Regarding the eighth version of Colombia 4.0, a summit of technologies in Latin America, which took place a few weeks ago in the city of Bogotá and where we, the Perspektiva 360 team, were present, this time we want to talk about technology and virtual reality in Colombia. What benefits do the companies that develop virtual reality with us in Colombia perceive? How is this technology being applied in the national market? We will answer these questions to give you an overview of the use of virtual reality and tell you why this technology has great potential to impact the country’s business environment.
Virtual reality, what is it?
What comes to your mind when you read the words virtual reality or metaverse? Many people in Colombia believe that it is science fiction or technology that is too advanced and expensive. However, it is actually an entire globally expanding industry and its concept is very easy to understand. We could define virtual reality or VR as artificial spaces in 360 degrees, built with multimedia resources (images, graphics, 360 photos and videos, 3D elements and spatial sound), which you can visit using VR equipment. Although VR equipment is not yet in everyday use in Colombia, some people already know them as virtual reality glasses, a device that you put in your head and incorporates a screen as a viewer and a sound system. Both elements play the multimedia resources in 360 degrees, making you feel that you are visiting a different space. The most amazing part is, whether or not it is real what you see, you feel it real! Creating realistic spaces is the goal of every development team. It is not just about taking advantage of immersiveness and producing elements for you to see and hear in 360 degrees, interactions are also designed to turn virtual environments into an experience, and many Colombian companies are already benefiting from this.
6 benefits of applying VR in Colombian companies
Virtual reality can help you recreate what was, show you what already is and giveyou an idea of what it can be. The above is another way of saying that each virtual scenario is a blank canvas to capture what you want. You can take a tourist town in Colombia to a metaverse or build there an imaginary place that does not obey the laws of physics, like the magical “casita” of the Madrigal family in the movie Encanto. But why use virtual reality in your company? To begin with, because its applications are so wide that we have not yet discovered all of them. Colombian companies have already achieved benefits by implementing virtual reality in activities of:-
- Marketing.
- Sales.
- Communication.
- Training.
1. Drive sales and brand recognition
Using virtual reality in your company’s sales system is an option of great ROI. Industry insights and our experience indicate that you will have positive feelings towards VR as it happens with 9 out of 10 people. You may also feel more eager to make a purchase, as 50% of potential buyers say so.2. Display products massively and remotely
You can integrate your VR products into TTL marketing strategies and attract the attention of many attendees during mass events, as many of our clients do. In addition, another good strategy is to upload a version to the cloud, which makes your experiences reach your audience 24 hours a day, no matter where they are.3. Facilitates and provides a novel experience in communication
VR is a technology that helps you communicate both face-to-face and remotely, using videoconferencing systems and meetings with avatars in spaces modeled in 3D, to virtual tours with presentations of showrooms, portfolios and physical installations in 360 degrees that include interactive elements to transmit information. In addition, virtual reality is well received in Colombia, because by using it you give an image of progress and modernity for your customers and collaborators.4. Helps evaluate product designs efficiently
In virtual reality you can generate hyperrealistic assemblies with the designs of all kinds of products, something very convenient for large projects, such as constructions in Colombia. Why spend big budgets and time building models when you can try many options in VR with a couple of clicks?5. Generates useful information for many purposes
Which spaces of my facilities attract the attention of my customers? Which combination of words is the most compelling to sell my experience? What distribution of spaces fits what my customers want? These are some questions that have been expressed to us by businessmen and managers in Colombian organizations and that have surely crossed your mind once. Therefore, you would be surprised by the number of items that can be measured using virtual reality to support market research and refine your customer insights.6. Supports organizational processes of training and well-being
A digital product in virtual reality is not an experience limited to a single opportunity, it can be reproduced again and again, so it is very useful to save time and resources in the training of your employees, who can tour the spaces of your company and become familiar with their work tools as it is most understandable and as many times as they need it. These are just some examples of the benefits that virtual reality can bring to your organization, generating impacts on business productivity and favorable changes in the reality of Colombia, after all, according to PwC VR will be a technology that by 2030 will have generated +23 million jobs.
What is the potential of virtual reality in Colombia?
Although in Colombia the number of companies dedicated to the development of virtual reality is scarce, by attending Colombia 4.0 we could see how some initiatives have great potential for application in different economic sectors. Some areas that can take great advantage of VR solutions in Colombia are:-
- Architecture and construction.
- Automotive trade.
- Creativity and entertainment.
Creativity and entertainment
Colombian initiatives related to this field are generally divided into three types of activities: Commercial use, art and development of experiences and video games.Commercial use: For a few years now, virtual reality game rooms have become popular, a phenomenon that will surely remind you of arcades in the 80s and coffee-internet in 2000s, shortly before small videogame consoles and the internet became much more accessible in Colombia.
Art: If you are a lover of art and cinema, you will surely be interested in knowing the theatrical and cinematographic productions that Bogota audiovisual collectives are narrating in 360 degrees, which place you in the middle of all the action.
Video game development: Colombian studios have developed projects of VR serious games in Medellín, games that teach skills and knowledge to children and adolescents who are currently testing them, so surely soon you will have the opportunity to learn something new using virtual reality.
Watch this short reportage about a VR game room in Bogotá Colombia, made by RCN NoticiasArchitecture and Construction
Housing has been one of the main investments of people in Colombia in recent years, making architecture and construction activities of great economic growth and an opened towards technological innovation. Construction is one of the most interesting areas due to the number of applications that can be developed based on virtual reality to facilitate work in areas involved in the construction process and the promotion of real estate.Architectural design: Architects and renderers can now collaborate with XR developers to give you a personalized experience in which you can easily manipulate and modify designs, distributions, materials and lighting of a construction project.
Follow-up: By incorporating specialized photographers into the development teams, photogrammetry exercises can be carried out to generate 3D models and update the status of a construction site. You will be able to see the progress of a project from time to time, whether you are a supervisor or client of it.
Marketing and sales: A third of Colombian construction companies have been incorporating 360 technology gradually, improving the effectiveness of their sales thanks to the work of companies such as Perspektiva 360, where sales tools are our specialty.
Nowadays you can approach a sales room or request access to a showroom or virtual tour online to know the projects they are developing.
Tourism
Virtual tourism has never had such a major boost since quarantines in 2020 highlighted the needs and benefits of using virtual experiences and VR. However, virtual reality tourism has been developing in Colombia for years.Tourist Attractions: For almost a decade, content and experiences with the use of virtual reality for various scenarios of Colombian tourism have been created raising interest. If you visit the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá today, you can find a VR Theater where you will learn about the history of this monument.
Destinations: At Perspektiva 360, we are the proud team that brought a fantastic heritage town of Colombia to the metaverse, with the development of our app Mompox – Timeless Magical Realism. Likewise, it is possible to ensure that any destination in the country can be visited using virtual reality.
Social Impact: Virtual reality also impacts reality. We have been able to verify this by working with our partner organization Get Up & Go Colombia on projects such as El Tambo 360, in which we developed VR to support tourism as an alternative for development in territories that were affected by the war.
With our projects we also seek to benefit communities that, like us, are committed to build peace in Colombia.
Perspektiva 360, Creating future
Although it is not yet common to see virtual reality equipment in our homes, its growth in the world will be reflected in Colombia very soon, after all, remember what happened with computers, the internet, mobile phones and video game consoles? History repeats itself. Now you have many reasons to have a pair of virtual reality glasses at home or, even better, create a VR experience for your company in Colombia and that is why we exist. At Perspektiva 360 we have been “Creando futuro” (Creating the future, our company motto) for 7 years, generating innovations and developments in virtual reality that are transforming the Colombian industry. In addition, we also work and export experiences signed by our talent around the world. As we said before, our specialty is: Create innovative sales experiences. VR experiences that, as you could realize, are not only a digital showcase, but can also be adapted as tools for training, monitoring, analysis and many other possibilities that have not yet been explored by companies in Colombia. That’s why we know that both you and we have a lot to do. Have you already thought about a possible use for virtual reality in your company? If so, contact us so that you can be advised by a professional team and really perceive all the benefits that many other companies are taking advantage of in Colombia.Cover image: nkarim, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr y Manus VR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited by Perspektiva 360.
