Impact of Meta for Business and concerns from our community

During our weekly online sessions, our community (both the end-users and solution providers) share their expertise and experiences.

Recent discussions focus on Meta's business service launch, with concerns raised about Meta’s consumer-focused approach and lack of trust in the new offering. Participants expressed preference for other products due to security concerns. Concerns were also raised about the requirement to put devices in developer mode solutions and the security and code quality of the offering.

The discussion then shifted to XR headsets in enterprise, with participants mentioning other prevalent devices for the enterprise. The importance of processing power and valid business cases for XR headsets was highlighted.

Concerns were expressed about user adoption and the lack of availability and accessibility of XR headsets. It was mentioned that vendors are now offering to ship devices to potential users to improve the first-time experience. Data security concerns were raised, with Meta declining to answer requests and participants mentioning their unsuccessful attempts to reach out to Meta.

Discussion points about Meta's business service launch

  • Concerns about Meta's approach being consumer-focused and not focused on safe and secure device concept. He questions the decision to have Meta manage Android XR devices in secure areas and expresses a lack of trust in the new offering.

  • Concerns about the similarity of Meta's offering to previous ones and the lack of additional features. He mentions the availability of AD Azure support as one of the few new twists.

  • Question of whether the participants are willing to dive back into using Meta's offering, considering the negative lack of trust and previous experience of not having support and warranty.

  • General trend she has observed among technical people, who prefer other products like Quest due to security concerns and other Meta-related concerns.

  • Concerns by mentioning the limitations of Meta's offering, such as the need to log in with a Meta account on each individual device and the requirement of a Wi-Fi hotspot in remote areas. Comparisons were made to other headsets offering, which is considered better in terms of security and usage.

  • Transparency and profit-driven approach of other headsets offering, the importance of not being locked into one platform, and the preference for cross-platform tools.

Developer Mode Requirement

  • The reverse thing, though, that I am most concerned about is the requirement to get stuff into developer mode on the Quest first before you can get it into other tools.

  • The participants express concerns about the security and code quality of the offering, mentioning the potential risks of backdoor threats and the lack of foundationally different security measures.

  • The discussion continues with concerns about Meta's business model, data acquisition, and the lack of responsiveness to enterprise needs.

Discussion on XR Headsets in Enterprise

  • BlackBerry was always encrypted, safe, secure, and enterprise-friendly, but it didn't survive.

  • in enterprise and business-focused spaces, other headsets offering are likely to be the prevalent devices.

  • Apple has the best chance of having a distribution system that can rival what Meta has, making it easier to get stuff on Apple devices.

  • importance of processing power in head-mounted devices for detailed experiences and training in commercial use.

  • need for virtual headsets in the workplace and whether people actually care about using them for virtual monitors or other tasks.

  • XR headsets should be seen as tools and need a valid business case to be productive in the enterprise.

  • people may not want to be disconnected from their surroundings in a VR environment and deal with the complications of using virtual monitors.

XR Headsets and User Adoption

  • concern about the resistance to XR headsets due to the extra effort required and the availability of easier alternatives.

  • constant stressing of the importance of users putting on the headset and the challenge it poses from an enterprise and business standpoint.

  • concerns about the lack of availability and accessibility of XR headsets for potential users, highlighting the limitations of current enterprise strategies and the inconvenience of the existing business model.

  • vendors are now offering to ship devices to potential users to improve the first-time experience, covering the cost of the device and shipping.

Data Security

  • concern about the industry not adopting the practice of deploying in a secure environment without dialing home to the internet.

  • Participant mentions that Meta declined to answer a request about the Helikon cases full of quests.

  • Participant confirms that Meta declined to answer a request and suggests having them on the next time.

  • Multiple Participants mention that they reached out to contacts on the Meta business side but were declined.

  • Meta is reading the sentiment of the group. Meta representatives were present.