Meta partners with Microsoft to bolster its future of work efforts in metaverse

Facebook parent Meta has picked a powerful ally as it looks to ramp up its 'future of work' efforts in the metaverse.

At its annual Connect developer conference on October 11, Meta announced a partnership with Microsoft to deliver immersive experiences to users across various areas including the future of work and gaming.

As part of this tie-up, Microsoft will bring Microsoft 365 apps to Meta Quest devices, enabling people to interact with content from productivity apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint within virtual reality (VR).

It also plans to bring Windows 365 to these devices with the ability for people to stream their entire Windows experience through a Windows Cloud PC that includes their personalized apps, content and settings.

"We're bringing Microsoft Teams immersive meeting experience to Meta Quest in order to give people new ways to connect with each other. Now you can connect, share, collaborate as though you were together in person" Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the event.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said they are working on the ability for users to join a Teams meeting from Meta's own office collaboration platform Horizon Workrooms and use their Meta Avatars in Teams for whiteboarding, brainstorming, and meetups.

"We think that this kind of cross-device cross-screen experience will be the foundation of the virtual office of the future," he said.

Microsoft Teams in Meta's Horizon Workrooms

Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory will also support Meta Quest 2 and the newly launched Meta Quest Pro, enabling IT administrators to provision these devices for users with a Quest for Business subscription from Meta, with confidence so that the security and management options they expect from PCs and mobile devices will carry over to VR.

"We're incredibly excited about the metaverse and how digital and physical worlds are coming together and transforming everything from telehealth to remote maintenance to gaming and the way we do work. We're taking an approach to ensure that our software can benefit users on all their favorite devices" Nadella said.

Microsoft and Meta are also exploring ways to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Meta Quest Store, allowing gamers to stream hundreds of high-quality Xbox games to phones, tablets, PCs, select smart televisions, and the Meta Quest platform.

"You will be able to play 2D games with your Xbox controller projected on a massive screen on Quest. It's early days, but we're excited for what's to come'' Nadella said, without disclosing any further details.

Scaling metaverse in enterprise

Accenture will also be working with Meta and Microsoft to help companies use VR to better engage employees, interact with customers, or create products and services in the metaverse at scale in the coming year.

"This will be game changing for scaling the metaverse in the enterprise" Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said at the event.

Sweet said they have deployed 60,000 Meta Quest 2 headsets among the company's employees over the past year and also changed its onboarding process to welcome 150,000 people in its “Nth Floor” virtual campus that was co-created with Microsoft.

"We believe that the metaverse will not only change how people work, it will also profoundly change every part of business, reinventing how you interact with customers, what products and services you offer, how you make and distribute them, and how you engage with your people from employee onboarding and training to collaboration and personal productivity. And VR will play a huge role" Sweet said.

Personal office in Meta's Horizon Workrooms

During the event, Zuckerberg also announced that they will launch Meta Quest for Business, a subscription bundle for Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2 next year. Currently in beta, it includes a suite of features like work accounts, device and application management, and premium support among others.

Quest for Business will also unlock integrations with Microsoft and others in the future and will be priced to suit the needs of different businesses with more details expected to be shared over the coming months, Zuckerberg said.

Meta also announced new partnerships with Adobe and Autodesk to offer new VR experiences to architects, designers and professional 3D creators among others. In early 2023, users will also be able to join Workrooms via Zoom.

Other key new additions to Workrooms include breakout groups, adding sticky notes to the whiteboard, ability for users to add three virtual screens on their desk and four types of personal environments.

A new feature called Magic Room will also let any mix of people, some together in a physical room and some remote, collaborate together. The company hopes to make the feature widely available next year.