APAC region to drive global enterprise VR adoption through to 2030

As the introduction of 5G networks spurs real use cases based of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), these technologies are set to take off over the next decade, with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region a particular powerhouse, according to research from GlobalData.

The analyst’s Market opportunity forecasts model on VR predicts that the global VR market revenue will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% from an estimated US$7bn in 2018 to $28bn in 2030. It says VR software accounts for two-thirds of the total VR market revenue globally, with the rest coming from hardware sales.

Games accounted for the lion’s share of software revenue – just over two-thirds in 2018 – with enterprise software contributing 30% and non-gaming consumer software about 2%. 

Yet despite these technologies being in the nascent stages of evolution and adoption in APAC, GlobalData expects a significant rise in their uptake in the region, especially around the market growth for non-gaming and enterprise software for VR.

“VR adoption has so far been relatively low in APAC compared to developed markets like the US,” said Sunil Kumar Verma, lead ICT analyst at GlobalData. “However, the region is bound to witness a strong adoption trend in future, aided by high-speed 5G network deployment. The burgeoning ecosystem of connected devices, which is estimated to grow further, and ample government support will drive VR adoption in the region.”

The analyst also pointed to a number of APAC government initiatives that it says are likely to contribute to the growth of these technologies over the next decade. These included China’s announcement of several measures to facilitate the growth of the VR industry, such as the Shenzhen municipal government partnering with HTC to create the $1.45bn Shenzhen VR investment fund and develop a new China VR research institute to boost the country’s VR ecosystem.

Also, China’s Guizhou province is to build Beidouwan Virtual Reality Town, a project that will see it develop its own VR/AR ecosystem for the city. A VR intelligent party school was opened for the public in Beidouwan VR Town last year, and VR technology was integrated in all of its exhibition halls.

In South Korea, the national government in 2016 announced plans to invest $363m in the AR/VR marketplace over five years. The government opened the Korean Virtual Reality-Augmented Reality Complex (KoVAC) in Seoul in 2017, and since then six more such centres have been created, which the government plans to increase to 20 by 2020.

Meanwhile, Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry has offered grants to content creators using advanced content creation technologies, including VR, to promote products, services and tourism in the country’s regions.

Similar initiatives are under way in Australia, India and Malaysia, where local/provincial governments have partnered with AR/VR companies to promote educational and tourism activities.

Kumar Verma added in the report: “While government organisations typically lag in the adoption of emerging technologies, virtual technologies such as AR and VR provide a unique opportunity for them to transform the usage of existing data and provide improvised services around training, education and tourism through the use of these technologies.”