VR software is not.
What drives an industry is value, whether business or recreational. While VR software has typically focused on entertainment value (and there is a lot there), business-driven VR software hasn’t received as much attention as it deserves. But thus far no killer-app of VR has been made. There is no excel, no word, no browser. But there could be, if more people thought about and identified what VR hardware can do that no other platform can. Moreover, its value needs to be a 10x moment. Minor improvements will not cause mass adoption.
So what can VR provide that other platforms can’t?
1) 3D Space
This is the first thing people think of, but is the least important. There are few business tasks that can’t be done on a 2D plane, and the value of going 3D (such as in industrial design) is not a 10x improvement over real-life prototyping.
2) Unlimited space
This also provides less value than it seems. A human can only be in one place, and our vision can only encompass so much area. There is a low upper-bound on how much space a human being can use.
3) Presence
The feeling of “being there” is something VR does 10x better than other platforms. This has been leveraged by entertainment software to good effect. However, the nature of recreational user experience — gameplay experience — doesn’t hinge upon presence in a location. VR games can induce strong presence while still not providing value with strong gameplay experience.
4) Social Presence
This is where VR hardware has the greatest possible leverage and impact. When you play poker in VR, you see this most clearly — people spend more time interacting with one another than actually playing poker. Even with cartoonish avatars, the feeling of being in the presence of another person is practically the same as being in the same room with them. There is large room for growth in improving social presence, but even the early state of VR software is 10x better than what exists elsewhere.
If there is to be a killer business app for VR, it will be akin to excel. But instead of transforming numbers and formulas, it will transform communication and relationships. Whatever replaces Facebook, video chat, JIRA, Reddit, Tinder, or even email will be done on VR/AR.
The gold is there waiting to be picked up. It’s just up to some great company to do it.