The best VR collaboration tools and apps for boosting remote work

Apps are the building blocks of virtual reality (VR). And work-focused independent software vendors (ISVs) – such as Arthur, Gravity Sketch and Resolve – build collaboration for employees working from anywhere.

Meeting and VR collaboration apps – such as immersive events in Microsoft Teams and Flow Immersive – allow teams to create and share within distraction-free virtual workplaces, in impressive new ways. Learning and development apps provide a team collaboration solution by enabling employees to train through immersive, risk-free simulations that build skills faster. And in Meta Horizon Workrooms, Horizon OS avatars mean teams can connect side by side through remote collaboration, even if miles apart.

By bringing remote and hybrid teams into the same virtual space, VR work apps unlock new ways of collaborating. For example, a Meta study found that 88% of participants felt enthusiastic about completing tasks when using virtual team collaboration tools, with 92% feeling that it was easy to complete group tasks.¹

The following VR apps offer team collaboration solutions, bringing teams closer together, wherever they are.

What are some of the best VR collaboration tools and meeting apps?

VR apps give teams the freedom to meet and collaborate in inspiring, immersive spaces. This takes productivity to new levels.

In Flow Immersive and BadVR, teams can swap spreadsheets for compelling VR data visualisations. These remote collaboration tools allow colleagues to see data floating above conference room tables and interact with every detail, whatever their location.

Meanwhile, 3D design and VR collaboration tool Gravity Sketch provides an intuitive and immersive way of bringing ideas to life. Teams can dive into ideas head first.

Through Meta Horizon managed solutions and integrations with immersive events in Microsoft Teams and Zoom, employees working from anywhere can make meaningful contributions. In Zoom, anyone can use extra screen space for multitasking while fully immersed in VR. Or they can join meetings in pass-through mode to still see their physical surroundings.

Using the native Microsoft Teams app, teams can launch virtual collaboration platforms for social gatherings, employee onboarding and company meetings. Whether working from home or the office, they can use these remote collaboration tools to stream the Windows experience on Meta Quest devices, and access personalised apps, content and settings in VR.

There are also industry-specific VR meeting and collaboration apps. Take construction, for example. In Arkio, architects can ideate, review and present renders in VR. And construction virtual collaboration platforms SentioVR and Resolve allow teams building complex construction projects to review large building information model (BIM) projects on Meta Quest in collaborative environments.

Which companies have used VR team collaboration apps successfully?

Snack company Mondelēz used the VR collaboration tool Gravity Sketch and virtual office app Arthur to build a VR digital innovation centre – meaning designers could create, communicate and share ideas immersively. This unlocked new ways of collaborating, speeding up the design of new products – reducing the 3D concept design phase from weeks to mere hours.

Through Resolve, construction firm Mortenson saved nearly USD 40,000 in the review process. Via Horizon OS avatars, stakeholders could review and comment on VR designs – discovering more than 600 issues.

Discover more VR training apps for construction and manufacturing.

How VR work apps boost remote team knowledge and skill transfer

Beyond collaboration apps for day-to-day working, learning and development ISVs unlock team collaboration over the longer term. Immersive spaces simulate high-risk scenarios in low-risk settings. This means that employees can upskill more quickly – without the cost and complexity of organising physical training for dispersed teams.

VR ensures standardised, high-quality training is accessible to every employee, regardless of their physical location. In Osso VR, surgeons can rehearse high-risk operations step by step, while nurses can practise patient handling and emergency response scenarios without putting anyone at risk. In ForgeFX, custom 3D training can simulate heavy equipment and industrial work common across construction and manufacturing. Likewise, LuminousXR creates immersive VR training solutions for high-risk industries such as oil and gas, aviation, energy and defence.

But VR learning goes further than safety training. There are apps for soft skills, meaning that employees can walk in the footsteps of colleagues, experience workplace culture and learn how they can better support them. Over time, this boosts team collaboration.

Through the likes of ThingLink, Uptale, Bodyswaps, 3Spin Learning and SkillsVR, employees can hone vital skills in VR, such as how to communicate, collaborate and lead. Role-playing scenarios mean that learners can have immersive, challenging conversations that are hard to recreate in physical settings. And thanks to AI-generated content, no two experiences need ever be the same.

Which companies have successfully used VR collaboration tools and apps for learning?

Mitsubishi Electric UK's in-person training was ready for an update. Scheduling sessions with instructors often meant delays, travel time and costs. Meanwhile, online training wasn't consistently effective for knowledge retention.

So, the company created immersive 360° images and videos that were uploaded to ThingLink. These were enhanced with interactive videos, voiceovers and graphics. The new VR training led to GBP 220,970 year-over-year savings and 462,000 travel miles saved annually.

Medical research charity LifeArc used Nanome to streamline design in at least five major projects. The VR software turns molecular models into immersive 3D environments, with intuitive controls for stakeholders to engage with designs throughout the ideation process with minimal training.

Discover more VR training apps for healthcare.

The rundown: Five VR work apps for meetings and collaboration

There are more than 900 ISVs developing content today on the Horizon App Store. Here are five more apps for remote work that can boost team collaboration.

1. Noda: A VR space for teams to build mind maps, strategic processes and storyboards.
2. Cavrnus: A 3D real-time collaboration platform that enables faster design decisions and quicker turnaround times.
3. Altoura: The training platform helps enterprises onboard employees faster through immersive, hands-on learning.
4. Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS): The app transforms healthcare education with AI-powered VR scenarios.
5. PIXO: The platform streamlines management of an enterprise's training programme, making it worry-free for training directors.

Get in touch with Meta for Work

Discover how Meta Horizon managed solutions can scale your organisation with virtual and mixed reality. Learn how you can use VR and MR to build the future of work and education with our success stories. Getting started is easy, please

Keep reading about working in virtual reality (VR):

Five benefits of immersive meetings with Microsoft Teams on Meta Quest
How the professional services sector is driving transformation with VR
The benefits of MR technology in manufacturing

Sources

1. Meta internal data (based on a Meta-commissioned study with 96 participants; data collected from experiments conducted between October 2023 to January 2024).