The Integration of Virtual Reality and Data Analytics

How could the integration of virtual reality and data analytics change the way we interpret data?

The recent growth of immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality, have changed the way we live and work. These technologies have not only empowered the gaming world but also reinvigorated the corporate landscape to be immersed in a virtual world. AR and VR are used in every business, leading to exploring and interacting with new products and services virtually. Previously, data fit nicely on a spreadsheet and KPI dashboard. But the evolution of IoT and analytics tools makes it easier to read data and excerpt meaningful insights from large data sets. 3D visualizations in immersive technologies further make it more effective to understand and glean insights from enormous data sets.

Virtual reality with AI-powered sensors offers a new approach to data analytics. This combination makes it inevitable for organizations to incorporate data-driven analytics in the training and development units. Analyzing large amounts of data in VR and AR provides businesses greater scale. 

As data volumes have been grown exponentially over the years, its analysis presents an irrefutable challenge. That is why many organizations and open-source projects see the future of big data analytics via visualization and are building new interactive and immersive platforms. The integration of virtual reality and data analytics will offer businesses the ability to see everything all at once, eliminating the need for summary reports or charts. It enables data visualization more focused and less distracted as virtual reality sends analysts in a new environment and allows for the placement of data behind, besides, above, and below. 

Unlike 3D visualizations, the integration of virtual reality and data analytics offers immersion that allows analysts to think, analyze and ingest data in multiple dimensions. By leveraging multiple senses, analysts can enhance their ability to process data with more dimensions.

One of the major reasons to integrate virtual reality and data analytics is to make informed decisions. Data analytics is crucial in the learning and development (L&D) program. It assists the L&D team in tracking employee's behavior and making informed decisions. By integrating virtual reality and data analytics, instructors can understand trainees' abilities and categorize them based on attitude and aptitude.

With AR and VR, data can be immersive and presented in an immersive, multi-dimensional format. This will enable a larger view of information to be displayed while allowing for much faster cognitive processing of that information.

As businesses always seek to predict the future for service delivery, immersive 3D visualizations will help decision-makers to comprehend and collect insights from big data sets. It will power the intensity of big data and advanced analytics in manufacturing, healthcare, public safety, retail, agriculture, board rooms, and governments. Further, it could strengthen the enterprise adoption of AR and VR.