results from a study last year that found “statistically significant” increases in happiness and surprise among VR users, giving hope to its potential use as a marketing tool.

“The academic research says … it’s going to be better because I’ve re-created a real situation in my head,” Welsh explained. “But we need more metrics and more data that shows the powerful effect of that over time. That’s what some of our clients are waiting for.”

How much longer Accenture’s clients are willing to wait for that data may well be a function of VR’s continued progression as a viable enterprise tool. The Accenture study reported that two firms supplying VR-focused content to business grew between 128 and 186 percent between 2014 and 2016. It will be interesting to see if that growth continued two years later.

“Business is starting to see that it could provide value. It’s a pretty big trend,” Welsh concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Accenture Technology Vision event.

Photo: SiliconANGLE