Just yesterday, there was a collaboration announcement between MS and Meta at Connect 2022. October seems to be a month that passes in the blink of an eye when watching technology announcements from both domestic and international companies..
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Since the Ignite event covers such a wide range of topics, it is difficult to listen to everything, so you must select your areas of interest to listen to them.. By listening to the CEO's keynote, you can easily summarize the overall content.
As I watched the keynote, I saw a section talking about the collaboration with Meta yesterday..
Indeed, the collaboration between the two companies stems from mutual needs, so it feels different from Zuckerberg's announcement declaring collaboration with MS for the potential of Meta Quest. In Satya Nadella's presentation as MS CEO, the focus seems to be on expanding the Teams-based work environment and the experience.
Microsoft conveyed the message that it is definitely collaborating with the Meta Quest product family to realize an "immersive work space."
And the long-awaited story about Mesh Avatars has finally arrived.
MS Mesh if you don't know what it is, please refer to the link below
MS Mesh Introduction : https://learn.microsoft.com/ko-kr/mesh/overview
MS Mesh announced that it would update the Mesh Avatar system, which was simple in form last spring, to be more realistic and high quality, and that this system will be provided to be widely used in Teams in a virtual work environment.
I'm not entirely sure, but Mesh seems to be positioning itself as a service for avatar configuration and other interactions to build Microsoft's collaboration environment? It seems they've taken that direction.
When Mesh was released last year, it was only available on HoloLens 2, but now it appears that when holding video conferences with Teams, you will be able to hold meetings and talk in your virtual form more comfortably without having to share your real face, using the avatar created in Mesh.
It seems that the commonly seen metaverse social networking we could easily meet on platforms like Spatial or AltspaceVR in places like Zepeto or IFLAND is becoming possible through Teams on a per-task and per-department basis. (But will there be people who want that? It might be okay for events, though...)
It is currently said to be possible only in the private preview, but unfortunately, it is not possible in my Mac environment Teams.
As shown in the screenshot below, it appears that Mesh Avatars can be created in Teams.
For detailed introductions and usage instructions, please refer to the following post on the MS Tech Community.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/introducing-mesh-avatars-for-microsoft-teams-in-private-preview/ba-p/3646444
I will post about it once the future release is available or I get to try it out.
And they announced a new service (again?! Please stop!! Loop, Teams, Mesh..?! )
It is Microsoft Places.
It seems like a solution for the work environment, but I still don't quite get it.
According to the description, as in-person and remote work alternate, this solution is intended to address the difficulties faced by new or existing employees who must work in-person in new, limited spaces. Hmm, it feels somewhat relatable yet ambiguous... It seems like it can be thought of as a comprehensive program that guides visitors in a collaborative space from an information desk.
First, the key features that could be confirmed through the news are as follows.
Source : https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/microsoft-places-unveiled-at-ignite-2022/
The following is a list of Microsoft Places features coming soon to preview
View Dashboard: Use View Dashboard to display when colleagues are working in the office.
Location Indicator: Colleagues' physical locations can be viewed regardless of whether they are in the office, remote, or mobile.
Booking Viewer: Allows you to view workspaces booked by others, enabling employees to select their preferred seats.
Travel Itinerary: Travel time can be automatically booked, and the app can also provide insights and advice on commuting and travel times.
Navigation Help: The app can provide navigation support within the office.
Meeting Room Booking: You can book meeting rooms using the Microsoft Places app.
Sentiment Insights: Provides insights and advice on hybrid policies, enabling administrators to review best practices.
Space Usage Insights: Insights and guidance on space usage are also provided, enabling decision-makers to prepare for the future and integrate flexibility into their workspaces.
It is currently private and is said to be released next year.
Since I work as an individual without organizational life and operate in a free work environment, I don't fully understand it, but it feels somewhat similar to the arguments managers or team leaders used to make during weekly meetings when I was part of an organization in the past, so I can somewhat relate.
MS seems to be making efforts to replace space utilization, communication, work management, and document management, which could be handled by a capable manager overall, with solutions provided by MS rather than relying on individual talent and experience. And they are clearly targeting future revenue.
At this MS Ignite, there was a strong emphasis on AI and automation, and further extending to a vision for Digital Twins utilizing the metaverse. This seems to emphasize Microsoft's direction of appealing to the organizational systems of companies using the MS product suite by providing services based on its technology and cloud service foundation.
As we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and transitioned to remote work, we saw technology being utilized faster than ever before. With major corporations like Microsoft rapidly investing and building services, it seems technology is proposing a 'more efficient' life by reducing the weaknesses and waste that people used to experience, which might otherwise feel unnecessary.
At the same time, it seems like there is also pressure that unnecessary things should not exist... It feels like I might suffocate.
Of course, technology and tools depend on how the user perceives them... I believe they will move in a better direction, but no matter how good the technology or service is, I hope people are never sacrificed for purpose and efficiency.
Looking at Microsoft's presentations over the past few years.. well.. not many things are immediately available, but if the things they announced a few years from now are all realized and established, it's hard to imagine how incredibly they will extract work efficiency..