background image
3

The Greatest Threats and Opportunities for XR in the Next 12 Months

AR/VR/MR business leaders highlight the pitfalls and opportunities required for understanding the growth of immersive enterprise services

Published: November 25, 2024

Rory Greener

The State of XR 2024 report, recently released by XR Today, consolidates expert insights and data from leaders in the immersive technology industry. The report indicates that while VR/MR headsets and AR smart glasses have not yet achieved widespread use, software and hardware adoption rates are steadily increasing.

Professionals worldwide, particularly in the US (25%), India (19%), and the UK (16%), are embracing AR/VR/MR technologies. 72% of respondents also expressed higher business confidence levels when using XR compared to the previous year.

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the XR industry is expected to expand into everyday working life, with hardware and software evolving to meet the growing demand.

Readers are encouraged to explore the State of XR 2024 report for a deeper understanding of the dynamic XR market. In the meantime, let’s look at some interesting findings from the respondents.

Download the report today → 

The Greatest Threats and Challenges in the Next 12 months?

Despite the headway made towards adopting XR in the enterprise, forward-thinking firms must keep priorities in check to ensure success with immersive technologies. They must also understand the market, its applications, and its challenges.

Respondents to the State of XR 2024 report identified a series of top challenges, notable among them being economic headwinds (50%), winning new customers (72%), and funding growth (56%).

A clear trend appears. Like any new technology, the adoption of XR comes with a series of economic hurdles; notably, with XR, the financial factor is amplified due to the required IT software and hardware frameworks.

However, readers should note that XR does not always require expensive headsets. Enterprises often misplace energy towards headsets. XR technologies can fit multiple end devices, so if a company wants to adopt XR, the worker may only need a smartphone to get started. Many vendors keenly showcase XR deployment flexibility via interoperability considerations.

However, economic uncertainties can impact broader investment and customer spending, making it challenging for companies to secure the funding and sales needed for XR programme growth. Moreover, vendor customer acquisition reflects the competitive nature of the XR market, where companies must continuously attract and retain customers to sustain their business.

Therefore, XR vendors’ challenges suggest flexible strategies to enable navigation during economic uncertainties.

The Biggest Opportunities in the Next 12 months?

However, the XR market is filled with opportunities, not just challenges. Recent advancements in AI and Machine Learning are proving a fruitful and exciting avenue for the XR field, with 88% of respondents noting AI and ML as leading opportunities in the XR market, reflecting a growing convergence between XR and cutting-edge technologies.

With AI and ML integration, XR vendors can enhance immersive services with more intelligent, personalized, and responsive designs and outcomes in the healthcare and automotive design sectors.

On the other hand, 34% of respondents highlighted the Internet of Things (IoT) as a growing opportunity, alongside an additional 34% who highlighted the aligned growth of opportunities in wearable technology. Again, this highlights a parallel development of technologies while also confirming that vendors are targeting an interoperable future for XR services.

Understanding the deep XR market, its aligned technologies, and potential pitfalls is crucial for successfully leveraging XR services. This allows vendors and businesses to accelerate their development processes, access new markets, and enhance the quality of XR offerings.

Download the report today →