From connection to copresence: a new era for immersive collaboration
A new WORKTECH Academy report with Google and HP explores how 3D, presence-rich collaboration technologies could redefine hybrid work, leadership visibility and decision-making
As the global organisations settle into hybrid patterns of work, the long-term effects of connection between distributed teams are starting to show. Despite the advances in video conferencing technologies, much of the authentic communication between employees has atrophied over the past five years. The real challenge for organisations now is recreating the depth of human interaction that drives trust, alignment and decision-making.
A new report by WORKTECH Academy in collaboration with Google and HP, entitled From Connection to Copresence, argues that the next frontier of collaboration will be defined by richer forms of digital presence enabled by spatial computing, AI and immersive communication platforms.
The collaboration paradox
Academic and industry research has highlighted the current limitations of traditional video conferencing solutions, finding that the lack of depth, scale and ability to pick up non-verbal communication reduces the emotional and behavioural bandwidth needed for effective human interaction.
Studies cited in the report highlight several persistent challenges:
- Remote participants contribute less frequently and disengage more easily in hybrid meetings
- Prolonged 2D video use increases cognitive load and fatigue
- Reduced non-verbal signals weaken trust, collaboration quality and leadership presence
These effects are becoming more visible as hybrid work moves from an emergency operating model to a long-term organisational strategy. Leaders increasingly recognise that improving the quality of interaction, not just the frequency, is now central to engagement and inclusion.
The shift from connection to copresence
The report introduces ‘copresence’ as a new organising concept for collaboration. Copresence is the ability to interact remotely with the richness, attentiveness and emotional clarity of an in-person conversation.
Emerging collaboration technologies, such as HP Dimension with Google Beam, are beginning to support this shift by combining AI-driven spatial rendering, life-size visualisation and spatial audio to restore the behavioural signals lost in conventional video. Rather than replacing existing meeting tools, these technologies are expected to augment and enhance them, supporting moments where nuance, trust and emotional clarity matter most.
HP Dimension with Google Beam is a true-to-life video communication solution that replicates the power of in-person interactions for distributed teams. Google Beam is the platform that integrates into existing enterprise collaboration ecosystems such as Meet and Zoom.
Emerging enterprise use cases
The research identifies a growing set of enterprise scenarios where presence-rich collaboration environments are expected to deliver the greatest impact:
- Executive presence anywhere
Enabling leaders to maintain visibility and trust across distributed teams through life-size, high-fidelity communication. - Global culture connectors
Supporting onboarding, mentoring and relationship-building across offices to strengthen organisational cohesion. - Expert access and specialist knowledge transfer
Facilitating high-stakes consultations, technical reviews and advisory discussions without travel constraints. - Telepresence-as-a-service
Creating premium collaboration amenities within flexible workspaces and client environments. - Cadence-based collaboration
Embedding presence-rich interaction into key business rituals such as quarterly reviews, transformation checkpoints and leadership coaching.
Collectively, these use cases suggest a gradual shift from generic meeting rooms to high-presence environments designed around behavioural interaction rather than screen sharing alone.
Measuring the value of presence
As collaboration technologies evolve, the report argues that organisations must rethink how they measure return on investment. Traditional metrics such as room utilisation or travel reduction are just some of the ways to capture the value of presence-rich communication.
In tandem, new measurements are emerging based on four dimensions:
- Human experience: trust, connection and meeting fatigue
- Behavioural quality: engagement, turn-taking and conversational flow
- Organisational performance: decision speed, alignment and collaboration outcomes
- Operational efficiency: travel savings, utilisation and cost reduction
These indicators reflect a broader shift toward measuring the quality of collaboration, rather than simply the quantity of meetings.
A three-horizon future for collaboration
The report outlines a staged evolution of how copresence technologies will integrate into the future of work:
- Now: targeted deployment for high-value interactions such as executive communication, mentoring and critical decision-making
- Near (3–5 years): integration into enterprise collaboration ecosystems with networked presence rooms across global offices
- Next (5+ years): multi-location spatial collaboration networks supported by AI-driven interaction intelligence and shared virtual-physical environments
In this longer-term vision, collaboration environments will increasingly be designed around shared experiences, making geographic distance far less relevant to organisational performance.
While hybrid work has stabilised, the experience of collaboration remains uneven. As organisations search for ways to rebuild connection, trust and engagement across distributed teams, the next competitive advantage may lie in the ability to create virtual interactions that feel authentically human.
Read the full report, ‘From Connection to Copresence’, here.
