Vendor Evaluation Checklist: Choosing Immersive Collaboration Tools After Reality Labs’ Cuts

Stop betting on platform stability — your collaboration stack needs a procurement plan built for churn

If your ops team is still evaluating immersive collaboration vendors like it’s 2022, you’re risking wasted budgets, fragmented workflows, and a short-lived deployment. Meta’s Reality Labs cost cuts and the discontinuation of Workrooms in February 2026 underscore what many procurement teams already fear: large platform bets can disappear fast. You need a procurement checklist that prioritizes continuity, security, measurable ROI, and realistic hardware and software lifecycles.

Why Reality Labs’ cuts matter to procurement in 2026

In late 2025 and early 2026 Meta sharply reduced Reality Labs spending, closed VR studios, cut more than 1,000 roles, and announced it would discontinue the standalone Workrooms app effective February 16, 2026. Reality Labs had reportedly lost more than $70 billion since 2021, and Meta signaled a strategic pivot toward wearables such as AI-powered smart glasses.

Meta said it would "discontinue Workrooms as a standalone app," and move investment toward wearables and its Horizon platform.

For procurement leaders that means three practical implications:

• Platform risk is real: Large vendors can shutter apps and managed services suddenly, leaving teams with orphaned workflows.
• Wearables will grow faster than VR rooms: Early 2026 shows renewed investment in AR glasses and lightweight wearables, shifting vendor roadmaps.
• Managed services become optional: Expect fewer vendor-run device management services; you’ll need MDM, BYOD, and provisioning SOPs in-house.

Top-line procurement strategy — what to assume in 2026

1. Prioritize modularity: choose vendors whose software works across headsets and wearables, and with non-immersive clients (desktop, mobile).
2. Assume any vendor app could be sunset: insist on data ownership clauses and export tools.
3. Plan for hybrid optical hardware: mix VR headsets for immersive workshops with AR/wearable pilots for daily ops.
4. Measure outcomes — not impressions: define KPIs before pilots that tie to time saved, billable hours recovered, or training speed.

Vendor evaluation checklist: procurement-ready (step-by-step)

Use the checklist below as a repeatable SOP during RFPs, demos, and pilot procurement. Treat each section as a weighted scoring category and document evidence in your vendor scorecard.

1. Strategic fit & roadmap (Weight 15%)

• Does the vendor publish a 12–24 month public roadmap and cadence for releases?
• Has the vendor shifted focus to wearables or maintained multi-device support?
• Request concrete migration paths: if a product is discontinued, what export and exit options exist?
• Ask for customer references similar to your size and use-case. Collect uptime and feature delivery evidence.

2. Financial stability & business model (Weight 12%)

• Request three years of revenue or funding signals, and burn-rate indicators where possible.
• Check concentration risk (e.g., single large investor or single large customer).
• Understand the vendor’s long-term model: hardware + software bundle, SaaS, or marketplace?
• Insist on contractual remedies if the vendor changes pricing or discontinues core features.

3. Product functionality & UX (Weight 14%)

• Cross-device support: does the app run on major headsets, wearables (AR glasses), and non-immersive endpoints?
• Accessibility and usability testing results (voice control, captions, 2D client parity).
• Export formats for artifacts (whiteboards, recordings, transcripts).
• Customizability: templates, roles, permissions, and integrations for your workflows.

4. Security & compliance (Weight 18%)

Security is non-negotiable. Demand documentation and third-party attestations.

• Evidence of SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001, plus frequent pen-test reports.
• Encryption at rest and in transit; BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) if you require.
• SSO & SAML / OIDC support; role-based access controls; granular session policies.
• Data residency and retention policy: where is content stored and for how long?
• Incident response SLA and notification timeline for breaches (48 hours or less preferred).

5. Integration & interoperability (Weight 12%)

• APIs, webhooks, and Zapier/first-party connectors for your stack (calendar, MDM, ticketing, LMS, CRM).
• Data export and import tools for content migration and backups.
• Compatibility with your MDM and endpoint security tooling.
• Standards compliance (e.g., OpenXR where applicable) to avoid lock-in.

6. Hardware lifecycle & support (Weight 10%)

• Vendor-provided device options vs. bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies.
• Availability and lead times for headsets/wearables; expected obsolescence schedule.
• Spare-parts, repairs, and RMA SLAs.
• Device management support (Horizon managed services was discontinued — expect to run MDM internally).

7. Commercials & SLAs (Weight 12%)

• Uptime SLA, credits, and remedies; define critical vs. non-critical incidents.
• Clear licensing model and predictable pricing for scale (per-seat, per-device, enterprise seat tiers).
• Termination and transition support: data export in machine-readable formats and vendor-assisted migrations.
• Audit rights, subprocessor lists, and subcontractor policies.

8. Pilot design & success metrics (Weight 7%)

• Define an 8–12 week pilot with clear KPIs and participant profiles (core users vs. observers).
• Set measurable outcomes: meeting time saved, number of collaborative artifacts produced, onboarding time, NPS.
• Agree on pilot scope, resources, and what constitutes “success” before purchasing.

9. Change management & training (Weight 6%)

• Vendor-provided training, admin docs, and playbooks; requirement for train-the-trainer sessions.
• Templates for agendas, immersive meeting etiquette, and device checklists.
• Uptake tracking and adoption KPIs (DAU/WAU for immersive features).

10. Exit & continuity planning (Weight 4%)

• Data portability: scheduled exports and bulk archive mechanisms.
• Escrowed critical binaries or service continuity guarantees for a defined period post-termination.
• Plan for fallback experiences (e.g., 2D desktop clients) if immersive services are discontinued.

Scoring model: how to compare vendors objectively

Build a vendor scorecard with the weights above. For each vendor, score 1–5 on each criterion, multiply by weight, and produce a final weighted score. Example weights total 100; pick the top-scoring vendor but run two parallel pilots to hedge platform risk.

• Score breakdown example: Security (18) & Product (14) = 32% emphasis on stability and UX.
• Make ROI and pilot metrics tie-breakers when scores are close.

Security deep-dive: the non-negotiables

Given the sensitivity of meeting content and the likelihood of platform changes, require:

• Data ownership clause: your organization owns all generated content and has the right to export it in usable formats.
• Minimum pen-test frequency and a requirement to share remediation timelines.
• Audit and compliance rights (on-site or remote) with defined notice periods.
• Strong device attestation and tamper-detection for headsets/wearables used in regulated contexts.
• Clear policy on transcription and AI processing: where audio is sent for AI, what is retained and for how long?

ROI modeling & pilot KPIs — practical formulas

Procurement decisions need numbers. Here’s a lean ROI model you can use for pilots and vendor selection.

Core formula

ROI (annual) = (Annual Value Delivered – Annual Cost) / Annual Cost

Value lines (examples)

• Meeting time recovered: (Average meeting reduction hours per participant per week) × (Hourly rate) × (Headcount).
• Travel avoided: Number of trips avoided × Average travel cost per trip.
• Faster onboarding: Reduced days to productive × New hires per year × Average cost per employee-day.
• New revenue enablement: additional billable hours or faster deal cycles attributable to immersive collaboration.

Sample pilot KPI set (8–12 weeks)

• Avg meeting length change (%) for pilot group vs. control.
• Number of collaborative artifacts produced per session (whiteboards, recordings, annotated docs).
• Participant satisfaction (post-session NPS).
• Support tickets related to hardware/software provisioning per user.
• Time to first successful session (measures friction).

Operational templates & SOP snippets

Turn evaluation into repeatable operations. Below are short SOPs you can paste into procurement docs.

Device provisioning SOP (brief)

1. Assign device to cost center and user in asset management tool.
2. Enroll device in MDM; apply security profile and whitelist enterprise apps.
3. Install company SSO and verify identity attestation.
4. Run a smoke test session with IT and user; log results in ticketing system.

Pilot kickoff checklist

• Confirm pilot scope, objectives, and success metrics with vendor.
• Provision hardware and accounts; run admin training session.
• Schedule 3 checkpoint reviews (week 2, week 6, final) with stakeholders.
• Capture baseline metrics (meeting length, travel spend) for comparison.

Real-world example: small consultancy case study

We worked with a 150-person consulting firm in 2025–2026 that piloted two vendors: one focused purely on VR rooms and another on mixed wearable + desktop collaboration. After a 12-week pilot the firm recorded:

• 18% reduction in average meeting time for project standups (1,200 meeting hours saved/year).
• Trainer onboarding time decreased from 5 days to 3 days for new analysts, saving ~225 productive-days/year.
• The mixed-stack vendor scored higher on integration and exit terms; procurement insisted on an export schedule and escrow for session artifacts.
• Net result: predicted payback period of 11 months and a two-vendor approach for redundancy.

That case shows the practical value of pairing a strong pilot design with contractual protections — especially after Reality Labs’ sudden product pivots.

Contract clauses to insist on post-Reality Labs

• Data portability & export guarantees: machine-readable exports within 30 days of request.
• Sunset & transition support: minimum 6–12 months of export tooling and assisted migration if core services are discontinued.
• Escrow or third-party hosting options: ensure critical binaries or content can be run by a third party if needed.
• Price-change caps: limits on annual increases or material changes to licensing models.
• Security breach SLA: notification within 48 hours and remediation plan with timelines.

Future predictions for 2026 and beyond — what to bake into your RFP now

• Wearables-first experiences: Expect AR glasses and hybrid wearables to become primary daily collaboration endpoints rather than pure VR rooms.
• On-device AI: On-device AI will handle transcription, summarization, and context augmentation — ask vendors about on-device models and data flows.
• Open standards consolidation: OpenXR and other interoperability standards will mature; prioritize vendors that support them.
• More regulation: Privacy and data residency laws tightened in 2026–2027; ensure compliance roadmaps match your regions.
• Vendor consolidation & managed-service shrinkage: Large vendors may focus on flagship wearables while third parties fill niche collaboration gaps.

Checklist recap — 10 items to include in your RFP right now

1. Cross-device support (VR, AR, desktop, mobile)
2. Data ownership and portability clause
3. SOC2/ISO and pen-test evidence
4. Public roadmap and migration commitments
5. Device lifecycle and spare parts SLA
6. APIs for integration and automation
7. Clear pilot KPIs and success criteria
8. Termination transition support (6–12 months)
9. Price-change and license predictability
10. Escrow/third-party continuity options

Actionable next steps for ops teams

1. Download or build a vendor scorecard based on the weights above and run at least two parallel pilots to hedge platform risk.
2. Insert mandatory contract clauses (data export, sunset support, security SLAs) into all RFP templates.
3. Design a tight 8–12 week pilot with clear ROI formulas and executive signoff on success metrics.
4. Plan hardware diversity: mix headsets and wearables, and test non-immersive fallbacks.
5. Prepare internal MDM and provisioning SOPs now — don’t rely on vendor-managed device fleets.

Final thoughts

Meta’s Reality Labs cuts and the discontinuation of Workrooms in early 2026 are a cautionary tale: immersive collaboration vendors and platforms will pivot, consolidate, and sometimes disappear. Procurement teams that treat vendor evaluation as a short-term checklist will be left with stranded content and frustrated teams. Instead, adopt a procurement approach that emphasizes modularity, security, contractual continuity, and measurable ROI.

Want a ready-made vendor scorecard and pilot template that incorporates the exact clauses and KPIs above? Join our membership at effective.club or download the Vendor Evaluation Checklist & Pilot Kit to run your first pilot with confidence. Book a free 20-minute procurement clinic with our team to review your RFP and pilot design — we’ll map your risk and ROI in 30 minutes.

Make the next procurement decision defensible: score vendors, run parallel pilots, and contract for continuity — not just for features.

Related Reading

• From Outage to SLA: Reconciling vendor SLAs across cloud and SaaS
• Interoperable Verification Layer: a consortium roadmap for trust & standards
• Automating safe backups and versioning before letting AI tools touch your repos
• Weekend Capsule Wardrobe for Travelers: 10 Investment Pieces to Buy Before Prices Rise
• How Creators Can Use Bluesky’s Cashtags to Build Investor-Focused Communities
• The Ethics of Beauty Tech Marketing: Lessons from CES and Placebo Product Hype
• Building a Paying Fanbase: 10 Exclusive Content Ideas Jazz Artists Can Put Behind a Paywall
• Creative Brief Templates That Prevent AI Slop in Emails and Ads