What Enterprise Clients Want from VR: Insights from Pico’s Head of Enterprise Business

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Virtual reality is no longer just a “nice to have” for innovative companies, it has rapidly become a must-have for those looking to transform how they train, teach, engage, and communicate.

But what do enterprise clients really want from VR today? How have expectations evolved, and how are the industry leading suppliers like PICO adapting to meet these needs?

To better understand this, we spoke with Leland Hedges, Head of Enterprise Business at PICO for the US and EMEA regions. With years of experience guiding enterprise strategy in XR, Leland shared with us what companies expect from VR in 2025 and beyond, how PICO is responding to their needs and where the market is headed next.

How enterprise VR is evolving

When we asked how the enterprise VR market has evolved in recent years,  Leland pointed to three core sectors that have traditionally dominated the space: Training, Education, and Healthcare. In the past year, however, a new and fast-growing category has emerged: Location-Based Entertainment (LBE), also known as out-of-home entertainment, which is quickly gaining momentum alongside these established areas.

Let’s take a closer look at each:

• Training continues to be the largest and most ROI-driven sector. Companies are using VR to prepare employees for high-risk situations and technical workflows. Whether it’s soft skills or machinery operation, VR can reduce workplace injuries and increase knowledge retention, while saving costs.
• Education is seeing huge momentum, particularly in Europe, thanks to national and EU fundings. VR helps students explore careers in science, energy, and tech, especially in countries like the Netherlands, where there’s a major shortage of technical workers.
• Healthcare is using VR, for example, to support patients pre- and post-surgery, helping reduce anxiety or pain through calming VR experiences. It’s also being explored for therapy and rehabilitation.
• LBE (Location-Based Entertainment) is an exciting newcomer. Museums, arcades, and cultural spaces are now digitizing physical experiences, like exhibitions or historical environments, and delivering them to global audiences using XR. As Leland puts it: “If you can build an immersive experience around a museum piece, you can have the artwork travel the world.”

Three priorities shaping XR adoption in enterprise

As XR becomes more deeply embedded in professional environments, enterprise clients are aligning around three major priorities: making the technology easier to adopt, expanding XR’s real-world applications, and preparing for the next digitally-native generations. According to Pico’s Head of Enterprise Business, these shifts are shaping not only how XR is deployed today, but also how it must evolve to meet what today’s enterprise clients really need from the XR industry.

Easier XR technology adaption

Hardware tends to become lighter, more comfortable, and more intuitive. This is essential, as XR is often used by people who are not necessarily “tech-savvy”, such as teachers, nurses, floor managers. The easiest it is to set up and use on a daily basis, the more the friction is reduced and the faster the technology is adopted and being used.  

More advanced possibilities

To extend the use cases of XR, the hardware has to follow with new improvements. The shift from VR to MR (Mixed Reality) is expanding what’s possible, overlaying digital training on real-world tasks, simulating complex environments, and combining real-time data with immersive learning, leading to evergrowing use cases possibilities. 

A digitally-native workforce

Today’s youngest employees have only ever known a digital world. As Gen Z and Gen Alpha enter the workforce, XR becomes second nature, driving internal adoption and pushing companies to keep pace with expectations.

Different Sectors, different needs in XR 

One key insight from Leland: not all industries expect the same things from VR. Depending on the context and goals, enterprise clients place emphasis on different performance indicators. Below, we break down how expectations shift across Pico’s four main enterprise sectors

• In corporate training, a measurable return on investment (ROI) is the main driver. Enterprises are constantly looking to reduce errors, shorten onboarding times, and improve employee safety. VR becomes a clear choice when it delivers fewer accidents, faster learning, and higher retention, with measurable results. If VR reduces mistakes or improves efficiency, it’s a win.

• In healthcare and education, the focus shifts. These are public-facing, human-centered sectors, and the people adopting the tech aren’t necessarily XR experts. We’re talking about teachers, nurses, therapists, caregivers. Their top concern isn’t ROI but the easy integration and use of the technology, as Leland puts it: “The technology has to fit into the world that already exists.” That means for hospitals that it must be hygienic for example. VR headsets must comply with medical cleaning standards and allow for safe usage across multiple users. For schools, VR must be easy to manage. One teacher managing a class of 30 students needs intuitive MDM tools, ideally with one-click content launch, device syncing, and classroom-friendly interfaces. In these two sectors, simplicity, hygiene, and reliability become the real differentiators. It’s less about cost savings and more about integration into the existing real-life work environment in these sectors.
• In LBE, it’s about throughput, meaning maximizing the number of sessions per day. If a VR attraction is running 10 sessions per hour, any friction (setup time, reboots, charging issues) cuts into profits. As Leland describes it: “You cannot expand the number of hours in the day. The only way to help LBE companies make more money is to increase the number of sessions.” Every second counts, and every friction point needs to be eliminated. This means LBE clients expectations are on fast setup and reset with no time for pairing issues, maximum uptime with headsets that must be fully charged, up-to-date, and working 100% of the time, simple, scalable deployment whether it’s a theme park or a museum, tech needs to be rolled out across multiple locations with minimal training required. In this sector, efficiency equals revenue. VR headsets become just one part of a larger equation that includes battery solutions, haptics, accessories, and MDM tools, all of which must work without hassle to keep the line moving.

No matter the industry, clients increasingly look beyond just the headset. They need an end-to-end solution: content, device management, and services such logistics, training, and support.

Why PICO focuses on the full XR ecosystem

PICO recognizes that the headset is just one piece of the puzzle. As Leland explains: “The headset by itself doesn’t do anything. You need partners like VR Expert who can deliver a headset with all the associated technologies already set up to meet the use case.”

While PICO makes sure to provide the most affordable, up-to date, easiest to use, and reliable product possible, they also work closely with service providers like VR Expert to offer:

• Bundled accessories (battery packs, routers, mounts)
• Device management tools (MDMs)
• Pre-installed software and onboarding adapted to the different industries
• Logistics and white-labeling for partners and clients

This level of customization is key to helping organizations deploy XR efficiently, especially at scale.

What’s next? PICO’s roadmap for enterprise VR

Looking ahead, PICO is working on new products and hopes to share more information on this next year, in 2026. These next-generation headsets will likely be more powerful and feature-rich devices but also come at a higher price point, with capabilities to match, including advanced sensors like eye tracking and other advanced types of extra sensors. “We’re at the point where VR is transitioning from the ‘dumb phone’ era to the ‘smartphone’ era,” says Leland. The question will no longer be whether a company can afford the device, but whether they can afford not to use it, given the performance and training benefits it enables.

At the same time, PICO is expanding its reach with national-level deployments in Europe, deeper integration into LBE markets with active presence at the recent IAAPA Barcelona and the upcoming IAAPA Orlando, and strategic collaborations with close partners like VR Expert in both training, education and entertainment.

Final Thought: Be honest about what enterprise VR entitles

When asked about common misconceptions about the VR world, Leland didn’t mince words: “If you want your organization to adopt XR, be honest about the total cost. Headsets, content, MDMs, accessories, it all adds up. But so does the value.” While the consumer market might offer headsets at €200, those aren’t built, or supported, for enterprise needs. PICO’s enterprise models include exclusive features, dedicated modes, and are backed by specialized teams and partners for a reason.

In summary, what enterprise clients want in 2025? 

• Smooth, scalable deployment: easy setup, lightweight hardware, minimal friction.
• Real, measurable outcomes: whether it’s reducing injuries, improving onboarding, or boosting engagement, ROI matters.
• A full solution, not just a device: content, logistics, MDMs, accessories, support, all delivered through trusted partners like VR Expert.
• Technology that grows with them: from VR to MR, from training to marketing, companies want a future-proof investment.

Interested in exploring enterprise VR for your organization? Visit vr-expert.com or talk to our team of XR advisors to find the right setup for your goals.

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