Recently updated on November 6th, 2021 at 10:23 pm
At SOLIDWORKS World event recently, HP Inc. announced their latest products which include the VR solutions and gears as well. Apart from the newly enhanced HP Z4 Workstation, they also introduced the Professional Edition of the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset. The headset has awesome visuals of 1440×1440 resolution per eye with 90Hz refresh rate. Cool, huh?
To add to the list, HP also launched the HP Z VR Backpack which according to them is the first professional wearable VR Personal Computer in the world. Furthermore, they also mentioned about the HP VR Launch Kit for Unreal Engine to speed up the VR development and optimize its deployment. To make it more interesting, they also offer an option for the customer to use the DaaS model to get the VR solutions.
What is DaaS Model?
Firstly, DaaS stands for”Device as a Service“. It is a business model where the company provides you with the hardware, manage it for you and support it throughout the lifecycle and you’ll pay them using the subscription method such as monthly or yearly basis. Can say similar like the cloud computing. Since it is a subscription model, you’ll have a contract with them with the agreed price per device. Price can vary depending on the device and plan you choose. And it can be fixed monthly fee per device.
What is the benefit of having the DaaS model?
The main benefit to have this kind of model for the VR solutions is to equip the team with the right VR hardware, accessory, support and services that suit the current job, project and task. You can customize what you need and what don’t need from time to time.
It will make things to be easy and much more flexible to scale up and down based on your organization size and business needs. In this way, it will be easier for the company to predict the cost and budget accordingly.
Furthermore, since the price of the VR solutions can be so high and expensive, DaaS can help the SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) or startup to get the solution by paying a much smaller amount in monthly basis.
The condition of the device is usually managed and monitored proactively by them. This is also known as proactive analytics. If during the period, your device encounters some problem, you can get a spare device to continue your job until the problem is resolved by their technicians.
Another benefit is that the environments upgrade and hardware refresh are also managed accordingly during the subscription period. This can help to overcome the obsolescence issue of the device. This result in the IT unit of your company will be more efficient and can focus to support the business users to perform other productive stuffs.
What is the Challenge if We Apply the DaaS Model?
Normally, if we happened to use the device for a very long period of time, the total amount that we pay to subscribe can be much more higher than the amount when we buy it using one-time purchase. Furthermore, if you can still survive using the device without any upgrade require for them.
To conclude, in the future you can rent the VR headset from this type of vendor and do not need to worry too much on the support and can enjoy its latest version immediately. However, there are many criterias and factors to decide whether to go for DaaS or not such as TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) , hidden costs to maintain ourselves and depreciation value of the device. So, what do you think of using the DaaS model for the VR stuffs? For more info, you can read it at:
1) The Specs for HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset.
2) The HP Device as a Service (DaaS) website.
2) “HP Revs Up Workstation, Unveils New VR Products and Services” from GlobeNewswire.