IT Operations

Look out, webcams: Metaverse headsets are coming for your job

Meta software partnership aims to bring mixed reality to the workplace.
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Meta

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Company laptop: check. Work phone: check. Virtual reality goggles: check.

Meta’s new commercial partner is positioning the platform’s headsets as a modern business essential, and launching a suite of enterprise software products later this month. IT distributor TD Synnex will exclusively roll out the Meta for Work suite in North America, the companies announced in a press release Wednesday.

“As the lines between digital and physical business operations are ever evolving, the products, integrated with the Metaverse, promise to reshape the paradigms of meetings, trainings, collaborations, and creation,” Dylan Leach, a product management SVP at TD Synnex, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring these transformative tools to market and help businesses unlock the power of this evolving XR ecosystem.”

While Meta will begin selling the Quest 3 next week, the company noted the business products will be compatible with the Quest 2 and Quest Pro models. As The Verge previously reported, the forthcoming model is slimmer and more powerful, and will set users back $500 compared to the Quest 2’s recently reduced $300 price tag. Overall, the company had reportedly sold 20 million headsets across all its models as of March (the first of which, the Oculus Quest, launched in 2019).

Christine Trodella, VP of B2B commercial sales at Meta, noted in a statement that the new product suite is aimed at helping organizations “easily and securely deploy Meta’s leading [mixed reality] technology at scale, unlocking the potential for MR to solve today’s business challenges in new ways.”

We’ll have to wait until the October 24 launch date for more details, but so far the companies have said the offerings will include licensed software that adapts Meta Quest for businesses, an extended headset warranty, and enhanced support services.

Perhaps most intriguingly, the package also comes with “the Shared Mode feature enabling facilitators and educators to disseminate content seamlessly across multiple headsets,” according to the press release. That’s one way to liven up your next all-hands.

Top insights for IT pros

From cybersecurity and big data to cloud computing, IT Brew covers the latest trends shaping business tech in our 4x weekly newsletter, virtual events with industry experts, and digital guides.

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