Page 124 - Harvard Business Review (November-December, 2017)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017

SPOTLIGHT
A MANAGER’S GUIDE TO AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented reality technologies promise to transform how we learn, make
decisions, and interact with the physical world. In this package we explain
what AR is, how its applications are evolving, and why it’s so important.

WHY EVERY

ORGANIZATION NEEDS

AN AUGMENTED BY MICHAEL E. PORTER AND JAMES E. HEPPELMANN

REALITY STRATEGY There is a fundamental disconnect
between the wealth of digital data
available to us and the physical world in
which we apply it. While reality is three-
dimensional, the rich data we now have to
inform our decisions and actions remains
trapped on two-dimensional pages and
screens. This gulf between the real and
digital worlds limits our ability to take
advantage of the torrent of information
1 DOWNLOAD THE FREE HBR AUGMENTED and insights produced by billions of smart,
REALITY APP FROM THE APP STORE (IOS) connected products (SCPs) worldwide.
OR GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID).
2 OPEN THE APP AND POINT YOUR
DEVICE AT THIS PAGE TO LAUNCH AN
AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCE.

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL BATURA/BULLY! ENTERTAINMENT
46 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017 NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 47

While the physical world is three- software maker PTC. Many people much easier to locate. Boeing uses AR to
dimensional, most data is trapped on are familiar with AR entertainment show trainees how to assemble an aircraft
two-dimensional pages and screens. This applications, such as Snapchat filters, wing—and has cut the time it takes them
gulf between the real and digital worlds but AR is being applied in far more to do that task by 35%. At GE, factory
prevents us from fully exploiting the consequential ways in business. workers have achieved a similar gain in
volumes of information now available Pioneering organizations are already efficiency by using voice commands in AR
to us. Augmented reality, a set of implementing it in product development, experiences to perform complex wiring.
technologies that superimposes digital manufacturing, logistics, marketing, AR will have a wide impact on how
data and images on physical objects service, and training—and are seeing major companies compete. This article walks
and environments, is closing this gap. gains in quality and productivity. readers through the questions firms
By putting information directly into AR improves how users visualize need to ask when integrating it into their
the context in which we’ll apply it, AR information, receive and follow strategies and operations. The article
increases our ability to absorb and act on it. instructions, and interact with also includes HBR’s first embedded AR
AR will become the new interface products. AccuVein, for instance, uses experiences, which readers can launch
between humans and machines, say AR technology that converts the heat by downloading a new HBR app on their
Michael E. Porter of Harvard and James E. signature of a patient’s veins into an image mobile devices and then pointing them at
Heppelmann, the CEO of the industrial superimposed on the skin, making them targeted images in the magazine’s pages.

166 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017