technology

Meta, Microsoft team up to bring MS Office 365 apps to the metaverse

Meta, Microsoft team up to bring MS Office 365 apps to the metaverse

American tech giants, Meta Platforms and Microsoft Corporation, have reportedly inked a new partnership deal to deliver a range of Microsoft Office 365 applications to Meta’s virtual reality platform. Meta hopes that the move will attract more companies to work in the virtual world.

During his keynote at the Meta Connect 2022, held Monday, 11th October, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, stated that that the MS Teams app will be integrated with Meta’s VR headsets Quest and Quest Pro, with which users can gather in the virtual space similar to how they would in a boardroom.

Microsoft applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, and Outlook, will be available in Meta’s VR, with Nadella further stating future functionality will include being able to stream Windows Cloud computer to Meta’s headsets.

Nadella added that the company’s enterprise-level identity management and mobile device applications will be compatible with Meta’s VR headsets, with which corporates can manage and secure VR headsets in their networks, like how computers or phones are.

Meta believes that its recently launched Quest Pro will entice users to a virtual workday, and claims that the new equipment features improved clarity, better performance, and higher resolution, than its predecessor.

The new headset’s hand controllers come with more ‘intuitive’ feedback, while the headset has real-time expression tracking with which the virtual avatar will be able to track the user’s real-time facial expressions, like smiles and winks.

Nadella stated that the pandemic brought forward a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for office-based work environments, referencing the new remote work policies that were put in place during the pandemic.

Nadella further added that Microsoft is bringing the immersive meeting experience of Teams to Meta Quest to offer new ways of connecting to people, adding that users can connect, share, and collaborate in the virtual space like in real life.

Microsoft Teams will be cross-compatible with Meta’s VR platform for business meetings, known as Horizon Workrooms, with Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg adding that this experience will act as the foundation of the future of the virtual office.

Source credit: https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-and-meta-partnership-brings-office-365-apps-to-the-metaverse

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Pooja Sharma

Pursuing her professional career as a content writer for over two years now, Pooja Sharma is endowed with a post-graduate degree in English Literature. The articles that she writes are a balanced blend of her ever-growing love of language and the technical expertise that she has gained over the years. Currently Pooja pens insightful articles for Newsorigins and numerous other websites, covering subjects such as business, finance, and technology.