老九品茶es are too hesitant to adopt immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality.
That鈥檚 the view of Jonathon Clark, business and technology manager at LCR Activate, a 拢5 million project formed to put Liverpool鈥檚 digital and creative sector at the forefront of research and technologies.
He says harnessing the power of immersive tech can drive digital growth.
鈥淚mmersive tech is driving digital growth in many sectors, but some business leaders are not fully convinced of its value,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淚t can be difficult for businesses, particularly smaller ones that aren鈥檛 working in immersive tech itself, to calculate its true return on investment.
鈥淎s the hardware and software required to participate in immersive experiences becomes more accessible and widely adopted though, the use cases will diversify, the quality of the experiences will improve, and the benefits will become more apparent.鈥�
A real turning point in the adoption of immersive tech will be how small businesses perceive the success of large businesses in utilising it.
This is where Activate says it can provide a helping hand: provides support and funding exclusively for digital and creative businesses in the Liverpool City Region with the aim of helping them grow.
For small businesses within the digital and creative sector, the initiative can provide expertise around potential uses, the business case and the technical feasibility of implementing the tech into existing processes, products and services.
It can also help businesses identify the practicality of developing immersive tools themselves.
鈥淭he businesses that are introducing immersive tech aren鈥檛 just benefiting themselves and their customers,鈥� explained Clark.
鈥淏y implementing an emerging technology like this, they鈥檙e developing employees with new, high-tech skills and helping to develop the broader high-tech workforce in the process.
鈥淚n Liverpool City Region, we鈥檝e recently seen the successful deployment of an AR tool by AR Independent, which, supported by LCR Activate, developed a customised AR dining experience for its client 鈥� Dockside Dining Club.
鈥淯sing the Aug-It! app, customers can access information about food and drinks offers, their serving staff, special offers, and they can share their experience directly to social media.
鈥淭his can provide huge benefits to the client in terms of social media profile, customer loyalty and ultimately their bottom line.鈥�