Endpoint Management For XR Devices, It’s more important than you think…

Jeffrey Boopathy
9 min readJun 12, 2023

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Every day there’s a new buzz about XR (extended reality) products popping up left, right, and centre. Whether it’s for everyday consumers or big business-to-business deals, everyone wants a piece of the XR pie. Initially, businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to spice up their training methods, but now they’re also using it for marketing and sales. I mean, who wouldn’t love a cool, immersive experience before making a purchase?

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But with all these fancy XR devices in play, businesses need a bit of help to keep everything under control. That’s where Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) software comes in. Think of it as the conductor of your XR symphony, making sure all your devices play nicely together.

In this blog, we’re going to delve deep into how UEM can seriously up your business game. You’ll find out how it impacts your operations and how you can use it to max out the effectiveness of your shiny new XR tools. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride!

Companies that implemented XR in their business

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BMW: Virtual Reality for Employee Training in Design and Prototyping
BMW uses virtual reality for employee training in design and prototyping. This approach focuses on lean manufacturing and allows employees to visualize and create new things in a more interactive and immersive environment.

Peugeot: Virtual Reality Safety Training
Peugeot provides virtual reality safety training for its employees. This training emphasizes work posture and communication skills, helping to reduce workplace injuries and enhance productivity.

Audi: Virtual Reality in Logistics
Audi utilizes virtual reality to train logistics workers in handling complex systems. This cutting-edge approach helps in reducing errors, increasing efficiency, and boosting overall operational effectiveness.

Volkswagen: Virtual Reality for Assembly, Maintenance, and Customer Service
Volkswagen implements virtual reality training for tasks including assembly, maintenance, and customer service. This allows employees to train anytime, anywhere, creating a flexible learning environment.

SimX Collaboration with US Air Force and US Space Force:
In collaboration with the US Air Force and US Space Force, SimX develops virtual reality training systems for medical transfers and onboard medicine in air and space operations. This high-tech training prepares medical personnel for real-world scenarios in challenging environments.

Bank of America: Virtual Reality for Bank Staff Training
Bank of America utilizes virtual reality to train bank staff in various tasks, including opening accounts and handling service calls. The focus is on improving customer interactions and developing empathy, which enhances the overall customer experience.

Bennett Medical Center: Augmented Reality for Spine Surgeries
Bennett Medical Center implements augmented reality for spine surgeries. This allows surgeons to have a detailed view of the patient’s body during the operation, improving precision and outcomes.

Corona Fryslân: Virtual Reality for COVID-19 Training
Corona Fryslân collaborates with healthcare institutions to provide virtual reality training for healthcare professionals, specifically focused on preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic. This aids in building competency and confidence among healthcare workers.

LA Hospital: Virtual Reality for Trauma Training
LA Hospital uses virtual reality training to enhance trauma training for doctors. This method allows doctors to practice with virtual patients and real-time responses, preparing them for high-pressure scenarios.

Amphia, MMC & Spaarne: Virtual Reality for Healthcare Worker Training
These healthcare institutions collaborate to train healthcare workers in high-risk areas such as childbirth, surgery, and cancer. Virtual avatars are used to simulate scenarios, improving decision-making skills and enhancing patient education.

Uconn Health: Virtual Reality for Surgeon Training
Uconn Health employs virtual reality to train surgeons, providing realistic surgical experiences. This approach offers faster learning compared to traditional methods, increasing efficiency and proficiency.

Fort Myers Police Department: Virtual Reality for Tactical Training
The Fort Myers Police Department uses virtual reality simulations to train police officers in dealing with life-threatening situations. This technology aids in improving response tactics and crisis management skills.

Sacramento Police Department: Addressing Implicit Bias with VR
The Sacramento Police Department uses virtual reality training to address implicit biases in police officers’ interactions with individuals of different skin colours. This forward-thinking training helps foster an equitable and inclusive community environment.

City of Austin: VR Training for Emergency Responders
The City of Austin partners with a virtual reality company to educate emergency responders. Training includes ambulance driving, equipment management, and multi-victim accident response, contributing to enhanced emergency response preparedness.

DB Schenker: Virtual Reality for Forklift Operators
DB Schenker trains forklift operators through virtual reality simulations. This improves efficiency and safety in warehouse operations, reducing workplace accidents and increasing productivity.

NS: Virtual Reality for Safety Instruction
NS provides virtual reality safety instruction for platform staff. This training enhances situational awareness and response effectiveness, contributing to a safer working environment.

DHL: Virtual Reality for Logistics Employees
DHL uses virtual reality simulations to train logistics employees in cargo loading. This approach optimizes package organization and boosts efficiency, positively impacting operations and customer satisfaction.

Boeing: Virtual Reality for Astronaut Training
Boeing implements virtual reality training for astronauts, covering all aspects of space missions and cockpit operations. With plans to expand its use to other aircraft training scenarios, Boeing continues to lead in innovation.

Avietra: Virtual Reality for Cabin Crew Safety Training
Avietra offers virtual reality safety training for cabin crew members. Simulated scenarios improve safety measures and emergency response, enhancing overall passenger safety and crew readiness.

Airbus: Virtual Reality for Engine Maintenance
In collaboration with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering, Airbus creates virtual reality training for engine maintenance. This cost-effective and location-independent solution allows engineers to upskill without the need for physical engines.

Rolls Royce: Virtual Reality for Aviation Engineers
Rolls Royce trains aviation engineers through virtual reality simulations. This approach allows for repeated practice and faster learning, reducing training costs and time.

KLM: Virtual Reality for Pilot Training
KLM develops virtual reality training for pilots. The focus is on cockpit familiarization, flight procedures, and aircraft walk-throughs. This innovative method allows pilots to familiarize themselves with the aircraft in a safe, controlled environment.

MAN: Virtual Reality for Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship Maintenance
MAN utilizes virtual reality training for engine maintenance on Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships. This approach enables employees to practice in a realistic and cost-effective digital environment, improving their skills and readiness.

Siemens: Virtual Reality for Wind Turbine Installation
Siemens offers virtual reality training for offshore wind turbine installation. This allows for realistic simulations of challenging conditions, providing efficient training without the need for physical installations.

BP: Virtual Reality for Offshore Safety Training
BP implements virtual reality safety training for offshore platforms. This enhances safety protocols, communication, and error prevention for personnel, leading to safer offshore operations.

Safeway: Virtual Reality for Offshore Fleet Management
Safeway utilizes virtual reality simulations for offshore fleet management. This provides efficient training for transporting personnel and supplies to offshore rigs, improving logistics and operational safety.

Walmart: Virtual Reality for Employee Training
The retail giant, Walmart, uses VR for employee training in various areas such as customer service, technology usage, compliance, and soft skills. This immersive training enhances the employee’s learning experience, leading to improved performance.

MGM Resorts: Virtual Reality for Employee Onboarding
MGM Resorts uses VR to offer prospective employees a realistic job trial, intended to reduce employee attrition. This innovative approach helps ensure a good fit between the job and the employee, leading to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.

FedEx: Virtual Reality for Employee Training and Onboarding
FedEx uses VR to lower attrition rates and provide new hires with a preview of their tasks and workplace. This interactive training also teaches them to identify and handle onsite safety risks, leading to a safer and more productive work environment.

Porsche: Virtual Reality for Employee Training
Porsche employs VR to enhance the skills of technicians in their service centres globally and improve the familiarity of sales and marketing personnel with the technical aspects of the vehicles. This leads to better customer service and overall satisfaction.

Henkel: Virtual Reality for Employee and Customer Training
Henkel uses VR not only for its employee training but also for customers. The training includes simple quick fixes and multi-step complex process solutions for vehicle repairs. This customer-oriented training approach helps Henkel deliver superior customer service and build stronger customer relationships.

McDonald’s: Virtual Reality for Employee Training
One of the pioneers of VR training, McDonald’s uses this technology for training crew members in customer service, the use of personal protective equipment, mobile ordering, and more. This innovative approach improves operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Verizon: Virtual Reality for Robbery Response Training
To prepare their staff for potential robberies, Verizon uses VR to simulate such scenarios and teach employees the right response procedures. This critical training helps ensure the safety of employees and customers alike.

UPS: Virtual Reality for Driver Training
UPS employs VR for driver training, providing simulated driving experiences under various conditions. This innovative approach ensures safety and efficiency on the road, reducing accident rates and improving overall delivery service.

Nestlé: Virtual Reality for Global Employee Training
Nestlé uses VR for a global employee training program, ensuring that production line employees are aware of correct procedures and safety measures. The company also provides an interactive customer experience to explain the importance of its sustainable programs. This commitment to training and sustainability sets Nestlé apart as a leader in its industry.

But what actually is a UEM…

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) is a type of software that allows you to monitor, manage, and secure all of your organization’s end-user devices. These could be desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, wearables, and more. The beauty of UEM is that it can handle all these devices from a single platform, regardless of the operating system or geographical location of the devices. It simplifies and strengthens endpoint security by enabling security and IT teams to shield all endpoint devices using a singular tool in a consistent manner.

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UEM is a relatively fresh technology that merges the functionalities of traditional mobile management solutions like Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) with tools used to manage both on-premises and remote PCs. It’s particularly loved for managing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives and hybrid workforces, which are a mix of on-site and remote teams.

The use of UEM has surged as IT and security departments have had to adjust to support the sudden increase in work-from-home (WFH) setups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And it looks like this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. According to the 2021 Future of Work Survey by OMDIA, a whopping 58% of employees will either primarily work from home or adopt a hybrid work style after the pandemic.

Why your current UEM with MDM base won’t work for XR devices?

Traditional Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems are specifically built to manage the features and capabilities of computers, smartphones, and tablets. But when it comes to the world of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), these systems just don’t cut it. These new technologies have their own unique set of capabilities that require a specialized MDM built to cater to these evolving and innovative devices.

One reason why an MDM tailored for XR (Extended Reality, encompassing both AR and VR) is essential is the need for end-users to have a simplified home environment. This ease of use is crucial for scaling XR technology. Whether it’s to restrict students to approved apps or to streamline access to training modules for new employees, a customizable XR home environment is a game-changer.

Different VR experiences come in varying formats, and your MDM must be capable of distributing all of them. An XR-specific MDM will allow for remote deployment of apps, videos, WebXR links, and more. Moreover, an MDM for XR must be designed with flexibility in mind to cater to the unique use cases of XR.

Traditional MDMs are typically tailored to large deployments involving enterprise smartphones and laptops used by a single end-user. However, the dynamics of XR deployments are different. For instance, they might involve multiple students sharing a classroom set of devices, a doctor utilizing a device for patient treatment, or a museum visitor using an XR device as part of an exhibit. These scenarios highlight the importance of a specialized and flexible MDM designed specifically for XR.

How to choose the right UEM service provider?

There are a bunch of companies out there that offer Unified Endpoint Management, or UEM, for Extended Reality (XR) devices. To help you find the best fit for your needs, I’d suggest giving this blog post a read. It’s got some pretty useful tips on how to choose the right UEM service provider.

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Jeffrey Boopathy
Jeffrey Boopathy

Written by Jeffrey Boopathy

🎙Building my first Saas product | 5+ years in podcasting | Let's connect on LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyboopathy/

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