As the final remnants of the holiday season get cleared away, the chances are that someone you know is making space in their home for a new virtual reality (VR) headset.

That’s because virtual reality has been one of the hot industry topics of the last 12 months, making VR offerings from the likes of Oculus, HTC, and Sony among the most sought-after gadgets for both children and adults this Christmas.

Around 507,000 VR headsets were sold in the Middle East and Africa in 2016, and that figure is expected to grow significantly over the coming years to pass 2.75 million units in 2020. In value terms, the market is tipped to grow from $90 million to $669 million over the same period. With rapid growth like that, this is clearly an area that deserves more attention. So what exactly is virtual reality being used for?

As you would probably expect, the consumer segment is currently the main driver of VR demand, but most of the early consumer adopters of VR are using the technology in quite a limited way. The primary activity at this point revolves around gaming, but the experience can vary considerably in terms of range and quality. Users are also increasingly consuming content through YouTube and Netflix and other platforms that have started to provide VR-specific content.

While VR is still in its infancy and primarily aimed at consumer use, businesses are increasingly seeing the potential of the underlying technology to enhance their offerings and open up new revenue streams.

As such, we are starting to see companies from all sectors attempt to incorporate the technology into their respective fields as they bid to drive innovation, enhance their customer experience, and ultimately boost their bottom line.

Indeed, VR is now gaining traction across a wide range of sectors, including real estate, education, sports, tourism, and entertainment. And new use cases are emerging all the time, with each one bolstering the argument that virtual reality is much more than just another consumer-driven fad.

For example, real estate developers are beginning to embrace VR in a bid to help sell properties that have yet to be built, with potential buyers able to roam around the house or apartment in question as though it was already complete. The technology can also be used by real estate agents to show potential buyers around numerous properties in one sitting, all without having to leave the office and battle through traffic to various different locations.

In the education sector, VR is helping to take children to places and countries they never thought imaginable. By simply strapping on a headset, students are transported to the world beyond their classroom, where they can participate in virtual tours and expeditions that have the potential to stimulate interest in a way that simply wouldn’t be possible through traditional textbooks.

We’re also increasingly seeing hotel chains and tourism authorities engage similar tactics by moving beyond the constraints of traditional websites and brochures. With so much choice and competition in the market these days, VR serves as a great marketing tool for helping potential customers select the destinations they’d like to visit and gauge the facilities on offer.

Elsewhere in the leisure industry, virtual reality has the potential to solve the age-old problem of demand outstripping supply for highly sought-after concerts and sporting events. Stadiums and arenas can only accommodate a finite number of people, and the best seats in the house are often simply too expensive for most people to experience.

But with VR, fans can now sit courtside at the NBA playoffs or front row at their favourite band’s sold-out concert, all from the comfort of their own homes. OK, so it won’t be quite as good as the real thing, but the revenue-generating potential is there for all to see.

Meanwhile, health care professionals are even finding uses for VR to treat PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other anxiety disorders by placing patients in simulated environments where they can face up to their fears and overcome them in a safe and regulated manner. The military is also conducting similar exercises, using VR to place soldiers in dangerous scenarios and train them on how to react and plan for such situations.

As you can see, the potential use cases for virtual reality extend far beyond a game of Call of Duty or a boxset binge on Netflix. However, it is important to remember that this is still a new technology and that consumers and businesses alike are still trying to figure out precisely where VR will fit into our lives.

In line with this spirit of trial and error, there will likely be a flurry of new applications emerging for the technology across all sectors over the coming years. Some of these will go on to be huge successes, while others will flop spectacularly and never be heard of again.

But the technology is here to stay, so now is the time for businesses to start experimenting with it and discover where the revenue-generating potential lies for them.

 

The columnist is group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at global ICT market intelligence and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC). He can be contacted via Twitter @JyotiIDC