It is commonly known in the market that through Office 365, Microsoft offers SharePoint Online as a collaborative tool to create websites, manage metadata, content (CMS), store, organize, share information from any device safely, access it in a safe and orderly way, implement workflows, among other functions. However, we are unaware that SharePoint, in addition to all of the above, additionally offers an immersive platform that allows the creation, consumption, and sharing of 2D, 3D, and 360 ° content within virtual environments or spaces that allow the user to live new experiences through mixed reality. (virtual + augmented). This platform is known as SharePoint Spaces.
At the beginning of 2018, during the SharePoint Virtual Summit event, Microsoft introduced SharePoint Spaces, a tool that allows becoming “real” the integration between virtual reality and mixed reality environments inside of SharePoint. Is an unusual and innovative feature by Microsoft that aspire the companies create and have their own interactive and dynamic spaces, which can be used as a communication, collaboration, and learning scenarios.
Is not a recent feature, as it was developed more than 3 years ago, but the truth is it is not been used by companies as much as Microsoft expected.
There are a few companies in Colombia that are taking a shot on the virtual reality world, and therefore using SharePoint Spaces. The reason behind this can be different obstacles as lack of resources (human and/or economics), lack of clarity in terms of products and customers.
If we leave behind the reception problems that the tool faced on its introduction, thanks to the big changes and the industrial revolution 4.0 that have been occurring worldwide in the fields of communication, technology, and digital economy, there is a large number of companies interested in this type of tools as a helpful way of collaboration and learning alternatives, that allows them to propose to their customer’s immersive experiences, thought headsets or virtual reality appliances with the possibility to immerse them in alluring digital universes.
Technically, the spaces are just SharePoint pages (.aspx) adapted and configured to show all the capacity of SharePoint Spaces. Is a very intuitive platform that allows that any user with basic knowledge of SharePoint, could learn to configure and use it quickly, considering that it is a no-code tool that facilitates its learning and adoption.
Speaking of design, SharePoint spaces can be endowed with:
- An initial “base” or “structure” is used to support other objects (images, videos, documents, etc).
- 360° or 2D backgrounds
- Audio or sound (Welcome message and ambient sound for chats and spaces)
- Other spaces. You can improve the experience of interconnecting different spaces.
- 360° images, tours, and videos.
- 3D and 2D Objects.
- Files.
- Documents Library.
In conclusion, SharePoint Spaces is a tool that allows maximizing the potency of SharePoint oriented to
In conclusion, SharePoint Spaces is a tool that allows maximizing the potency of SharePoint, oriented to content management users (even without requiring high technical knowledge), to build innovative virtual reality spaces, quickly and easily, to offer collaborators different immersive experiences through which they can learn about new products, themes, releases and/or acquire new capabilities.
