After a long period of anticipation, Microsoft is bringing select Office applications to the Meta Quest headset portfolio – including a lineup of virtual reality and mixed reality headsets. Microsoft now supports immersive versions of Office 365 on the Meta headset lineup, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint coming to Quest.
However, Microsoft has yet to unveil Teams integration on Meta’s hardware. The firm first revealed plans to introduce Teams to the Quest portfolio during Connect 2022, when Microsoft announced Quest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams; however, the firm has yet to deliver the latter.
According to Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chief Executive, Teams for Quest is coming, and workers will be able to collaborate “as though they were there in person” using a mix of the immersive Teams platform and Horizon-based avatars – Horizon is Meta’s Metaverse platform which promotes social interaction for consumer and enterprise use cases in immersive virtual reality environments.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted in 2022 that his firm will integrate Teams in Horizon Workrooms, a specific Metaverse service for remote workplace operations. The integration allows people to join Teams meetings directly from a Workrooms Metaverse environment.
However, it seems that Meta is putting the Horizon platform on the backbench – instead pushing forward with headsets and smart glasses. In Workroom’s place could be Microsoft Mesh, an upcoming suite for creating and leveraging immersive environments for enterprise collaboration, similar to Workrooms.
Microsoft is set to debut the Mesh service publicly in January; an immersive version of Teams will come alongside Mesh. Microsoft’s debut of Mesh and an immersive Teams service in early 2024 may indicate a release window for a similar Teams for Quest service or create an opposite effect whereby Microsoft exclusively offers VR Teams via the Mesh platform [and Horizon competitor].
Microsoft Office 365 Goes XR
While Microsoft did not announce Teams for Quest, the firm did unveil some breakthrough productivity applications for Meta’s renowned headset lineup.
Microsoft now offers its Office suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, on the Quest digital storefront for free. This service is available on all models of the Quest headset, including the Quest Pro, which is designed for enterprise usage.
Depending on the user’s preferred headset, these applications are compatible with virtual and mixed-reality environments. The cloud-based infrastructure enables minimal storage space usage but requires an internet connection to access the services.
With the small file size and cloud integration, all Quest headset owners can simultaneously use all three Microsoft Office applications, promoting cross-application multitasking, similar to a conventional desktop or PC. In addition, Microsoft’s immersive Office applications support hand tracking and tracked virtual keyboard input. Users can also connect a Bluetooth keyboard to interact with immersive Office screens.
More on Microsoft Mesh and the Industrial Metaverse
In October 2022, Mark Zuckerberg noted that “more people work in distributed teams now and being able to share a space with your co-workers and feel like you’re together is still missing,” however, Meta debatably did not reach this goal in 2023. Microsoft may be picking up where Zuckerberg left off.
At the beginning of 2023, the XR and Metaverse markets had a rough start for consumers and businesses after Meta’s attempt to introduce immersive worlds to a broader audience failed, with the Metaverse market clouded by misleading marketing campaigns.
Many vendors promoted how immersive worlds can change the world; however, proper understanding is required to push the field forward. The Metaverse is a digital framework that provides users with various immersive and spatial applications that enable interconnectivity and shared digital services.
In H2 2023, the industrial Metaverse became the preferred term for shared extended reality applications, such as a virtual reality version of Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft, AWS, and Meta are leading the way in the industrial Metaverse market in 2024. During the Ignite 2023 opening keynote, Satya Nadella quietly announced Microsoft’s industrial Metaverse solutions to deliver immersive products ready for the enterprise.
Microsoft Teams will introduce new Teams avatars and Mesh in January 2024, allowing businesses to create bespoke immersive spaces for employee events, training, tours, and product showcases. Microsoft will reveal more details on Mesh as general availability approaches, including additional features such as speaker enhancements, attendee engagement options, and interaction.
