INFO~TECH RESEARCH GROUP
Custom Vendor Landscape
Industrial AR – Maintenance and Assistance
An Important Note
Understanding a Custom Vendor Landscape
- Info-Tech’s Custom Vendor Landscapes are custom deliverables that are built with a heavy emphasis on the use cases and selection criteria of the requesting client. They are intended to provide an external point-of-view on a smaller or niche software marketspace. They are built over the course of one week based on secondary research by one of our Software Selection Services analysts.
- These deliverables may be sanitized and published for convenient access by our other members; it is important to understand that they are not intended to be general market analysis reports like our SoftwareReviews Data Quadrants or Software Selection Guides.
- This report is bespoke to the client that requested it and is not intended to be an omnibus view of the entire marketspace (these deliverables are limited to ten vendors, and the vendor shortlist is often dictated in full or in part by the requestor).
- Please ensure that you are conducting your own due diligence on vendors within the space; the sanitized version of this report may be a helpful starting point for initial vendor shortlisting; the limitations of its scope and the highly custom nature of the vendor list and analysis contained within does not make it synonymous with the analysis in our omnibus market analysis research (SoftwareReviews Data Quadrants and Software Selection Guides).
Understanding the Selection Initiative
Objective
The client is a large European oil and gas organization exploring Augmented Reality (AR) use cases, with the goal of creating a demo showcasing AR capabilities in a powerplant to create stakeholder buy-in for large-scale implementation. There are two intended use-cases: Remote Assistance and Equipment Inspection. The chosen software should have capabilities to provide real time assistance to maintenance personnel from off-site experts, and advanced features with AR glasses for efficient and safe machine inspections.
As the primary aim of initial software selection is to produce a demo expressing the benefits and capabilities of the technology, speed and ease of implementation are of imperative importance. Additionally, industry specialization and expertise is an important quality of successful vendor candidate, as well as integration with AR glasses hardware.
Vendor Selection Criteria
In evaluating the marketspace for industrial AR, Info-Tech’s analysts looked at the following vendor attributes:
- Breadth and depth of capabilities for industrial AR.
- Vendor footprint (vendor market presence, vendor share of mind, vendor stability and long-term viability)
- Focus on vertical-specific capabilities
- Customization potential and ease-of-use
- Affordability transparency
Selection Rigor Matters
Enterprise software is a key driver of digital transformation - having a strong approach to vendor selection is essential. Info-Tech’s research shows that 70% of application selections fail because of poorly defined requirements and inadequate vendor validation.
Defining the Industrial AR Market
Market Definition
Augmented Reality (AR) is the overlay of digital content on the real world, resulting in a user experience that includes both physical space and virtual image.
Industrial Augmented Reality is the application of AR hardware and software to support an industrial process, including unique and generic use-cases for factory productivity. In the Oil & Gas industry industrial AR must accommodate additional challenges, from high-risk work environments to complex machinery and low band-with networks.
The Remote Assistance use-case is a method with which specialists can provide technical support to field workers remotely. AR allows the expert and worker to collaborate interactively. Equipment inspection overlays digital information onto real-world objects to ensure high functioning, while also allowing inspections to be performed without an expert present.
Key Trends in Industrial AR
$1.1 Trillion — Expected valuation of the AR Market by 2030. (Fortune Business Insights)
20% — Organizations in the Oil & Gas sector can reduce capital expenditures by up to 20% by adopting digital technologies including AR (McKinsey)
Top Level Features for Industrial AR
Feature Name |
Description |
| User profiles | User specific login capabilities including multiple user profiles within one device, user authentication technology, profile integration with existing employee enterprise credentials, and predefined user options for the main use cases should be set up upon login. |
| Integration capabilities | Device supports wireless connectivity. Device can be integrated within the existing enterprise architecture landscape. Data call from SAP database, integration with Microsoft enterprise suite. |
| Remote information sharing | Visual feed can be shared by the device user to remote viewers. Remote operator can share information into the device visual feed for user access. Information shared in the headset visual feed can be placed and locked into position to provide an optimal field of view. Ability to upload and pull documents. |
| Implementation | Free trial, customization, ability to scale and grow with client, quick time to value to implement demo. Ease of implementation with a low level of customization as there are few developers in house. Ability to quickly do a demo, generate a showcase and trigger interest. Could scale and grow future use cases with the company |
| Hardware compatibility | Battery life of device must cover average maintenance times of technical workers while performing maintenance operations, chosen software must be compatible with AR glasses hardware which is not chosen yet but may include Wholelense, Metaquest, and Applevision pro. |
| Specialization | Specified use cases for AR glasses in industrial settings, direct use cases for oil & gas. Company with industry specialization and expertise. |
Key Players
Info-Tech identified 10 platforms applicable to the use case. The platforms are listed in alphabetical order.
