What do these changes mean for our customers?
Facebook (or Meta, the new overarching name) held its annual Facebook Developers Conference for all things virtual reality yesterday. Several important plans were announced that will affect Oculus for Business customers. We have summarised the key changes below:
The key changes
- You will no longer be able to purchase OFB after 31-12-2021.
- In 2022, betas will be available, but it may not be possible to purchase new Quest headsets with MDM, Kiosk mode, etc. If you want to use the software functionalities of OFB, it is essential to place your order before 31-12-2021, as there will be no standard solution available until 2023.
- You can convert your current OFB headsets to the consumer version and start using Quest for Business whenever this service becomes available.
- The OFB account will no longer be renewed. After your software subscription expires, you do not need to renew it for €180 per year, but you can still use the software for an additional year at no cost, with the usual support and guarantees.
What is Quest for Business?
Essentially, it is the consumer version of Oculus Quest with additional features:
- Logging in with a work account instead of a personal Facebook account
- Improved IT management: Account management, IDP and SSO integration, and third-party MDM
- Data security through third-parties MDM: Microsoft Intune, VMware Workspace ONE, and Ivanti UEM (formerly MobileIron).
When will the new Quest for Business solution be available?
- Closed beta release at the end of 2021
- Open beta releases in 2022
- Generally available in 2023
What will the new solution cost?
Meta is still working on this, but it is expected that the consumer hardware can be supplemented with an additional subscription to unlock the extra software capabilities.
What do the changes mean for current Oculus for Business users?
You can continue to use your Oculus for Business headsets without any changes to your experience. Version 29 will be the last Oculus for Business OS-release. Oculus will continue to provide enterprise-level support and guarantees for Oculus for Business in accordance with the Enterprise Use Agreement. This includes premium Oculus for Business-ondersteuning, security and vulnerability patches, hardware guarantees, and rapid headset replacement.
Oculus for Business will no longer offer renewable subscription periods for Enterprise Support on supported headsets. There is no change to the limited warranty. For example, if you purchase an Oculus for Business-headset on 31 December 2021, you will receive a Limited Warranty of two years, starting from the date you make the Enterprise-software available with the mobile application Device Manager (if applicable) or 90 days after the shipping date of your headset, whichever comes first. Renewed subscription periods for the enterprise software are not required.
You can convert OFB headsets to the consumer version at any time and start using Quest for Business when this service becomes available. The OFB account will no longer be renewed. After your software subscription expires, you do not need to renew it for €180 per year, but you can still use the software for an additional year at no cost, with the usual support and guarantees.