The billion dollar XR solution
Why financial waste in Immersive projects is rampant and how to fix it
AI might be stealing the limelight right now but Immersive tech is booming.
The global XR market is racing toward $1.63 trillion by 2032 (according to Fortune Business Insights), and businesses everywhere are scrambling to "do something immersive."
But that’s kind of the problem. There is so much hype and so much pressure to innovate that something is getting lost in the noise. The harsh truth about XR is that most businesses are squandering their investments before they even see results.
Why?
Unfortunately, many immersive projects are doomed before they even begin. Not because the tech isn’t ready, but because the thinking isn’t.
The quiet problem no one talks about
I’ve sat in rooms with global brands, government agencies, and innovation teams.
They all want to stand out. To make an impact.
But the conversation almost always starts in the same place:
“We’ve invested in VR headsets so what should we make?”
“We have a room available and we want to do something immersive.”
“Our SLT wants AR. Show us the art of the possible.”
“We’re behind and need to catch up fast”
They see the problem as “We need to invest in this technology to keep up and stay competitive.” But the technology in and of itself isn’t a magic bullet solution.
Making XR hardware investments your priority only creates a new problem:
Businesses transition from pressure to keep up to pressure to justify spending.
Fairly often I see reverse engineering taking place - “Is there a business case we can build to support the tech we purchased?”
This is not the position you want to be in.
The whole approach is backwards and it’s entirely the result of rushing ahead and not taking a moment to block out the noise and think strategically.
So what exactly is the cost of skipping strategy?
When businesses skip straight to production, they burn through:
$100,000+ on pilots that never scale (industry reports from Innovate UK)
Months of meetings, indecision, and rework
Endless friction between departments
And at the end? Headsets sit on shelves. Immersive rooms become storage rooms. The budget disappears.
A global pain with a massive price tag
Let's zoom out.
The immersive market will hit $1.63 trillion globally by 2032.
Enterprise spending dominates the market, accounting for approximately 75% of total XR revenue (according to ARtillery Intelligence).
BCG reports that "many organisations have experimented with XR but failed to scale it effectively" due to misalignment and "tech-for-tech's-sake" approaches.
If 75% of this trillion-dollar market is enterprise spending, and most of these pilots fail to scale, we're looking at hundreds of billions in wasted investment over the next decade.
Even salvaging 10% of those failed or stalled efforts would save billions globally.
This is a global, systemic wound that no amount of spectacle or bleeding-edge innovation can fix.
The billion-dollar fix is boring (and that’s why it works)
In an industry that thrives on excitement, spectacle, and buzzwords, the antidote to noise, pressure, and tech-first thinking is surprisingly simple:
Clarity, strategy, and purpose-led thinking.
The rush to adopt the newest tech, whether it’s the latest VR headsets, AR applications, or immersive environments, can leave businesses chasing after the next big thing without ever truly understanding why. But real success doesn’t come from tech; it comes from the thinking behind it.
The most powerful solution to the XR wasteland is boring. It’s not flashy or disruptive. It's not about throwing together a mind-blowing demo or chasing the hottest trend. Instead, it’s about stepping back from the noise, taking a clear, strategic approach, and focusing on purpose from day one.
While others are scrambling to create “wow” moments, you can stand apart by starting with something simple and grounded. Clarity of purpose and alignment with stakeholders. These are the things that will set you on the path to success, and they’ll do it in a way that stands the test of time because they’re built on solid principles, not fleeting excitement.
Clarity, strategy, and purpose-led thinking aren't cool, but they are the foundation for building something that matters, and that’s why they work.
What success looks like
Here's what happens when organisations get it right from the start:
Clear Purpose + Right Technology = Transformative Results
Take Northern Powergrid's Storm Triage™ system, a project I've been involved in at Juice. They started with a critical business problem: "How do we respond faster and more effectively to increasing storm damage across our network?"
With rising storm frequency and intensity, Northern Powergrid needed to equip front-line responders to capture and coordinate damage more efficiently.
Enter Storm Triage™. A powerful tool that combines AR-assisted video calls, machine learning, and photogrammetry to create 3D models and detailed reports.
The results?
Northern Powergrid have assessed that Storm Triage will save them millions per storm event through faster damage assessment, improved resource allocation, and reduced response times.
The difference?
They started with the human problem, not the technology capability.
When immersive projects are done right - with clarity of purpose, emotional resonance, and user-centred design - the results are not just good….
They’re transformative.
Accenture estimates that strategic XR integration improves retention, empathy, decision-making, and productivity, with 2–10x ROI when aligned with core business goals.
So what exactly is it that most businesses are missing?
The solution
Most XR projects fail because they start with tech instead of purpose.
The fix?
A North Star to guide the investment toward real-world returns.
Define what you’re trying to change before you build anything. The purpose, the emotion you need to evoke, and the action you want to drive.
Why does it matter?
Because without clarity and purpose, you burn time, money, and trust.
If immersive experiences are going to live up to their potential, we have to stop designing tech first and hoping meaning will follow.
The good news?
The most powerful solution isn’t new.
It’s just overlooked.
And it’s worth billions.
- Jon