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AR dragons, psychedelic displays at Coachella, and other digital gizmos made possible with XR technologies are fun and all, but Mark Sage, founder of AREA, is on the more pragmatic side of the table; he loves it when XR technologies can solve real-world problems for businesses. Mark and Alan sit down to discuss how to do that, and how that creates a better ecosystem for enterprise XR to thrive.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlan: Today\u2019s guest is Mark Sage. Mark is a product owner, creator, marketer, innovator, business development professional, evangelist, spokesperson, strategist, program and project manager, and mentor across a range of AR, mobile, B2B and B2C technologies and products in an international context. Mark is currently the executive director of AREA: Augmented Reality in Enterprise Alliance; the only global, membership-funded, non-profit alliance dedicated to helping accelerate the adoption of enterprise augmented reality, by supporting the growth of a comprehensive ecosystem. AREA members include Exxon Mobile, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NVIDIA, PTC, and so many more. You can learn about The AREA at theAREA.org. It is with great honor that I welcome AREA executive director Mr. Mark Sage; welcome to the show, Mark.\n\n\n\nMark: Thanks so much, Alan. It\u2019s great to be here to speak to you, and to those who listen out there, as well. I\u2019m really excited. Thank you.\n\n\n\nAlan: Thank you so much for joining me. We\u2019re really excited; let\u2019s get right into this. I\u2019m going to start \u2014 just, dive right in here \u2014 what is one of the best XR experiences that you\u2019ve ever had?\n\n\n\nMark: Oh, wow. Gosh.\n\n\n\nAlan: I know, I\u2019m going right in there.\n\n\n\nMark: You are, aren\u2019t you? And in the kind of role I\u2019ve got, I have a huge opportunity to go around the world, experiencing all sorts of different experiences. I guess, when I first started, one of the first things I was amazed about was the DAQRI Helmet, back in the day. I remember first wearing that, probably about three years ago, thinking this would be amazing. It didn\u2019t quite end up as it would be. So, they\u2019re still working on some of the areas there. What I\u2019m really thrilled about is the experiences that really solve problems. Being focused on the enterprise space, I love to see things that are solving real-life problems, here and now. So anything from the simple-yet-effective remote assistance services and applications, I love seeing those; the way that you can engage with an expert, and get real detailed information of how to fix things. \n\n\n\nI always love trying those things out. I love some of the simple things; I remember being at a shipyard in Finland, and just using a tablet, they were showing me how they look into a new container that had been built, and how they could check what was going on, and using in an eight hour experience to make sure it was all correct. They were cutting down \u2014 literally, by hours \u2014 the amount of time it took to review things, and make sure it was all set up and stuff like that. Right into the step-by-step innstruction, I always remembered RealWear, when they did their first step-by-step instruction. Doing it in a brewery, and showing how they were moving taps and pipes, and doing work there. So to be honest, anything\u2013\n\n\n\nAlan: Do you think they did it in exchange for beer?\n\n\n\nMark: Well, I hope so! I absolutely hope so. So you know, Alan, anything that shows some real benefit\u2026 I love some of the kind of cool stuff, but certainly, my experience in the enterprise AR stuff that actually solves a problem, and creates real benefit for enterprises, is really cool for me.\n\n\n\nAlan: It\u2019s interesting you mentioned that DAQRI s