Effective headset management is a prerequisite for every enterprise VR initiative.
Many businesses struggle with this because most MDM solutions aren’t tailored for VR—they’re just general options, with only a few like ArborXR focusing on XR. And as we discussed in our guide to MDMs, legacy MDMs can be highly limiting for VR deployments.
Recognizing this, PICO created a lightweight MDM solution for their enterprise customers—the PICO Business Suite.
In this ArborXR article, we’ll introduce the PICO Business Suite and discuss its key features, strengths, and limitations. Then, we’ll suggest an alternative that offers more control and scalability for enterprise users.
What Is PICO Business Suite?
PICO Business Suite (PBS) is a first-party, lightweight device management (“MDM Lite”) platform built exclusively for PICO VR headsets. It lets you control all your devices from one location, including content installation, real-time tracking, and some customization of the user experience.
This feature is available only for PICO’s enterprise headsets:
- PICO 4 Enterprise
- PICO G3
- PICO Neo3 Pro/Pro Eye
- PICO Neo3
Key Features of the PICO Business Suite
The PICO Business Suite is packed with many basic, important features, particularly important if you’re still in the pilot phase of your program. Here are just a few highlights.
Device Management
The PICO Business Suite lets you monitor all your devices, whether individually or in batches, and make adjustments as needed.
Real-Time Monitoring
With real-time monitoring, you can track location, device status, battery levels, and online status, so you’re always one step ahead in preventing issues or downtime. For example, if you notice a device is suddenly offline, you can quickly track it down to prevent potential theft.
You can also see exactly what your headset users are seeing through screen monitoring.
Control Different Settings
Beyond monitoring, you can control various headset settings directly from the platform. You can adjust volumes, restart devices, calibrate the field of view, or even control the screen on/off for all your headsets simultaneously.
Voice Call
Another cool feature is the ability to call the person using the headset directly through the Business Suite. This is handy if you need to provide support or check in on their device.
Show or Hide Shortcuts
To top it off, PBS lets you maintain a clean and focused user interface, allowing you to show or hide shortcuts (like capture, record, and screen projection) within the headsets.
Content Management
With PICO Business Suite, you can install and manage content across all your enterprise headsets simultaneously. However, a few more advanced content management features are missing.
For example, there’s no direct connection between the PICO Business Store and the Suite. That means apps from the PICO Business Store need to be downloaded manually and individually onto every device in your fleet. You also won’t find features like version control and release channels.
Unlike some other platforms, PICO’s home screen does not support adding videos or WebXR links for a one-click launch. You can only access apps directly from the home screen, not video or WebXR shortcuts.
PICO Home Screen Customization
PICO also offers a good level of customization for your home screen experience. You can swap out the logo to feature your brand and change the background images whenever you like—just remember that you’ll need to use a 360 image for backgrounds.
Streaming
The PICO Business Suite includes a solid VR streaming assistant that lets you stream SteamVR content directly from your PC or other app windows to your VR headsets.
So, in the education context, for example, teachers can demonstrate concepts directly in PCVR, and students can experience the lesson firsthand through their headsets.
Synced Experience
PBS also offers a sync solution that allows you to broadcast the same experience across all your headsets. Whether it’s videos, images, or streams, everyone sees the same thing simultaneously. This is perfect for situations like product launches or corporate training sessions where you want to ensure everyone gets the same information simultaneously.
Video Kiosk Mode
Last but not least—you can configure PICO headsets to automatically lock users into a specific video or set of videos.
As soon as users turn on and put on the headset, the video starts playing the chosen content, and they won’t be able to access anything else. You can also decide if you want the video to restart from the beginning every time or simply resume from where users dropped off.
If your use case demands a high level of focus in VR, you’ll love this feature.
Strengths of PICO Business Suite
Easy to Use
Even if you’re new to VR MDMs, you’ll find PICO’s interface super clean and easy to navigate, requiring minimal guidance. They also offer a library packed with helpful content to get you up to speed quickly. Plus, if you run into any issues, their responsive customer support is there to help you out fast.
Good Set of Features
While the PICO Business Suite may be somewhat limited in features (we’ll get into that shortly), it’s still a solid MDM for basic PICO VR enterprise headset management. It’s especially useful if you’re running a pilot test with a few devices at a single location.
Limitations of PICO Business Suite
Device Restriction
As mentioned, the PICO Business Suite is exclusively for PICO devices. If your organization uses a different hardware ecosystem, this isn’t the MDM for you.
However, they offer a great range of enterprise-focused VR headsets if you plan to explore the PICO ecosystem. The PICO 4E, for example, is a solid choice, as we discussed in our PICO 4 Enterprise review.
LAN-Based
Currently, the PICO Business Suite operates on a LAN-based setup. This means all your headsets need to be connected to the same local WiFi network as the PC running the Business Suite.
If you plan to distribute headsets across different locations, this MDM might not be ideal. It’s best suited for a more localized setup, so it’s not exactly a scalable option.
Functional Constraints
PICO Business Suite has some limitations, making it more of a “lightweight” MDM (or MDMLite).
First, the kiosk mode only supports video playback. If your training content consists mostly of immersive 3D apps, this feature won’t be very helpful.
What’s more? The customization options for the home environment are pretty basic. You can only use JPG or JPEG 360-degree images as your background. So, you won’t have access to more immersive or interactive options like 3D home environments in .glb or .gltf formats.
The Best PICO Business Suite Alternative: ArborXR
ArborXR is a top-of-the-shelf XR device management platform that builds on the strengths of PICO Business Suite while tackling its limitations. Here are a few highlights of what makes ArborXR stand out:
Device Agnostic
We support a wide range of devices, including PICO, Meta, HTC, and more. For a full list, see our list of supported devices.
Fully Remote (Not Just LAN)
Unlike PICO Business Suite, which relies on LAN-based infrastructure, ArborXR is entirely remote. This means you can manage your devices from anywhere.
This means ArborXR is great for your pilot phase and also perfect for scaling and distributing your headset across different locations.
Flexible Home Environments
ArborXR offers more customization for your home environments than PICO Business Suite.
First, instead of using less immersive 360-degree images, we let you use highly immersive 3D backgrounds.
In addition, you can change up the vibe with different themes and add your own branded elements—like your company colors. This way, users stay in a fully branded setting throughout their headset experience.
Excellent Kiosk Mode
Unlike PICO Business Suite, which doesn’t support app-based kiosk mode, you can use our Kiosk mode to lock users into one specific app. Plus, we offer a custom launcher, allowing you to restrict users to specific apps.
In this locked-down mode, you can also allow users to access basic features like restarting, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth using our Quick Access feature.
Powerful user & device management features
We also offer more powerful device and user management features like:
- Scale with Confidence: Manage unlimited XR devices, keeping complete control as your fleet grows.
- Proactive Maintenance: Update devices manually, remotely, or on a schedule to keep them running smoothly and securely.
- In-Depth Device Health: Get detailed insights into device health, including serial numbers, storage, battery life, network status, location, session data, software versions, etc.
- Secure Network Integration: Connect devices to your enterprise Wi-Fi with SCEP and Root CA certificates to protect your data and access.
- Automated Certificate Deployment: Automate digital certificate deployment to simplify device provisioning, drastically reduce admin work, and ensure compliance.
Direct connection with ISVs
Here’s another major flex for us—we have direct connections with many highly rated ISVs. If you can’t find the content you need in the PICO Business store, our XR directory connects you directly with our ISV partners. Whether you’re looking for licensed or custom content, they’ve covered you.
Plus, when you get content from them, you can easily receive it without leaving ArborXR or going through any complex steps.
Manage Your PICO VR Fleet With ArborXR
The PICO Business Suite has all the basic features you need to kick off a small-scale VR project with PICO devices. But if you’re looking for something that can scale, offers more customization, and has additional features, ArborXR is the way to go.
And here’s the best part: we offer a 30-day free trial to get you started. So why wait? Sign up for ArborXR today and see the difference for yourself!