Lenovo: Unlocking Enterprise Potential with VR
- February 22, 2024
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Episode Summary
Dive into the dynamic world of extended reality (XR) with Lenovo’s Vishal Shah and Jason McGuigan as they unravel Lenovo’s new enterprise XR solution: the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX. Uncover how Lenovo’s commitment to an open ecosystem, driven by partnerships with Qualcomm and Snapdragon Spaces, is shaping a new frontier in XR technology.
Vishal Shah (GM AR/VR) and Jason McGuigan (Head of Commercial VR) discuss Lenovo’s unique approach to XR, prioritizing the enterprise from the ground up. Learn how the VRX is a product designed solely for enterprise applications and stands apart from products retrofitted for gaming and consumer use cases. Lenovo’s strategic focus on not competing with solution providers but rather fostering a thriving partner ecosystem sets a new standard in the XR industry.
Jason McGuigan shares insights from the front lines, observing a surge in XR adoption across industries. This rise is not just about flashy trends but practical, long-lasting applications, notably in training and collaboration, that have found a sweet spot in various sectors.
Unveiling the transformative power of generative AI, Jason discusses its increasing role in content development, potentially revolutionizing the scale and scope of XR applications. This technological synergy hints at a future where hyper-personalization in education and training becomes a reality, thanks to the convergence of XR and AI technologies
Lenovo’s vision extends beyond the hardware, focusing on creating intuitive, user-friendly solutions that bridge the gap between current challenges and a future where XR is ubiquitous. This episode offers a unique perspective on Lenovo’s strategic roadmap, exploring how they facilitate end-to-end XR solution deployment and scaling, ultimately driving digital transformation across industries.
Key Moments
- Lenovo’s approach and the ThinkReality VRX (05:12)
- Lenovo’s differentiator and how they built the VRX (08:30)
- How Lenovo embraces an ecosystem of partners (12:50)
- Market trends and where Lenovo is seeing the biggest uptick (17:00)
- Generative AI (20:28)
- You’re not buying a device, you’re buying a solution (24:20)
- Bridging the gap (29:38)
- Easy access to content with Demo Apps (34:08)
- Lenovo’s partnership with Formula One (39:42)
- Outro (41:54)
About the Guests
Vishal Shah is currently the General Manager of XR (AR/VR) and Metaverse at Lenovo. In his role, Vishal has global responsibility of all aspects of Product Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations for the XR/Metaverse group. He is responsible for managing the portfolio of ThinkReality XR solutions, an industry leading end-to-end solution that powers the Enterprise Metaverse. This includes the award-winning ThinkReality A3 smart glasses, Mirage VR S3 for enterprise VR solutions, and that the ThinkReality Platform, which is among the first truly device- and cloud-agnostic XR platforms to enable commercial customers to build, deploy, and manage applications and content on a global scale, with global support.
Jason McGuigan is the Head of Commercial Virtual Reality at Lenovo. He is responsible for the organization’s current and future strategy for developing VR solutions across hardware, software, and partnerships. His focus is on driving enterprises to scale their adoption of VR in training, collaboration, and metaverse presence. Jason has over 20 years of experience in immersive and traditional media leadership and technology. Within the software realm, he has led, designed, created, directed, and produced high-quality VR experiences and media products for clients including Lenovo, National Geographic, IBM, The Home Depot, BASF, Disney, and many others. A deep understanding of the hardware and technology behind VR started over 35 years ago when he built his first PC. It has continued to evolve throughout the early days of immersive technology as he consulted on VR hardware solutions for many companies such as Gulfstream and General Motors. He is a regular speaker, thought leader, and advocate in the VR/AR space and has presented at industry conferences as well as unique venues like Skywalker Ranch and NASA.
Links and Resources
- Connect with Vishal on LinkedIn
- Connect with Jason on LinkedIn
- Connect with Brad on LinkedIn
- Connect with Will on LinkedIn
Learn more about getting started with XR in our ultimate guide to managing VR training for work.
Episode Transcript
Brad Scoggin: Hey there, welcome to “XR Industry Leaders” with ArborXR. My name is Brad Scoggin, and I am the CEO and one of three co-founders of ArborXR. And we’ve had the opportunity of working with thousands of companies since 2016, and we’ve learned a ton about what it takes for XR to be successful in your organization.
Will Stackable: And I’m Will Stackable, co-founder and CMO. This podcast is all about interviewing the leaders who are on the ground making XR happen today. True pioneers in the space from Amazon, Walmart, and UPS to Koch, Pfizer, and beyond to uncover the pitfalls, lessons learned, and secrets that you can use to help grow XR in your organization.
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Episodes
Lenovo: Unlocking Enterprise Potential with VR
Dive into the dynamic world of extended reality (XR) with Lenovo’s Vishal Shah and Jason McGuigan as they unravel Lenovo’s new enterprise XR solution: the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX.
PICO: Practical Enterprise Applications in XR at Scale
Explore XR’s future with PICO’s Amir Khorram in XR Industry Leaders. Insightful discussion on VR enterprise solutions, partnerships, and industry adoption.
St. James’s Place: Elevating Soft Skills with VR
Hannah & Josh St. James’s Place discuss using VR to train advisor soft skills, challenges of managing headsets at scale, lessons on user adoption, and content development.
MyndVR: Senior Care and Digital Therapeutics with VR
Chris Brickler shares how VR therapy improves memories and care for elderly patients, and the challenges of scaling VR across health senior care facilities.
MDA: Training For Outer Space Operations with VR
Discover how MDA leverages VR for astronaut training, mission planning, and onboarding. Gain valuable insights into implementing immersive technologies at scale.
Harvard: Experiential VR Learning in Education
Matt Cook from Harvard joins us to discuss how virtual & augmented reality are redefining higher education through customized immersive experiences.
Bank of America: Changing the Way We Train with VR
Explore how Bank of America is revolutionizing training with VR, enhancing employee engagement, overcoming challenges with VR, and redefining corporate education.
VictoryXR: Shaping the Future of Education with VR
VictoryXR CEO Steve Grubbs discusses creating virtual reality curriculums for education, working closely with Meta, and the future of immersive technology for teachers and students.
VRpatients: Designing Your Own VR Training for Healthcare
Learn how VRpatients creates VR simulations that instructors can customize to give trainees real-life experiences in healthcare.
Zimmer Biomet: Reshaping Healthcare Training with AR and VR
If you’re interested in how XR will shape medicine going forward, this is a must-listen episode. Tommy Kopec of Zimmer Biomet provides an insider’s perspective on VR’s transformative potential for surgery, training, and beyond.
Capco: Elevating the Financial Industry with Virtual Reality
Explore how Capco revolutionizes the financial industry with virtual reality. Discover their success, challenges, and predictions for VR’s impact.
MIT: Exploring Extended Reality in Historic Operas
Discover how MIT uses AR and VR to create immersive experiences for historic operas. We discuss XR in education, challenges and advice for new adopters, and more.
Magic Leap: How Augmented Reality is Elevating Enterprise
Discover how Magic Leap is taking augmented reality to the next level with their enterprise-focused hardware, including real-world statistics and use cases.
Bodyswaps: Innovating Soft Skills Training with Virtual Reality
Discover the future of VR in education with Bodyswaps. Learn how VR elevates soft skills training, and how to implement VR technology effectively.
VHA: How Virtual Reality is Revolutionizing Veteran Care
Discover how the VHA is using virtual reality to improve the lives of veterans with pain management, mental health, and overall well-being.
Stanford: How Immersive Technology Enhances Education
Erik Brown discusses how Stanford uses virtual reality for education, empathy in VR, challenges with creating and managing XR content, and more.
Amazon (AWS): Removing Friction from Enterprise XR
Stephen Curtis from AWS discusses how XR solves enterprise friction, advice for new adopters, XR content authoring, XR device management and more.
WestRock: How XR is Accelerating Manufacturing
XR champion Scott Burkey discusses the impact AR and VR is having on manufacturing, challenges implementing new technology, and advice for using XR in business.
Pfizer: Transforming How We Train with XR
XR leader Nicholas Hockley discusses how XR transformed the way Pfizer trains, challenges with AR/VR content, moving from a pilot program to scale, and more.
Futurus: Set Up XR Pilot Programs for Success
Futurus CEO Annie Eaton discusses creating AR/VR content, how to set up XR pilot programs for success, challenges in XR, advice for new adopters, and more.
UPS: We Know XR is Going to Work
Learn how UPS built XR training as a practice. We discuss using AR/VR in business, challenges and benefits of XR training, advice for new adopters & more.
INVISTA (Koch Industries): What if We Reimagined Our Entire Training Process?
Learn how XR is transforming INVISTA (Koch). We discuss using AR/VR in business, challenges and benefits of XR training, strategy to scaling XR adoption & more.
Lenovo: Unlocking Enterprise Potential with VR
Dive into the dynamic world of extended reality (XR) with Lenovo’s Vishal Shah and Jason McGuigan as they unravel Lenovo’s new enterprise XR solution: the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX.
PICO: Practical Enterprise Applications in XR at Scale
Explore XR’s future with PICO’s Amir Khorram in XR Industry Leaders. Insightful discussion on VR enterprise solutions, partnerships, and industry adoption.
St. James’s Place: Elevating Soft Skills with VR
Hannah & Josh St. James’s Place discuss using VR to train advisor soft skills, challenges of managing headsets at scale, lessons on user adoption, and content development.
MyndVR: Senior Care and Digital Therapeutics with VR
Chris Brickler shares how VR therapy improves memories and care for elderly patients, and the challenges of scaling VR across health senior care facilities.
MDA: Training For Outer Space Operations with VR
Discover how MDA leverages VR for astronaut training, mission planning, and onboarding. Gain valuable insights into implementing immersive technologies at scale.
Harvard: Experiential VR Learning in Education
Matt Cook from Harvard joins us to discuss how virtual & augmented reality are redefining higher education through customized immersive experiences.
Bank of America: Changing the Way We Train with VR
Explore how Bank of America is revolutionizing training with VR, enhancing employee engagement, overcoming challenges with VR, and redefining corporate education.
VictoryXR: Shaping the Future of Education with VR
VictoryXR CEO Steve Grubbs discusses creating virtual reality curriculums for education, working closely with Meta, and the future of immersive technology for teachers and students.
VRpatients: Designing Your Own VR Training for Healthcare
Learn how VRpatients creates VR simulations that instructors can customize to give trainees real-life experiences in healthcare.
Zimmer Biomet: Reshaping Healthcare Training with AR and VR
If you’re interested in how XR will shape medicine going forward, this is a must-listen episode. Tommy Kopec of Zimmer Biomet provides an insider’s perspective on VR’s transformative potential for surgery, training, and beyond.